Star chef, grill give Betty new oomph

[Photo by Donna Mah/China Daily]

This is rich and earthy, and also quite a filling dish. I ordered the sizable starter size portion and would definitely not have been able to eat a full portion. It's definitely comfort food that may cause the diner to go into a pleasant food coma afterward.

The Sagabuta pork loin with local beetroots, onion and morteau sausage fondue, sage and shallot jus should be served with the meat cooked until pink and juicy.

I made the mistake of ordering the meat a little more cooked, and so it was a bit drier than I would have liked. (Order it cooked medium as the chef recommends.) I was intrigued by the fondue, which turned out to be a puree on the plate and not a warm pot of the mix for dipping.

For dessert, we sampled the passion fruit souffle, butterscotch ice cream with caramel; the dark chocolate cream, chocolate crumbs, salted peanut ice cream and fresh cherries; and the lemon-leaf ice cream with Japanese winter strawberries, roselle and toasted meringue.

The presentation of the souffle was the most impressive - sliced so the warm caramel sauce poured into the center.

However, the dessert that was most interesting was the lemon-leaf ice cream. This dessert was fresh, light and included a variety of textures. The toasted meringue gave it just the right touch of crunch with the creamy coolness of the citrus ice cream.

St Betty is centrally located in the IFC Mall and overlooks Victoria Harbor, with service that is attentive and very knowledgeable.

sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn