I always have fantastic meals when I’m in Hong Kong. It’s not just the food that’s excellent, it’s the company as well. A day ago, I was brought to Bo Innovation for lunch. Back in Manila, there was a furniture shop which had the same first name so initially I thought this was a furniture shop/ cafe *obviously not doing research, hello*. When we got to the restaurant and I saw that mosaic portrait of the chef *Alvin Leung* on the side of the wall, I then remembered seeing him featured in Tony Bourdain’s show.
Turns out too that this restaurant has received 2 Michelin stars in the Michelin guide for 2012. I was really in for a treat! My gracious host from Tod’s knew where to take this food lover 🙂
This also happens to be the first time I try this “experimental cuisine” (others call this molecular gastronomy)– where food and science marry, creating extraordinary dishes that give diners a unique experience. And when I say unique, I mean unique. The word unique by the way, is something I should not use so loosely when it comes to food. And this experience is undeniably unique. Chinese food was never the same 🙂
We decided on the set lunch menu
You pick the dimsum/ classic “Bo” dishes from this list
We decided to share our dimsum, so we can try everything on that list:
1. Har Gow Black Truffle XO
I love Har Gow or crystal shrimp dumplings to begin with, so this was an instant winner. Those black truffles added richness to the flavor.
2. Cod Ball, Morel, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The olive oil on this plate was poured in front of us. I suppose it’s for that “effect,” or perhaps to prevent the balls from soaking in too much oil. Whatever the reason or purpose for that, I do know that the pairing of the olive oil worked. Texture was on the coarse side, but the taste was exquisite.
3. Deep Fried Cuttlefish, Kafir Lime Sauce
This is a little tricky. The cuttlefish balls were nothing extraordinary, but pairing them with the kafir lime sauce perked the taste up by twenty notches! I wouldn’t have minded a second order of this. It was very enjoyable!
4. Xiao Long Bao, “Bo” style. The burst of flavor on this gelatinous ball which contained not the “meat” of the Xiao Long Bao but the soup extract of it was very unexpected and very entertaining. It felt strange to have Xiao Long Bao without the meat, but this was well worth the experience 🙂 It was like being treated to the “ghost” of Xiao Long Bao 🙂 It aimed to please the palate. And it succeeded.
And now for the main course, my host chose the Pan- Roasted Scallops *very healthy choice, I might add*
And I chose the sinful Langoustine, Preserved Duck Egg *cholesterol, here we come!*, English Mustard, and Cauliflower
The preserved duck egg was made into a paste to coat the langoustine as it sat on a bed of what seemed like lightly mashed cauliflowers. And then of course you’ve got that mystery foam (I had to call it mystery foam because I honestly don’t remember what it was. Gosh I can’t be a food writer, can I? LOL). Was it good? It was excellent, excellent, excellent. The flavors that came together were beautiful.
This was the dessert du jour. Forgive me for not being able to tell you exactly what it is because my host and I were too busy chatting to allow the server to explain this! LOL. But from my taste, it’s very creamy green tea ice cream. If you don’t know this yet of me, here it is– that’s my all- time favorite ice cream flavor. So the dessert sealed the deal for me.
I found myself looking forward to another meal at this restaurant the next time I come back to Hong Kong. I never thought molecular gastronomy could be this fascinating on the palate! But then again this was not some ordinary restaurant! Thank you F and K of Tod’s for arranging this wonderful lunch during my short trip to Hong Kong! It was really unforgettable!!
For more information on Bo Innovation, visit their website.
x
TheBagHag