Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Greater China Club

This restaurant is located in Lai Chi Kok, on the top floor of the new commercial building D2 Place. The neighborhood is re-developing from some old industrial buildings into a new commercial center in western Kowloon, we went to Man Hing, the Cantonese cuisine section of Greater China Club, with a nice decor of some contemporary Chinese paintings and sculptures.

We ordered the Deluxe Set Dinner, with the first course being the Appetizers comprising of Deep-Fried Yunnan Ham Marinated with Honey, Jelly Fish with Black Vinegar, and Slow-Cooked Chicken Roll Marinated with Huadiao Wine. The jelly fish has a good crunchy texture, and is perfectly matched with the black vinegar. The ham, even though fairly nice with a crispy bread crumb on the outside, is frankly just too tiny in size. The chicken roll is the least appealing, however, with the taste and color too light. In my opinion it was nowhere marinated sufficiently and is a disappointment.

Next is the Baked Crab Shell Stuffed with Crab Meat and Onion Coated with Cheese. Popular in many restaurants, I like this dish very much, as it got a nice crispy coating of bread crumbs and cheese, while there is plenty of tasty crab meat stuffed inside, with the onion provided a sweet tone. Adding a few Worcestershire sauce further enhanced the flavors.

The third dish is Double-Boiled Chicken Soup with Black Garlic and Blaze Mushroom. The soup is clear and without any oil, highlighting an elegant blaze mushroom aroma. Adding the pieces of black garlic is also an interesting idea, without giving any garlic notes but a slight prune aromas to the soup. Another good dish on the evening.

The fourth dish is Saute Scotland Razor Clam with French Pied Bleu Mushroom. The razor clam is fresh, and the saute mushroom is cut into thin strips, offering a good bite yet not rubbery, seasoned well with black pepper to give a spicy kick without overly doing so. The different color bell pepper strips give a good complement to the appearance of the dish, making it both appetizing and pleasing on both senses.

The fifth dish is Stewed Pork Belly in Chef Chan Style. Similar in style to Tung Bo Pork Belly, there is a twist from Chef Chan, by having some orange zest on the pork to give the fragrance and a bit of bitter orange note, and also there is chestnut and dried apricot on the side, further strengthening the citrus elements while giving also the nutty flavors to create additional complexity to the dish. The pork is stewed beautifully, with the fat layer essentially melting in the mouth, and the flesh still tender and juicy.

The sixth dish is Poached Seasonal Vegetable with Dried Shrimp and Peach Gum. The peach gum is a sort of tree sap and believed to be of high nutritional value, and the Chinese cabbage is tender and of the season, with the vegetable poached using chicken stock, added with some dried shrimp, wolfberries and the peach gum. Overall a decent dish but I believe there is no need to put all the sauce making it a bit too soggy.

Then there is the Fried Rice with Beetroot, Bacon and Diced Chicken. The beetroot gave a slightly red color to the rice, and that color is complementary to the bacon too. The chicken and bacon provided a contrast in texture and generally it is nice, although slightly a bit oily for us.

The final dish is Dessert of the Day, which is a Coconut Milk Split Pea Pudding. Fairly common as dessert, the only specialty is that the restaurant added a tiny bit of gold foil on top, but it did not add anything to the flavor at all. Just a mediocre dessert and fairly small in portion too.

The restaurant is very busy for a normal Monday evening, with pretty much all the tables occupied. Maybe as a result the sequencing of the dinner was having some issues, like the soup and baked crab shell arriving at the same time so making one dish turning a bit cold before us eating. Then there is the vegetable which was 'forgotten' and we ended up finishing the fried rice before it is served. A bit of chaos in the kitchen I believe, which is not good sign for an up-scale restaurant.

The dinner costs $1597 for two, without any beverage, not too expensive on the amount but also there is not much premium ingredients for all the dishes, so I would not say it is good value for money from that perspective. Services are decent only without the staff checking in with us on the food or anything.

My overall rating is 65/100.