Every three years or so, there’s a bit of buzz and excitement around Wan Chai about who will take up residence in The Pawn, the iconic tong lau shophouse that dates back to the early 20th century. This year the honour goes to the chain of restaurants that 89-year-old Italian actress Sophia Loren has given her name to.
Sophia Loren’s illustrious acting career included pivotal roles in Two Women (released 1961, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) and Marriage Italian Style (1964). She has won five special Golden Globes, and in 1991 she received the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements.
Loren opened her first restaurant in Florence 2021. Since then she has also opened restaurants in Bari, Milan and at Rome’s airport. The opening of the restaurant at The Pawn will be her first culinary venture overseas.
A statement on the website for her restaurants says: “In my life I have had many passions, one of them is undoubtedly food. No director has ever managed to put me on a diet and I have never given up a good plate of pasta in favor of the line. The hours I spent in the kitchen kneading, frying, baking and browning were among the happiest of my life.”
Loren set up these restaurants have been set up in partnership with Luciano Cimmino
“We have built a ‘temple’ of conviviality, a unique and evocative place, where the best chefs in the world try their hand at first courses and pizzas,” says Loren in the statement.
She signs off with the wording, in Neopolitan, “che so’ na squisitezz“. That which is exquisite.
So what will it be like?
Loren’s latest restaurant in Hong Kong is likely to have a similar look and feel to her other restaurants in Italy. It will in fact be designed by the same architect, Ivo Maria Redaelli, who brought all the others to life.
There will be two different restaurants available: a Neopolitan pizzeria on the ground floor and an Italian seafood restaurant on the floor above. There will also be a 1970s-themed dance floor at the top of the building, as well as a rooftop cocktail bar.
Given the location of the restaurant, and who the patron is, expected prices to be high.
The restaurant is expected to open in mid-April.
Previously the Italian restaurant Crust was located within The Pawn, and before that it was home to La Piola, also Italian.
Sophia Loren’s restaurant group was contacted for this article but didn’t respond to the request.
