Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Chez Ed

This French restaurant is located in Zing! on Yiu Wah Street, Causeway Bay, led by Chef Eddy Leung and his team. The decor of the restaurant was not particularly grand but offered a comfortable ambiance, with the window seats overlooking the busy flyover linking Causeway Bay and Happy Valley. Greeted warmly by the maitre'd, who introduced the history of the restaurant and how he and Eddy reunited a few years ago to start this, we are amazed by how passionate they are on keeping the classic French cuisine alive in HK.

Ordering the Classic French Menu, the first course is the Classic Steak Tartare with Baguette-Crisps, offered through french service in which the food is prepared table-side in front of us. The waiter first prepared the sauce using salt, olive oil, capers, onion, egg yolk, parsley, paprika and gherkins, and then adding the beef to mix well. On the side there are some crispy baguette pieces, along with a lettuce and onion rings. The flavors are really complex and one can taste the high quality of the beef, without any chewy sinew. A great start for the dinner.

The second course is called Lady Curzon, a curry-soup with softshell turtle. According to the maitre'd, the soup got its name because the wife of the British viceroy of India was very fond of the soup and brought the recipe back to England, which soon became popular across Europe. There is a layer of cream on top, enhancing the richness of the soup. It was not thick but has a smooth texture, slightly touched by the curry flavors, with finely chopped vegetables and turtle giving a little bit of bite. I have to pay tribute to Chef Eddy for resurrecting the recipe and keeping it alive so we can enjoy it still nowadays.

The third course is another signature, the Dover Sole Meuniere. Meuniere is referring to the cooking method where the fish filet is first lightly coated with flour and then pan-fried with some clarified butter. It was then served with a sauce of butter, seasoned with parsley and lemon. On first bite we can tell the sole is really fresh, with a firm texture yet tender. The taste is delicate and some people might think it is a bit bland but in my opinion this is the best way not to mask or overshadow the original note of the sole.

The fourth course is the traditional palate cleansing Homemade Yuzu Sorbet. A great way to neutralize the aftertaste of the fish and remove the rich sensation of the butter, the yuzu gives a refreshing note, also providing some appropriate tartness to stimulate our appetite for the main course.

Next is certainly the highlight of the evening, the French Chicken Souvaroff. The maitre'd first showed us the cast iron pot where a ring of bread is put to seal the lid with the pot, ensuring all the juice and flavors are kept inside the pot. And upon removing the bread (which are kept for us to dip the sauce later on) and opening the lid we were immediately assaulted by the fantastic smell of the chicken, along with intense black truffle and foie gras aromas. It was served with some side vegetables and a piece of potato pancake. The chicken is simply phenomenal, with a great firm texture but not rubbery in any way, intense in flavors, and the sauce has the essence of the chicken permeating with a long finish. I could not stop dipping the bread to the sauce and basically wipe the plate clean. Chef Eddy later came to explain the chicken had spent extra time in farm because of bad weather in France which in fact helped to intensify the flavors of the chicken. No wonder this is the most popular dish and I strongly recommend this dish to everyone.

Dessert is Cherry Jubilee and it is another dish prepared table-side, with the waiter cooking the sauce using cherry liqueur and cherry brandy, then adding sugar and cherries. The alcohol was burned off before the cherries and sauce is served on a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. With the hot sauce melting some of the ice-cream, the sauce is mixed with the vanilla flavors and sweetness to provide a great flavor for us to wrap up the dinner.

Finally serving with coffee or tea, the whole meal was a really fantastic rendering of classic French cooking and service, using high quality ingredients and traditional recipe to create this wonderful tasting menu. I also ordered the wine pairing which included a glass of white (Sauvignon Blanc) and red (Cabernet Sauvignon), both coming from Chile.

I am really impressed by the attention the chef and everyone has spent to prepare this meal, and considering the food, service and ambiance the bill of $3,463 is fairly reasonable, which also include a bottle of water. I told Chef Eddy that we would return to try some of their other dishes in future. Really a great place to enjoy these classic dishes.