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Tucked away in the corner of the faux Disneyesque street that is the new Lee Tung Avenue in Wanchai it’s easy to walk past La Bo La a French Vietnamese tapas bar, where owner and wine lover Ian Ip pairs his love of wine with a range of Vietnamese tapas. The dark paneled interior is relaxing and offers a range of seating including a private room, screened by a thick rope curtain, and several outside tables are available.
The tapas and main menu are available in the evening, while at lunch there’s a set menu offering a range of pho and Thai noodles featuring Vietnamese ham ($62), US raw beef ($68), shrimp, crab and tomato ($68) with a range of additional toppings and side dishes. The pho is nicely balanced, full of flavour and comes with plenty of noodles and some crisp raw onion to add a bit of texture – a tasty and filling lunch.
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On the main menu the fried boneless chicken bites ($88) served with Tamarind sauce are lovely when prepared well but sometimes come out overly oily. The hand-shaped minced chicken skewers ($108) served on lemon grass stems have an engaging texture and flavour. The signature ox tongue on rice ($128) and the braised oxtail ($208) are both strong rich full flavoured and filling dishes but might not be to everyone’s taste.
La Bo La gets a lot of things right and it’s a nice place to go for a drink, to relax and grab a bite. It’s just not quite a must visit place yet, but with a little more attention to consistency of food quality it certainly could be.
La Bo La
Shops G02-03, 200 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai
Tel: 2871 1711
www.facebook.com/labolahk
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