Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Hoi King Heen

This Cantonese restaurant is located in InterContinental Grand Stanford in TST East, which was awarded Michelin 1-star in 2011. Chef Leung Fai Hung had won many prizes and is one of the celebrity Chinese chef in town. The decoration is contemporary, with a warm earth tone, islands of red and gold, creating a fine dining experience.

On the night we ordered the 'Best of the Best Degustation Menu', with the first course being Double-Boiled Fish Maw Soup with Chinese Mushrooms and White Cabbage. The soup is tasty, full of flavor, light and elegant. The mushroom is thick and meaty, and the fish maw is also fairly big in size. The cabbage provides the freshness and finesse to kick-start the dinner with a high expectation.

Second course is Steamed Crab Claw with Egg White in Far Dew Chinese Wine. Even if we are blindfolded the signature Chinese wine aromas would not be mistaking this dish. The egg white is very smooth and silky, with the right amount of wine so not overpowering the delicate flavors. My only comment on the crab claw is that it tasted a bit tougher than I would prefer (only a tiny bit) but nevertheless prompted me to second-guess whether it is a fresh crab claw or not.

Third dish is Braised Winter Melon Balls Stuffed with Black Olives Mustard. The presentation is very pretty, with some asparagus as the stem, two winter melon skins cut to resemble the leaves, and the winter melon balls looking like the grapes in the bunch. There are also some finely chopped red bell pepper sprinkled on them. The winter melon is light and balanced perfectly with the black olive mustard stuffed inside. A real treat on both look and taste indeed.

Fourth course is Steamed Garoupa Roll with Yunnan Ham. This is another signature dish of the restaurant, with the top being a fish fillet rolled with a thin strip of ham to allow a combination of savory when enjoying the fish. On the second layer it is a minced shrimp cake on shiitake mushroom, mixing the nice texture and tasty shrimp cake with the aromas of the mushroom. The bottom layer is a broccoli blended with egg white and steamed in a pudding texture, paired with a crab yolk sauce. In terms of sophistication this is the most impressive dish on the night and also my favorite.

Fifth is the Sauteed Diced Beef Tenderloin with Lingzhi Mushroom and Osmanthus Flavored Raisins. Since I did not eat beef I asked to change to a Fried Spare Ribs in Honey Sauce. According to Ivy the beef was very good with a tender texture and full of flavors. The raisins were also interesting in taste. For the spare ribs it is crunchy on the surface, but not hard inside which I can easily bite off the meat from the bone.

Sixth is the Pan Fried Glutinous Rice with Chicken, Mushroom top with Taro Ball. When served I was quite surprised by the presentation as it was totally out of my expectation, being served on a black bean sauce. It was another western-style plating with the glutinous rice basically similar to the 'Pearl Chicken' we have in dim sum, though it was pan fried on both sides to bring in some crispiness. The taro ball is nice, with some black glutinous rice in it as well. However I would hope the taro ball is having the same warmth as the rice. It was a bit too cool down making the overall feeling is a bit weird for my liking.

Dessert is Chilled Mango Pudding, molded to look like a fish. It was tasty and with many pieces of fresh mango, and also got the right sweetness as well. Adding a bit of evaporated milk made it extra smooth and further enhanced the enjoyment. It was one of the best Chinese style mango pudding that I have tasted in a long while.

My biggest suggestion to the restaurant is to improve the service by being more attentive to the customers, not only in filling our cups with tea by more importantly to explain more the dishes. There are couple of times I have to ask them what we are having, and considering that some of those dishes really had a lot of different ingredients and special preparation it would be a waste if these are not communicated to the diners.

The bill on the night was $1912 for two, not cheap but I don't think it is greatly over-priced. If you have more people coming together I guess trying other of Chef Leung's signature dishes would be a better option than this tasting menu.

My overall score for this restaurant is 65/100.

Nutritionist Recipe - 9. Pork Fillet in Green Curry

Ingredients (for 4):

• Pork fillet - 400 g
• Galangal - 4 pcs
• Shallot - 1
• Lemongrass - 1
• Chili - 1
• Thai small eggplant - 4
• Green curry paste - 2 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 2
• Lime - 1
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Soy sauce - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Potato starch - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Wash the pork fillet and then cut into slices. Marinate with soy sauce, white pepper powder and potato starch.

2. Peel the galangal and cut into slices.

3. Peel the shallot and cut into halves.

4. Wash the lemongrass and chop using the blunt end of chopper, then cut into dices.

5. Wash the chili and remove stem, cut into pieces.

6. Wash the Thai eggplant and then remove stem, cut in halves.

7. Heat the pan and then add oil, stir-fry the galangal, shallot and lemongrass.

8. Add the pork fillet and pan-try until both sides turn golden. 

9. Add green curry paste and 2 cups of water, then add eggplant, chili and bay leaves to cook until the eggplant is softened.

10. Squeeze some lime juice in it and serve.

Nutritionist Recipe - 8. Pan-fried Hash Brown with Minced Pork

Ingredients (for 4):

• Minced pork - 320 g
• Potato - 1
• Chinese parsley - 1
• Egg - 1
• Oil - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1.5 tsp
• Flour - 1.5 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Wash the pork, drip dry and then mince.

2. Peel the potato and then cut into shreds.

3. Wash the Chinese parsley and then chop finely.

4. Add the egg to the minced pork, then add potato shreds, parsley, seasonings and flour. Mix well together.

5. Heat the pan and add oil, then place 2 tbsp of mixture to pan-fry till golden before flipping over.

6. Serve with balsamic vinegar. 

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - King of Sheng Jian

This week we went to Mongkok, which I haven't really walked around for a long time, and visited this small eatery specializing in Shanghai Pan-fried Buns. Located in Soy Street, very near the minibus station going to Homantin, we were fortunate that there were available seats so we didn't need to wait in this busy restaurant.

We ordered the signature Pan-fried Buns, 'Bandit' Chicken Wings, Chicken Vermicelli, along with a Hot and Sour Soup. The buns are quite nice, with the bottom pan-fried to give crispy texture while there are plenty of juice in the fillings. There are some sesame sprinkled on top with a bit of spring onion too to give extra flavors. Just be careful as juice could burn your tongue since it was very hot.

The chicken wings are decently prepared, with some black sesame sprinkled, and there is also a light cumin spicy notes. Nothing like the skewers with very strong cumin aromas that you might have tasted in other places, I like the delicacy of the flavors for these wings. They are also pan-fried well to have a good color but still moist and juicy inside.

The chicken vermicelli is only so-so, with the chicken shreds quite bland. But adding the sauce would overpower the flavors and making the chicken simply having no flavor. Having made one at home a while ago, I know now the attention required to marinate well the chicken to give the shreds a nice taste without overly relying on the sauce. But unfortunately I could not find in this dish.

The hot and spicy soup is another common dish and I always regarded it as a true test of the quality of the Shanghai restaurant. This one I found to be of decent quality, certainly having the right hotness but still a pinch insufficient on the sourness. There is also not many ingredients in the soup, but that again is nothing surprising considering the price level.

Speaking about price, the whole meal cost $64 which is very reasonable. In such neighborhood I could imagine the high rental the landlord is charging so with all the four dishes only costing that amount it was a testament of the belief of the owner in providing a meal of good value for the general public, which is admirable. 

My rating is 40/100, mainly because of the no-frill atmosphere and simple basic service, but overall it is not bad at all.  

Nutritionist Recipe - 7. Rice Paper Roll with Spinach and Mango

Ingredients (for 4):

• Spinach - 2 sprigs
• Mango - 1/2
• Crab stick - 4 pcs
• Sesame - 1/2 tsp
• Rice paper - 4 pcs
• Stock - 1/2 bowl
• Sesame sauce - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Soak the spinach in water and then wash thoroughly, drip dry.

2. Boil the stock with another bowl of water and then put in the spinach. When done, take it out and wipe it dry with tissue paper. Remove the roots and cut into equal sections.

3. Peel the mango and cut into sections of same length as spinach.

4. Blanch the crab stick slightly and then drip dry.

5. Soak the rice paper in boiled water for 1-2 seconds, then place on clean towel. Add some spinach, mango, crab stick and then sprinkle with a bit of sesame. Wrap the rice paper roll.

6. Serve with sesame sauce.

Nutritionist Recipe - 6. Spicy Clams with Spaghetti

Ingredients (for 2):

• Spaghetti - 85 g
• Clams - 8
• Chili - 2
• Purple Onion - 1/3
• Basil - 2 sprigs
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Olive oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Boil a pot of water and put in some salt, then cook the spaghetti according to the package instruction cooking time. Drip dry after draining.

2. Remove the stem of the chili and cut into small pieces.

3. Peel the garlic and cut into slices.

4. Wash the basil and remove the leaves. Drip dry.

5. Remove the skin of the purple onion, then cut into rings.

6. Heat the pan and add the olive oil, then add the garlic slices to stir fry to fragrant.

7. Add the clams and then onion rings and chili to continue to stir fry.

8. Add the spaghetti, season with salt and then add basil.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Hey Hey Kitchen

This small neighborhood style restaurant is located in Shek Tong Tsui, near the HKU MTR station, on Queen's Road West, The first impression I got when entering the restaurant was that it was bright, clean, and you can get an immediate sense that they have a good quality standards. It was early and there were not that many people, but after a while all tables were occupied so I suggest you make bookings beforehand.

