HK Series 3: Bo Innovation 02/03/09

Bo innovation is the Michelin 2 star Chinese molecular gastornomy temple in Hong Kong, described by some as El Bulli of Hong Kong. Executive Chef Alvin Leung, nicknamed demon chef, had a background in engineering instead of culinary arts.

The restaurant was situated on the second floor of newly built J Sense building in WanChai. One can't help but noticed the picture of chef Alvin Leung when entering the restaurant. The decoration of the the place was quite simple, more like a cafe.

A huge antique chinese coin was set on the table waiting for dishes to be placed on.

First course was "tomato gelee with lam choy and strawberry". Lam choy, a form of chinese pickles, was made into white cream in this case, and provided an interesting punch. However, the tomato flavor was missing.
Second course was a smoked quail egg tart with caviar.
The dish tasted like everyday boiled egg with caviar on top.

Next was the fancy "toro with foie gras powder and dried raspberry". The waiter adviced us to use a twister to roll the thin layer of toro into a roll, then ate as a whole. The toro was fatty and smooth, while the thick foie flavor exploded as one kept chewing.




Fourth course was "scallop with chinese wine sauce, rice cracker, and peas." The scallop was nicely seared, while the sichuan wine sauce was a bit on the sweet side. Overall, the dish provided an interesting texture combination.
Fifth course was monk fish with ham sauce and crispy toffee. The ham sauce overpowered the fish.

Last of the protein courses was Wagyu beef with black truffle soy and rice noodles. The soy sauce was full of truffle flavor but the beef was too lean and leacked flavor.

For starch course, we were served fried rice with crab roes, quite ordinary.

For dessert, red wine granit was served.

Overall, Bo Innovation was quite disappointing. Every dish was consistently under expectation. Plus the serving size was too small for tasters to fully experience the dishes. It was a restaurant which neither fed nor impressed me, so it is unlikely that I will pay a return visit.