This contemporary French restaurant is located in Hollywood Road, near Man Mo Temple, and when first arriving it can be easily missed because the sign is showing 'Compagnie Generale Francaise de Tramways'. Like many diners I suppose, it took me a while to figure out how to get into the restaurant, in which you need to push a button on a copper handrail on the side to activate the door.
Once inside we were greeted by the receptionist, as well as some nice decors before we were shown downstairs to the dining area. Famous for its decorations, the whole atmosphere is relaxing and joyful, contrasting with many traditional French restaurants which could be a bit too serious and stiff. There are mosaics of the TV game characters, a huge wooden cartoon figure, a scooter with the calligraphy of the famous 'King of Kowloon' Tsang, to name just a few.
Seated at a table looking out the window to the Ladder Street, it is another piece of art by itself, with the busy people walking up and down the steps. The table arrangement was a bit crowded, especially if you want to have some private conversations without being overheard. Considering the high rental in this neighborhood, however, it may be something unavoidable. Still the chair and table size is fairly comfortable for me.
Regarding the food, each of us ordered a different tasting menu, with Ivy on the 5-course Le Menu Gourmand and myself on the 7-course Le Menu Plasir with wine pairing. The amuse-bouche was a sweet corn puree with Japanese mushroom. Nothing fancy yet a tasty appetizer, it highlighted the chef's style of using edible flowers, which could be found in many of the coming dishes too.
Because we had different dishes, I would focus on the ones I had in this review. The first course was a pan-fried red tuna with puffed rice, eggplant caviar and green salad, pairing with a Provence rose. The slightly crispy crust outside provided a good contrast with the tender tuna inside, perfectly cooked and red in the core. The rose also brought up the freshness and vibrancy, certainly creating the excellent start for the dinner.
The second course was an avocado salad, with king crab, potato julienne and lemon dressing, pairing with a Bordeaux white. A signature combination of avocado and crab, the taste was good but my issue with this dish was on the texture. With the avocado made to a puree, it was watery to such an extent that the dish would better be served with a spoon. Not sure whether this was the intention of the chef, but with the wine further bringing up the crab fat flavor, the dish could easily have a very polarizing effect for diners.
The third course was a chestnut soup, with celeriac leaves, chestnut dices and foie gras shavings. It was a very rich soup with good chestnut flavors, accompanying well with the savory of the bacon pieces and foie gras. The chestnut dices also added a crunchy mouthfeel to this delicious dish. On the wine, the full-bodied Alsace Gewurztraminer provided the right weight and sweetness for the pairing.
Next was the pan-fried Hokkaido scallops with kumquat cream, Espelette chili and marinated ginger and chine, with an Alsace Riesling to pair. Nicely seared scallops with foam made from lobster bisque (I believe!) sprinkled with the finely chopped ginger and chine, the sour kumquat cream getting the bite to bring out flavors of the scallops. Another nicely prepared dish on the night, with the acidity of the wine complemented the kumquat beautifully.
For the main course I had picked the slow-cooked then pan-fried French pigeon stuffed with foie gras, plus crushed potatoes and pigeon jus. It was of small portion but wonderfully prepared, the dish presented quite a different tone with the other dishes so far. The meat was very tender and juicy, and pairing with the Languedoc St-Chinian red giving the ripe fruitiness and gamey flavors to bring the pigeon to another whole new level.
The pre-dessert was raspberry on hibiscus jelly, a nice dessert by itself and also serving to clean up the palate for the coming dessert, the matcha souffle with azuki ice-cream, pairing with a late harvest Jurancon. This unfortunately was not properly paired in my opinion. Despite the dessert was perfectly formed and the azuki ice-cream made to the right sweetness, the wine simply was not sweet enough to match, and mixing with the matcha flavors it was a bit weird.
On the whole the service was excellent, starting from the receptionist taking our coats before showing us to the table, to the maitre d' checking in with us on the food and everything, A good balance in the attentiveness without overly intruding our dinner. I was particularly impressed with the sommelier, with his diligence in introducing the wines and the characters, how it enhanced and complemented the food. And all the wines were also from France.
Finally for the price, the bill totaled $3,212 and considering the quality of the food, the restaurant design and good services, I would say it was money well spent. If you are taking someone to a French restaurant, and want to have a more relaxed environment, less formal in the setting, Bibo is certainly one of my recommendations.
My overall rating for the restaurant is 83/100.
This French restaurant is located on the 8th floor of Conrad Hotel in Admiralty, with an open kitchen located on one side of the restaurant so that you could watch how the chefs prepare the dishes while you are dining. The atmosphere is cozy but not extravagant, with comfortable chairs and a coat rack beside our table, which is handy as the weather has been cold and we were all wearing some heavy jackets.
For the soup I had chosen homemade lobster bisque while Ivy had the veloute of onion. The lobster bisque is nice, though not particularly impressive, Even though I did not try the onion soup it seemed quite thick, and maybe too thick. A bit disappointing, but probably that was also due to the high standard from the appetizers.
My main course was roasted seabass 'Provencal style' with ratatouille, spinach and pine nuts, paired with the 2010 Chapelle de Potensac from Medoc, while Ivy got the grilled US Creekstone striploin 'chateau style' and grilled Australian king prawn with herbs butter. A strange choice for wine pairing, as I would imagine they would go for a white or something less tannic, and obviously it did not go well. But just like the appetizers, the main course was delicious. The seabass was beautifully seasoned as well as the spinach and mixed vegetable. The dish were also of good portion, so we both felt fairly full.
Dessert was Rectangle Fraicheur with passion fruit coulis and lemon sherbet. The flavors are quite good, but because the presentation was not kind of plain. The wine paired was a 2011 Petit Verdrines. Not having sufficient sweetness to pair with the dessert, though by itself the wine was quite refreshing with good acidity.
