Bo Innovation restaurant review: art-inspired menus and kitsch blend in ‘demon chef’ Alvin Leung’s two-Michelin-starred outlet in Central, Hong Kong
- The menu is both delightful and macabre, with Autumnal Cannibalism riffing on Dali and a dessert served on an ear-shaped plate inspired by a Vincent van Gogh painting
Intrepid eaters can be forgiven for feeling slightly stuck in a rut of late. Without quarantine-free travel and easy access to exotic destinations and dishes, there’s been a certain lack of opportunity to set diners’ pulses racing. Home-grown celebrity chef Alvin Leung, aka “the demon chef”, is hoping to change that.
Leung helped put Hong Kong on the culinary map with his experimental combination of molecular gastronomy and Chinese traditions – not to mention the colourful presentation of himself and his dishes. In 2017 he opened Bo Innovation, his most successful concept to date, which currently holds two Michelin stars.
Newly relocated from Wan Chai to Central, Leung has created one hell of a new menu. As soon as you enter you’re smacked in the face with kitsch. Ostentatious contemporary decorations – like a banana with suggestive lips eating another banana, and a leaping tiger with the face of a dim sum steamer – confront you in the dining room. There is even contemporary art of the demon chef’s own face by the window
We were dazzled by the art-inspired Masterpiece menu’s (HK$2,000) first course, Soup by Andy. A riff on Andy Warhol’s classic Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962), the dish comes served on a spinning platter with tom yum soup in a cone, while onion soup serves as foam. It turned all our preconceptions of soup on their head in a flashy kind of way and we loved it.
Our favourite dish, though, was Dogs Playing Mahjong, boasting bespoke tableware that riffed on the classic Dogs Playing Poker (1894) by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. What wowed us most about was that when we bit into the crunchy cubes of geoduck, abalone and lettuce stem, it sounded just like the shuffling of mahjong tiles. A truly transcendent dish.
The creativity ensued later on with Autumnal Cannibalism – a riff on Dali which amounted to a sticky rice dumpling terrine, with sourdough mantou and whipped butter – and the dessert inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1888) with its equal parts macabre and delightful ear-shaped plate.
Presenting prints of the artwork that inspired each dish might be a little on the nose for our liking, but we haven’t come across this level of energy in a dinner for a long time. The demon chef’s revamped restaurant and its over the top presentation may be just the adrenaline shot Hong Kong’s dining scene needs.
