Price: $$$
Cravingness: ★★★★☆
The Bellbrook, the name I thought is a title of a book, is actually a new bistro opened by the famous David Laris. Different from its former fine dining restaurant Laris, Bellbrook goes by a casual, a much more lay back bistro style for a fun and chill night with friends and family.
Bellbrook is a legendary bird in Australia where Laris's little town at the country side in Australia was named upon. The Bellbrook is furnished in an old fashioned way to reminiscent the country side. Dark wooden tables, wood tiled ceiling, yellow tiled wall, black and white posters and even retro furnitures are used in Bellbrook. With that rustiness, the restaurant feels very homey.
At the end of the restaurant is an open kitchen where preparation of the dishes can be seen. Chalkboard on top writes some dishes and drinks recommended for the day.
Laris implements some interesting elements into Bellbrook to make sure the diners to chill and have fun. First the table cloth is replaced by drawing papers, colour crayon is provided on every table for diners to paint or play cross and circle game etc. Next he twisted the menu into a board game at the back of the menu. What's more? Laris also introduced a flip coin challenge where if you flip an Aussie dollar and get Heads, your server will buy you a house shot!
House bread is not to be missed here. A huge loaf of farmer bread with a pot of butter was served. The port of butter was topped with a soil looking layer of finely chopped olives. Delicious!
To start the night, the house signature the Bellbrook Lemonade was served. I was happy to get the drink as I love lemonade, but after downing the whole jug I found myself a bit tipsy! Later I know rum was added into the lemonade! You could not possibly taste the alcohol as it was secretly covered by the fruity grapefruit and other juices. Evil but yum.
I was very excited when I saw this Parmesan sprinkled twisties, in the end who does not like chips? The chips skewer was made with fresh potato, it was lightly salted and heavily sprinkled with parmesan cheese. You can also deep the chips into the mayo sauce served at the side! Evil dish but delicious! Oh, they also had truffle and Togarashi twisties, but I think the parmesan twisties tasted the best.
A drooling looking dish with burrata cheese, bush tomato, smoky eggplant and pine nuts in olive oil. Every element complimented each other well and carried decent taste, the only down side was that the burrata cheese was not running. It was quite stiff. :(
This is amazeball!!!! This is my second favourite dishes here! The salad was very light and flavourful with super sweet, soft and chewy pumpkin. The texture was amazing as well with crunchy almond and quinoa, crisp baby spinach and red onion. The salad was drizzled with pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette which gave the perfect sourness to whet the appetite. Yum yum yum!
Laris played a little twist on the traditional steak tartare and combined it with bone marrow! This is like the perfect combo and a super great pair, every restaurant should start serving this instead lol. The steak tartare was soft and slightly drier than the traditional steak tartare. There was crunchy thin toast served aside but I reckon it's best to enjoy the tartare spoon by spoon!
This is the BEST and my favourite dish at Bellbrooks, it was simply heavenly. The chicken liver in the jar was velvety, creamy and savoury. The sweet caramelised onion jam at the side further enhance the flavour of the chicken liver. This was polished right away!
The sardines was served in a hot skillet at bite sizes with a leave and fig. This sardine was among the best that I have ever had. It was succulent and smooth with a citrus note from the lemon and floral note from the fig.
The artichokes was roasted soft with a toasted caramelised edge. The artichoke tasted bland itself but the flavour was bought up by the shaved Raggiano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
This tiny pot of octopus is called the Dad's pickled octopus, probably because all dads love octopus, at least my dad does. The octopus was silky and juicy, tasted sour from the Merlot vinegar and sweet from the tomato. The portion was small but was good enough to share.
Scotch egg is usually hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked. The scotch egg by Laris surprised us by serving a soft boiled egg instead. The combination was as lovable as the original version. The horseradish creme fraiche served at the side was a great compliment to the scotch egg.
I would have never expect anyone to serve frites directly atop of a mussel dish. These frites were very crunchy to start and were made soft after soaking in the mussel broth for a while. Although I prefer the frites to be served at the side but the soft frites still tasted yummy as it absorbed the tangy mussel broth! The mussel broth was spicy and sweet, so delicious that I wanted to swim in it!
