The minimalist venue serves contemporary Italian fare that is a summation of chef Fabiano Palombini's 35 years in the kitchen
Kontrasto, a new Italian restaurant on Hong Kong's historic Hollywood Road, is set to grace Hong Kong's dining scene with its vision of upscale Italian cuisine built on the tenets of technical precision and creative interpretation. It's the first joint venture between the Lubuds hospitality group and Italian chef Fabiano Palombini, whose 35 years in the kitchen has seen him cook at the likes of Oslo's Maemo, Eleven Madison Park in New York City, and Castellana in Hong Kong. The restaurant's name—Esperanto for "contrast"—reflects both the unity and diversity Palombini hopes to bring to Hong Kong's dining landscape.
Available for both lunch and dinner, Kontrasto's tasting menus feature a selection of seasonal and signature dishes that are matched by wine pairing programmes curated by sommelier Leo Fernando, featuring 260 labels from Italy, Germany, and Austria.
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At six and eight-course options, the Benvenuto dinner tasting menu spotlights the aromas and ingredients of Italy and the wider Mediterranean region, beginning with Caviale, a cold dish made with cured egg yolks, slightly sweet burrata foam and Kaviari Oscietre Prestige caviar.
Palombini's signature dish, Virtù, combines a variety of traditional Italian noodles such as fusilli, rigatoni, ziti, pipe rigate, and mafalde into a single pasta dish served alongside a fresh seafood platter in an assemblage inspired by a classic dish from the chef's hometown of Teramo in the Abruzzo region. The Spaghettone dish features artisanal spaghetti sourced from Neapolitan producer Vicidomini, and paired with finely pureed Carmagnola bell peppers, Campania tuna belly and capers.
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