Favs: Carpaccio Piemontese, Octopus Pizzaiolo, Spicy Rigatoni Vodka, Lobster Ravioli, Potatoes Sergio , Lemon Cheesecake

7.5/10 plates emptied!

[Written by Carly in English, Gobay in Chinese]

Just thinking about it, Carly realized there was not one dish that the Gang had to complain about. The trio of master chefs are deemed to be successful in New York, and Carly was very thankful they came to Hong Kong. She is very much in awe of their lavish mob style decor with dark maroon colored curtains, leather deluxe sofa area, small-medium round tables covered with snowy white table clothes, Italian paintings and drawings casually hung on the vintage themed walls. You can almost picture that there is an American gangster sitting at the corner, smoking his cigar and slowly murmuring with his Italian accent. Carly would picture that a piece of delicate cake at Carbone will make the boss smile. 

吉碟幫幫眾在悄無聲息中幾乎試遍了Black Sheep Restaurants HK裡的所有餐廳——在知道它們是隸屬同一個餐飲集團之前——包括Carly推崇備至的時尚中餐館口利福、可用『業界良心』（午餐性價比甚高）來形容的西班牙小菜酒吧Boqueria、吉碟幫曾贊不絕口的法式廉價扒房La Vache!、擁有香港為數不多的Napoli磚窯的意大利Pizza餐廳Motorino等等。直至如今機緣巧合試到Lorling一直心心念念的紐約式意大利餐廳Carbone，我們驚喜地發現，Black Sheep旗下的餐廳，絕大部分都是充滿特色之餘又帶著點家常味道的文化飲食地，幾乎都受到了我們的一致好評。

【Carpaccio Piemontese | Wagyu Beef, Walnut, Black Truffle | HKD 228】

生牛肉薄片沙律|澳洲和牛、核桃碎、黑松露油

It was rather rare to use waygu beef for carpaccio as it generally lacks the manly beef flavor and when they are served raw, the natural fatty goodness will easily lose its edge and lack a certain textural complexity on the palate just because of its delicate and soft texture. Not very traditional to drip black truffle oil over the very well-seasoned carpaccio, the intense black truffle fragrance highlighted the dish with an exceptional note, point taken, not intended to overpower the beef itself. Walnut bits were sprinkled on top for a nutty aroma. Carly suspected a type of house-blend truffle butter was spread over the carpaccio, making it very delectable and hitting the right notes in terms of flavor, while enjoying it with the unique sesame like arugula. 

『Carpaccio』起源於義大利的威尼斯，以當地一位著名畫家命名，就是因為他作畫時偏愛用紅白相間的顏料，所以傳統的Carpaccio是以生牛肉薄片淋上白色的沙律汁（通常是Parmesan芝士或奶油、檸檬汁、橄欖油、鹽和黑胡椒），很簡單但很美味的一道菜。菜名中的『Piemontese』是緣於吃生肉是義大利Piedmont地區的特色。這裡少見地用了澳洲和牛，而且我們看到的顏色並不是鮮紅的，而是有一些反灰白，大概是因為白色的醬汁已經均勻地滲透進肉裡，儘管色彩沒有一般的Carpaccio靚麗，但味道還是不錯的。牛肉的味道比較淡，摻雜在白醬裡的黑松露油的味道略顯刺鼻故掩蓋了不少鮮味，但口感出奇地幼滑，也許用的是和牛的緣故吧，加上新鮮的火箭菜和核桃碎，味道不錯。一般Carpaccio都會選用去掉肥肉的牛里脊，即fillet，以精瘦肉為主的部位，而和牛是一種油脂均勻分佈的牛肉，就算部位仍是里脊，仍會比普通牛肉更滑一些。竊以為和牛不太適合用作Carpaccio，原因是切成薄片後牛肉味會淡化很多而油膩感會增加，而不喜歡松露油味道的朋友，推薦迴避。

【Octopus Pizzaiolo | Spanish Octopus, Roasted Pepper, Fingerling Potato | HKD 198】

燜烤西班牙八爪魚|西班牙八爪魚、烤甜椒、薯仔

Pizzaiolo is an Italian word often referring to a man who makes pizzas in a pizzeria. A very edgy dish name as you see the sizable octopus tentacles, slightly chewy and lightly seasoned, surprisingly moist and bouncy to its core. Fingerling potatoes are short, stubby, finger-like shaped potatoes usually served as side dish for its small size, nicely roasted and seasoned with salt and pepper. Roasted peppers were almost fruity and sweet, complemented well with the grilled seafood combo. 