I am never a big fan of Kangaroo as I dislike their texture and taste among all the red meats. The Kangaroo from Bellbrook was unfortunately the same. Even though the kangaroo was sous vide, the texture was still very tough which gave a hard time chewing. The natural flavour was a bit stronger than other red meats and had quite a bit of gamey note in it.
The Barramundi was interesting as it was served in a layered leaves called Aborgine Paperback, a special leaves from Australia. It was my first time seeing a western country uses their country leaf in cooking, unlike us Chinese would use lotus leaf in many dishes such as glutinous rice and the festive dumplings.
The Barramundi was aromatic with a smooth woody note. It was succulent, tasting sweet with a hint of sourness from finger lime rested atop.
I never truly love the head of any fish before as first I did not know how to eat them and second they tasted gooey. This Barramundi head was otherwise, the roasted head was smokey and savoury with firm jelly like I am having bone marrow. Yum!
The grilled black pork meatball was quite lovely. The orzo pasta was flavourable, cooked in tomato sauce but a bit too soft.
Our night ended with a heavy dessert of vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake in a chocolate soup. The Chocolate cake was sweet, dense and moist. it was decent but I want something lighter to end my night.
After the big delicious feast and causal mingling, we picked up our white chalk and wrote a thank you note to Bellbrook on their chalk board ceiling. I wonder if we can still see our messsage next time when we are back?
Bellbrook is a legendary bird in Australia where Laris's little town at the country side in Australia was named upon. The Bellbrook is furnished in an old fashioned way to reminiscent the country side. Dark wooden tables, wood tiled ceiling, yellow tiled wall, black and white posters and even retro furnitures are used in Bellbrook. With that rustiness, the restaurant feels very homey.
At the end of the restaurant is an open kitchen where preparation of the dishes can be seen. Chalkboard on top writes some dishes and drinks recommended for the day.
Laris implements some interesting elements into Bellbrook to make sure the diners to chill and have fun. First the table cloth is replaced by drawing papers, colour crayon is provided on every table for diners to paint or play cross and circle game etc. Next he twisted the menu into a board game at the back of the menu. What's more? Laris also introduced a flip coin challenge where if you flip an Aussie dollar and get Heads, your server will buy you a house shot!
House bread is not to be missed here. A huge loaf of farmer bread with a pot of butter was served. The port of butter was topped with a soil looking layer of finely chopped olives. Delicious!
The Bellbrook Lemonade - HKD68
To start the night, the house signature the Bellbrook Lemonade was served. I was happy to get the drink as I love lemonade, but after downing the whole jug I found myself a bit tipsy! Later I know rum was added into the lemonade! You could not possibly taste the alcohol as it was secretly covered by the fruity grapefruit and other juices. Evil but yum.
Parmesan Twisties - HKD78
I was very excited when I saw this Parmesan sprinkled twisties, in the end who does not like chips? The chips skewer was made with fresh potato, it was lightly salted and heavily sprinkled with parmesan cheese. You can also deep the chips into the mayo sauce served at the side! Evil dish but delicious! Oh, they also had truffle and Togarashi twisties, but I think the parmesan twisties tasted the best.
Smoky Eggplant and Burrata Salad - HKD148
A drooling looking dish with burrata cheese, bush tomato, smoky eggplant and pine nuts in olive oil. Every element complimented each other well and carried decent taste, the only down side was that the burrata cheese was not running. It was quite stiff. :(
Roasted Pumpkin Salad - HKD118
This is amazeball!!!! This is my second favourite dishes here! The salad was very light and flavourful with super sweet, soft and chewy pumpkin. The texture was amazing as well with crunchy almond and quinoa, crisp baby spinach and red onion. The salad was drizzled with pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette which gave the perfect sourness to whet the appetite. Yum yum yum!
Aussie Steak Tartare - HKD158
Laris played a little twist on the traditional steak tartare and combined it with bone marrow! This is like the perfect combo and a super great pair, every restaurant should start serving this instead lol. The steak tartare was soft and slightly drier than the traditional steak tartare. There was crunchy thin toast served aside but I reckon it's best to enjoy the tartare spoon by spoon!
Potted Chicken Liver Pate - HKD98
This is the BEST and my favourite dish at Bellbrooks, it was simply heavenly. The chicken liver in the jar was velvety, creamy and savoury. The sweet caramelised onion jam at the side further enhance the flavour of the chicken liver. This was polished right away!
Birds that Pecks at Figs - HKD128
The sardines was served in a hot skillet at bite sizes with a leave and fig. This sardine was among the best that I have ever had. It was succulent and smooth with a citrus note from the lemon and floral note from the fig.
Wild Tasmanian Globe Artichokes - HKD 138
The artichokes was roasted soft with a toasted caramelised edge. The artichoke tasted bland itself but the flavour was bought up by the shaved Raggiano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Dad's Pickles Octopus - HKD98
This tiny pot of octopus is called the Dad's pickled octopus, probably because all dads love octopus, at least my dad does. The octopus was silky and juicy, tasted sour from the Merlot vinegar and sweet from the tomato. The portion was small but was good enough to share.
Black Pork Scotch Egg - HKD68
Scotch egg is usually hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked. The scotch egg by Laris surprised us by serving a soft boiled egg instead. The combination was as lovable as the original version. The horseradish creme fraiche served at the side was a great compliment to the scotch egg.
Kinkowooka Mussels + Tanami Fire Frites - HKD168
I would have never expect anyone to serve frites directly atop of a mussel dish. These frites were very crunchy to start and were made soft after soaking in the mussel broth for a while. Although I prefer the frites to be served at the side but the soft frites still tasted yummy as it absorbed the tangy mussel broth! The mussel broth was spicy and sweet, so delicious that I wanted to swim in it!
Pan-fried Kangaroo Loin - HKD288
I am never a big fan of Kangaroo as I dislike their texture and taste among all the red meats. The Kangaroo from Bellbrook was unfortunately the same. Even though the kangaroo was sous vide, the texture was still very tough which gave a hard time chewing. The natural flavour was a bit stronger than other red meats and had quite a bit of gamey note in it.
Barramundi Cooked in Aborgine Paperbark - HKD298
The Barramundi was interesting as it was served in a layered leaves called Aborgine Paperback, a special leaves from Australia. It was my first time seeing a western country uses their country leaf in cooking, unlike us Chinese would use lotus leaf in many dishes such as glutinous rice and the festive dumplings.
The Barramundi was aromatic with a smooth woody note. It was succulent, tasting sweet with a hint of sourness from finger lime rested atop.
I never truly love the head of any fish before as first I did not know how to eat them and second they tasted gooey. This Barramundi head was otherwise, the roasted head was smokey and savoury with firm jelly like I am having bone marrow. Yum!
Grilled Black Pork Cheek and Wagyu Beef Rissoles - HKD168
The grilled black pork meatball was quite lovely. The orzo pasta was flavourable, cooked in tomato sauce but a bit too soft.
F.O Chocolate Cake - HKD78
Our night ended with a heavy dessert of vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake in a chocolate soup. The Chocolate cake was sweet, dense and moist. it was decent but I want something lighter to end my night.
After the big delicious feast and causal mingling, we picked up our white chalk and wrote a thank you note to Bellbrook on their chalk board ceiling. I wonder if we can still see our messsage next time when we are back?
♥ ♥ MUST GET ♥ ♥
Twisties
Roasted Pumpkin Salad
Potted Chicken Liver Pate
Barramundi Cooked in Aborgine Paperbark
Rating
Food - ★★★★☆
Service - ★★★★☆
Ambience - ★★★★★
Overall - ★★★★☆
The Bellbrook Bistro Oz by Laris
Address (E) 2/F, Carfield Building, 77 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Address (C) 香港中環雲咸街77號嘉兆商業大廈2樓
☏ 2530 1600
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Reservation Available? Yes
Walk In Possible? Yes
Date of Dining: 17 Oct 2013
The Bill Per Person - HKD$406 (Dinner)
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