My family asked me to pick a resto today in Causeway Bay. When I was doing my research, I found quite a lot of decent resto that I have not known of their existence. By then I realised while I was whining about dinning in Causeway Bay is getting boring, I was pretty much a frog in a well.
Cammino is located in a small corner in the Excelsior Hotel, which ironically my family dined here before and apparently I was left out. The restaurant is rather small but is spacious enough for privacy concern. With a dim yellow lighting and soft candle light, the resto creates a lovely romantic ambiance to dine in. The service was very nice and the servers were friendly and knowledgeable. The Manager was pretty passionate and introduced us several dishes, but we decided to order two set menus for the night.
Cherry Tomato with Goat Cheese
A complimentary dish for all the dinners tonight. The cherry tomato was very sweet and match with the taste of goat cheese much. A delight complimentary dish indeed.
Bread Basket
For complimentary bread basket, there were three choices available - Dried Tomato Bread, Sun Seeds Bread and cheese sticks. Olive oil and vinegar were provided at side.
1) Dried Tomato Bread - quite moist and was slightly sweet with juicy bits of tomato.
2) Sun seed Bread - wholewheat bread, not much taste and rather dry
3) Cheese sticks - very savoury with a strong cheese flavour. Can simply be taken without dressing.
Gastronomico Menu $598
Came with one starter, soup, pasta, main course and dessert.
1) Starter - Prosciutto, San Danielle with rock melon
There was only a slice on the dish which the portion seemed a bit pathetic. The San Danielle Ham wasn't that salty, while the melon was very sweet in taste, it kinds of covering the light tasted ham. There was also my favourite salad leave rockets at side which were very fresh and lovingly bitter.
2) Soup - Lobster broth with vegetables
I had never tasted lobster in clear broth, all the lobster soup I have ever tasted were creamy soup. The taste was surprisingly refreshing and delicious with a strong taste of Lobster. The lobster itself was very fresh and tender, it was utmost delight that the lobster had heaps of lobster cream. Very Yum, I like it.
3) Pasta - Ravioli with butternut squash, ginger, parsley, olive oil emulsion and caramelized almond.
Coming in at this size, we were all SHOCK to see there were only two ravioli per dish. This dish had a very interesting taste which combined a taste of sweet and sour (not in Chinese way). The filling within the ravioli was in solid form with a texture like streamed egg. The butternut squash was very sweet in taste and also pretty sour which I am not sure if it was the ginger who gave the sour taste? Probably wrong but where did the ginger taste go i wonder? The almond did not seem to be caramelized at all, not even salted.
4) Main Course - Grilled fillet of Angus beef with foie gras, polenta and baby spinach
The setting of the dish was pretty nice. I had my Angus Beef in medium rare and it was the most tender steak I have ever tasted. The skin was slightly crispy and tasted fantastic with a slight char taste. The foie gras was disappointing though, the taste was fine but it should have pan fried it in short but stronger fire to give a crispy edge. May be it was just my personal liking to have it that way. The dish also had a big piece of Polenta beneath the steak. The polenta was not mushy, the texture was more foamy and similar to Japanese sweet egg, but rougher. Hm... I don't like the polenta.
5) Dessert - Crispy apple tart with vanilla ice-cream
The dessert looked exquisite on photos but was shockingly small in size and in disappointing taste. The apple slices were rather sour and wasn't sweet enough. The pastry layer was too thin, especially the base layer. The crust was crispy enough but failed to create a volume texture as the layers was too thin. Along the swirl there were a few rum raisins but the alcohol taste was slightly too strong that made it bitter. The best part of the dessert was literally the cherry apple on top, the fruit was very fruity with great texture.
Artichoke Menu $488
Came with one starter, pasta and main course.
1) Starter - Pan Fried Scallops with Polenta, Sweet and Sour Baby Artichokes salad
Scallops was still half raw when served, it actually didn't taste bad, the texture was like Japanese sashimi but with slightly crispier skin due to pan frying. The polenta was foamy in texture and the taste was good. The salad was as its name very sweet and sour, and was great to whet the appetite as a starter.
2) Pasta - Pappardelle with Crab Meat, Artichokes, Fava Beans and Crispy Ham
I was surprised the pappardelle was under cooked, it was still very hard in texture. Under normal circumstances I would definitely ask for another plate, but I didn't bother since this dish's portion was as small as the Ravioli. This pasta tasted more normal than the ravioli but wasn't special. There were shaved antichokes in the dish as well but they were also hard to chew and pretty much tasteless.
3) Main Course - Pan Fried Seabass with Artichokes, Olives, cherry tomatoes and herb butter sauce
The Seabass looked very appetising but was kind of rough in texture and was not juicy enough. I had to pour a considerate amount of herb butter sauce on it to give a bit of taste (but even the herb butter sauce was too light in taste too.) The artichokes was totally dried out after cooking and was also slightly burnt which tasted awful. The cherry tomatoes were amazingly though, the inside had almost turned into juice.
Rasberry Pinna Cotta
The Pinna Cotta was very different from the bouncy Pinna Cotta I had before, which I love very much. The Pinna Cotta here was very creamy and smooth. It was pinkishly purple coloured and had a tint of raspberry taste with a suitable sweetness. I love it very much, it was absolutely savoury. Just if the sour raspberry fruit could be sweeter, the dessert will be perfect. Oh, almost forgot to mention, the chocolate stick was quite nice as well.
TO CONCLUDE...
