Liberty Exchange is at Two Exchange Square, a place that I associate more as a great place to have drinks, but not as somewhere to have dinner. However, recently I had the opportunity to dine at this contemporary American bistro, and I have decided the food makes it worth a visit.

The restaurant is conveniently located if you're planning to hop on the Airport Express - just a short walk and an elevator ride away.

Hamburger lovers will wax lyrical about the Statue burger, made from 5.5 ounces of 100- percent Australian sirloin on a brioche bun, tomato confit, basil mayonnaise, and served with crispy fries. You can also add an optional order of truffle emulsion and pan-fried foie gras to make the burger very rich, very decadent, and absolutely delicious.

Executive Chef Vicky Cheng will dbut a must-try five-course menu, featuring different cooking techniques and using unique parts of the pig. Dishes include crispy pig's head and feet with cucumber kimchi, pickled cherry tomato, cumin yogurt, roasted pork loin and braised pork shoulder served with curried cauliflower and stewed lentils, and a warm molten chocolate cake with salted caramel, powdered bacon, and condensed milk sorbet.

"I have always been a big fan of pig. I loved bacon as a kid, so I decided to put something on the menu that I personally love to eat. I'm a true believer of being able to make almost anything edible taste good, In this case, different parts of the pig," Chef Cheng says. The HK$468 menu serves up two starters, two mains, and a dessert.

Additional signature dishes are the black cod marinated in a miso and maple syrup and then broiled; and the tamarind-glazed bone-in beef short rib served with crispy polenta, glazed daikon, and pickled red onion.

Liberty Exchange serves both lunch and dinner. The business lunch, changes monthly, is about HK$200 per person and dinner is about HK$300 per person. As a great gathering point in Central, the bar offers a number of beers on tap, 30 wines by the glass, and infused fresh fruit purees, boutique liquors, and spiced ingredients in their mixologist concoctions.

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/17/2011 page13)