Creative remakes of American classics are staged in an open kitchen-style dining room attached with a breezy urban terrace. The whole vibe and format evokes a private kitchen or chef's table experience. The journey in getting to TBLS (short for tablespoon) also feels like you’ve discovered a hidden private dining club. Through an unmarked door that requires a door code (provided by the restaurant), TBLS is within a crummy old commercial building at the seventh floor which you get to via a rickety old-school lift. But once inside the restaurant, you're welcomed to a chic space evoking an industrial-cool vibe. Formerly an art studio, the venue's metallic greys and stainless steel interior matched with black seatings. Chef Que Vinh Dang and his crew are firing away in the open kitchen at the centre of a small dining room that can only accommodate a small party of around a dozen or so.

Executive chef Que Vinh Dang is a veteran in the dining scene and his last stint was at upscale burger joint Dukes in Soho, which closed down last month (he departed the restaurant long before its demise). Now Dang has opened his own place pulling a similar trick of serving glammed up American-style comfort food with the occasional Asian touch. Conveyed in a menu of six-course tasting menus at HK$480 per head, which changes monthly, all things arrive with an element of surprise and obvious care in preparation and whimsical presentation. The first course of "soup and sandwich" is sweet corn soup topped with foamy parmesan cream, accompanied with a side of miniature blue swimmer crab cakes made of undeniably fresh crab, centred between tiny burger buns. A bacon and egg risotto is also impressive with the poached Taiyouran organic egg at the centre of the plate looking unusually crinkled and pinched. Blended into the risotto accented with wood smoked bacon with drizzles of truffle oil, it's a playful and pleasing take on the classic breakfast fare. Seared Hokkaido scallop has the fat and fresh shellfish grilled and sitting on a sous de vie daikon radish and bathed in spicy Thai-style prawn-coconut broth with clams. Taking a Latin American detour is "pork and beans" comfort food all vamped up into a sweet maple-braised grain-fed pork belly, topped with a tangy pickled white cabbage, plus a brush stroke of black bean puree. Imaginative and dainty preparations continue until the end. Carrot cake arrives mildly deconstructed, with the mild cinnamon spiced cake centred with candied walnuts and topped with cream cheese ice cream. The most memorable dessert though is the chocolate sorbet smeared with peppermint icing and sandwiched in a big mint-flavoured macaroon (also on a plate decorated elaborately in chocolate).

Hand-waving is required to get attention to staff if you’re seated in the breezy outdoor terrace, which was also a bit dark (even though we asked for more candles). Otherwise, staff were friendly and all-smiles. Diners also get an private kitchen feel with the luxury of the chef perpetually swinging by to explain the dishes and answer any curious questions (or amend any ingredients to suit diner's dietary preferences), like he's your personal chef, evoking a highly attentive experience.

A six-course meal for two people (without drinks) was around HK$1,200.