Restaurant review: Tri - modern Balinese in Repulse Bay

It's easy to be sceptical about Tri, the modern Balinese restaurant in The Pulse.

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.

We weren't that impressed with the first two starters: the jamur squid (HK$190) needed more time on the grill and more flavour in the mushroom and spice paste stuffing, while bumbu prawns (HK$230) were unmemorable.

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.