Aqua has recently appointed a new chef de cuisine, Eugenio Riva, who previous to this position had his own, highly-praised, Italian restaurant in Sydney. He was brought onboard to expand Aqua Roma’s menu of authentic Italian food.

I had eaten at Aqua prior to Riva’s appointment so was curious to experience the difference in the menu and if indeed if it was more Italian.

Fresh Start
My first impression from looking through the comprehensive menu was that this was indeed a more Italian sounding menu than previously, and many of the dishes appealed. We spoke to the restaurant manger and asked him to recommend some dishes that would give us a sense of Riva’s cuisine. As a result we let him select the starters and pasta/risotto courses, and we decided on our mains and desserts.



For starters we had Insalata di Gamberi con Finocchio, Arance e Crescione, prawn, fennel and watercress
salad with orange. All the flavours were fresh, the textures were good and the cress provided a wonderful bitter counter to the sweetness of the prawns. The use of lemon oil to dress the salad was an excellent touch. We both really enjoyed this dish.

Homey at Heart



Penne di Farro con Zucca e Basilico was the next course. This consisted of spelt penne with pumpkin, basil and toasted breadcrumbs, which I thought was the least exciting sounding pasta dish on the menu, but was the manager’s recommendation. I found this dish to be too oily; the basil worked well with the pumpkin and the crunchy breadcrumbs provided a much-needed textural contrast. Overall, I found this dish to be just OK, but it was comforting in a homecooked kind of way. My dining companion enjoyed this dish and wondered if perhaps simple, family-style cooking was an extension of the haute barnyard trend, thereby making this a very now dish.

We followed this course with Risotto con Gamberi, Capesante e Piselli, risotto with grilled prawns, scallops and peas. We enjoyed the flavours in this dish, which intensified as the dish cooled; the seafood was perfectly cooked and the dish left a sweet aftertaste in the mouth. For me the rice and the peas were undercooked, a bit too al dente.



Impressive on Paper
My dining partner selected Gamberoni con Tortino di Risotto allo Zafferano e Verdure, Salsa d’Arance Pomodorini e Olio d’Aragosta, grilled king prawns with fresh herbs on a saffron and vegetable risotto cake with orange, tomato fondue and lobster oil. Although he enjoyed the prawns and the richness of the lobster oil, and the food itself was good, he said that overall the dish fell short. It did not have the wow factor that the ingredients in the dish had promised. We wondered if the fantastic view and the lovely presentation of the dish had made him expect too much from the food. The dish was served with a mint, chive, parsley and coriander garnish, which although interesting was a little tired.



I went with Bistecca di Wagyu alla Griglia con Insalata di Cannelloni, Australian Wagyu sirloin steak, with Tuscan bean salad. I was surprised upon ordering this dish…when I said to the server that I wanted the steak cooked medium I was told that it only came medium-rare. If the server had said, “The chef recommends you have the steak medium-rare” would have been one thing but just to be told how I had to have my steak was another. Perhaps this had already left a bad taste in my mouth but I found the steak tougher than expected and the cannelloni beans were undercooked. I didn’t finish this dish.

Sweet Redemption
For dessert I went with Carpaccio di Ananas Profumato con Schiuma di Miele al Tartufo e Zenzero con Biscotti Cantucci, pineapple carpaccio with ginger and truffle honey foam and cantucci biscotti. The ginger was a perfect partner for the sweet pineapple but it overpowered any trace of the truffle honey. There was also too much pineapple, it covered an entire dinner plate; it also lacked any presentation imagination.



My companion’s dessert of Crema Cotta all Baccello di Vaniglia, con Fragula al Balsamico Infiammato con Gran Marnier, vanilla bean creme brulee with balsamic strawberries, flamed with grand marnier, was one of the highlights of the meal. The delicious strawberries sitting atop the textural contrast of the hard surface of the creme brulee, cracking through it to be rewarded with the pleasurable vanilla creaminess below. The kick of alcohol completing this extremely pleasing end to our meal.

Final Thoughts
Post-dinner, I put some thought into why the food was not the 9 out of 10 it had appeared on paper, and which it should be at a popular destination restaurant – from the small kitchen not being an appropriate space to cope with the amount of diners to just bad luck on the night.

However overall, I feel that Riva’s food is at odds with the location. The location is all about the ‘wow’ factor, glamour and drama, and as a diner I had expected the food to match. It doesn’t. Riva’s food is homey, simple and without pretension. I feel sure that had I been eating his food in a cosy restaurant in Italy, Sydney, or even Hong Kong, I would have enjoyed it so much more.

Ambiance, Service, Wine
Aqua is a visually impressive restaurant, from the spectacular view of Hong Kong island, to the massive glass and steel interior that resembles a hip New York club, to the dramatic entrance. The tables at the window are the most romantic spot.

The majority of the staff were just a little too eager, some times even a little aggressive, clearing plates and asking for our orders, which made us feel rushed…not something you want in a restaurant with such a fabulous view.

There is an extensive wine list to please all palates. We found the manger’s recommendations for wine pairings to be spot on, however the waitstaff’s recommendation for the prawn main jarred with the dish.