Streetwise and casual: Bib N Hops takes fresh approach to Korean food

Alvin Leung puts a new twist on Korean food in his latest eatery Bib N Hops - this is his second outlet to open in the last few months, the first opened in Wan Chai just before Christmas
taking the old Bo Innovation spot. The Quarry Bay eatery is on a corner and opens up to the street. Walk through the drinks area to reach the spacious restaurant inside.

The menu offers small plates, big plates and charcoal grilled items. We started with a mung bean pancake with chilli, fennel and pork sausage, spring onion and chilli mayo (HK$98), served in a cast iron dish. It is the perfect starter to go with a beer. Next, we tried yukhoe (HK$158), a Korean steak tartare with pear sorbet, pine nuts, cured duck yolk, a parmesan crisp and soy truffle aioli. We mixed it all together before serving. I loved the cold sorbet with the tartare and the crunch of the nuts and the crispy Parmesan. My favourite dish was the lobster truffle samjang - which is a traditional fermented bean paste with chilli paste (HK$298). We topped ours with a king prawn. The flavours and textures are amazing and the ultimate must-try. We then had the Korean fried chicken (HK$198) and beef short ribs; the latter came with spicy pear and parsnip puree, mashed sweet potato and watercress salad (HK$398). From the charcoal grill, we had the black cod with a soy glaze, which was perfectly cooked.

The dessert was a rice doughnut with ice cream, jujube chocolate and seasonal fruit, which was fine - but in this restaurant, the
savouries rule for me.