Tosca di Angelo, on the 102nd floor of The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, frames southern Italian cooking against one of the world\u2019s most dramatic skylines. Named after Puccini\u2019s classic opera, Tosca di Angelo is the hotel\u2019s Italian restaurant, boasting sweeping views, a wood-fired oven and a menu that moves from fresh antipasti to handmade pastas and whole fish grilled over coal.<\/p>\n
Born in Sicily and with a career having taken him to some of Europe\u2019s most celebrated kitchens, Angelo Aglian\u00f3 arrived at Tosca di Angelo as its director in 2019, with a mandate to infuse the restaurant with authentic southern Italian spirit.<\/p>\n
Aglian\u00f3\u2019s Sicilian artisanal busiate sits comfortably within that framework. It\u2019s a dish that marries the restaurant\u2019s commitment to premium ingredients and theatrical service with his own deep-rooted connection to the island\u2019s coastal cooking.<\/p>\n
![\"Tosca](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/01\/08\/29a5353e-7da8-47c0-8f6b-80bcdba1a756_8f53a9eb.jpg\" "\\"Tosca")
<\/div>The busiate with Mediterranean red mullet, pine nuts and raisins appears on the evergreen Ricordi and \u00e0 la carte menus, but it reads less like a basic signature pasta and more like a story of place, memory and craft.<\/p>\n
Busiate is the spiral-shaped pasta traditionally associated with Trapani, the historic port city on Sicily\u2019s northwest coast. Aglian\u00f3 insists on an artisanal version from the region, made only with flour and water \u201cto preserve its authentic texture\u201d. The absence of egg gives this pasta a firmer, more rustic bite that stands up to sauce. Twined through the coils is Mediterranean red mullet \u2013 a fish he says is \u201ca significant ingredient in the Mediterranean, known for its delicate flavour\u201d. Rather than treating the fillet alone as the star, he builds the entire dish around the fish, using everything from the bones to the head.<\/p>\n
Though seemingly effortless, a fair amount of difficulty lies in his choice of fish. \u201cRed mullet is the most challenging element: its flesh is delicate, it dries quickly and fine pin bones require meticulous filleting,\u201d he admits. \u201cExtracting flavours from bones and heads requires careful roasting and gentle simmering to avoid bitterness. Achieving crisp skin while keeping the flesh just set demands precise heat control and timing adjusted by feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ragout is the backbone of the dish. Aglian\u00f3 roasts the bones and heads until they develop colour, then simmers gently to extract a fish stock, which is reduced and strained. From there, he builds flavour by saut\u00e9ing aromatics, deglazing the pan and finishing with the reduced red mullet stock \u201cto concentrate sweetness and umami\u201d.<\/p>\n
The pasta is cooked al dente, then finished in the pan with olive oil, a spoonful of the ragout, saffron, pine nuts, raisins and a fine bread crumble. The fillet is seared or gently roasted, then placed either alongside or on top of the pasta so the heat and sauce can begin to bind the elements together on the plate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n