『Pizzaiolo』在義大利語中就是製作pizza的人，非常讓人一頭霧水的菜名。讓人想起了一部介紹義大利美食的紀錄片『Two Greedy Italians』，裡面那兩個『老男人』也是如這個菜名一樣隨性隨意地好玩。推薦嘗試，主要原因除了味道好，還有就是——八爪魚很大塊！有嚼勁卻不會太過，肉質仍是柔軟濕潤的，配合著香甜微辛辣的烤紅椒、青椒和洋蔥，還有手指般的原隻小薯，真心好吃！白璧微瑕的地方是吃的時候它已經暖了，如果熱騰騰地上桌，必定更好！

《Macaroni》

【Fettuccine con Funghi | Porcini, Pecorino, Nepitella | HKD 198】

牛肝菌焙義大利寬麵|牛肝菌、Pecorino芝士、Nepitella香草

Fettuccine was slightly overcooked, might be due to the fact that we had this as the last pasta dish since we were busy digging in the reputable spicy rigatoni. Definitely homemade as you can tell the bounciness of the pasta was very natural and delicate, the yellowish color gave us a hint that more eggs were used than normal.  Porcini is one of the best types of fungi, delicate enough to flavor a sauce and vigorous enough to withstand the “Breath of Fire” after stir frying or grilling; not to mention that the meat-like texture of Porcini is somehow earthy and subtle nutty. Pecorino is a type of hardened cheese made from ewe’s milk, commonly produced in Italy. Nepitella, a type of wild herb grown in Italy, Tuscany, and Umbria, these green leaves have a strong, distinctive flavor, somehow reminds you of mint and oregano. The most impressive part of this pasta dish was how the flavors of funghi, cheese and herbs were all soaked into the pasta itself, just think about when was the last time you had excellent pasta where it was not overwhelmed by chunky sauce. This reminded Carly of the real good homemade pasta from Doppio Zero. 

寬麵有點煮過頭了，但無論顏色口感都能明顯吃得出是店內自製的新鮮義大利麵。牛肝菌是義大利人非常喜愛的菌類，特別是義大利中部城市的中央菜市場裡隨處可見，但大部分是曬乾了的，新鮮的比較少有，它有種類似肉蛋白的口感，和港人很愛吃的杏鮑菇（雞腿菇）的口感很像，肉質厚嫩多汁，甘甜鮮美。而Pecorino這種非常常用的義大利芝士，此前在Motorino的食評中隨處可見，這裡就不詳細敘述了。Nepitella是一種義大利香草，香味揉合了薄荷的甜和奧勒岡（Oregon）的香，帶有非常輕微的香芹的苦味和檸檬香，經常出現在托斯卡納地區（Toscana）的義大利食物中。這道義大利麵的融合性非常好，香草，蘑菇，芝士所有都是簡單自然的，淡淡的食材，吃的時候感覺也是淡淡的舒適。

【Spicy Rigatoni Vodka | Tomato, Onion, Calabrian Chili | HKD 198】

特色香辣伏特加醬通心粉|番茄、洋蔥、義大利Calabria辣椒

Must-try dish at Carbone! Rigatoni was alright al-dente, soft chewy and each rigatoni was swirled and twirled into that rich creamy spicy sauce, well-blended with the sweetness of tomatoes and onions. Calabrian chili is often used for infusing olive oil, goes so well with stews and pastas, small red chili that are only grown in Calabria, Italy. Gobay was particularly impressed with the mildly spiced pasta, stating that it was a level of spiciness that “lingers on the palate yet crowd-pleasingly enjoyable”. Carly found the rich, thick spicy cream based sauce to be exquisite; no other place out there has made such wonderful rigatonis. 

