Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Lai Bun Fu

This restaurant offers authentic Cantonese cuisine, with Master Chung managing the kitchen, leveraging his vast experience working in the former Governor's House serving the local and overseas VIPs of the finest Cantonese dishes. Located in the heart of Central, the restaurant has a nice decor of contemporary design, with comfortable seats. There are also a private room but unfortunately the sound insulation is not sufficient to prevent the loud laughter keeps bombarding us from someone inside. 

We ordered the Deluxe Tasting Menu, with the first dish being the Steamed Crab Claw with Shaoxing Wine. Before arriving the fragrant smell of the wine already reached us, and the taste was quite phenomenal, with the crab claw of good size, and one can readily tell the crabs are live and not frozen. The savory flavor of the wine is a great match with the sweet and delicate taste of the crabs. A wonderful start for the dinner and setting up with a high expectation for the rest of the meal.

The second dish is Pan-fried King Prawn with Premium Soy Sauce. The prawn has a beautiful golden brown color on the shell, pan-fried to a crisp texture but keeping the meat moist and tender. Apart from the soy sauce, there are also shallots and chili added to provide extra dimensions to the taste. Sounds simple, but how to balance well the richer flavors of the sauce not masking the prawn demonstrated the skills of the chef.

The third dish is Minced Chicken and Bird's Nest Soup. Bird's nest is more commonly served as a dessert but a savory style is equally, if not more, delicious in my opinion. With the bird's nest absorbing the chicken stock, but offering a bit of bite on the mouthfeel, and with the minced chicken giving additional complement on texture. There are a few flakes of gold added to increase the premium and appeal as well. These three dishes delivered a three strike to my dining experience on the night.

The fourth dish is Stir-fried Hokkaido Scallop with Asparagus and Truffle Paste. Again it looks simple, but immediately you can recognize the quality of the scallops being sashimi-grade. The asparagus, bell pepper and celery give an interesting contrast on texture, but personally I think the truffle is a bit too strong on its taste and a bit overpowering the more refined flavors of the other ingredients. But still I like the dish.

The fifth dish is Braised 8 Heads South Africa Abalone with Goose Web. The abalone is certainly big in size, but it is a bit rubbery, which I believe is more the issue on the quality of the abalone than the culinary technique. The goose web is on the other hand very good, with the flavors infused well into the web, and braised to perfection. The choi sum is also a good complement. A bit of a disappointment but mainly because we got a high expectation as well.

The sixth dish is Poached Mustard Green with Layer Bean Curd. The mustard green has been poached in the supreme stock, with the flavors seeped into the vegetable well, and there are a few wolfberry added to add both color and flavors. The layer bean curd also has absorbed the stock to give the same great taste. A nice dish overall.

The seventh dish is Lai Bun Fu Signature Fried Rice, which got abalone, lobster, scallop, Chinese ham and black truffle. The rice is not overly stir-fried to completely dry, maintaining a slightly moist style. The piece of abalone is big but the others are quite finely chopped so I could not readily tell their presence. The taste is good but again I think the use of black truffle needs to be careful as the aroma is too powerful and can easily dominate the whole experience.

The last dish is the Daily Sweet Soup, and today it was the Walnut Soup. It is prepared in-house and not coming from ready-made ones, with an appropriate sweetness to more tailored to the current healthy palate of customers. A nice conclusion to a good meal.

Apart from the noise, generally the service and ambiance is satisfactory for a high-end Chinese restaurant. The toilet however is a bit unclean and this should be something the restaurant needs to be careful, as it can seriously downgraded the overall experience. With the bill totaling $2620 it is a bit high on price but still considering the premium ingredients they have used it is not unreasonable. 

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Sun Sin

This eatery is located in Yau Ma Tei Portland Street, famous for its beef brisket but also curry. It used to have a branch in Wanchai near my office but is now closed down. A small restaurant with a number of tables, the decoration is somewhat interesting with the walls reminiscent of the curtain gate door that is frequently seen for traditional stores in Hong Kong.

Deciding to go for the famous dishes we ordered the Golden Curry Rice with Sliced Lamb, Signature Beef Brisket with Vermicelli, and Deep Fried Dace Fish Balls. The soup of the beef brisket is rich in flavors, and is definitely a good match with vermicelli. The beef brisket is a bit too fat but overall it is fairly nice.

