A catty lunch

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A mere 45 minutes or so after I finished devouring my breakfast sandwich, I sat down for lunch at Trattoria Felino for the very first time. Well... I booked our table days before I decided to go out for breakfast this morning, and I hadn't expected that my breakfast would arrive so late... so here I am, not really hungry at all, but nevertheless ready to chow down.

I had heard about this place from a few chef friends, including Juve Fan - someone who wouldn't hesitate to promote his compatriots. It seemed kinda difficult to book, and I never had any success for my first few tries... at least not on a few days' notice. So when I managed to get a booking for today, I felt pretty happy about it.

Knowing this is "just a trattoria", I wasn't expecting lots of fancy dishes. What I wanted first and foremost is a place with good pasta at a price point that won't burn a hole in my wallet. I needed somewhere that's kinda between Estro - which currently makes my absolute favorite pastas in Hong Kong - and Pici, whose offerings are OK but leave much to be desired. In any case, I wasn't really hungry today so we kept it simple and short.

Cannolo di tonno - interesting presentation. Why does the guy on the box look like Maradona?

This was actually pretty decent. I did like the crunch of the cannolo shell, and that lightly greasy flavor. The tuna tartare inside was OK.

Carbonara egg - if there's something with the word 'carbonara' in its description, you know imma order it up...

There was an egg yolk at the bottom of the shell underneath all the cream and the the bits of guanciale. OK la...

Spaghetti, sea urchin, garlic oilo, chilli pepper - I was surprised that Foursheets decided to order this, as this seems like something that's so over-done. I gotta admit that I was glad she asked for it, because it was actually very well done. The sauce was very thick and rich, and that little spicy kick was pretty nice.

Tubetti, cuttlefish and squid ragut, lime zest - I was recently introduced to my first tubetti with squid ragù and really enjoyed it. Naturally I wanted to see how they do it here.

The version today was more rustic, with bigger chunks of cuttlefish and much bigger flavors. It was a significantly more salty and sweeter, and strangely it reminds me of the classic Shanghainese dish of braised pork belly with cuttlefish (目魚燒肉).

E purpett ra nonna Ida, classico - these meatballs were just OK. Texture was on the firm side, and flavors weren't particularly special.

Affogatto - I needed some coffee to digest, and it's pretty nice to have it with some gelato.

A pretty good lunch, but it was a shame I couldn't eat a little more. I guess we'll just have to come back and try some of the other dishes on the menu.