HONG KONG: Dining at BO INNOVATION
(2014 and 2015 Awardee of 3 Michelin Stars)
To be able to appreciate dining at Bo Innovation, let me give you a brief background on the significance of being awarded 3 Michelin stars, the highest rating to be given to any fine dining restaurant. It's a distinction given to only about a 100 restaurants in the world.
What is the Michelin Guide?
The Michelin Guide is the "international benchmark of fine dining" (Michelin website). Anonymous inspectors dine at these restaurants and evaluate the food based on 5 criteria shown below and then award stars.
Below are more details taken from the Michelin Website:
GUIDE TO THE STARS
Stars reflect only WHAT IS ON THE PLATE and are determined solely by five criteria:
1. Quality of the ingredients
2. Flair and skill in preparing ingredients and combining flavors
3. Chef’s personality as revealed through the cuisine
4. Value for money
5. Consistency of culinary standards
The stars are NOT AWARDED on the basis of restaurant décor, price of the ingredients or quality of service.
What the Stars Mean
Three stars reward exceptional cuisine where diners eat extremely well, often superbly. Distinctive dishes are precisely executed, using superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.
Two stars denote excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
One star indicates a very good restaurant in its category, offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
BACKGROUND OF BO INNOVATION
Bo Innovation is a restaurant known for Extreme Chinese cuisine. Alvin Leung, the owner and chef of Bo Innovation, deconstructs traditional Chinese ingredients and makes radical dishes with it. Hence the name Extreme Chinese Cuisine.
Who is Alvin Leung?
Alvin Leung was born in London and raised in Canada. He's an engineer by training who became a chef.
This statement taken from his website perfectly describes what he does to food served in his restaurant:
Alvin Leung was born in London and raised in Canada. He's an engineer by training who became a chef.
This statement taken from his website perfectly describes what he does to food served in his restaurant:
Alvin's extreme Chinese cuisine is an art form. He does to Chinese food what Picasso did to art - he breaks down traditional Chinese food to it's bare essence and uses it to create new interpretations in modern form."
MY EXPERIENCE DINING AT BO INNOVATION
THE PRESENTATION
Prior to serving the dish, they explain what the dish is and show you the traditional Chinese ingredient they used for it so you can compare it with how they transformed it or how they used it differently in the dish.
THE MENU
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| My total bill is HK$885: 680 + 70 for water = HK$750 + 75 service charge + 60 tip = HK885 |
THE FOOD
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| The bread basket |
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| SCALLOP with Shanghainese "Jolo", Woba, Sugar Snap Peas, Avocado, Lemon Translation: Jolo Sauce: fermented red rice vinegar Woba: crispy rice My review: I love this dish. The scallop is so tender. It's hard to describe how flavorful this dish is. |
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| UMAMI with Black Truffle, Toro, Harmi Oil, Vermicelli, Rice Noodle Translation: Black truffle: mushroom Toro: Fatty of part of the fish used for sushi Harmi oil: oil infused with dried baby shrimps Special instructions: Pour the harmi oil over the dish then mix it up. What traditional Chinese ingredient they showed me after serving the dish: dried baby shrimps |
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| MOLECULAR "Xiao Long Bao" (The signature dish at Bo Innovation) Translation: Xiao Long Bao: soup dumpling Special Instructions:
The waiter instructed me that the best way to enjoy it was to take the whole thing in my mouth and close my eyes so I can fully appreciate all the flavors when I bite it.
My tip: Be careful when you bite it because all the liquids may burst out of your mouth if you don't do it slowly.
An article taken from the Azure website talks about this dish:
"One of his best-known dishes is the Shalong Boa (little dragon), small dumplings that seem to explode in the mouth. "Traditionally, they would be made of a thick crust filled with chopped pork meat, but I decided to use the same ingredients, solidify the liquids and give it the appearance of an egg yolk", explains Leung. The taste is almost the same as that of the original dish, but the presentation and texture are quite different. "
My review:
I love this dish for it's truly unique texture and concept.
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| FOIE GRAS with "mui choy", preserved Chinese mustard green, granny smith apple, ginger bread Translation: mui choy: preserved Chinese mustard green MADE INTO ICE CREAM that you see on the left of the photo granny smith apple: the green thing at the left of the photo MADE INTO an ice cream
What traditional Chinese ingredient they showed me after serving the dish:
mui choi
I love this dish because the foie gras was perfectly seared. When you cut into it, all the juices ooze out of it. Then if you combine it with the mui choy and granny smith ice cream, the foie gras lightens up and becomes a refreshing meal.
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| MAO TAI with hawthorn, lemon grass, passion fruit Translation: Mao tai: Chinese liquor made from fermented sorghum Special instruction: You drink it from the long spout of the container shown above. What traditional Chinese ingredient they showed me after serving the dish: Mao tai liquor bottle |
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| LANGOUSTINE with black truffle, cauliflower risotto, salty duck egg sauce pickled cauliflower, English mustard foam, duck jus Translation: Langoustine: small lobster |
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| PIGEON with shitake mushroom cake, sour plum infused pigeon jus, black carrot |
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| COCONUT with palm sugar, coconut water, chocolate, pina colada, cherry, pandan Where is the:
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THE FILIPINO CHEF OF BO INNOVATION
Alvin Leung is not in town, but I got to meet the Filipino chef who was with Alvin Leung ever since he started Bo Innovation in 2005. His name is Daniel Fabay.
Daniel Fabay has been living in Hong Kong for the past 20 years. He used to be chef at Silahis hotel in the Philippines before he came to Hong Kong. For the past 9 years, he's a chef at Bo Innovation and has been part of what this restaurant achieved for the past few years.
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| Daniel Fabay in the kitchen of Bo Innovation |
OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT
INSIDE THE RESTAURANT
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| Panoramic shot of the layout of the restaurant |
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HOW TO FIND THE RESTAURANT
Ride the MTR and get off at Wanchai Exit A3.
When you exit A3, you arrive at Johnston Road.
Turn right and walk along Johnston Road until you see Ship Street on your left side.
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| This is the sign you see along Johnston Road directing you to Ship Street |
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| This is Ship Street. |
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| Walk along Ship Street until you see the rectangular gray sign seen above. |
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| The sign Don't go up the stairs. Use the private lift beside the sign. |
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| This is the private lift along Ship Street that goes directly to Bo Innovation |
Website: www.boinnovation.com
Email: dine@boinnovation.com
Address: Shop 12, 2F, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
