Embark on a Festive Italian Gastronomic Journey with Perla & Castellana

Celebrate the season at Piedmontese restaurant Castellana and Mediterranean restaurant Perla, whose Christmas menus give a festive flavour to Italian cuisine. 

There’s something truly special about spending the most wonderful time of the year in Italy, but if you’re unable to travel this December, fret not, as Perla and Castellana are offering festive menus that give you a genuine flavour of Christmas in il bel paese. 

“This day of the year is eagerly anticipated by all of us,” says Perla head chef Fabiano Palombini, who’s menu spans a luxurious selection of caviar, lobster, Alaskan king crab, wild pink seabream, pigeon, A5 Wagyu and Italy’s favourite festive delight, the panettone. 

“I’ve created a menu that evokes the nostalgic Christmas ambience of my hometown,” Palombini explains. “It’s my wish to share those feelings with my guests and bring a piece of that experience to them. Among the highlights of the menu is the panettone, that quintessentially Italian Christmas cake, which pairs perfectly with a warm zabaione made with sparkling wine, making it the ideal finale to a festive meal.” 

A northern counterpart to Perla’s southern Italian cuisine, Castellana hopes to share an authentic Piedmontese Christmas with the gastronomes of Hong Kong. “In Piedmontese culture, Christmas meals are a testament to familial love and togetherness,” says head chef Romeo Morelli. “These meals consist of traditional meat dishes and a variety of pastas, along with heart-warming soups that provide comfort during the winter months.” 

To capture this essence, Morelli’s menu brings out everything from sea urchin and oysters with ricotta foam, river prawns with foie gras and Piedmontese minestrone to the chef’s signature saffron risotto, a homemade ravioli with Alba white truffle, whole Piedmontese trout and Fassona veal tenderloin. 

“This year’s menu aims to capture the essence of the sincere flavours of Piedmontese Christmas meals, with a personal touch of using my favourite ingredients,” Morelli says. “I offer guests my memories of Piedmontese Christmas cuisine, including Ricotta cheese foam served with sea urchin, oysters, plankton and Alba white truffle, minestrone soup served as a clear vegetable broth and homemade ravioli stuffed with seasonal vegetables, as well as homemade Panzerotti ravioli that’s filled with DOP Castelmagno cheese and topped with shavings of luscious Alba white truffle – as this year’s yield is amazing.”