Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Tai Wing Wah

I went to the original one in Yuen Long last night and since there were only two of us, didn't order too many dishes. The 'Five Taste' Chicken is many people's favorite and me included. Unlike the normal soy sauce chicken, this one is made with also more herbs and spices so there is a subtle yet apparent fragrance coming from those instead of just the simple salty notes from the soy sauce. The chicken is tender as well.

We also had the Steamed Grey Mullet with Salty Lemon, which is another local village dish. The grey mullet is of good size, and of good quality, without any of those muddy notes. The fish is also steamed to the perfect level with the flesh fully cooked but not overly so to make it tough. I particularly like the salty lemon used to marinate as it gives the fish a nice flavor but not too salty. It is a good way to prepare grey mullet and maybe worth trying it at home.

The Indian Lettuce in Broth is more typical and no-frill. Not bad, but i think the vegetable is first stir-fried before putting into the broth, instead of blanched in the broth, since I found there is that oily feeling. Nevertheless on the seasoning it is done nicely, with some garlic cloves added to further enhance the flavors.

Although very full already we have added half the portion of the Steamed Cantonese Sponge Cake. It is made with custard and having the right sweetness level, and was prepared upon order so it took a short while but came just after the steamer, so it was still burning hot, but spongy and very good indeed. A must-try in my opinion to the restaurant and one of their signature as well.

The restaurant is catered to the community so on decoration or comfort one would expect too much. Services can be improved obviously, but not like being rude or any negative, and more the 'old' HK style. For the price it is one of the best on C/P ratio that you can find in town, with the above and two bottles of beer, plus two bowls of rice, it only costs $378 for two. Unbelievable good value.

My overall rating is 63/100.

Wineshark Nice Hotel Experience - Hotel Greges

This hotel is located at Munakata, about an hour from Fukuoka, also close to Munakata Okinoshima, the UNESCO world cultural heritage site. It is a really special designer hotel with only 6 rooms, with an overall sensation of coming to a Mediterranean resort, overlooking the gorgeous ocean.

Arriving at the entrance the staff came out to greet us and directed us to park at the reserved space, as the day is busy with a wedding going on, so there are a lot of visitor cars parked. After a short registration at the lobby, we were shown to our room, first going through the main corridor, which is beautifully decorated.

I have reserved La Suite Blanche, which got an overall tone of light beige as its name implied. Once inside the room split, with the make-up room and toilet is on the right side, while the studio-style bedroom and sitting room is on the left.

The room is certainly very nicely decorated, with the light color tone giving a pure and clean atmosphere, but not overly cold, probably because of the warm lighting as well as the bright sunlight seeping into the room through the windows on both sides. There is a writing table, a dining table, a sofa with coffee table, offering comfort, with coffee machine and the fridge stocked with different drinks which we are free to consume.

The bed is certainly one of the most comfortable ones I have slept. On the side hidden with clever design is a wardrobe. Looking out the window on that side of the room I could see the chapel and the patio where the wedding function is carried out in front of the setting sun.

Facing the bed is the glass door which leads to the huge balcony, and I am not exaggerating when I say huge. It can easily accommodate 30-40 people, with sunbed and table, so us to enjoy the phenomenal sea view as well as the bright stars in the evening. The only issue I have, of course, is that there is only two of us and effectively one can climb over the low wall to the adjacent room.

At the side of the balcony is the jacuzzi, with a big bath equipped with water jets. Although the location is not an onsen area, the facility allowed the guests to enjoy a good private time.

Before dinner we decided to walk around the hotel to check out the good spots. The hotel has a long limousine which can be rented to receive the guests, and also served as a spot for us to take photos.

Then walking further there is the beautiful garden with a heart-shaped dome and bell. We playfully went to ring the bell a couple of times. And I can imagine this place would feature in a lot of the wedding photos for the newly wed.

After returning to the room and freshen up, we went to the private room for our dinner. In the evening there were only three guests including us and as the other guest only came to the dining room fairly late, we have the whole area for our dinner. The room is again facing the setting sun which is amazing.