Regarding the curry, the sauce is prepared with different spices and not those ready-made curry paste a lot of restaurants were using, highly fragrant but I would prefer it to be more spicy. Not knowing how hot it would be I have opted for the mild level but that is just too mild. So I recommend you to try the medium level. The lambs are cut into small pieces, having a good bite but not rubbery.

The fish balls, however, are disappointing. Fairly small in size, they are very oily and you can see a layer of oil seeping out from the fish balls after a while. The taste is bland and the clam dipping sauce is also quite poor in taste and didn't add much to the overall enjoyment.

It has been a Michelin recommended restaurant from 2012-2015, which I think is a bit over-rated. Certainly there are some nice aspects of the signature dishes but it is not exactly uncommon. There is also not much of service as one would expect. With a can of coke the bill on the night was $136, so very reasonable in price. But overall I would say this restaurant is decent only.

Steamed Rice in Lotus Leaf with Prawns

Ingredients (for 4):

• Rice - 4 bowls
• Prawns - 8 
• Egg - 2
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Soy sauce - 1.5 tbsp
• Dark soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
• Chicken stock - 4 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Wash the lotus leaf and then boil in hot water until softened. Then remove and wipe dry.

2. Peel the shell of the prawns and remove the intestines. 

3. Whisk the eggs.

4. Peel the garlic and chop finely.

5. Mix the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock.

6. Heat the wok with oil then add the garlic in.

7. Add the prawns and stir fry for a short while.

8. Add the rice and continue to stir fry until totally dry.

9. Add the eggs and continue to stir fry until totally dry.

10. Turn off the heat, add the seasoning mix and stir fry until well-mixed.

11. Put the rice inside the lotus leaf, then wrap it and fix with toothpick.

12. Steam for 8 minutes and then serve.

Pan-fried Pork Filet with Mustard

Ingredients (for 4):

• Pork filet - 240 g
• Soy sauce -3 tsp
• Mustard - 2 tsp
• Corn starch - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Mix the soy sauce, mustard, corn starch, sugar and oil.

2. Wash the pork filet and drip dry, then marinate with the prepared sauce.

3. Pan-fry the pork filet until both sides are brown.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Kishoku

This Japanese restaurant is located in Zing! in Yiu Wah Street, Causeway Bay. The decor is grand and modern, having nice soft seats as well as a sushi bar where you can see the chef busy at work preparing the dishes. We have chosen to take the sofa seats, which are comfortable and cozy. Although sacrificing the chance to see the skills of the chef, it allows more intimate conversation.

After ordering a nice sake to start, we decided to go for the omakase, choosing the premium Kishoku set which featured entree, 7 types of sashimi and 5 types of sushi. But before that, the staff provided us a complimentary appetizer of Crispy Codfish, which are codfish thinly sliced and then grilled to crispy. Dipped with mayonnaise it is certainly highly appealing and is a perfect complement to drinks.

The entree features three beautifully flavored starter. The first is small white shrimps seasoned lightly with soy sauce, which highlighted perfectly the original flavors of the shrimp. In the middle is the sea urchin with sea urchin tofu, supplemented with some vinegar jelly to enhance the overall taste. The sea urchin is very fresh and sweet as well. The last part is shredded crab meat lightly seasoned with salt. All three emphasized the true and original flavors to a phenomenal level. Amazing!

Next comes the sashimi, including snapper, conch, yellowtail, white fish, mackerel and oyster. The staff explained each of them and recommended the best way to enjoy them, with the snapper pairing great with the vinaigrette and chives. The conch is crunchy, giving good contrast in texture to the other sashimi. All of them are very fresh, as the mackerel would have a strong fishy smell and taste if it is not of the freshest. The oyster has a 'yakult' sauce which is interesting too.

If you count the types of sashimi in the last dish you would find there should still be one remaining. Yes, next comes the tuna which got the fatty and the lean flesh. The tuna is served with a piece of seaweed which can be used to wrap it with the basil leaf together. The fish oil essentially seep out upon biting into the flesh and is very delicious. Also interesting is the piece of cactus leaf which helps to cleanse the palate afterwards.

Finishing the sashimi we had the hot dish before transitioning to the salad and sushi. The hot dish includes deep-fried white noodle fish sprinkled with fine seaweed, as well as boiled spring vegetables. The tempura coating of the noodle fish is crisp and thin, not oily at all, demonstrating the high skills of the chef. The seasonal vegetables are tender, and boiled in the broth to impart great flavors to complement the original taste.

