lá bò lá offers warm welcome and friendly service once you locate it
Kim So Jin
LÁ BÒ LÁ
Shops G02-03, 200 Queen’s Road East, Lee Tung Street, Wan Chai, 2871 1711
Snuggled inside the glamorously revamped Lee Tung Avenue, lá bò lá is easy to miss if you're not paying attention. But once you find the entrance, you're welcomed to a cosy bar-slash-gastro-pub with friendly service.
We started the night with drinks: a salty chocolate martini (HK$98) and a rhubarb and strawberry negroni (HK$88). The martini was a good mix of sweet and salty, thanks to the Valrhona chocolate and kosher salt, and the cocktail was wonderfully smooth yet light.
The negroni was too strong for my friend and when she tried ordering a new one, the bartender kindly suggested replacing it, free of charge. He then recommended the Miss Saigon (HK$88), a delightfully light and refreshing drink, thanks to the combination of lychee, hibiscus sabdariffa and soda.
Our meal started with the signature lá bò lá chicken wings (HK$88) which were deliciously crunchy and juicy. Not having to worry about messy fingers from dealing with the bones was a bonus. The soft-shell crab rice-paper rolls (HK$108) were good for sharing, and had generous portions of crab meat. The tofu fries (HK$68), however, were not particularly memorable and were a bit of a miss. The salmon and avocado sriracha mayo panini (HK$78) was well executed, but the portion was small enough to have been part of the appetiser section and needed more sriracha. The highlight was the rich oxtail and bread dip (HK$208), which boasted oxtail bits that simply melted in our mouths.