The dinner was truly memorable, I have opened a bottle of 1995 Meursault which is showing good development characters, but still lively. The different courses are all wonderfully prepared, with each single course a true treat on palate and sight. It also made me wonder how they could manage with only us taking the dinner...

Apart from the food, the services are also impeccable.

The maitre d' had helped us take photos, showing us outside the dining room and introduced all the different courses to his best.

His English is good and helping us to understand what we were enjoying, and unfortunately the menu was not provided and I simply don't have time to write it down.

There are a total of 8 courses which at the end we were so full and satisfied, and on this French cuisine alone it was already worth coming over for the meal in my opinion.

On the next day we woke up early and then went to the cafe to enjoy our breakfast. Unlike the dining room the night before, this time we had our meal at their 'restaurant', but still it was only the two of us in the whole setting.

The western style breakfast is tasty and nice, with fresh salad, sausage and egg, plus good coffee. The freshly baked pastry is another highlight of the breakfast, and I finished all three of them in no time. It was a good starter on the day.

The overall experience for me on this visit is really exceptional, from both the comfort, the facilities and setup, and services, the food, everything I would give a high mark. The price is high at 105,856 yen for two but I would still say it is good value for money.

My rating is 8.8/10, one of the highest I have ever scored.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - BLT Steak

This restaurant is located in Ocean Terminal, TST, featuring American steakhouse cuisine with a nice view looking out from the cruise terminal to Victoria Harbour. Recently renovated, we were seated at a table facing the window so we could enjoy the fantastic harbour view during the meal on the night.

We ordered two appetizers, first being a Tiger Shrimp Cocktail. The shrimp are quite large in size, though I have to say it is rather bland in taste, and only through the dipping sauce bringing in some flavors. It is also quite expensive at $228 per serving. Not worth having this in my opinion.

The other appetizer is Crab Cake, which is much better in taste, with fine crispy potato strips wrapping the creamy and tasty crab meat, deep fried to golden brown, and sitting on a remoulade sauce, with some radish salad on top. Much more value for money than the shrimp cocktail in deed.

For main course I have chosen Red Snapper, with a crunchy skin grilled and seasoned perfectly, while having the flesh still moist, soft but cooked well. On the side there are mushroom and a sauce that reminded me of sesame oil. A good dish in my opinion.

My wife on the other hand had opted for the Australian Filet. Although I did not taste it, looking at the cut it was grilled medium as requested, and the meat is tender and juicy. The sauce is an interesting one prepared from herbs but also having a spicy note, giving the meat a nice supplement in flavors.

We also ordered a Grilled Asparagus on the side, which is pretty mediocre and not particularly worth mentioning.

For dessert I have chosen the Ice-cream Sorbet, with three scoops of Grapefruit, Coconut and Lime, and Banana. The sorbet are nice, with right sweetness and acidity, highly refreshing and helping to cleanse my palate from the meal.

The other dessert we ordered is Dragon Fruit Salpion, which is prepared by carving out the flesh of the dragon fruit and then with different fruit put back inside, plus a scoop of ice-cream on top. It is also refreshing and a good finale for our meal in the evening.

The services are generally good, with attentive staff but there is not much interaction or check-in throughout the meal. The price tag is fairly reasonable, with the above costing $1,292 for two.

My overall rating is 65/100.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Princess Cafe & Restaurant

This restaurant is located in Sino Plaza, Causeway Bay. With a beautiful decoration featuring a theme of medieval European style, when first arriving it might give you the impression of being a cake shop but in fact there is a full dinner menu featuring also a 12-course signature set, which is what I had on the night. My wife however had opted for the dinner set instead so we could sample more dishes.

Before starting our course, the restaurant provided us a sample of three of their special cookies, including crab meat, hibiscus tea and sesame. The cookies are nice and the different flavors are certainly unique and interesting, and no wonder this is what got this restaurant started in the first place in Central. Then we were served the four pieces of amuse bouche which were a great introduction to the meal.

