Given our little time in Hong Kong, we decided to fix Bo Innovation for lunch. Termed The Masterpiece Set Menu 2025, it takes inspiration from artwork and artist around the world and Chef Alvin Leung putting his own touch of Chinese cuisine with it. It’s a bold and interesting idea, for I think the outcome can go either way

It’s our first time at Bo Innovation. The interior is loud and unique and has their own character

Soup by Andy [Artist: Andy Warhol]

Staring with the first course, they were soup-inspired dishes. And they also printed a small frame of the artwork so you can feel inspired by the dish as well. And if you are interested to know the artwork, you can click on this link – https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/3/4286

Watermelon Gazpacho, Fuyu, Kaffir Lime, Cherry Stone Clam

And so we had a watermelon soup which was Spanish-inspired topped with fermented foam. The soup was interesting. It was very savory yet you can taste the sweetness of the watermelon towards the end and it had a little bit of kick just so that you can taste the layers together. Pretty good I must say

Then we had some clams which were decent as well. Though just a small portion but the clams were chewy and had good texture to it

Moving on to the mantou that came with Chinese zhengjiang vinegar and flower seed oil. Personally felt that the bun went better with the sunflower seed oil. The sunflower seed oil was really fragrant and I thought it complemented quite nicely. The friend on the other hand preferred the vinegar which has its own unique sweetness

I ordered the bubble tea milk tea cocktail to try since I had not had a single milk tea so far. The cocktail itself was not bad but the bubbles were a little tough to chew

Shrimp Bisque (Front), Taro (Left)

Taro w shrimp mayo and shrimp floss. This was my favourite. I loved how the shrimp mayo brought out the flavour of the dish and the taro was well made

Shrimp bisque. Friend said this one just tasted like concentrated stock. lol. It’s really thick and flavorful. I liked it and given we finished with this, it left quite an impression on me

Chicken Essence, Bird Nest, Egg

The egg tarts were cute and definitely made for the gram. The custard was infused chicken soup then topped with bird nest. Honestly I thought it was abit cheesy and I can never appreciate bird nest with egg tarts. The friend said cos the custard was soft and the bird nest was also soft in texture so there was no contrast there and bird nest is bland in its own, so it’s not like they brought out a different flavour to it. Well, I guess it just looked luxurious enough

Joke was there were so many small bites in the first course, we said this could be a meal itself

Polluck Polluck [Artist: Jackson Polluck]

Langoustine, Crab, Mentaiko, Seaweed

This pollock was made using fresh crab meat and langoustine on a bed of mentaiko sauce, champagne bablanc, bell pepper sauce and squid ink. I have to say it was really good. The friend and I took a bite each and we just nodded our head with no words. lol. The 4 different sauces really went well together and you could taste the composition of the sauce differently when you scoop it from a different spot. And I liked how generous they were with the crab meat. It was rather satisfying

Bamboo at Work [Artist: 吳冠中]

Foie Gras, “Chu Yeh Ching”, Bamboo Shoot

They sprayed some bamboo wine on the foie gras before serving. I’m not sure if there was any difference to the taste but the foie gras was well cooked. The bamboo shoot was also handled with care such that there was no weird taste of the bamboo shoot and yet the crunch and taste of the bamboo shoot goes well with the slight oiliness of the foie gras

Molecular X-treme “Xiao Long Bao” + HKD 90

XLB. It’s not your usual XLB. They recreate this dish so much you wouldn’t imagine this is XLB. Packed with ginger and vinegar, the thin molecular skin burst when you bite into them, letting your savour the broth within. It deserves to be their signature item

We got to choose between the duck, pasta or beef for our mains. When I saw A4 wagyu beef on the menu, I shudder. lol. But when the manager was explaining the description, he ended off with ‘Our A4 Wagyu beef is very tender’ I just laughed

Autumnal Cannibalism [Artist: Salvador Dali]

Painting inspiration: https://www.dalipaintings.com/autumnal-cannibalism.jsp#google_vignette

Dry Aged GuangZhou duck, Leaves of Autumn

So anyways, the duck was presented beautifully. Though the art was really too artistic for me. Smoked with rosemary leaves and served with dehydrated kimchi, beetroot, carrot – what you get was a beautiful piece of cooked duck. You could really taste the smokiness in the skin itself which was infused with the rosemary flavour. The cook on the duck was just right. Even the friend commented the duck was even more tender than the pork we had for dinner last night. lol

Housemade Pasta, Carabinero, Dried Shrimp, Tomatoes + HKD100

No guesses for what other mains we chose – The pasta. It was a sizable portion. The pasta was made very well and cooked very well too. The sauce was made with garlic and tomatoes but yet it was light and flavorful. It was delicious and also really filling. They gave some chilli oil on the side if you want some kick in your noodles and I recommend adding some to it to try the difference in flavours

The Starry Night [Artist: Vincent Van Gogh]

Butterfly Pea Flower, Lychee

Ending off with desserts with inspiration from Starry Night, I must say I was quite impressed by the resemblance. A combination of yoghurt, blueberry jam, chocolate and lychee panna cotta, it was a good and balanced dessert but I was so full at this point I couldn’t eat anymore. We said it was the pasta. Lol

Then topping it off with a birthday dessert surprise which we learned it changes with their menu every 2-3 months. I give them 100% in terms of creativity for this. It was fun, instagrammable and tasted good too

We had a good time at Bo Innovation. I felt it was quite worth the price given the quality of the food. The friend also mention she will recommend to anyone who is looking for a birthday celebration in Hong Kong. They definitely stay true to recreating Chinese flavours with an artistic twist

Bo Innovation

1/F, H Code, 45 Pottinger St

Central, Hong Kong