Al Fresco Dining in HK

A waterfront view in Hong Kong is not easy to come by, and the above pictures show what it's like when you dine outside at Isola, an Italian restaurant at IFC in Central.

Inside is a stylish interior, mostly white, with sleek lines, floor-to-ceiling glass and lots of beautiful people. La dolce vita.

But the best part is on a beautiful sunny day, you can sit outside along the extensive terrace and soak in the rays and the zillion-Hong Kong dollar view.

It's not only a power lunch place, with suits grabbing a bite to eat, but also a favourite of tai tais, like the Italian ones sitting next to us with deep tans and gold jewelery.

For starters there's an antipasti buffet, with a variety of dishes to choose from. There's dishes like mixed greens, squid salad, poached salmon, selection of cold cuts and finely cut proscuitto that was delicious.

If you're not too careful, the antipasti could be a meal in itself and then you'd be in trouble trying to finish the rest of your meal.

Then I had freshly made taglioni with seafood in a tomato sauce. The portion of perfectly cooked pasta was just right and the sauce included diced scallops, fish and prawns.

Iced tea was presented in a tall glass with slices of lemons around the inside perimeter of the glass, while dessert was also a buffet that included carrot cake -- who knew Italians made carrot cake -- as well as chocolate cake and a bowl of mixed fruit that was popular with the ladies.

The set lunch is HK$245 per person and with a gorgeous view of Victoria Harbour looking onto Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories on a blue sky day, it was worth every dollar.

Isola
Levels 3 & 4
IFC Mall
Central
2383 8765