The first course is called 'Love Hearts Embrace' which has baked beetroot, beetroot puree, pine nut and watermelon. Beetroot is healthy, cooked to the right level to give a good bite, complemented by pine nuts and the cream cheese. The red-colored cracker was made with watermelon juice which gave an appealing look and also a delicate flavor.

The second course is called 'Forest Pastorale', with cucumber salad, lemon, chive and feta cheese. The cucumber are prepared under two different format, with the flesh taken out in a spherical shape, and also thinly cut straps rolled up beautifully. To enhance the flavors, there are chives added, prepared using molecular gastronomy style, to represent fish roe. The feta cheese are added like shavings to add the savory note to the salad.

The third, fourth and fifth course were served together to match with the pace of the appetizers from the dinner set so that my wife didn't need to wait very long. This was indeed a very thoughtful arrangement. On the left was the fish with the skin perfectly seared, with the scales crispy and eatable, while the flesh was soft and moist. A sweet corn puree was served on the side to give a contrast in color and flavor to the fish. The middle was 'Volcano Eruption', with Korean eomuk, kimchi, thin apple slices and green onion salad. It got a little spicy note from the kimchi but balanced with the apple tartness. On the right was 'Sweetie Love', with foie gras ganache, caramelized poached pear, rice cracker and fig. The ganache was silky smooth, and good as dipping sauce for the cracker, and the fig and pear was a nice match with the signature foie gras flavor.

The sixth course was a soup made from luffa(?) with a layer of almond foam on top, sprinkled with some sun-dried tomato cut finely. This soup was very creative to showcase two flavors, under two texture, in a single offering and to enjoy it the restaurant did not provide any spoon, so that we would drink straight from the glass, taking both the foam and soup together, in order to enjoy both elements at the same time.

The seventh course was a Lemongrass Sorbet. By the name we already were quite interested to taste the fragrant herb made into sorbet. When it was served the presentation took our breathe away. There were some paper butterflies decorated on the rim of the glass, with the spoon also in a butterfly shape, very pretty indeed. The sorbet was very refreshing, and there was tom-yum cookie pieces underneath to give an unique Thai flavor to the sorbet. Truly innovative.

The eighth course was 'Pacific Andante' with sou vide lobster with mango salsa, mango and lime puree. A very generous portion in my opinion for a tasting menu, the lobster was tender, and again the chef had used molecular gastronomy technique to add some basil sauce in the form of fish roe. This complemented very well with the delicate lobster flavor, and the acidity provided by the salsa made it very refreshing and in fact this could be made into another nice appetizer under a smaller portion.

The ninth course was one of my favorites in the evening. It was a duck breast cooked to real perfection, pink in the inside and seared well on the skin. I could taste the quality of the meat itself as there was no gamey note at all, which was a common issue for this protein. Apart from the black garlic sauce, there was also broccoli puree and baked broccoli stem served on the side. A good attempt to use the stem here, but it was still a bit tough and could see a bit longer time in oven to soften it further. However still a great dish overall.

The tenth course 'Gold Coast' was the best dish on the night. It was uni tagliatelle, with bacon, quinoa and salmon roes. Many people would think by this time we should be full and could no longer consume the pasta, but because the taste was so good I finished it in no time and could even have more. The uni was very good, not having any strange taste which could be quite common when I had uni in HK restaurants, and again demonstrated how this restaurant had paid attention in the ingredients. The texture of the tagliatelle was nice with the right bite, another winning factor.

The eleventh course was 'Strawberry Fairy' with strawberries, yogurt, pineapple with passion fruit ice-cream. The dried pineapple was specially prepared, cut into thin slices and then marinated in beetroot juice to give a red color, then folded into a rose shape. The yogurt was equally impressively prepared by using a mold to give a high-heel shape, truly delivering both sensory enjoyment as well as a visual treat by itself.

