Head-to-Head · Hong Kong

Bo Innovation vs Amber

Bo Innovation is Leung’s two-star X-treme Chinese; Amber is Ekkebus’s three-star French. Book Amber for certainty, Bo Innovation for surprise.

Bo Innovation

Central · X-treme Chinese · Food 9 / Room 9 / Value 7

Bo Innovation full review →

Amber

Central · Modern French (3 stars) · Food 10 / Room 9 / Value 8

Amber full review →

The Verdict

Bo Innovation is the provocation. Alvin Leung, the self-styled Demon Chef, cooks what he calls X-treme Chinese from a space in Central’s H Code building on Pottinger Street, where he moved in 2022, and holds two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. His molecular xiao long bao, a soup dumpling rebuilt as a single liquid sphere, is the dish the kitchen is known for. It scores 9 for food, 9 for the room and 7 for value.

Amber is the establishment at its peak. Richard Ekkebus has run the kitchen on the seventh floor of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental for nearly two decades, and in 2026 it holds three Michelin stars and a Michelin Green Star, the latter for a fourth consecutive year. His dairy-free modern French cooking centres on the sea urchin in lobster jelly with cauliflower and caviar that has defined the room. It scores 10 for food, 9 for the room and 8 for value.

The split is theatre versus mastery. Bo Innovation is the wilder, more divisive night, Chinese tradition pulled apart and reassembled; Amber is the three-star benchmark, a kitchen that has held the top of the city for years. One is a stunt with substance, the other is the safest great meal in Hong Kong.

Scores, Side by Side

Score	Bo Innovation	Amber
Food	9 / 10	10 / 10
Atmosphere	9 / 10	9 / 10
Value	7 / 10	8 / 10

The Cooking

Bo Innovation treats Cantonese and Shanghainese canon as raw material. Leung deconstructs the xiao long bao into a burst of liquid, plays char siu and century egg against modern textures, and stages the meal as a sequence of surprises. It is clever and uneven by design, the kind of cooking that earns two stars and still argues with itself, and it rewards a diner who wants to be provoked rather than comforted.

Amber cooks at a level that does not waver. Ekkebus removed butter and cream from the kitchen years ago and lost nothing, building dairy-free sauces of real depth around the best seafood and produce flown in for the room. The signature sea urchin in lobster jelly is a fixture because it has not been bettered, and the wine list and service match the food course for course. This is three-star French cooking with a Hong Kong address.

The Rooms

Bo Innovation is a dim, design-forward Central space that frames the food as performance, intimate and a little theatrical. Amber is a sleek seventh-floor dining room in The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, recently redesigned, with the space and the quiet of a hotel flagship. Bo Innovation is where you go to be surprised; Amber is where you go to be looked after.

Which One for Which Occasion

Occasion	Editorial Pick
The safest great meal in town	AmberThree Michelin stars and Richard Ekkebus’s steady kitchen make it the highest-floor certainty in Hong Kong.
A provocative tasting	Bo InnovationAlvin Leung’s deconstructed dim sum and X-treme Chinese sequence is the night for a diner who wants to be challenged.
Closing a deal	AmberThe Landmark Mandarin Oriental room, the three-star rating and the service carry a business dinner that has to land.
A design-led date	Bo InnovationThe dim, theatrical Central space and surprise-led menu make for a livelier, more talked-about two-top.
Best value at the top end	AmberA three-star kitchen at this consistency returns more for the spend than a two-star that trades on shock.

Price and How to Book

Bo Innovation runs a two-star tasting at the $$$$ tier and books through the restaurant, with weekend seats the first to go; the full picture is in the Bo Innovation review. Amber sits at the higher three-star price and reopened its redesigned room with reservations through its own platform; the booking detail sits in the Amber review. Both anchor our Hong Kong dining guide.

For cuisine context, weigh Bo Innovation against the best Chinese restaurants worldwide and Amber against the world’s finest French fine dining. For occasion fit, see our picks for closing a deal and impressing clients. More match-ups sit on the compare index, and the city’s toughest seats are in the hardest Hong Kong reservations guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Bo Innovation or Amber?

Amber is the stronger meal. It holds three Michelin stars and a Green Star in 2026 for Richard Ekkebus’s dairy-free modern French cooking at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, and it is the city’s benchmark. Bo Innovation is the more provocative two-star night, Alvin Leung’s X-treme Chinese in Central. Choose Amber for certainty, Bo Innovation for surprise. Both sit in our Hong Kong dining guide.

How much do Bo Innovation and Amber cost?

Both are $$$$ tasting-menu restaurants, and Amber is the pricier as a three-star kitchen. Bo Innovation’s two-star menu costs less but trades on theatre as much as refinement. Budget a major sum at either, with wine pairings adding significantly; these are two of the most expensive seats in Hong Kong.

Do you need a reservation at Bo Innovation or Amber?

Yes for both. Amber’s three stars make its seventh-floor room one of the hardest tables in the city, and it should be booked weeks ahead. Bo Innovation’s smaller Central space fills fastest on weekends. Reserve either well in advance through the restaurant. See both in our Hong Kong dining guide.

What should I order at Bo Innovation and Amber?

Both serve set tasting menus, so the kitchen decides. At Bo Innovation, the molecular xiao long bao is the signature you come for. At Amber, the sea urchin in lobster jelly with cauliflower and caviar is the dish that has defined Richard Ekkebus’s tenure. Add the wine pairing at either if the budget allows.