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| Linguini Fini HK 2011. Executive Chef Vinny Lauria, Geoffrey Wu + Erika Aquino, Wilson Lu, margauxlicious. |
There was a time when I was traveling around Southeast Asia with my travel bud The (Then) Virgin Mare aka The Sexy Seductress every six months or so. One of our trips was to Hong Kong in 2011. A hip new resto that she found for that trip (as she would make all the arrangements and I would just happily oblige) was Linguini Fini, which I later included in my list of Hong Kong restos to check out in my Inquirer column (Read @ Inquirer: More Hong Kong Must-Tries).
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| Linguini Fini Hong Kong 2012. Buzzed after Lan Kwai Fong, we were looking for something heavy to eat but the resto had taken its last call so we just got more drinks! With foodie friends: Tintin San Juan, Cyrene dela Rosa, Stephanie Zulueta, Aleth Ocampo, Melissa Young, margauxlicious. |
Initially I found it odd checking out an Italian resto in Hong Kong, under the impression that you either eat at fancy starred restaurants or an authentic Chinese hole in the wall if in HK. But then again, with the popularity of 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana (what we ate at Otto in 2012 here), whose chef had been hailed at the Miele Guide Awards as the "chef of chefs", I figured maybe the Italians had conquered Hong Kong the way they had New York (although I hear it is Bangkok that has a lot of really superb Italian restaurants), hence it would be worth a visit.
I was happy to find that Linguini Fini isn't just an Italian restaurant. First of all, it's quite the homage to slow food. When we visited, there were these sausages hanging from the ceiling. It's because the Executive Chef Vinny Lauria, an American of Sicilian descent, makes all the sausages served at the resto from scratch.
Another thing that makes Linguini Fini special is its advocacy of farm to table cooking. Now this advocacy has caught on. Here in Manila we have the likes of Margarita Fores, Malou Fores, Robbie Goco, and Chit Juan at the forefront of this movement. Recently, Vask's Spanish chef Chele Gonzalez has also embraced the mission of going local. (See: My article in today's Inquirer "The Filipinization of Chef Chele Gonzalez").
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| Todd Darling and Vinny Laria of Linguini Fini in the soon-to-open Philippines branch |
But Linguini Fini's Todd Darling has taken sourcing to another level. I was lucky to catch him in Manila as they put the final touches on the restaurant, which opens this September, but before hitting Manila shores he was in Afghanistan trying to find a way to partner with farmers there.
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| Todd Darling of Homegrown Foods and Dan Groshong of The Hummingfish Foundation in Afghanistan. Photo credit: Daniel Groshong, Todd Darling's Facebook page. |
By partnering with farmers and giving them an alternative to growing opium under duress for the Taliban (allegedly), he is doing his own part in helping to free them from oppression. From his trip he found dried and preserved fruits, walnuts from 400-year old trees, honey, medicinal herbs, mulberry syrup. He plans to transport these to Hong Kong via the rails along the old Silk Road (hard core!) and sell them under the Homegrown Foods brand.
This commitment to helping farmers extends to the Linguini Fini Manila branch as well. When Todd comes back in October he plans to do a Philippine farms tour to explore our agricultural scene.
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$ 138
Stracceti di Manzo, a Linguini Fini signature: Rare beef, artichokes, gorgonzola dolce, arugula, anchovy aioli |
Meanwhile, Chef Vinny will be in the kitchen (as often as he can, I guess, as he has to also be in Hong Kong), incorporating not only Filipino ingredients but also Filipino flavors into his cooking. I was told he has already tried to make longganisa and it sounds promising!
Can't wait for Linguini Fini to open at the SM Fashion Hall!
Linguini Fini
Opening September
3/F SM Fashion Hall
SM Megamall
