Anniversary lunch @ 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong

Hubby and I celebrated 13 years of marriage last month. 13 years! We celebrated in part with a delicious lunch at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, a fine-dining Italian restaurant we first visited last year for dinner. The restaurant had a different atmosphere during the day, a more relaxed and laid back vibe, but the service was as attentive and the food as amazing as at dinner time. Our reservation was rather last minute, made the day before, and I was told there were no tables available, so I accepted the bar seating in the lounge. However when we arrived a little past 1pm, we were pleasantly surprised when we were shown to a table right by the window! We were presented with three menus, the a-la-carte, the Degustation 8½, and the Lunch 8½. Never one to shy from any degustation menu, hubby chose the Degustation 8½ (HK$1480), which contained five courses of deliciousness. The Lunch 8½ was more modestly priced at HK$480, for two courses, with a choice from three options for both courses, and an optional dessert or cheese course for an additional HK$100. The food were beautifully presented and had amazing flavours. Once again, an excellent experience at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana.

Looks different in the daylight:

Delicious bread sticks, wafers and fresh focaccia, with fragrant organic extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

Amuse bouche of chilled sweet melon soup with melon balls and a slice of Iberico ham, a classic and safe pairing:

First course of the degustation menu, Marinated Tuna Tartare with citrus tofu emulsion and royal oscietra caviar. The tuna was smooth and silky, and the citrus tofu emulsion was a pleasant accompaniment:

For my first course, I chose the Marinated Snapper Tartare with seasonal salad, citrus oregano dressing and oscietra caviar. I loved the sliced fennel salad - the crunchy texture and aniseed flavour nicely complemented the tartare and salty caviar:

Second round of rye-type bread, warm and fresh out of the oven, and full of flavour:

We also enjoyed some delicious cocktails (HK$150 each) - Prelude (Plantation 2003 dark rum with passionfruit) for hubby, and the Negroni for myself:

Degustation second course was the Brittany Blue Lobster with braised matsutake salad and lobster jus. This was so rich in the umami fragrance of the ocean and the earthy flavours of the matsutake:

Truffle shaving right by our table for hubby's next course:

Third degustation course was Homemade Tagliolini, with butter, parmesan and "Melanosporum" black truffle fondue. Pasta doesn't get any better than this! It was simply adorned to allow each ingredient to shine:

Hubby's fourth course was the Short rib and beef tenderloin with whipped potato, red wine and plum sauce. The short rib had rich marbling with buttery flavours, and the tenderloin was tender and juicy:

My second course was Amberjack with clams, tomato and orange emulsion, and Jerusalem artichoke salad. I enjoyed the large juicy flakes, and the citrus emulsion brightened up the dish appropriately:

A surprise treat, our waiter whipped up Limoncello Sorbet right by our table:

It was so satisfying watching him serve up the sorbet:

I loved it! What a great palate cleanser before dessert:

Hubby's choice of dessert was a good one: Hazelnut and Chocolate - hazelnut crunch with warm chocolate mousse and hazelnut gelato. It tasted so good:

My dessert was the Tiramisu with mascarpone cream, coffee meringue and marsala gelato affogato. Enjoyed alongside another cocktail we shared, the Chocolate Martini:

Neither of us are fans of tiramisu (something about soggy cake, but ever since that awesome tiramisu we had in Venice six years ago, we've been searching for something like it. This was the closest version to that one (with a much more aesthetically pleasing presentation):

Petit fours! I love these cute little freebies at the end of the meal at fine dining restaurants, and I was sad to see many tables ignoring these gorgeous little bites:

Our waitress came by with a huge box of chocolates that were made in the kitchen, and basically told us to have as much as we wanted. And we would have, if we weren't already so full! I picked two pieces, and hubby tried a piece of all the types. So delicious:

8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana
Shop 202
2nd Floor, Alexandra House
16-20 Chater Road
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2537 8859