Domani Ristorante, with its green house façade situated between the two office towers of Pacific Place, brought the award winning Chef and menu to the gourmet scene of Hong Kong. Fine dining takes on a different tone these days, the Chef is as important as the cuisine, it’s all part of the dining experience.
Continuing on our Symphony of Flavors theme for the holiday, Italian was the second cuisine on our list. Italian cuisine focuses on the natural flavor of the ingredients, it’s never heavy on the sauce, the cooking style is to exemplify the flavor, and is never overpowering.
The tasting menu was a perfect choice with 4 glasses of wine to match with the food – a sparkling wine, a white, a red and finally a sweet wine to pair with the dessert.
Sparkling Wine
Franciacorta Electo 2001, Majolini, Lombardia
Soave Classico 2007, Zaienda Agricolo Pieropan, Veneto
Montevertine 2005, Motevertine, Toscana
Ricoto 2006, Monte Zovo, Veneto
The sparkling wine was from a region that’s very close to Piemonte. The wine was made with the Champagne method, i.e. second fermentation took place in the bottle. The bubbles were fine but not as long lasting as Champagne. On the nose and palate, it showed peach and citrus flavor.
Soave
The color of the Soave was deep yellow; it was very aromatic on the nose with elderflower, grapefruit, toast and spice. The length was long with a spicy finish which was quite unusual for a white wine.
The Soave was to pair with “Painted Hazelnuts with Scallops and Froie Gras”; the spicy finish neutralized the fatty texture of the Froie Gras, and matched well with the sweetness of the hazelnuts sauce.
Super Tuscan
On the main course, I chose the Roast Pigeon and the matching red wine was a Super Tuscan. When I chatted with the Sommelier Eric that paired the wine with the menu, he told me the Super Tuscan could be disguised as an older vintage on the nose, but in fact it was quite young. The tannin was very soft with red fruit on the nose and palate.
The Roast Pigeon was my favorite dish for the evening; it was very tender and gamey. The apple and red onion jam on the side was very delicious. All the flavors were strong on its own, but then blended perfectly if mixed together.
Amarone
The final touch was the Amarone from Veneto matching with the “Domani Banana Split”. The dessert wine was a classic Amarone with raisins, dark rum on the nose and palate. It reminded me of Port. It matched very well with the banana split.
The two hours dining experience was impeccable for the food wine matching. But then the service, well let’s say there’s room for improvement.
Painted Hazelnuts with Scallops and Foie Gras
Grape Wine Journey 
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