post

Carnivores, rejoice—this dazzling temple to meat at <a href="http://destinasian.com/hong-kong-hotels-mondrian-hong-kong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mondrian Hong Kong</a> bears the stamp of eighth-generation Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini. Stepping into <a href="https://mondrianhotels.com/hong-kong/dining/carna/?destinasian">Carna</a>, the prevalence of Italian materials used by designer Joyce Wang—like handmade stained-glass panels in the welcome rotunda—gives the impression you’ve landed in Milan. Equally transporting is the food, from the crisp-edged focaccia served with intensely fruity Sicilian olive oil to the charcoal-grilled Carima tenderloin (sublime). Cecchini’s signature Chianti tartare is prepared tableside on a trolley: servers tenderize the rump meat with a special 36-blade tool, and use simpler seasonings to let its natural flavor shine. Think garlic and black pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and “Dario salt” with a potpourri of garden herbs—lavender, basil, rosemary, and thyme among them.
The über-juicy polpette blur the line between meatballs and croquettes, encasing a rich bone marrow filling in a charcoal crust. Balance things out with the herbaceous fresh zucchini noodles with pesto, or homemade tagliolini featuring calamari and mussels in a boozy sauce with potato foam and anchovy water. As for Carna’s wine list, 80 percent of the 300-odd labels are Italian: reds and whites represent viticultural regions up and down the country, from Trentino-Alto Adige to Sicily and Sardinia. Bring a group and a large appetite. —James Louie
<a href="https://mondrianhotels.com/hong-kong/dining/carna/?destinasian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mondrianhotels.com</a> 
+852 3550 0339 
<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/eFvPJKDXGCi378NZ9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">39/F, Mondrian Hong Kong, 8A Hart Ave., Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong</a>

A hefty dry-aged Bistecca Etrusca (beef chuck on the bone) at Carna by Dario Cecchini.

Carna by Dario Cecchini: an Italian Feast