il bel paese (wan chai)

Finally an Italian deli/grocer worth mentioning! There used to be only two sandwich places that I knew in HK, and one of them was subway. Subway is not a bad deal in the States, but here it costs the same, which means it costs more relatively than normal food.

I was ecstatic to walk into Il Bel Paese and see a glass case full of meats, cheeses and pre-made salads and pastas. There was so much to choose from, and that was just downstairs! However, when we looked at the menu I was very disappointed to see such simple sandwiches. Their menu only had about five sandwiches on it, and they were no more complicated than a single meat and a single cheese. The best Italian grocer I've ever been to (Bay Cities in Santa Monica) had about as many sandwiches to offer, but each came standard with onions, tomatoes, peppers, cheese and multiple meats--I don't think I could even name all the toppings on the Godmother. That said, I kind of had to a be a pain in the guy's ass when I ordered. He took out pen and paper and wrote down all the things I wanted, things that I thought were pretty standard like mayo, mustard, onions, etc.

They were very accommodating to my sandwich demands and even with everything it was only 40HKD. You can upgrade the meat on the sandwich, which you then would pay for by weight, same deal with the cheese. They brought the sandwiches to us upstairs and my friend added a Moretti (for only 15HKD). Upstairs there was a whole wall of wines and full shelves of olives and jams.

On top of having decent sandwiches and great selection, it's a beautiful space, with tables made on barrels and pretty decorations on the walls. What's keeping Il Bel Paese back from greatness is the lack of a signature sandwich and salad. It needs a trademark meal to offer its overstimulated customers, that would be awesome.

4 of 5

il bel paese

25 queen's rd wan chai

www.ilbelpaese.com.hk