Stepping into Carbone, Anthony Sandstrom does a slight double-take. It's unsurprising as he hasn't quite expected the homage to mid-20th century Italian restaurants in New York.

From the wooden panelling, tiled floors and rustic red curtains to the smooth jazzy Frank Sinatra tunes in the background, and the staff's snazzy Zac Posen velvet jackets and bowties, the team at Carbone has certainly done well in whisking us way back to another era.

"I love it," he says, shortly after his arrival for lunch. "It really feels like we are back in the 1950s or '60s." It is perhaps a fitting restaurant choice for us to take the model-actor out. Seeing as the very word he uses to describe his favourite cuisines is "era".

"I go through food eras," he says with a laugh. That is to say, he goes through phases where he particularly enjoys a certain type of cuisine and his cuisine-du-jour is Japanese food. Not only are the options endless in Hong Kong, but the nature of the cuisine itself fits in with his lifestyle. "I find Japanese food to be quite healthy. It's fresh and low on saturated fats. It works really well when you are trying to maintain a certain diet."

On a similar note and very much inspired by wife Jocelyn, who is of part-Hawaiian descent, is his love for Hawaiian food.

Newly opened Pololi on Graham Street hits the right spot. "It's a combination of light sashimi on top of brown rice [for] when I want some carbs."

Sandstrom's love of light meals shines through in his choice of appetisers. From the tuna Calabrese to the carpaccio Piemontese, it's clear he has a penchant for delicate yet flavoursome dishes. Of the two, his preference is for the latter which comprises thinly-sliced marbled wagyu beef dressed with black truffle oil and crumbled walnuts.

"I'm a textural eater," he says, adding that he especially enjoys dishes with varying textures such as the carpaccio.

That said, the actor admits there are other more hearty foods which tugs at his heart strings. Thanks to his upbringing in Canada, he cites "North American burger and fries" as a comfort food.

Similarly, Italian cuisine will always have a place in his heart. "I have loved Italian food for a good 20 years. It was my last food era," he says. Spaghetti was the first dish he learned how to cook as a bachelor living in Canada, and it's something the model-and-actor can always go back to.

At Carbone, Anthony opts for the fettuccine con funghi, a decadent and warming dish featuring porcini mushrooms topped with pecorino cheese. True to his word, Sandstrom does not hold back and it is obvious he enjoys the delectable pasta.

You'd think a model and actor such as himself would want to avoid such a carb-fuelled dish, but the most important thing for Sandstrom isn't keeping to a strict diet, but rather to make sure he is eating right.

"It's expensive to eat healthy - especially in Hong Kong," Sandstrom notes. The convenience of our cosmopolitan city doesn't help either, he adds. He recalls times when he would wolf down fast food for convenience and as a result he could see but also feel the effects of eating poorly.

After that, "we took control of our health", he says of Jocelyn and his joint-decision to take part in a food programme organised by restaurant Eat Right, which delivers healthy food to their doorstep.

Since the chef and owner of Eat Right is also a nutritionist, Sandstrom says, the meals can be tailored to fit any diets or allergies of each individual. For him, personally, the meals are protein heavy, with lots of lean meats.

Being healthy aside, Sandstrom says balance is key. And given the nature of his work, it certainly is impossible to follow a superstrict regimen.

As the host of TVB Pearl's , a programme which introduces viewers to wines from around the world, Sandstrom couldn't avoid tasting and drinking wine.

That said, it was an "excellent experience" as he had the chance to work closely with Jeannie Cho Lee, Asia's first master of wine. The first season took him to Burgundy and Bordeaux in France, where he "learned a lot".

Still, he is by no means a wine expert. "There's a lot to learn in the world of wine. I did learn a lot, what to do, what not to do, but there are so many different areas," he says. "It will take you a lifetime to learn all the new markets. What I did learn is that you have to experiment. There is no right and wrong [wine].

"I found that I prefer lighter wines," he adds, but admits his go-to drink would probably be a neat Scotch.

His biggest guilty pleasure yet, and one he is just as happy to experiment in, is dessert. As the dessert cart rolled in, Sandstrom's eyes lit up. In a surprising move, for a party of two, Sandstrom opted for the flambéed bananas, the carrot cake, the lemon cheesecake and the cherry mousse-chocolate cake.

Flambéed tableside, the bananas were the model's favourite. Not simply because of the beautiful execution and presentation, but served atop banana cake, amaretto ice cream and crushed biscuits resulted in a rich, heavenly dessert - perfect for Sandstrom's sweet tooth.

"Imagine lounging on a sofa with this bowl of goodness."

Joanne Lam

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: An era for food

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