We arrived the Harbourside, not knowing it was actually a residential area and hence given the weekend lots of families going in and out. Good thing the restaurants here by K.O. Dining Group have their own lift lobby.
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| restaurant week menu |
On regular Monday-Saturday Messina does a set lunch at $280 for two
courses, $380 for three etc. Given it was restaurant week however, they
were doing $248 which was clearly quite a decent deal. Today we simply
had to choose our main out of soup, pasta or pork; and then leave the
rest to the restaurant.
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| warm bread basket |
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| wheat/gluten free bread |
| As I notified the restaurant ahead of time about my allergy (just as an FYI as I knew I didn't have to choose pasta), I was truly happy and grateful with the surprise of a personal bread basket that I honestly enjoyed. The manager (whose sister suffers from gluten intolerance, bless) explained at this point they were able to do a wheat-free version of the ravioli for me if need be, but having heard about the suckling pig I wasn't able to go past that... Back to the bread - these fluffy muffin-looking rolls were actually very scrumptious; much more so than those rice flour or tapioca starch made crap you find in health stores... I proceeded to finish the basket (sparing a few scraps with my lovely friends) with their delectable fruity olive oil and syrupy, aged balsamic vinegar. Noticing I was clearly enjoying the bread, they offered seconds to which I shamelessly agreed.. Yes good wheat-free bread is THAT hard to find! Though I obviously didn't get to try the delicious-looking regular bread basket, my friends seemed to enjoy the wheat-free bread just as much, if not more!  Sicilian vegetable terrine, mesclun, fruits
Our first course was very light, in
line with the hot summer weather. Didn't like the melons and couldn't
understand their presence in this dish (yes the fruit was lovely on
their own but they seemed a rather odd pairing with the terrine).
Otherwise, this dish was fine and pretty, though nothing mind-blowing.
 
The lovely Italian manager who took
great care of us explained that the sweet red onions in this dish are
from Tropea Italy, and are the only kind in the world that won't make
you cry... (you gotta love a restaurant manager who clearly shows
passion for food and the dishes on their menu!)
These
juicier and sweeter variety of onions are often used to made jams; and
in this dish went perfectly with the savoury lentils and extremely moist
and tender pork. All four of us devoured our plates... I just wished
the skin had a bit more time under a hot broiler or something to give it
more of a crackle!
As dessert lemon tart or rather as B
said lemon disc was the dish. It was about the size of 2/3 of my palm,
and served with a miniature scoop of very vanilla ice cream. My three
allergy-free friends proceeded to enjoy it whilst I watched with envy;
though the restaurant was kind enough to give me a mix of berries in
place of the lemon tart.
Luckily.... my sweet tooth was further satiated with the below plate of goodies!
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| petit fours |
Being a die-hard chocolate lover I naturally preferred the chocolates though the coffee marshmallow was fun to eat. Though the entire table is meant to share these sweets with our coffee/tea of choice, my friends kindly let me finish these (save for a couple which I can't have) and for that thank you!
After a long lunch with excellent company, I felt truly grateful.
Grateful towards Messina for taking such good care of us and particularly for accommodating my rather frustrating allergy. Grateful towards the dynamic manager who shared his passion for Italy and food with us and provided us with excellent service. Grateful for the beautiful views. And lastly, grateful towards my lovely friends whom I always look forward to eating with.
Messina is definitely a place worth visiting if you haven't already, and if you have issues with wheat or gluten let the restaurant know ahead of time and they will take great care of you!
Food: ♥♥♥1/2
Service: ♥♥♥♥♥
Price: HK$248+10% pp for the Restaurant Week lunch menu
Messina il Ristorante
5/F, The Harbourfront Landmark,
11 Wan Hoi Street, Hung Hom, Kowloon
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