Bo Innovation

This review of Bo Innovation is based on my lunch experience.
3 Michelin Star Restaurant with a set lunch menu HK$ 430 is a bargain. I was worried that it might be overrated but it is one of the best lunch special I had have experienced.
Menu is seasonal changes with the freshness and availability of ingredients. But I am quite confident that I would have enjoy them all regardless. Come with an open mind and you would have a great time!
Entrée:
Scallop Ceviche
shanghainese «jolo», woba, sugar snap peas, avocado, lemon
Foie Gras
«mui choy» caramel ice-​cream, green apple, ginger bread
Main Course:
Suckling Pig
roasted sichuan pineapple, pork jus
Pigeon
shiitake mushroom cake, black carrot, sour plum pigeon jus
Side order of Molecular «cha siu bao» $ 90
Dessert:
Sour Plum Soup as dessert
I like most of the components in the courses and the playfulness of the combination of ingredients. That huge piece of foie gras really sealed the deal for me.
Service is attentive, just like how Michelin 3 star restaurant should be.
The lunch tasting menu at HK$ 730 does looks promising, maybe I will give that a try next time.
I have to confess I do watch MasterChef Canada. And maybe next time when I am at Bo Innovation Chef Alvin Leung would be in the house :)

Well what can you say about Bo’s? It’s surely innovative!
I’ll keep this short because it’s really easy to sound like a foodie-​snob when it comes to places like this. Lol.
I really have only warm fuzzy feelings about this place and enjoyed the play on chinese street food.
It’s a great date spot but probably not the first date unless you want to set the bar really high. You will be paying about 2,000 HKD for two people so enjoy every minute.

Just got back from a 2.5 week trip all around Asia (Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea). Even though we had some amazing food during this time, I must say this was the highlight meal of our trip! Obviously I had high expectations for this restaurant, as it is rated 3 Michelin stars, and this meal really delivered.
We decided to go for lunch because I didn’t really have the 4 hours or $ 400 required for dinner, and I’m really glad because I was stuffed after the lunch set menu. My only small critique is that a lot of these dishes were rich, so this isn’t the meal to get if you’re on a diet, but if you can’t splurge while you’re on vacation, when can you? =P. Also, there were lighter dishes spaced in the middle which served for a nice balance.
SCALLOP shanghainese «jolo», woba, sugar snap peas, avocado, lemon (⁴⁄₅) — Perfect texture. Nice lighter dish to start off the meal. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the peas, but I think that’s just my personal preference.
UMAMI toro, «wok air» powder, mixed noodles (⁵⁄₅) — Loved this dish. The toro was wonderfully fatty with the lightest sear. The dried shrimp flavored oil that they used to flavor the noodles was amazing.
MOLECULAR «cha siu bao» (3.5÷5) — I’ve had a couple of these «explosion» dishes, and I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of that sensation. Because of this feeling, I was a bit thrown off while actually eating this dish, but the taste it left in my mouth after was great. Exactly like the cha siu bao you’re used to.
FOIE GRAS «mui choy» caramel ice-​cream, green apple, ginger bread (4.5÷5) — I’ve never had foie gras with ice cream before, so I was apprehensive, but this was great. The lightness and coldness of the ice cream, and the acidity of the apple played well off the richness of the foie gras.
MAO TAI hawthorn, lemongrass, passion fruit (⁵⁄₅) — This was a bit difficult to drink due to the shape of the vessel, but it was very tasty and the perfect break in between courses.
RED MULLET yuzu, black bean, black garlic, mullet roe (4.5÷5) — The crunch on top of the fish lent great texture to the dish, and the black bean/​garlic mash was quite nice. This course was more subtle than the other dishes and was a nice addition to their richess.
SAGA-​GYU BEEF black truffle, «cheung fun», soy sauce, taro (⁵⁄₅) — Perfectly cooked meat and cheung fun. I don’t know what else to say.
PINEAPPLE star anise and pineapple ice-​cream, shortbread, pineapple jam, yogurt, winter melon (⁴⁄₅) — Beautiful dessert. I don’t even like pineapple, but I enjoyed this dish.
Aside from the great food, service was impeccable. The waitstaff anticipated your needs before you even had to ask, and they appeared out of nowhere when you needed help.

