Amalfi reconstructed

Chef Pino Lavarra is the first to admit that his dishes don't look Italian. Rebecca Lo discovers that the Tosca chef's award-winning cuisine contains much more than meets the eye.

I am a sucker for mile-high dining. I don't mean airplane food; on the contrary, the Michelin-starred dishes at Tosca are light-years away from any inflight menu. I'm referring to the panoramic views that Tosca commands from the 102nd floor of The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong.

On a clear day, we can see beyond Victoria Peak on the other side of the harbor. It is no wonder that tables along the full-height windows get booked up quickly, even if the restaurant is entirely enveloped in a gray cloud most of the time.

Of course, the view is only one part of a destination dining experience. The contemporary restaurant with two-story-high ceilings takes up one entire side of the 102nd floor: You get there via an escalator that descends from the hotel's lobby above. Stacks of green glass form a lily pad-like sculpture in a water feature, while chefs behind a marble-clad open kitchen deftly produce masterpieces of edible art.

One of these chefs is Tosca's director Pino Lavarra. Less than a year after he joined last April, the restaurant has already won a Michelin star.

He hails from the Puglia region in southern Italy, though he now makes his home in adjacent Amalfi where his wife Maria Luisa comes from.

Lavarra created some of his signature dishes for me to sample. I quickly learned that he was not at all shy about throwing centuries of southern Italian culinary traditions out the window.

Take my starter: sea tiramisu. Hong Kong people adore tiramisu and Lavarra gets repeated requests to make it for those with an eager sweet tooth. Well, nothing as pedestrian as that would ever cross his mind - though he will concede to creating his own version of the treat.

It shows in every gesture how Lavarra is influenced and inspired by the sea and robust colors of southern Italy. Sea tiramisu is a cereals bar with seawater crumble on red prawn carpaccio with caviar and parsley pasta. It is a riot of colors, textures and flavors that is reminiscent of tiramisu, yet takes the concept to a savory realm.

The fresh prawn was flattened to wafer thinness and surrounded by a rich parsley sauce, providing a bright green contrast to the red veins of the seafood. A sprinkle of edible flowers grace a generous dollop of excellent black caviar and barely seared scallop, while lighter-than-air seafood mousse made with clam juice has exactly the same consistency as tiramisu.

It was accompanied by a prawn cracker and paired well with a 2012 Venica Collio Pinot Grigio Jesera from Italy. As expected, Tosca's extensive wine list offers a wealth of Italian labels. Made with the grape's skin, the Pinot Grigio's copper color was pleasing and introduced the perfect amount of acidity to balance the dish's flavors.

My pasta course was another surprise. Spaghetti alla chitarra resembled a large and over-stuffed cannelloni, with the strands cleverly tucked away only to be dramatically revealed when I tucked into it.

It was flavored with basil chlorophyll, which tinted the spaghetti green, while the wrapper was made from swordfish. Baby squid and black olive oil gave the dish a robust flavor reminiscent of the sea, while the chlorophyll lent a fresh, earthy note.

In between courses, I perused the bread basket. Tosca offers a daily selection of freshly baked goods such as mini bagels, rolls and savory muffins. I chose a lemon-infused dark rye that had the ideal combination of crisp exterior and fragrantly moist center and munched on it with gusto.

A main of tuna steak with white eggplant tartare, souffle potato, caper-scented sauce and caramelized caper was both light and substantial. Perfectly pink tuna was thick and scrumptiously lean, while the eggplant's airiness provided a lovely juxtaposition. The addition of caper underscored the seafood's freshness with its delicate brine that reminded me of beachside suppers.

Dessert was an artfully presented chestnut bar with caviar olive oil and Gianduja chocolate layers. The dusting of icing sugar and more edible flowers set off the intense chestnut flavor, while gold leaf added a luxurious sparkle to the sweetness.

Sighing with contentment, I concluded that Lavarra's interpretation of southern Italian seafood was truly a feast for all the senses - and an inventively delightful way to represent the region on a plate.

IF YOU GO

Tosca

102/F, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, International Commerce Center, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, 852-2262-2263.

Average cost per person: HK$1,500 ($193).

Recommended: Sea Tiramisu Cereals Bar with Sea water Crumble on Red Prawns Carpaccio