Restaurant review: Tri - modern Balinese in Repulse Bay
A lot of care is put into the food here, which is complex and priced accordingly. If only you didn't have to use a flashlight to read the menu.
First there was the fuss over booking: it took several attempts before we were able to lock down the time and date we wanted, rather than at 6.30pm or 9.30pm, and even when we finally got a table for 7.30pm on a Saturday, we were told we would have to be finished by 9.30pm.
Then, there's the price: we're used to eating Indonesian food for less than HK$100 per person, rather than close to HK$400 each. And when we arrived, the dim lighting didn't improve my mood: it was difficult to read the menu, and we had to use our phone torches to see the print.
But it's a beautiful space, and it's obvious that the chef and his team are putting a lot of thought and care into the food.
Sambal tempeh (HK$80), however, was excellent. The earthy, funky flavours of the tempeh (fermented soya beans) were tempered by the addition of smooth and tender cauliflower and a sufficient amount of spicy sambal, while rempeyek crackers added texture to the dish.
We were too full for dessert, but with the bill came a trio of sweets: lemon marshmallow, a moist coconut cookie, and light and crunchy honeycomb.