The food is delicious and service is fantastic. They have a very unique take on Asian flavors with very Westernized techniques that makes it a rather intriguing experience. Each dish stood out to us, especially the bird’s nest. Reservations were not unnecessarily difficult and annoying to get, unlike other restaurants of this caliber, which was a welcome change. Service overall was accommodating and attentive, especially with any and all special requests.
One word of advice is to save space before coming here! We did not do too great of a job of saving stomach space before coming here and by the time one of our favorite dishes came out (wagu beef), we were way too full to take more than a bite… which was incredibly unfortunate. As someone who never seems to get her hands on this in the States, it was a pleasant surprise at the end when I got to grab a handful of rabbit candy from, essentially, a grab bag of miscellaneous candy (I’m not sure how to explain what rabbit candy is except by saying that it tastes like taffy made from condensed milk).
All in all, an experience worth venturing out to Hong Kong for!

Lived up to all the hype… Extremely creative and flavor to match… Scallop, pigeon, langoustine dishes were outstanding… Stylish yet warm and personal service were a lovely accompaniment making the dining experience truly one… Bravo!

Pretentious and over priced. I was quite disappointed with the flavours or lack of them. I guess I knew it would be pretentious going into it but I was hoping that the quality of the food would compensate for that. Unfortunately it didn’t.

Fantastic. Chef takes traditional Chinese ingredients and flavors and elevates it. Innovation indeed. The place is a tad hard to find though. Only had the pleasure to have the chef lunch tasting menu but well worth the price.

While most of the food is very very good here the soup dumpling was mind blowing. If I walked into this place and the only thing on their menu was that I would still give this restaurant 5 stars. I like how their food was interactive, not just to be eaten and enjoyed. Similar to other Michelins in HK it’s cheap for something comparable in another city. I highly recommend coming here. It’s tucked away in the second floor of some random building but hey that’s part of the fun! They also didn’t care that I was wearing essentially shorts because I was touring around. I’ve never been a fan of places that required absolute dress codes so I have lots of respect for them. Hmm I think I’ve gotten off track. I can’t think of anything bad to say so that means 5 stars all around!

This is the real deal Michelin star deserving place. Demon Chef Alvin and his team always push the envelope. Truly a dining experience for all 5 senses.

We made reservations a few weeks in advance for lunch since we didn’t want to spend hours at dinner while on our vacation. (Lunch ended up being about 2 hours) We tried the chef’s menu to be able to taste a variety of «extreme Chinese cuisine.» It was about 8 courses and quite decadent for a lunch meal considering we had scallops, foie gras, langoustine and toro. All of the courses that we had were delicious and innovative, yet nothing really blew my mind. I guess I always thought a restaurant with 3 stars would have life changing food but I think I set my expectations too high. The molecular cha siu bao was definitely the most interesting thing that I have ever had in my life. I would recommend everyone check this place out just once to experience something new.

Incredible meal, casual cool atmosphere and impeccable service. What you expect from a 2014 and 2015 Michelin 3 star restaurant. We were all very satisfied with portions and with 15 courses its an incredible workout for your pallet. The infused tomato was my favorite, simply because it is so simple. A night to remember.

