Hong Kong - 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA

8 1/2 Seafood Soup with shellfish, zucchini "trombetta" and fresh herbs (looks quite stingy, but this is actually a half portion in a rather heavy-bottomed bowl)

Roast Duck Foie Gras with piedmont hazelnut sauce, smoked duck in dice, greens

Star of the night....this tub of white diamonds!

Mooooreeeeee

Homemade Tagliolini with butter, parmesan, and Alba white truffle

Chocolate Martini

Confit "Taiyouran" Organic Egg with potato emulsion, confit potato, Chanterelle mushroom and Alba white truffle

Homemade Tagliolini with butter, parmesan, and Alba white truffle

Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto with fine Italian cheese and Alba white truffle

Homemade Trenette pasta with Red King Prawn, "Datterin" Tomato and fresh mint

Always a good time with my girls Small, Laubaby and Big

Review: 8 1/2 needs no introduction. 3 Michelin stars, attentive service and amazing food every time. Remember to book at least a month ahead! I recommend the Homemade Tagliolini, Jerusalem Artichoke Risotto and Homemade Trenette Pasta with Red King Prawn. They also offer delicious cocktails - my fave is the Espresso Martini.

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA
Address: Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House, 5-17 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2537-8859
Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-1030pm

Hong Kong - Neighborhood

Wagyu Tartare

Buttered Tagliolini

Food photos are a must!

Bone Marrow Risotto

Potato Gnocchi with Iberico Ham and Parmesan

Cheese Selection

Chocolate Palette

Vanilla Ice Cream

Complimentary canelés to end the night

Review: For our first taste of Alba white truffles this year, Big and Small picked Neighborhood, a newly opened joint by Chef David Lai from Bistronomique and On Lot 10. The quaint and modern restaurant is situated next to a little park and quite hard to find at first. Once we were seated, we were presented with a bowl of "white diamonds" nestled on uncooked rice. We were like little kids at the candy store, so excited to pick our own truffle! Their truffles were HKD 26 a gram and weighed on a digital scale at the table. Our truffle was more than enough to go between the three of us. We were given a truffle shaver set to the thinnest setting and we shaved the truffle on everything except the cheese and chocolate dessert! I was recently told that white truffles are in fact very 熱氣 - you can actually get nose bleeds after consuming heavy white truffle meals! But I guess once a year won't do too much damage.

We liked the al-dente Buttered Tagliolini for its subtle flavours that let the white truffle shine. The Wagyu Tartare didn’t have an overly acidic dressing and the raw yolk brought a great texture to the dish. The Homemade Gnocchi with Iberico and Parmesan was light and fluffy but could’ve had more potato taste. The Bone Marrow Risotto had large chunks of delicious fatty marrow throughout and the herbs cut through the fattiness, but the rich flavours sadly overpowered the truffles. For desserts, we liked the intense and creamy dark Chocolate Pallete and we used the last bits of our truffle on Vanilla Ice Cream, so decadent! They also served a great Fourme d'Ambert.

Overall I think the addition of white truffles elevated the food, but without the icing on the cake these dishes would still be delicious. The portions are small but reasonably priced, great for trying many dishes at once. The vibe is perfect for dates and there’s also a full bar. Their menu changes every week, so I'm looking forward to see what they have in store after the truffle season ends.

I recommend: Buttered Tagliolini, Bone Marrow Risotto, Chocolate Palette

Neighborhood
Address: 61-63 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phone: 2617-0891
Hours: Mon-Sat 6pm-1030pm