【Lobster Ravioli | Homemade Ravioli, Vermouth, Fine Herbs | HKD 268 】

龍蝦義大利餛飩|自家鮮製餛飩、苦艾酒、香草

Acclaimed for their seafood ravioli, the seafood oceanic lobster flavors were condensed and very likely cooked in a broth with crushed shells, so all the essence was elevated into the base of the lobster meat sauce and packed into that bite of ravioli. It was rich but lightly refreshing at the same time, salt seasoning might not be needed as the extra hint of herbs gave the right savory and flavorsome kick already. 

這也是這裡的招牌之一。義大利餛飩的皮厚薄適中，雖然柔軟度還不夠，但仍算是相當地道的。餡料裡有濃郁的龍蝦海鮮湯的味道，這種濃香只有當龍蝦頭和殼也被放入熬煮良久才能得到的鹹鮮，如果餡料和麵皮的比例再大一點則非常好了。

《Contorni》

【Potatoes Sergio | Smashed Potatoes, Scallion, Calabrian Chili | HKD 108】

青蔥辣味焗薯|薯塊、青蔥、義大利Calabria辣椒

Carly was utterly impressed with how Carbone did their potatoes so profoundly depicting potatoes as a main character of the dish. These potatoes are worth a second visit. Sergio is the word for tall, good looking fellow who cares about his friends and family, working out and eating healthy. Not sure if this is a perfectly healthy dish, French potatoes being baked, lightly smashed, and then deep fried. Golden lightly crispy potato skins were indulging, and the potatoes were all very well-seasoned with sweet, aromatic Calabrian chilli and onion-like green scallions. These ingredients have been the greatest spotlights for the golden scrumptious potatoes. Carly can even recall the soft mushy and light crispy potatoes from her memory. 

強烈推薦必食，就連我們的薯仔達人兼瘋狂粉絲Carly都深深被這款焗薯打動！『Sergio』泛指高大英俊而且關心朋友家人的男子，食得健康且勤於鍛煉。雖然不一定和這個焗薯有特定關係，但每一個法國薯仔都被稍微輕拍裂了，使得在烤焗和炸的時候，香料的味道充分滲進薯肉中。薯皮香脆，薯肉甘甜粉嫩，加上惹味的Calabrian辣椒的微微辣意，這道黃金焗炸薯簡直讓小伙伴都驚呆了！

【Lemon Cheesecake】

義大利南部香檸芝士餅

我們還沒有用過『神級』來形容一道甜品，但這個檸檬芝士餅，實在讓人無法不想到這個詞！推薦必食！它選用的是義大利南部的檸檬，本身就得天獨厚——酒吧裡經常有種黃色的酒叫Limoncello，就是用義大利南部特產的檸檬製成的甜酒。這種檸檬的酸，非常的圓潤不乾澀，而且帶著絲絲的甜味和清香，各方面平衡得非常完美的檸檬。而芝士餅本身的口感也非常的好，幼滑細緻地融化在口中，加上一點都不膩反而甜酸激爽的檸檬香和鬆脆的餅底，各種的完美揉合在一起，簡直是我們吃過最好吃的芝士餅。

Pasta fairly decent and delicately cooked, desserts hit roaring scores. This proud addition to the Black Sheep Restaurant Group, all the way from New York, pleased the Gang with its service, ambience and food. Certainly worth another visit; to try out other “notorious” desserts and the Mario meatball pasta which is only offered during dinner time. 

總體而言，從食物的質量，環境和服務（期間我們問了很多問題都得到了耐心的回答，最後經理還為我們那塊芝士餅免了單，作為饋贈）都是上乘的，當然價錢會偏貴，因為畢竟『一分錢一分貨』嘛！