Fourteen years after opening, Otto e Mezzo remains the yardstick against which all Italian restaurants in Hong Kong are measured. In an era when chefs and restaurants are constantly trying to increase the complexity of dishes, the menu here appears almost prosaic – sea urchin with a simple citrus dressing, or home-made tagliatelle with fresh morel mushroom jus and a green vegetable puree. But that is the joy of a meal here – straightforward dishes prepared to an exceptionally high standard. The ingredients may be of international quality, and the setting polished and upmarket, but there remains something charmingly rustic about the cooking at Otto e Mezzo – no matter how many accolades its famous founder racks up.

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