Overall: 3 solid stars
Food: 3 solid stars
Service: 4 solid stars
Ambiance: 3 solid stars – nothing special
The 2^nd most expensive restaurant in my life.
Made reservations about 1 month before our arrival.
One out of five 3-​star michelin rated restaurants in Hong Kong. I really wanted to experience gastronomic food in HK, so decided to pay a visit and carve out about 3.5 hours for this foodie adventure
I love the fact that they leave the menu in front of you so you’re aware what items are coming out.
Chef Alvin Leung does not disapoint; If dinner was not SO expensive, I would given this venue 4 solid stars. We decided to go all out and ordered the Chef’s Table Menu. This selection has the full menu of 16 different tastings and it will fill you up.
**They are known for «Molecular» aka xian long bao, but I didn’t think it was that great…** I like the traditional XLB better.
Yum:
1) Foie Gras – probably the best I ever had
2) Black Truffle Beef Cheung Fun – again, the best I ever had. I would love to just order a big dish of this!
3) Baby food
Yuck:
1) Air
2) Sweetbread
3) Almond

One of the five 3-​star michelin rated restaurants in Hong Kong. I think the others have more traditional food, but this concept is for the foodie who appreciates what the Chef, Alvin Leung describes as Extreme Chinese (gastronomic) and it was delicious. If you don’t mind forking over hundreds of dollars for food, this is worth it. You pay for the experience, not just the food. You select from a list of three set menus. I had the Chef’s table because I didn’t come to this restaurant just to go half way. This selection has the full menu of 16 different tastings and it will fill you up. The best tastings were the Foie Gras and the Beef and Cheung Fun. The service was wonderful. So, if you want to spoil your date or make a trip to Bo Innovation as a special anniversary or birthday dinner, this is the place.

A culinary experience most would soon not forget. Innovative (obviously), delicious, hip, casual, fun and a restaurant deserving of its Michelin stars.
Opted for the eight course tasting menu which actually ended up being a ten course degustation.
Course 1: Lo Hei — A refreshing take on the traditional dish.
Course 2: Foie Gras, Lap Mei, and Daikon Jelly all with black truffle and gold flakes — I appreciated what they did with this dish even though it wasn’t the best take on foie gras that I’ve tasted.
Course 3: Molecular Xiao Long Bao — Xiao Long POW! This bite sized version of the popular dim sum soup dumpling was sensational. The best xiao long bao I’ve ever had.
Course 4: Kumquat purée quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen — This dish was certainly a show and was put on in front of our table. The kumquat purée was ejected from a compressed air can, then tossed in a large steel-​like bowl that contained liquid nitrogen, and finally served to us individually on a spoon. Our server told us that no other restaurant in the world did this.
Course 5: Ocean Trout with herb salad — Excellent, tender, and fresh fish.
Course 6: Yak and Mac — Cheung fun with cheese made from yak’s milk. I was a little apprehensive about this dish initially, thinking it might actually make me want to yack, but it ended up likely being the very best version of the classic American bbq side dish that I’ve ever had!
Course 7: Suckling Pig with Sugar Snap Pea Risotto — The skin of the suckling pig was a crispy, savory piece of heaven. The risotto that accompanied the dish was very good.
Course 7 (alternate): Wagyu (grade A4) Beef with Cheung Fun and black truffle soy — Excellent steak and the best version of cheung fun that I’ve had.
Course 8: «Bo» fried rice — Delicious bowl of fried rice covered in tobiko.
Course 9: «Lin Go» ice cream with Water Chestnut Pudding — The water chestnut tasted as expected, a little boring, but the ice cream was phenomenal.
In between Course 9 and Course 10 was a fun little inedible treat, the Rose Kiss. A rose in a bowl with dry ice was presented at our table.
Course 10: A delectable assortment of small sweet treats that resembled popular dim sum dishes.
Service throughout the meal was friendly, not intrusive, and knowledgeable. The ambiance of the restaurant was warm and inviting.

