Where an Italian restaurant manager in Hong Kong eats dim sum, spicy crabs and other Chinese dishes
- Camillo Migliavacca, manager of Spasso in Tsim Sha Tsui, usually eats simply and healthily but on his day off likes to visit the city’s restaurants
- He goes to Paradise Dynasty and Din Tai Fung for dim sum, Temple Street for spicy crab and the Bowrington Road Cooked Food Centre for everything but chicken feet
Raised in Genoa, Italy, Camillo Migliavacca is the restaurant manager of Spasso, part of the DiVino Group, in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui East area.
I generally eat very simply and mostly healthily as I’m not so young now. I try to eat a lot of fruit and avoid fried stuff but I do like to go to restaurants on my day off.
I like dim sum and I’ve tried quite a few places. One restaurant is Paradise Dynasty (various locations including 6/F, Lee Theatre, 99 Percival Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2177 0903). Another good one is Din Tai Fung (various locations including Shop 306, Silvercord, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2730 6928) for their dumplings.
There’s a part of Temple Street in Jordan that has various places for spicy crabs and sometimes I go there too. Another general recommendation are the stalls in the Bowrington Road Cooked Food Centre (21 Bowrington Road, Wan Chai) which is very local and I like going there occasionally. I find it interesting that everyone washes the chopsticks using tea but the food is spectacular. I like the string beans cooked with minced beef and the aubergine braised in a clay pot. I am not so brave as to try chicken feet.
I lived in Mexico for two years so if I’m around Wan Chai, I go to Coyote (Gaylord Commercial Building, 114-120 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2861 2221) for tacos. I also know the manager so he treats me well.
Sometimes, after working late, I might have a drink at London House by Gordon Ramsay (Shop G5 & UG15, Tsim Sha Tsui Centre, 66 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 3650 3333). I’ve also gone over to Wooloomooloo Steakhouse (G7-8 & UG17-18, Tsim Sha Tsui Centre, 66 Mody Road, tel: 2722 7050) as I know the manager there.
I think CIAK – In The Kitchen (Shop 327-333, 3/F The Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, tel: 2522 8869) is very nice but a bit pricey. The sausage they make is wonderful.
One of the friends who hooked me up with the DiVino Group has opened a few places of his own. One I enjoy is P&P Pinco Pallino (6 Po Yan Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 9153 7186). It’s a small place that used to be a French bakery. I gave him a hand when it opened. They have nice pasta dishes.
I like Thai a lot but I haven’t been to many Thai restaurants here. The good thing is that Thailand is so close, we can fly there whenever we like. But there is a nice place called Namo Avant Thai Restaurant (Empire Centre, 68 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2739 1133).
