Good Eating Edit: How Spiga transports you to Italy from Hong Kong: the Italian restaurant is helmed by Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini and boasts striking interiors by Joyce Wang

When one thinks of verdant Tuscany, with its rolling hills, white truffle and excellent olive oil and wine, one might be tempted to act on impulse and book a last-minute trip to Italy. Then look forward to basking in the sun, and eating pasta and cheese, washed down with carafes and carafes of wine, of course.

Luckily, there is an oasis in Central, Hong Kong that can magically transport you to Italy for a few hours. Spiga, located at LHT Tower, is the first restaurant in Hong Kong by chef Enrico Bartolini, a Tuscan native who received his first Michelin star at 29 and has since garnered a total of nine stars across his six restaurants in Italy.

Chef Bartolini is known for turning family-style Italian dishes into simple but elegant fine dining creations through his use of quality ingredients, which are there for all to see throughout Spiga’s menu, with dishes such as blue prawns crudo with trout caviar and stracciatella, and house-made fresh tagliatelle with pumpkin, taleggio cheese and coffee powder.

Spiga’s à la carte menu is seasonal and currently the restaurant is also offering a five-course Chef’s Tasting Menu for HK$788 (US$100) per person, which starts with burrata cheese, complemented with a raisin and pine nut pesto and a Taggiasca olive sauce. This is followed by a Piemontese beef tenderloin tartare with ‘nduja sausage and buffalo mozzarella – one of Spiga’s signature dishes – while the pasta course is a carbonara made with mezze maniche pasta, cured duck breast and organic egg yolk.

A simple serving of hamachi fillet with fish jus and roasted artichokes makes up the main course, with the whole experience concluding with a pistachio semifreddo paired with a blood orange sauce and garnished with whipped pistachio ganache and pistachio praline.