Lunch at Tosca, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong

If you’ve been following this blog then you will know that I was in Hong Kong last April and I was on a diet. I wasn’t planning on eating out at all but when our friends invited us to try out an Italian restaurant in the newest and tallest hotel in the world how can I resist.

The only other time I ate out was Easter Sunday lunch at my favorite restaurant Grissini. Well it was a special occasion right?

When you enter the building from the street level it’s actually the 9th floor already. There was a small pastry shop to the right called Pastry Gems.
seating for Pastry Gems at the arrival lobby

The staff by the elevator were quite strict on checking for everyone’s reservations before they were allowed to ride the high speed elevator. We rode straight to the 103rd floor where the hotel lobby was located. The 312 room hotel occupied the 102nd floor to the 118th floor of the building.

registration at the 103rd floor

From the hotel lobby we took the escalator down to the 102nd floor where three restaurants, Tosca, Tin Lung Heen & The Lounge and Bar, were located.

The Lounge and Bar was located in between the two restaurants.

wine storage

leading to Tosca

 

open kitchen of Tosca

Tosca serves cuisine from Southern Italy.

Tosca’s lunch set menu

The hardest thing for me in this diet was not eating bread. I can easily give up rice but I miss bread so much. Thankfully the choices weren’t very tempting. I did try some crispy papadum. The bread was good when hot but turned tough and chewy when cold. Thank you, thank you!

Even though I knew I was going to cheat on my diet I still tried my best to order food allowed on my diet. For starters I chose the thinly sliced beef sirloin bresaola or aged air-dried salted beef. It tasted just like salami but without all the fat.

Beef Sirloin Bresaola and Seasonal Vegetables

 Everyone who had the fish consomme complained that it was horrible and it had a strong fishy smell. I tasted it and it was indeed bland and tasted like it was made from boiled shellfish shells instead of fish.

Red Cunard Consomme w/ Baby Vegetables

This pasta dish wasn’t on the menu but when our host requested a simple spaghetti bolognese the chef outdid himself and produced this spectacularly sublime spaghetti with Wagyu beef. They should make it a regular item.
Spaghetti with Wagyu Beef

My friend really loved her simple spaghetti. The fresh ingredients and super al dente pasta were delish!

Spaghetti Chitara Style w/ Cherry Tomatoes & Parmesan 

My mom said the ravioli was positively divine and very buttery.

Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli w/ Mandarin Mustard & Walnuts Sauce

The beef was very tender that you don’t need a knife to cut it.
Braised Beef Cheeks, Parma Ham & Peas

I requested for more veggies with my main course and they gave me a large plate of raddichio. Definitely a big change from the usual romaine and arugula I eat in Manila.

Raddichio & Goat Cheese Salad 

 I ordered the breaded veal chop for lunch. I was allowed veal and I’ve never had it in Manila so this was a treat and a cheat because of the breading. It tasted a bit oily but with a good squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of salt I was a happy, happy cheater.
Breaded Veal Chop 

 Since I can’t have dessert I enjoyed my rich, strong coffee instead. This was one of the better hotel coffees I’ve had.

Everyone said the desserts were just ok. Whew! I wasn’t missing much then.
Caramel & Pineapple Tart with Hazelnut Gelato

Tosca Tiramisu 

The petit fours were really, really tempting. I almost caved in. Almost.
Petit Fours 

Too bad it was a cloudy day and we couldn’t enjoy the view of the harbour.

It wasn’t the best tasting food but I was glad to see the hotel and experience dining at Tosca.


After lunch we looked at the different rooms in the hotel. I will post the pictures on Friday. By the time we left the hotel at 3:00 pm there was a long line that snaked around half of the arrival lobby. I found out that people were queuing to get into The Chocolate Library at the 103rd floor for chocolate afternoon tea. Wow! I have to try that as soon as my diet is over.


The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong 
International Commerce Centre 
1 Austin Road West Kowloon, Hong Kong 
Phone: (852) 2263 2263 Fax: (852) 2263 2260