Taste of Oz

Grilled kangaroo loin on smoked hay is a signature dish at The BellBrook, Bistro Oz in Hong Kong. Photos by Donna Mah / for China Daily

David Laris presents laid-back and contemporary dining in vintage Australian style, Donna Mah discovers.

Anight out used to involve a great deal of time spent choosing an outfit, careful application of makeup and accessorizing with the right handbag, shoes and jewelry. For a lot of people nowadays, a night out is a much more relaxed event, and a new wave of casual and comfortable dining rooms, where one can show up either dressed up or dressed down, are a welcome trend.

The BellBrook, Bistro Oz by David Laris is in the former location of Laris restaurant in Central. While the former was a fine-dining establishment, the BellBrook is a relaxed place where no-fuss food is served with some indigenous Australian specialties and daily blackboard specials on offer.

The space features a small bar at the entrance and a large enclosed balcony where you can dine and watch the action on Wyndham Street below. A good selection of Australian beers, ciders and wines are served, as well as some Australian-style cocktails.

The cocktails sounded fun and tasty, so we started with what was referred to as "Christmas in a glass" - the BellBrook Pina (HK$68) ($8.77) - and the Homemade Bourbon Cherry Coke (HK$68). The cinnamon-infused rum used in the pina colada is what reminds you of Christmas. It was good, but the cherry Coke with the bourbon-soaked muddled cherries was even better.

A quick glance around the packed dining room revealed that almost every table had ordered the twisties (HK$78) from the menu. Twisties are a fried thin-sliced whole potato coil on a stick, like a long string of potato chips. We tried the truffle-salt twisty: a good snack with a cold beer, but not essential to the meal.