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Avocado with everything at Avobar, new in Hong Kong – mashed, smashed, sliced, diced, or halved, it’s all here

South China Morning Post

發布於 2019年09月15日16:09 • Bernice Chan bernice.chan@scmp.com
  • From a burger where avocado halves replace the bun, to delicious avocado toast, to avocado smashed with chilli, we sample the menu at new K11 Musea restaurant
  • We could suggest a few improvements, but overall the food is fine. Expect to spend around US$30 per head without drinks. Shame about the mall’s Christmas music!
Smashed Chilli Avo at the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Every menu item contains avocados, even the cocktails at this London import to Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Smashed Chilli Avo at the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Every menu item contains avocados, even the cocktails at this London import to Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

If you're a fan of the avocado, there's a restaurant in Hong Kong that can fulfil your cravings.

The aptly named Avobar, an import from London, it's in the new K11 Musea mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, in the Food Playground or food court area. Staff wear T-shirts with the words "sex" and "drugs" crossed out and "avocuddles" below. Cute, but how's the food?

We were among the first to be invited to try the Avobar menu " the chef had literally stepped into its newly completed kitchen only that day, and in consequence the food was uneven. Most of the dishes we tried were fine; as with all restaurant openings, there are some kinks to smooth out before its official opening on September 16.

Prices weren't available at the time of tasting, though we were told customers can expect to spend HK$200-HK$250 (US$26-US$32) per person without drinks.

The Ultimate Avo Toast at the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong
The Ultimate Avo Toast at the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Every item on the menu has avocado in it. The signature dish is the avo bun burger, in which the hamburger buns are replaced by two halves of an avocado; in between is a thick red-lentil patty, two thin slices of zucchini and some mayo.

It looks very vertical. How do you even eat this? We try to cut it with a knife and are not very successful. Nevertheless, we like the taste of the patty, smooth and substantial, together with the avocado.

The interior of the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong
The interior of the Avobar, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A variation is the avo bun lobster, which sounds decadent; the lobster meat is smothered in a mango and passion fruit sauce, which is a pity.

Every other dish comes with a side of red cabbage and carrot slaw that needs a squirt of lemon juice or lime to perk it up.

Avobar's Ultimate Avo Toast would make a delicious breakfast or brunch option: two slices of sourdough toast are spread with mashed avocado mixed with lime juice, and come with more avocado thinly sliced on the side topped with a poached egg covered in turmeric. There's a lime jam that is very sweet. The dish comes with condiments such as olive oil, chilli flakes and sea salt flakes, though we weren't told what to do with them.

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We quite liked the smashed chilli avo, featuring a thick slice of sweet potato that had been boiled, then baked, on top of which was mashed avocado that was hardly spicy, and a small dollop of coconut "yogurt" topped with raw pea shoots. The sweet potato is quite filling and would have been better if it had been roasted longer for some caramelisation.

There are a few dishes that are only found on the Hong Kong menu. One is the pasilla and mushroom risotto that comes with a decent-sized portion of miso cod. The fish was great, but the risotto a tad too salty.

The only big disappointment was the dessert, an avo choc brownie. Because the kitchen had only just been finished, the chef wasn't able to give it enough time to set properly " it is gluten-free and made with almond flour " so the brownie came out like a dark brown sludge, served cold with bits of avocado in it.

Pasilla and mushroom risotto at the Avobar. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Pasilla and mushroom risotto at the Avobar. Photo: Jonathan Wong

As well as the food, there are avocado-themed drinks such as the avo margarita cocktail and avocolada, but we didn't get to try them.

Doubtless everything will be running like clockwork when Avobar opens. A pity they can't do anything about the Christmas music blaring in K11 Musea … really, it's only September!

Avobar, Shop B201-4, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (no phone number yet. See facebook.com/avobarhk)

Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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