I came here solo last night as a treat for surviving (!) my first week in HK. The chef’s table which is a counter looking straight onto the pass is ideal for solo diners as it allows you to engage with the chefs or your fellow diners as you (and they) like. It would also be great for couples, although more than two might be pushing it.
Lots of the dishes on the menu are regional classics inspired by memories of the chef’s childhood which have been updated or revised by the team of chefs to reflect modern cooking ingredients and higher quality ingredients. As such, it is a very modern take on traditional cooking as opposed to fusion food.
While I do not yet have sufficient knowledge of local cooking to pick up all the points of reference, the dishes are very well explained by the chefs who serve you. What I can say however is that the food was almost uniformly delicious. One of the highlights for me was the very first course, caviar, which is a dim sum inspired mouthful of joy with a mound caviar combining well with a smoked quail egg. Another was «Baby Food» which looked just like the title suggests but was something quite different (I will not spoil it here). Of the 14 courses, only 1 disappointed me slightly. A good hit rate, given the cooking is fairly innovative.
Although there were lots of courses, portion size was kept under control. As a result, after a 3 hour (or so) meal, I came out feeling full but not stuffed to the gills as I have been at other restaurants. A good thing to my mind.
I’m not sure how much the menu changes, but providing it does, I am already looking forward to coming back again to see what new creations are there for me to sample!

for molecular in HK, this place was it. been several years ago now since I’ve gone, the time when he was serving a menu like this
very memorable. dishes had excellent uses of gelatin and smoked flavors. yes he nailed it with the XLB deconstructed.

BO Innovation will have the honor of having my 500^th review. I came to BO Innovation in Feb and was super excited to celebrate my birthday here. My friends made reservations in advance and I think I got lucky since my birthday was around Chinese New year, most people where having big family gatherings. When you first walk in they take your coat and get you seated. You have options of which menu you wanted. I didn’t feel like drinking that night so I opt out on the drinks. The menu actually had a few options, but I picked the tasting menu for foie gras, since foie gras is banned in Cali. So where is the order of what we ate and eat time they brought out a dish the explained it.
Complimentary Egg puffs– this egg puff was super special. it wasn’t sweet, but a savory one. There was Virginia ham inside the puff which made it a perfect way to start the evening.
Oysters– the oyster was fresh and sweet. I loved how they paired it with jelly.
Saba– sesame, ponza cloud with ginger. I loved the presentation of this dish. They placed the food on the table spoon with a cloud of smoke surrounding it. It was very airy, and light when you put it in your month.
Foie Gras– the foie gras was lightly seared and paired with mui choy ice cream. For those of you who don’t know what mui choy is it’s a type of salty vegetable. This was my favorite dish of the night and it wasn’t because I’m a huge foie gras fan, it was because the mui choy ice cream was so unique. It was salty and sweet at the same time and was so delicious.
COD-​saffron miso with seaweed– I don’t remember much about this dish and it didn’t wow me enough to take a picture.
Molecular-​Xiao lung bao– the most famous dish of the night. And yes it was impressive. It looked very delicate, because as you picked it up from the plate, you can see the dumpling jiggle. You need to place the whole dumpling in your mouth and it explores in there. Be careful, there is a lot of juice in there, which made it taste very flavorful.
Tomato with «pat chun» vinegar, Chinese fermented olives «lam kok» and Scallop were another two dishes I didn’t really remember
After the tasting menu, you get to pick on entrée. I picked the sucking pig with had paired with apples, and peas over a Sichuan vanilla sauce. I think this was the most disappointing dish of the evening. The skin was too hard and didn’t give me the crunchy taste that must places do. There was way too much fat and I felt that the meat was a little bit chewy.
The desserts were really creative. It was a Lychee popsicle with «lung jing» tea ice cream (dragonwell), and a «shui jing fang» caramel. My favorite was the dragonwell ice cream. the lychee popsicle was really refreshing, the caramel was good but a tad over sweet.
The petit dim-​sum was unique. there were 8 treasures that came out in a bird cage that you and your friends can share. the macarons were good and they had 3 flavors (rose, lychee, and white chocolate). Other desserts included osmathus sponge cake, chrysanthemum crème brulee –which turned out super good, red date marshmallow, and mandarin peel chocolate truffle.
I guess for those of you from the states, I can summarize the experience here in with the service of Gary Danko and Eleven Madison Park. The presentation of the food was top notch along with the service. The food certainly had a bit of an Asian uniqueness to it, that I never had in the states. I only wish the main entrée didn’t disappoint. But I do plan on coming back there on my next visit to the city that truly never sleeps.