Star chef, grill give Betty new oomph

The 21st-century egg is one of the recommended starters.[Photo by Donna Mah/China Daily]

The location and decor hasn't really changed, what was once Betty's Kitschen is now called St Betty. However, what has changed is that a two-Michelin-star Australian chef, Shane Osborn, now oversees the kitchen at the Hong Kong establishment of Alan Yau, best-known for UK's Wagamama food chain. Chef Osborn has introduced a menu that illustrates his global culinary knowledge and an interest in using Asian ingredients.

A section on the menu isdevoted to items from the Josper grill, which my fellow diners and I were not familiar with. St Betty is apparently the first Hong Kong restaurant to introduce the Josper Grill to its kitchen arsenal.

It is probably best described as an indoor barbecue in which, we were told, none of the natural moisture or flavor is lost during cooking.

One of the recommended starters, the 21st-century egg, would be served with asparagus cooked on the Josper grill, so I was looking forward to trying it.

The dish is a poached egg coated in crispy breadcrumbs sitting on a bed of crumbled, preserved century egg white served with char-grilled asparagus, lemon mayonnaise, black truffle and hazelnut dressing.

My initial reaction was that it would taste like a Scotch egg - not that I don't like Scotch eggs, but this elevated the simple, breaded, sans-pork egg to a new level.

The slightly smoky and tender asparagus was delicious with the creamy and tangy mayonnaise and complemented the crispy and slightly runny egg.

All the flavors and textures blended well with the jellylike century egg white. This starter was quite filling, so pairing it with a lighter main dish is recommended.

Being a big carb fan, I ordered the sauteed spatzle with wild mushrooms, fresh black truffle and Taleggio cheese, which can be served as a main or a smaller portion as a starter.