The twelve and last course was 'Lady Rosette' which got blueberries, lime and lychee sorbet. The blueberry sorbet on top was prepared using blueberry juice, but keeping the seeds and some flesh so making it a firmer texture, then made into a rose shape. Along with the lychee sorbet, the restaurant smartly didn't go into indulgent dessert which could make us feel overwhelming, and landed us with the right level of gastronomic satisfaction.

Another feature which was amazing throughout the evening was the impressive plating of the dishes. It was not just one or two, but all the different courses were plated with the utmost care and attention. The use of edible flowers just an example, highlighted their belief in living true to the 'princess' values. A real treat for the customers.

The price per person on the 12-course set is $988, and on the surface it might seem expensive. But in my opinion looking at the choice of ingredients, the attention to the details, the care in how the dishes were plated, it has a good value. The owner and me had chatted a lot during the meal, on how she came to start up this restaurant and her philosophy behind the dishes. She also introduced me to the head chef and I was stunned by his young age.

I believe that having passion on what you do is one success factor no matter what business you are in. In this restaurant I got that sense and through my interactions with the team it reinforced that feeling. The only thing I want to see improved is that all the staff can confidently talk to the customers and introduce each dishes, and letting them know the details and attention that went into each of them.

I would certainly come back again to try some of their other dishes in future.

Wineshark Nice Hotel Experience - Kamenoi Bessou (Yufuin Onsen)

Located in Yufuin Onsen in Oita Prefecture, this ryokan is one of the three most famous in the area, with many rating it as the top of the three. Many people regarded the success of these three ryokans as the reason why this small town was so popular for visitors. The ryokan has more than 80 years of history, covering 30000 sq.m with traditional village style houses, and adjacent to the beautiful Lake Kinrin.

Hearing our car approaching the staff came out already to greet us, and taking our luggage inside. The reception area is beautifully decorated, having a renovated contemporary feel in a traditional village home construction. The staff were able to communicate nicely in English and check us in without any problem.

There are only a total of 15 houses and the staff led us walk through the corridor to our house, while at the same time explaining the location of the public bath and library. Our house is No. 6, on the outskirt of the complex, and approaching the door it gave me a good feeling of going home.

The house is huge in size. The Japanese style living room is spacious, and an interesting facility is the pot heater at the side. This heater is fueled by charcoal pieces, prepared before we entered the room, and the metal pot sitting on top already got hot water waiting for us. The staff helped to brew us some wonderful green tea while confirming our dinner and breakfast time, and also explaining the neighborhood for us to walk around.

Adjacent to the living room is a small balcony looking out into our private garden. Apart from two comfortable chairs, there is also a water basin and small pantry at the side so we can prepare coffee and tea. An interesting modern contrast to the charcoal heater in the living room.

The bedroom is Western style, with two comfortable beds and also windows on two sides, again looking out into our private garden. It is cozy and warm, and even before sleeping I already knew it would help me relax and giving me a sweet dream.

Like most such luxurious ryokan, the toilet, changing room and bathroom are separated. The bathroom has two water basins so you don't need to fight in the morning, and there is also a towel heater to ensure you got a warm one after enjoying your bath, which is so thoughtful in the chilling season.

The bathroom has a semi-open bath, with the wooden bathtub big and allowing a good stretch to relax during the bath. And the windows on the sides can both be completely opened, adding the glass rooftop it is a wonderful and highly soothing space to enjoy your time.

After checking out the room we went out on the backdoor to the private garden. And also from the outside we could better appreciate the look and feel of the house itself. The garden is very large, effectively surrounding the house on two sides. There is a tranquility in the air, with everything very quiet and peaceful. The weather on the day was also perfect, with good sunlight, cool but not cold, and also ideal for coming out to watch the stars in the evening.

We then decided to take a look at the other facilities in the ryokan. First we went to the library, which is a standalone building in the complex, When I took a photo of the building, the window on the top floor reflected the beautiful mountains at the back and it looked like a large painting indeed.

Inside there are some comfortable coffee tables and chairs, and a gramaphone playing nice music. But the most notable is certainly the smell of wood fire! At the side there is a fireplace and in it there are some logs burning, offering the warmth to the room and also the fragrance.

