This summer, get a taste of La Dolce Vita right here in Hong Kong. The Italy 2008: Quality and Lifestyle festival is currently on, a great opportunity which brings you a slice of Italy without getting on a plane.

Here is our guide to some of the well-kept Italian secrets.

ITALY’S REGIONAL CUISINE

Italian cuisine, unlike most other Western counterparts, has a spirit that bursts with warmth. No matter which part of the country they come from, Italians love food with a passion and this love and verve for food and life itself is quite unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Indeed, proximity to regional food resources almost always equals quality. Blessed with a land of plenty, it is the whole hearted celebration of its local produce that has helped Italy retains its amazing food culture, one that is much loved around the world.

From the flavourful, creamy and luscious pastas in Northern Italy to famous olive oils and herbs in the southern regions, there’s a huge variety available, so one can eat Italian food everyday without being tired of it. This widespread popularity of Italian cuisine extends to the Far East and Hong Kong proves to be a good example.

Italian cuisine has also evolved into a more refined style of cooking that relies on the quality of ingredients and more importantly, the chef’s artistry. To that, we say, “Buon Appetito!”

OLD FAVOURITE, NEW MENU

The best meals are always prepared with heart and fresh, superior ingredients. But also key are the skills of the chef and good equipment to draw out the best of the bounty.

Chef Eugenio Riva, a self taught chef and armed with years of cooking experience specializing in contemporary Italian cuisine, certainly knows how to bring out the finest in his ingredients.

Currently serving up classic Italian cuisine with a contemporary twist at the celebrated Aqua Restaurant, Chef Eugenio’s cooking style is light and simple yet full of creativity and flavour. Just take this newest introduction of  Spelt rigatoni with pumpkin, anchovies, basil, tomato and toasted breadcrumbs, which he has demonstrated to his team at Aqua, One Peking Road as Chef de Cuisine.

Known as one of Hong Kong’s best dining venues, Aqua won Conde Nast’s “Hottest Tables in the World” back in 2001 is here with a new menu that promises something for everyone.

For reservations, please call 3427 2288

STARCHEF

The new generations of Italian chefs are no longer only cooks but also investigators and students of perfection. They are doing a great job by bringing new concepts to the techniques and re-discovering ancestral flavours and traditional delights that have been lost.

Chef Marco Torre, Chef de Cuisine of Grassini at the Grand Hyatt Hongkong proves to be one such great example. Class Magazine, one of the Top 10 magazines in Italy, has named him to be one of the five “Best Italian Chef under 30 working outside of Italy”.

Taught the importance of fresh, quality produce at a very young age, Chef Torre set on a journey to pursue his love for truly authentic Italian cuisine. Now, as Grassini’s Chef de Cuisine, Chef Torre is in charge of the restaurant’s menu planning and sharing with his guests his original cooking style. His new menu features the best seasonal ingredients from Italy, such as tomato, barba dei frati, borage, rabbit, lamb, burrata cheese and basil.

His culinary skills  best comes across with a couple of  highlights from the menu such as Tuscany bread and tomato salad with cucumber, basil, red onion and tender roasted rabbit loin; homemade pasta with smoked eel, green peas, fresh tomatoes and orange; herbed red mullet fillets on a light borage frittata; grilled sole with “barba dei frati, oil and lemon.

For reservations, please call 2584 7933

AN ITALIAN AFFAIR

Gaia opened its doors in 2001 and has claimed great fanfare, just as its name proclaims - happy or positive in Italian. This ultra glamorous restaurant with a distinctive Italian style of the 1950’s and 1960’s is one of the few places to eat al fresco European-style right in the heart of Central, Hong Kong.

Savour the fashionable restaurant’s signature Roman-style pizzas which are super thin and crispy just as they are traditionally served in the Italian capital. The food here is a vibrant, original mix with fresh ideas, inspiration and superb produce gleaned from the many diverse cultures in Italy.  His menu embraces all of Italy’s major seasonal specialties, even extending to famous tomato and potato harvests together with Roman-style thin crust gourmet pizzas, light and delicious hand-made pastas, and the finest veal chop in Hong Kong.

The rest of his outstanding menu of regional Italian classics is similarly contemporary and innovative. Antipastos include Tasmanian spiny lobster and caviar, raw tuna carpaccio and beetroot; raw beef tenderloin with black truffle dressing and sautéed goose liver with pears, walnuts and gorgonzola.

For reservations, please call 2167 8200

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