With Dash of ChaosKorean-focused restaurant group Gold Moon, behind Seoul Noodle and BBQ-focused Jeonpo Meat Shop, branches out into Italian fare with the trendy eatery in Sheung Wan.
The open kitchen at Pecorino.
One chain bucking the trend of restaurant closures is Gold Moon. Since launching its first outlet in 2019 with Kactus Coffee, the Hong Kong-based group has opened 18 more, including 12 just last year. Most offer Korean cuisine, such as Seoul Noodle, Antidote and BBQ-focused Jeonpo Meat Shop.
The group recently branched out into Italian food with brunch cafe and bar Pecorino, which fills a former HSBC banking hall on Bonham Strand in Sheung Wan and wouldn’t look out of place in the hipster Seoul neighborhood of Seongsu-dong.
Curious to see how a Korean-focused chain is doing with Italian food, I visited with a guest on a Tuesday for dinner.
The Instagram-friendly venue has high ceilings and a modern industrial feel, with the whiteness of the walls and floor contrasting against the warmth of wood furnishings. Diners are presented with the sight of a chef preparing fresh pasta when they enter the venue, while the open kitchen features a domed Stefano Ferrara pizza oven.
Pecorino restaurant
Photographer: Filipe Pacheco/Bloomberg
We went with house specialties: burrata tomato salad (HK$125), bruschetta platter (HK$98), ricotta ravioli (HK$148) and a Margherita pizza (HK$188). We had two glasses of Shiraz wine each (HK$80 per glass). Our bill came to HK$967, including the service charge.
Overall, the experience felt a little chaotic, with food coming in the wrong order, and a sense that we were being rushed to finish. While the tomatoes were bursting with flavor, the ravioli was undercooked and the pizza was nothing special. For pasta, Pici Pasta Bar is better, and I prefer Little Napoli for pizza.
The vibe: The casual yet clean atmosphere is ideal for a catch up with colleagues after work or for a meeting with clients that isn’t too serious. The space was well-lit but not aggressively bright.
Photographer: Filipe Pacheco/Bloomberg
Who’s next to you: A diverse crowd. We saw several couples, small groups of smartly dressed young professionals, and a family with three kids. One patron was working on a laptop while sipping a cappuccino.
Can you conduct a meeting here? Yes, but an informal one. The music was loud and tables were close together, making it less than ideal for discussing sensitive topics.
The bruschetta platter.
Photographer: Filipe Pacheco/Bloomberg
What we’d order again: The bruschetta platter. Two pieces came with generous portions of delicious, fresh tomatoes, while the other two were topped with a surprise combination of butter and figs.
Need to know: The restaurant recently started taking reservations for dinner only. It’s located at 35-45B Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan.
This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-11/italian-restaurant-pecorino-brings-fresh-flavors-bit-of-chaos-hong-kong-review
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