There are coffee and tea served in the library which are free for guests to enjoy, and as it is a library, there are also plenty of books on the bookshelves for one to spend a relaxing afternoon reading.

We decided to go to the public bath in the next morning, so after walking out to the main street for some sightseeing and snacks, retired back to the room before changing to yukata and went over to the restaurant Yunotakean for dinner. The ryokan guests were seated in a side room, and we were provided with menu.

The first and second course is Japanese Vegetable with Seasoning, and Home-made Sesame Tofu. The vegetable are very fresh and boiled in stock to bring out and enhance the original taste, while the tofu is rich in sesame flavors. However, on the plating and quantity it is a bit mediocre for me and let me wonder whether the meal would be anywhere close to what I had experienced in other famous ryokan so far.

The third course is Trout Marinated with Kelp. The kelp is a form of seaweed which is full of nutrients and the trout is fresh and tender, with the ginger mash and the yam paste giving a kick as well as the unique texture, though not particularly impressive.

The fourth course is Japanese Radish and Wild Boar. The radish has fully absorbed the stock so it is rich in flavors and tasty, plus the wild boar pieces has a more chewy texture, offering stronger pork flavors at the same time.

The fifth course is Watercress Soup. Similar to how a French restaurant would serve such soup, the staff used a small jug to bring the soup in, and the bowls were settled in front of us before the staff poured the soup from the jug. The color is a beautiful matcha green, and the aromas are really nice that you can smell it without even drinking a single drop. It is also served in a teacup.

The sixth course is Fried Surf Smelt, which are essentially tempura of fish, shrimp and vegetables. All the ingredients are very fresh and the tempura is able to keep the original good taste of them. However, it is a bit too oily with a clear oil stain on the piece of paper underneath after finishing the tempura, which I hope the ryokan can improve in future.

The seventh course is a Salad to cleanse our palate, and for my setting they brought me some pickled radish instead, mainly because I changed from the beef to eel for my main course. Even though simple, the radish is right in the sweet and sour balance and are nice and I can't stop eating.

The eighth course is my main course, which is Grilled Eel. The original menu is serving Steak of Japanese Beef but I opted for this, and without regret, as the eel is grilled perfectly, with the sauce giving a great savory taste. The quality of this grilled eel, in my opinion, could compete with some of the more renown restaurants.

The ninth course is Rice with Grilled Trout Fish, served with Miso Soup and Pickles. It is a really good dish, with the small trout light and tasty, grilled perfectly. After showing us the rice and fish the staff then helped to detach the meat from the fish and mix well with the rice, and then served us with them. A form of traditional village delicacies I believe, it is a great example of how the rural style can make some wonderful dishes.

The dessert is a Vanilla Ice-cream, plus a small glass of black sugar syrup(?). It is also a bit too simple and probably also sum up the overall feedback from me on the dinner. Frankly if this is what the ryokan can offer at this price level, it is a bit disappointing.

After a good night sleep we got up early in the morning to enjoy the sunshine, and then walked to the public bath to enjoy some private time. Ivy had the luck of having the whole bath for herself, but I have to share with another gentleman. The bath is comprised of indoor and outdoor part. With the indoor portion built like having a tree in the middle, branching out to hold the roof. The outdoor got a similar bath as the one in our house, plus another circular bath. Overall it was a nice setting and highly relaxing.

Returning to the room our breakfast is also getting ready. It is a traditional Japanese breakfast set, with egg, fish, salad, pickles, tofu, rice and miso soup. Not much frill for the dishes, but I like it even better than the dinner on the previous night. And having the meal served in our room also provided a good privacy and comfort as well.

Overall I would say the hardware for this ryokan in terms of the environment, the atmosphere of a rural village style yet offering comfortable houses are one of the best experience, only that the quality of the food could substantially improve to make this ryokan matched its fame.

The cost for my stay is 97,608 yen, and my overall rating is 7.5/10.