The idea came from one of the owners, who is from Milan city, famous for Fashion and Design, but also for some of its historical landmarks, one of these the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoia, at that time King of Italy Kingdom. It started to be built in 1865, was finished in 1877 and was designed by the architect Giuseppe Mengoni, selected among nearly 200 different projects. In the middle o
f the Galleria on the mosaic floor, there is the emblem of Casa Savoia and around four logos of the cities that at different times have been the capital of the Kingdom of Italy: Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome. The emblem of Turin shows a bull and according to the legend by crushing its ge****ls with the heel of the foot and turning three times over, you get luck. At the top of the Galleria, almost 200 meters long and 100 wide, there are images of four Continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and America. The people of Milan, but also many tourists who visit the city, go often to the Galleria because it is a meeting point and meeting place. Inside there are Restaurants, Coffee Bars and now also many shops of Fashion Brands. For this reason it has always been defined the “Milano Living room”, just because walking you can meet each other and you can spend hours with friends and family, visiting shops and lovely restaurants inside. The Restaurant Galleria Milano, taking into consideration the past and present of this Land Mark of Milan, wanted to create in a very small scale, a small glimpse in Bangkok for people who love Italian cuisine and also for those who know Milan city. CHEF
Chef Roland profile
Born in Germany, Austrian by nationality, and trained in Italy and France, chef Roland Schuller has achieved most of his culinary acclaim in Hong Kong Italian restaurants. A key figure behind the success of The Drawing Room and Ammo, he also headed two cosy restaurants bearing his own name. In the late 1990s both Chez Roland and Roland's Terrace were the hot tables. These chapters in his career and stints as private chef for Roman Abramovich (aboard the Russian oligarch's south of France-based luxury yacht) and for pop star Puff Daddy mostly called for rich fine dining. In 2008 Schuller earned a Michelin star for Ristorante All'Oro, when he spent a year working in Rome as a refresher spell. In 2010 he was honoured with an Italian Cuisine Worldwide Award, for his contribution to spreading the word about Italian food. This spring, Schuller is rolling out new healthy menus at some local establishments. Last month saw the launch of his 80 per cent revamped menu at Bella Vita in Causeway Bay, where he is consultant chef, with his business partner David Cosman at their chef consulting company DC Levy. He also recently became executive chef at Kee Club, which, in addition to its own members' restaurant, manages Alfie's in the Dunhill store in Central. The British menu at Alfie's is being modified, but Schuller's changes will always sit beside elevated renditions of fish and chips and cottage pie. Still, even the traditional favourites are in for some tweaks - a new cheese and ham toastie, for example, features Lancashire cheese and Serrano ham. Having never taken on British cuisine before, he seems to relish the challenge. "British food has changed so much in recent years," he says. "There are a lot of Polish and Russian people living there now, so newer cuisines have arrived. There are plenty of Spanish, Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants, and French has always been popular. Today's menus have moved on from 15th-century shepherd's pie. "As well as outside influences, British food today seems very concerned with naming different farms and other [geographical] sources where produce comes from, and keeping food 'clean' and natural. "I'm making natural produce and healthiness of ingredients a focus at Alfie's. We are using light vegetable stock wherever possible - plus fish stocks without shellfish and crustacean components, and chicken when we need to. But we're avoiding beef stocks," he says. Gluten-free dishes will appear from next month. There is slow-cooked ocean trout with grape seed oil, brown rice and cauliflower mesclun salad; another dish will showcase amaranth steamed cod with grape seed oil, dried grape seed powder, steamed Swiss chard, tomato confit in olive oil, baby artichoke and quinoa. The vegetables in these new platters are sourced from locally based organic producer EcoFarm, which has a large agricultural plot in Jiangxi province. Schuller has been seriously impressed with the quality of this operation, and was instrumental in winning its favour - as currently much of this produce is dispatched to cancer patients and others in medical need of highly nutritious foodstuffs. EcoFarm took the time to detoxify all its soil and place nets over growing produce, resulting in toxin-free strong flavours and good-looking produce. The chef is also planning on introducing some other light dishes at Alfie's - roast spring chicken on quinoa. At Kee Club itself, where the menu comprises both Chinese and Western dishes, Schuller, who is approaching 50 and has taken on a new personal nutrition regime, has introduced several meatless dim sum dumplings.
