Paper Moon, 海港城美景美食的伸廷

A new extension has been built at the far end of Ocean Terminal in Harbour City, mainly comprising several new restaurants offering views of Victoria Harbour. Having previously tried the rather good Japanese restaurant Tenkaku, I popped into Paper Moon opposite for lunch today. Although I was dining alone, I’ve been feeling a bit down of late, so I decided to splash out a little and treat myself to some good food.

First, I ordered the Deep-Fried Calamari with green courgette. The ingredients were very fresh, but to be honest, it wasn’t prepared very well; the batter was too thick and the sauce wasn’t flavourful enough. As the first course, it really did a number on my favourable impression of the restaurant.

The front-of-house staff were polite and friendly, but the kitchen really needs to step up its game. I placed my order at around 12.30 pm, and there were only a handful of tables occupied. However, my second course—the white kidney bean and blue mussel soup—didn’t arrive until around 1.20 pm. By then, the restaurant had gone from being nearly empty to packed, and the pizza ordered at the same time by the table next to mine had long since been devoured. Although I wasn’t in a rush, I felt this was really rather too slow.

Returning to the white kidney bean and blue mussel soup, this soup is well worth a mention. The white kidney beans, ground into a smooth, creamy purée, are velvety and delicate, with a subtle, distinctive nutty aroma. The blue mussels floating on the surface are sweet, tender and smooth, and there’s a generous portion of them; eating them spoonful by spoonful alongside the soup brings a truly heart-warming sense of contentment.

For my final main course, I ordered the ‘Homemade Pappardelle with Smoked Pancetta in Pink Sauce’. The smoked pancetta was savoury and flavourful, though not particularly different from what one might usually expect; it served its purpose of enhancing the flavour adequately. The real star of the dish, however, was the homemade wide pasta. It was rich in egg flavour and delightfully springy, with a fresh, delicate texture. Although the smooth surface made it difficult for the sauce to cling to the pasta, and the creamy pink sauce didn’t reveal any further layers of flavour, the pasta was wide enough to hold a generous amount of sauce, providing more than enough satisfaction for the palate.
This was my first time eating at Paper Moon; the restaurant has only just opened, so we should give it a chance and be patient.