Sea tiramisu is a cereals bar with seawater crumble on red prawn carpaccio, served with caviar and parsley pasta. Rebecca Lo / for China Daily

Lavarra created some of his signature dishes for me to sample. I quickly learned that he was not at all shy about throwing centuries of southern Italian culinary traditions out the window.

Take my starter: sea tiramisu. Hong Kong people adore tiramisu and Lavarra gets repeated requests to make it for those with an eager sweet tooth. Well, nothing as pedestrian as that would ever cross his mind - though he will concede to creating his own version of the treat.

It shows in every gesture how Lavarra is influenced and inspired by the sea and robust colors of southern Italy. Sea tiramisu is a cereals bar with seawater crumble on red prawn carpaccio with caviar and parsley pasta. It is a riot of colors, textures and flavors that is reminiscent of tiramisu, yet takes the concept to a savory realm.

The fresh prawn was flattened to wafer thinness and surrounded by a rich parsley sauce, providing a bright green contrast to the red veins of the seafood. A sprinkle of edible flowers grace a generous dollop of excellent black caviar and barely seared scallop, while lighter-than-air seafood mousse made with clam juice has exactly the same consistency as tiramisu.

It was accompanied by a prawn cracker and paired well with a 2012 Venica Collio Pinot Grigio Jesera from Italy. As expected, Tosca's extensive wine list offers a wealth of Italian labels. Made with the grape's skin, the Pinot Grigio's copper color was pleasing and introduced the perfect amount of acidity to balance the dish's flavors.