Jamie's Italian goes all Hong Kong and serves afternoon tea
Savoury and sweet planks offer small portions of main menu items, making the afternoon tea at Causeway Bay restaurant a bit like a tasting menu
Jamie’s Italian in Causeway Bay has succumbed to Hong Kong's mania for afternoon tea. This month it became the first restaurant in the TV chef's global chain to begin serving afternoon tea. This week they hosted us for tea to show what they're serving.
Savouries and sweets are presented on two different planks, though we think it’s best they come one after the other to avoid mixing up flavours. Both our planks came at the same time, so after eating the brownie I had melted ice cream on my plate when I started eating Italian cold cuts, a problem our server quickly spotted and dealt with by giving us fresh plates.
Tea-goers aren't being offered anything new - the planks feature dishes from the main menu, making the afternoon tea a bit like a tasting menu for the restaurant.
We started with the Italian cured meats - San Daniele prosciutto, pistachio mortadella, fennel salami and schiacciata picante, presented with cured olives and peppers. Next came mozzarella cheese, and slices of pecorino cheese with dollops of chilli jam.
There’s also peperonata, sweet peppers cooked in garlic and olive oil, as well as some beetroot and carrot that is definitely tart and sharpens the taste buds. However, the “Italian nachos” need some work – looking like baked ravioli shells, they were crunchy but didn’t have much flavour, even when dipped in tomato sauce.
With the sweet plank, it's best to start off with the strawberries and cream. The strawberries are soaked in elderflower cordial with a scoop of frozen yoghurt, and are refreshing and slightly tart. The salted caramel ice cream on the epic brownie is already melting when it arrives at the table, so be sure to eat that one quickly. Each bite is sinfully good, which is probably why it’s the restaurant’s best seller. It’s topped with amaretti popcorn.
The other desserts are a meringue topped with a pastel-coloured blueberry sauce, and a very flavourful tiramisu.
At HK$158 per person it’s a pretty good deal – made even sweeter with a glass of prosecco for HK$48. The afternoon tea is available daily from 3pm-6pm.
Jamie’s Italian Hong Kong, 2/F, Soundwill Plaza II, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay. Tel: 3958 2222