This time with my mother along we could order a bit more, and decided to go for Clams in Sake Sauce, Braised Mixed Vegetables with Dry Scallops and Seafood, Braised Oysters with Ginger and Spring Onion, Crabs Baked in Salt, plus Chinese Sausages and Preserved Pork Casserole Rice, with a Egg White Almond Tea for dessert.

When the clams are served, we are quite surprised by the size of the dish. Certainly a big portion, the taste is also good with a nice sake note quite apparent but not overpowering for people who doesn't like alcohol. The clams are fresh and without sand, and overall the dish is a nice start for our meal and setting us up for a good expectation on the other dishes to come.

Next comes the mixed vegetable, which apart from broccoli, choi sum, there are other veggie like Chinese yam, seaweed and black fungus. The dried scallops and seafood provided good savory flavors to the sweetness of the fresh veggie, and they are also prepared in fish stock which further enhanced the taste of the dish. A common dish available in most Cantonese restaurant but also showcasing how the restaurant is paying attention to its food.

The oysters are also nice, with the ginger and spring onions giving a strong fragrance and the oysters, I believe, were blanched a short while before braising, to give it the right texture. You can tell the dish is braised in the pot, and doesn't take the short cut like many more famous restaurants which were simply stir-fried in wok before putting in the pot to serve.

The casserole rice is a recommendation according to the menu, and I agree to that. Before it was taken to us I could already smell that, and the preserved meat and sausages are chopped to small pieces and sprinkled on top of the rice, and after adding a bit of sweet soy sauce to allow to bake for a little while, the rice absorbed the soy sauce and it was really tasty, with me finishing two bowls in no time. My only suggestion is that less fatty preserved pork could be used as there is quite some oil left on the pot after we finished, which for the health conscious it might be a bit difficult to accept.

The highlight on the night was certainly the crab baked in salt. The crab is the smaller one (I don't know its name in English) which is right in the season now and when cut in half you can see the crab yolk simply bursting from the shell. Baking with salt also helped to bring out the taste of the crab. I am frankly not someone crazy on crab yolk but I also enjoyed it very much, and for those of you who like crab I am sure you could easily devour two to three of them!

Service is decent with the staff friendly and helpful, and coming to help us change the plates without asking, and with all that the bill was only $789, a phenomenal value for money restaurant. The food quality overall was not inferior to any of the chain restaurants which would easily charge you double the price. And after the dinner we were given a VIP card which allows us to enjoy a 10% discount next time too.

All in all, a restaurant I recommend and would be coming back again to try some other of their dishes. My score is 65/100.

Nutritionist Recipe - 5. Grilled Sea Bass Marinated with Miso Paste

Ingredients (for 2):

• Sea bass - 2
• Turnip - 1/6
• Japanese BBQ sauce - 2 tbsp
• Honey - 1 tsp
• Miso paste - 1 tbsp
• Mirin - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Butter - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Peel the skin of turnip and then shreds finely, adding the Japanese soy sauce to make the sauce.

2. Heat the butter until it melts, then add the miso paste, mirin and sugar to prepare the paste.

3. Coat the sea bass with the paste and let it marinate for 3 hours, ideally overnight.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius, then put the sea bass in to grill for 7 minutes. 

5. Remove and then turn over, brush with honey, then put back in oven to grill for another 2 minutes.

6. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Nutritionist Recipe - 4. Korean Pancake with Cuttlefish

Ingredients (for 4):

• Squid - 1 or 2 (depend on size)
• Chinese chives -3 bunches
• Korean soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Spring onion - 1 bunch 
• Egg - 3
• Salt - 1/3 tsp
• Flour - 1 tbsp
• Korean spicy sauce - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Rice wine - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Clean the squid and remove the bone and beak, cut into pieces and marinate with rice wine.

2. Clean the Chinese chives and cut into pieces.

3. Remove the roots of the spring onion, then clean and drip dry. Cut into small pieces and add Korean soy sauce to make the dipping sauce.

4. Whisk the eggs and then add salt, flour, Korean spicy sauce and sugar. Then add Chinese chives in.

5. Heat the pan with the oil, then add the squid to stir fry. Add white pepper powder and continue to stir fry until dry.

6. Add the egg batter and then turn the heat to low, cover with the lid to allow it to form the pancake.

7. Flip over and cook until well done.

8. Serve with the dipping sauce.