Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Tim's Kitchen

This Cantonese restaurant is located in Sheung Wan, not exactly in a busy neighborhood (especially at night) so it might took you a while to find it. I have been here a few times before and generally the impression was fairly good, so this time I took my mom and wife along so we could order a bit more.

One thing I noticed was the relatively rundown decoration. Don't get me wrong, it is still quite nice in fact but you would find the ceiling and walls got quite a bit of wear and tear, and being a classy restaurant it should be paying more attention to such.

For appetizers we ordered a Chilled Tossed Cucumber, which is crunchy and seasoned well with vinegar and sugar. The taste is fairly good and just a bit too sweet for me.

The other appetizer is Chilled Marinated Wood Fungus, with some finely shredded carrot accompanying. The texture is crunchy too and again the seasoning is good, and I particularly like the red dates flavor that I could detect in the sauce.

Next comes the Honey-Glazed Barbecue Pork, and we deliberately asked for a semi-fatty piece to ensure the meat is not too dry. The meat is juicy and roasted perfectly, not too burnt to result in any bitterness while sufficiently charred to bring out the fragrance. Not the best char siu I have tasted but still one I enjoy.

The most anticipated dish is the Deep-Fried Whole Fresh Crab Claw with Peppercorn Salt. Requiring to pre-order a day in advance, the size of the crab claw is big and deep-fried to the right degree as I generally don't like my fried dishes too brown. The peppercorn salt is also not too salty to mask the delicate flavors of the fresh crab meat, and overall a really nice dish that is the highlight of the night.

Two other dishes we had included Steamed Chicken with Black Mushroom, which is a family dish you could prepare at home. The chicken is decent, though I don't think it is a fresh chicken from the texture and taste. Nowadays it is becoming more and more difficult to enjoy a good chicken in restaurant given the high prices. Also it might have a better presentation if the sauce could be less oily by skimming that layer off before pouring back in before serving.

The Poached Seasonal Vegetable in Supreme Soup is quite nice too, with the Chinese spinach tender and without any fiber in chewing. The soup provided the right saltiness to make it flavorful but not excessive. If only there is a bit more shredded Chinese ham it would further enhance the overall level for this dish.

On dessert we had a Red Bean Soup, Mango Pudding and Red Jujube Cake. The pudding is totally 'artificial' without any mango flavor which to me is very disappointing. The jujube cake got a chewy texture but the taste of dates are not intense at all. Overall all the desserts were below par.

Honest speaking the food quality of this restaurant has deteriorated quite a lot, particularly if I recalled the times when it was still newly started and in the old location. With the success and expansion it had now gone into the worrying decline stage which I hope they could seriously look into and turn it around.

The bill on the night was $1508 and considering the food and everything it was quite expensive, even though half of the bill was on the three crab claws in fact. You might argue it was not cheap to begin with even in the old days in that small setup without much decoration. Then I would pay because of the good taste, now I have a big question mark. My rating is 53/100.