Update: Lobster Bobo has since moved and closed.

Tucked in a non-descript corner in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan area is Lobster Bobo by Eddy where I found really good quality seafood prepared by the former chef of Hong Kong’s chief executive. While lobster dishes are a highlight, this casual eatery also does an amazing multi-course tasting menu that changes monthly.

Because of its simple surroundings and plating, I’d describe Lobster Bobo as home cooking if you just happen to have a star chef as your cook. No doubt this is what it is probably like for Hong Kong’s chief executives. Chef Fai worked for Hong Kong’s past few leaders before joining Chef Eddy Leung in his Aberdeen private kitchen – Chef’s Studio by Eddy. And subsequently became the lead cook at this latest restaurant project by Chef Eddy.

Much of the food reflects its cantonese heritage but there are some pan-Asian, especially Japanese, and European influences that creep into select dishes. The a la carte menu features various noodle dishes including lobster udon and a very popular lobster laksa. Chef Eddy’s wife is Malaysian so while I didn’t try the laksa, I’m sure it’s very authentic other than for the use of the premium crustacean. I would like to drop by for lunch one day to try the laksa – it looked really good.

The tasting menu is normally for at least four guests due to the sizeable portions. On the night I was there, the menu featured sea urchin with tofu, scallops, slow cooked salmon, pigeon, prawns and other shell fish. Seven courses and one dessert of absolutely amazing produce. On arriving we were served an “amuse bouche” of tofu stuffed with shrimp paste and squid balls. Both were dressed with some lobster bisque and dried shrimp roe.

Our menu started with Japanese tofu with sea urchin – a cold dish. The tofu was homemade and the sauce was a special soy sauce. This was followed by a stone fish based soup that was filled with fish maw, clams and crunchy wood ear fungus. The soup is slow cooked in the cantonese tradition and so is extremely flavourful.

Next came scallops served with Chinese spinach and an XO sauce. This is a fairly typical cantonese dish but the scallops are the highlight here – huge pieces cooked nicely. In contrast the salmon confit, which is western, was given a local twist with a topping of pickled mustard (“mui choi”) leaves.

After the salmon confit came my favourite dish of the night. The prawns sautéed in Chinese yellow wine were done just nicely and extremely fresh.

Pigeon is a Hong Kong specialty and generally a crowd pleaser. I’m okay with pigeon but it’s not a dish that I crave for. On the night we were there the pigeon was cooked two ways – the drumsticks were done in a confit style with portobello mushrooms while the breast meat was smoked and then roasted. The smoked taste for the pigeon was a nice twist on the norm. My friend said that the pigeon was  tad bit salty the night we were there and he was a bit disappointed. But it’s still better than most.

By this time, I could barely move. The next item was the Lobster Bobo namesake – essentially rice in a lobster soup. It’s easy to refer to this as a porridge or congee but the rice is not cooked in the broth for as long and so retains a hardier texture. Very tasty and definitely worth seconds. The nice thing about lobster is that the meat is easier to get at compared to crab.

My friends were too full and couldn’t eat dessert but I figured I should try a bit. I thought dessert was pannacotta at first but it was actually a very creamy Hokkaido ice cream served with red beans. I’m not big on red beans but as this was good, I finished the whole thing on my own.

The thing with seafood is that good fresh produce is a must and that, first and foremost, was definitely what made Lobster Bobo very enjoyable. Secondly, Chef Fai cooked the seafood just right. My favourite dish was the prawns followed by the stone fish broth and the “lobster bobo”. I thought it the menu was good value for all that food at around HKD780 per person – which is around USD100. We brought our own wine.

Reservations are recommended if you are planning to try the tasting menu.  Lobster Bobo is open Monday-Saturday from 11am to 8pm. We stayed longer than 8pm – so I think they mean this to be last orders.

Lobster Bobo by Eddy Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lobsterbobobyeddy/timeline