Then it was the salad, featuring the ice vegetable, a piece of juicy and flavorful tomato, along with a white wine jelly. The ice vegetable has its signature crunchy texture, seasoned with a bit of salt. The tomato is equally nice, but I like the jelly most as it was highly refreshing, strengthening the delicate taste of the vegetables, and also serving as a seamless transition and palate cleansing component before the sushi.

Following is the sushi, including prawn, ark shell, kinki with chive, and lighted grilled sea bream with truffle. The prawn got a great texture, again super fresh and the chef had added a bit of roe which greatly enhanced the flavors. The ark shell sushi got a good bite, while the kinki is good, with an amazingly strong taste of the chive permeating. The sea bream is also very good with the truffle sauce adding a strong aroma and addition to the fish.

The remaining piece of sushi is the highlight of the evening in my opinion. It is in fact a small mountain of natural wonders, with two different types of sea urchin, crab meat, salmon roe plus some sushi rice. If I have to describe this dish, I would compare it to an orchestra of amazing flavors from the individual components, mixing and matching to such a harmony that it is pure pleasure having those. Not sure whether this one is available in a la carte menu, but if so, strongly recommend one to try it out.

Wrapping up there is the miso soup but unlike the normal one, Kishoku had made the effort to prepare a beef soup, very rich in taste. The beef and yuzu had a wonderful chemistry in the flavors, complementing each other with the yuzu cleverly balancing the fat and oiliness of the beef. A warm, rewarding and fulfilling conclusion to the meal.

Last was served the dessert, which got a piece of apple, a strawberry and a green tea mochi with red bean paste. All of them are good, but maybe comparatively they are also less of any surprise. Nevertheless it is a great meal and we all enjoy it very much.

A good restaurant that is putting a lot of effort to emphasizing and highlighting the origin flavors of the great ingredients, some people may think they are not 'sophisticated' enough. But I always cherished this boldness of any restaurant choosing to showcase original flavors, which are more difficult to do.

The service is quite good, with the staff coming to explain each dish with some details, and also advising how to best enjoy them. The staff even offered to provide some additional sake for free when I finished the half bottle. Seeing how they interact with other customers, it is apparent that many of them are regulars visiting often. And after this meal I can understand why.

For two persons having the Kishoku Omakase, plus a half-bottle of good sake, the bill on the night was $4,609 which is not cheap but also not unreasonable considering the food quality, service, environment and everything. Another place that I would recommend for Japanese sushi lovers.

Favourite HK Home Cooking Recipe - 2. Grass Carp and Tofu Soup

Ingredients (for 4):

• Grass carp tail - 1
• Tofu - 1 box
• Ginger - 4 slices
• Chinese yellow wine - 1 tbsp
• White peppercorns - 25
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Water - 8 bowls

Procedures:

1. Wash the grass carp and wipe it dry with tissue paper.

2. Boil the water.

3. Ground slightly the white peppercorns.

4. Heat the wok to medium temperature, and add 2 tbsp of oil. Pan-fry the grass carp tail until golden brown.

5. Add ginger and white peppercorns, then spray with Chinese yellow wine.

6. Turn the heat to high temperature, then add the boiling water.

7. When the soup boils again, add the cut tofu pieces and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

8. Season with salt and serve.

Chinese Home Cooking Recipe - 8. Stir-fried Chanterelle with Corns

Ingredients (for 4):

• Dried Chanterelle - 40 g
• Corn - 1 stick
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Shallot - 2 
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Chicken stock - 1/4 cup
• Fish sauce - 2 tsp
• Oyster sauce - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - dashes
• Chinese yellow wine - 2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Wash the dried chanterelle and then soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Then drip dry.

2. Peel the skin of the corn and break in halves. Then remove the corn kernels by hand.

3. Heat the wok to medium-high temperature, add a tbsp of olive oil. Add the corns and stir fry.

4. Add some salt for seasoning, then add the chicken stock. Continue to cook until all the stock is absorbed by the corns. Remove from the wok.

5. Re-heat the wok to medium-high temperature, add the remaining oil. Then stir-fry the shallot for a short while.

6. Add the garlic and chanterelle and stir fry a short while before spraying with Chinese yellow wine.

7. Add fish sauce and oyster sauce, then add the corn kernels back in.

8. Stir fry well together and serve.