Overall, the dishes weren't that impressive in taste but could see all are meticulously prepared. The dishes I like in Cammino was the Angus Beef and the Raspberry Pinna Cotta, everything else that I had was just mediocre. The portion was also rather small, so when it says the portion is for a peron, its for a person. The ambiance seems romantic, but to be blunt, it is too small for a romantic dinner for two. Small or cosy, it just depend how u see it.
Cammino is located in a small corner in the Excelsior Hotel, which ironically my family dined here before and apparently I was left out. The restaurant is rather small but is spacious enough for privacy concern. With a dim yellow lighting and soft candle light, the resto creates a lovely romantic ambiance to dine in. The service was very nice and the servers were friendly and knowledgeable. The Manager was pretty passionate and introduced us several dishes, but we decided to order two set menus for the night.
Cherry Tomato with Goat Cheese
A complimentary dish for all the dinners tonight. The cherry tomato was very sweet and match with the taste of goat cheese much. A delight complimentary dish indeed.
For complimentary bread basket, there were three choices available - Dried Tomato Bread, Sun Seeds Bread and cheese sticks. Olive oil and vinegar were provided at side.
1) Dried Tomato Bread - quite moist and was slightly sweet with juicy bits of tomato.
2) Sun seed Bread - wholewheat bread, not much taste and rather dry
3) Cheese sticks - very savoury with a strong cheese flavour. Can simply be taken without dressing.
Gastronomico Menu $598
Came with one starter, soup, pasta, main course and dessert.
There was only a slice on the dish which the portion seemed a bit pathetic. The San Danielle Ham wasn't that salty, while the melon was very sweet in taste, it kinds of covering the light tasted ham. There was also my favourite salad leave rockets at side which were very fresh and lovingly bitter.
I had never tasted lobster in clear broth, all the lobster soup I have ever tasted were creamy soup. The taste was surprisingly refreshing and delicious with a strong taste of Lobster. The lobster itself was very fresh and tender, it was utmost delight that the lobster had heaps of lobster cream. Very Yum, I like it.
Coming in at this size, we were all SHOCK to see there were only two ravioli per dish. This dish had a very interesting taste which combined a taste of sweet and sour (not in Chinese way). The filling within the ravioli was in solid form with a texture like streamed egg. The butternut squash was very sweet in taste and also pretty sour which I am not sure if it was the ginger who gave the sour taste? Probably wrong but where did the ginger taste go i wonder? The almond did not seem to be caramelized at all, not even salted.
The setting of the dish was pretty nice. I had my Angus Beef in medium rare and it was the most tender steak I have ever tasted. The skin was slightly crispy and tasted fantastic with a slight char taste. The foie gras was disappointing though, the taste was fine but it should have pan fried it in short but stronger fire to give a crispy edge. May be it was just my personal liking to have it that way. The dish also had a big piece of Polenta beneath the steak. The polenta was not mushy, the texture was more foamy and similar to Japanese sweet egg, but rougher. Hm... I don't like the polenta.
The dessert looked exquisite on photos but was shockingly small in size and in disappointing taste. The apple slices were rather sour and wasn't sweet enough. The pastry layer was too thin, especially the base layer. The crust was crispy enough but failed to create a volume texture as the layers was too thin. Along the swirl there were a few rum raisins but the alcohol taste was slightly too strong that made it bitter. The best part of the dessert was literally the cherry apple on top, the fruit was very fruity with great texture.
Artichoke Menu $488
Came with one starter, pasta and main course.
Scallops was still half raw when served, it actually didn't taste bad, the texture was like Japanese sashimi but with slightly crispier skin due to pan frying. The polenta was foamy in texture and the taste was good. The salad was as its name very sweet and sour, and was great to whet the appetite as a starter.
I was surprised the pappardelle was under cooked, it was still very hard in texture. Under normal circumstances I would definitely ask for another plate, but I didn't bother since this dish's portion was as small as the Ravioli. This pasta tasted more normal than the ravioli but wasn't special. There were shaved antichokes in the dish as well but they were also hard to chew and pretty much tasteless.
The Seabass looked very appetising but was kind of rough in texture and was not juicy enough. I had to pour a considerate amount of herb butter sauce on it to give a bit of taste (but even the herb butter sauce was too light in taste too.) The artichokes was totally dried out after cooking and was also slightly burnt which tasted awful. The cherry tomatoes were amazingly though, the inside had almost turned into juice.
The Pinna Cotta was very different from the bouncy Pinna Cotta I had before, which I love very much. The Pinna Cotta here was very creamy and smooth. It was pinkishly purple coloured and had a tint of raspberry taste with a suitable sweetness. I love it very much, it was absolutely savoury. Just if the sour raspberry fruit could be sweeter, the dessert will be perfect. Oh, almost forgot to mention, the chocolate stick was quite nice as well.
TO CONCLUDE...
Overall, the dishes weren't that impressive in taste but could see all are meticulously prepared. The dishes I like in Cammino was the Angus Beef and the Raspberry Pinna Cotta, everything else that I had was just mediocre. The portion was also rather small, so when it says the portion is for a peron, its for a person. The ambiance seems romantic, but to be blunt, it is too small for a romantic dinner for two. Small or cosy, it just depend how u see it.
Cammino
1/F, The Excelsior Hong Kong, 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
☏ 2837 6780
12:00-23:00(Mon-Sun)
Date of Dinning: 18 Jun 2011 (Sat)
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