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.