Bo Innovation, Wanchai, Hong Kong

As a treat for special occasion I lunched with my wife at the three Michelin starred Bo Innovation restaurant in Wanchai. We booked the table for 12 noon but ran about 20 minutes late. However people were already sat at their tables, proving its popularity even for a weekday.  It's modern and comfortable enough without being too intimidating, but does not have that elevated posh feeling. They could have turned the air conditioning down a notch though.

We both ordered a set lunch each, consisting of three courses. The first item to arrive was an 'amuse bouche' of an egg waffle, a twist on a popular Hong Kong street food in that it has a savoury flavour from the spring onion added to it. It is even presented in a traditional paper bag as shown below. A cute little pre-starter for the meal ahead. 

Egg Waffle

My starter from the set lunch was Foie Gras. This sounded ordinary enough but arrived with a 'mui choy' flavoured ice cream and apple foam, as shown below. Mui Choy is a preserved mustard cabbage used in Chinese cooking. What sounds as quite unappealing tasted excellent. The cool saltiness of the ice cream worked brilliantly with the delicately fried liver pate. The apple foam had a Granny Smith flavour to it for some light sourness. 

Foie Gras

After the starter came an additional order I made for a Molecular Xiaolongbao, shown below. This minimalist dish is swallowed whole (like Rocky with an egg yolk, as that what it resembled), which I did, and that released a lukewarm soup inside my mouth after bursting the thin pastry. There was no meat inside and flavour wise quite underwhelming. For the price of one of these you can probably buy eight proper dumplings in a dim sum restaurant. I will note this down as a 'tried it once' experience and move on with life.

Molecular Xiaolongbao

My main dish of Pigeon came after. It came roasted and was served with a plum sauce, black carrot (one long, thing root vegetable) and shiitake cake. The latter was really good, the mushroomy taste complimenting the pigeon meat, which was rich and not dry. Overall really good with nice presentation but a bit on the small side.

Pigeon

There was not a choice printed on the menu for dessert, so when it arrived we were presented with a Mango Sorbet and Strawberry Mousse. It also came with some writing on the plate, for my wife and I to celebrate the occasion. This was cool and refreshing without being extraordinary.

Dessert

My meal was finished off with a nice frothy cappuccino served in a fancy oriental cup shown below.

Cappuccino

My wife's choice were Scallop Ceviche for the starter and Red Fish for mains. Although no pictures are shown she loved them both.

Service was good as expected in a Michelin starred establishment. Our food arrived promptly and it was hospitable enough but does not quite have that top-notch service.

This is an expensive place but the food is quite unique and exceptional at times. This would be rated as an amazing culinary experience rather than a wonderful lunching one. Plus we left the restaurant not feeling terribly full, so it's all about quality rather than quantity for Bo Innovation. Definitely worth a try once you have saved up.

Scores:

Food: 4/5

Presentation: 5/5

Service: 4/5

Setting: 3/5

Overall: 16/20

Total Bill: 1111HKD. About £45 a head. 

We ate: One Lunch Set each, and a molecular xiao long bao.

We drank: San Pellegrino water. 

We wore: Wedding bands.