BeO

UPDATE: This restaurant has now closed.

So, we decided to check off another restaurant, BeO, on our list on Saturday night.

Despite the unfortunate name, the room itself is lovely - with large glass windows overlooking the greenery - I'd imagine it's a great spot for lunch.

The food was excellent - to start with, I had Black Cod with potato rostis and tomatoes - delicious, such simple flavours and the rostis where done to a tee with a perfect crunch. E had a New Zealand bleu cheesecake with leaves - again, excellent (though a little too cold - because they got the order wrong the first time, it had come straight of the fridge and hadn't had time to rest).

For our main course, I had lamb rack with mash and a sprout (brussel) salad and E plumped for the crab linguini - again absolutely superb - the lamb was cooked to perfection, pink and tender, and the sprouts (separated into leaves) was an interesting twist on the usual greens. E's linguine (rocket and beetroot) had been made on the premises that day and was cooked with just the right amount of bite with a beautiful combination of flavours.

The puddings too were delectable - the best steamed fig sponge with almonds (much like the Ivy's sticky toffee pudding) and a lovely chocolate plate, with an assortment of textures.

So - the food was very good - well thought out, great ingredients, well executed - one of the best meals, food wise, I've had in a long time, however - the rest, which is what truly makes for a great restaurant experience, needs a lot more work.

For example - if the human race has spent several millenia working out how to make perfect eating receptacle (such as a plate, a bowl, a cup) why try to change them? The dinner service came in all shapes and sizes - wavy edged, tear drop shaped, often exblazened with the logo, just in case we forgot where we were. The bowl for the pasta was boat shaped and way too deep to get the pasta out of with a fork - E looked like he was trying to perform key-hole surgery throughout the main course and due to the shape of the coffee cups, we finished our meal by drinking out of a mini toilet bowls. The result was that the table looked like it had been furnished with a trolley-dash through ceramic seconds shop and the feeling was one of eating in a Dali painting.

Minor gripes, which could be applied to pretty much every restaurant in Hong Kong:
Music - why is this necessary, especially when the speaker is about two feet away from our heads? Please write the order down so you don't get in wrong and please don't take away my finished plate when someone else at the table is still eating. The Martini's also need some work.

It honestly had the feeling that the chef (a very nice Australian who came over to ask how our meal was) had been in charge of the food - which was well executed, but maybe his wife/interior design company had done the rest of the restaurant and the two had never consulted on a united aim.

I think this was also demonstrated through the menu - the descriptions were overly detailed and wordy, to the point of confusion - nothing leapt out from the initial peruse through and I thought I was going to struggle to order something I really wanted. Although the food that came out met the description on the menu in terms of the items given, you really weren't sure what you were expecting - I couldn't remember the full description of ANY of the dishes we'd ordered once I'd closed the menu.

So, would I go back? I think I'd give it another try in the next six months (E says purely for the fig sponge) and see if anything has changed - though I doubt it will have.