Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Bizou

This American brasserie is located in Pacific Place, enjoying a prime site in the shopping mall so do expect there are a lot of customers especially around the happy hour session. With head chef Duilio Desimoni creating the menu, the decor offers a contemporary ambiance to customers though the tables and chairs are a bit too small to provide a comfortable dining experience.

As it was still the happy hour I ordered a cocktail to start. The White Peach Bellini ($118) was prepared with white peach puree and sauce, mixed with sparkling wine. The taste is decent and quite refreshing and good as an aperitif.

For starter we had the Boston Style Crab Cake with Spicy Aioli ($188). It was of a single piece but very big in size, with the two sides pan-fried nicely with bread crumbs. There were plenty of crab meat, seasoned nicely and I like the black pepper added to give a slight spicy note, which matched with the spicy aioli very well. A good one to begin our meal.

The other starter was Grilled Octopus with Jalapeno Mint Hummus, Olives and Sumac ($188). The hummus is a sort of dip, with this one made from the Mexican chili and mint, with an interesting taste, both refreshing and a bit spicy. The octopus was tender and not rubbery, giving a nice chew. It was also grilled beautifully with a good char. Again the portion was fairly big and would be ideal for sharing.

For the main course we had the Linguini and Clams, Dried Red Chili, Garlic, Olive Oil and Parsley ($218). The waitress told us that clams were not available so they changed to shrimps instead. The texture of the linguini was good, with the right chewiness and not tangled together when forking it up. The dried red chili and garlic gave nice flavors to the pasta but all these could not offset the fact that the shrimps were just too tiny and without any taste.

Hoping the other main course would fair better, the Grilled Pork Chop ($178) did deliver a decent job. The thick pork chop was seared well, with the juice oozing out when cutting it up. It was also properly seasoned, and the chef provided a mushroom sauce and sea salt to accompany. I found with a tiny bit of sea salt the overall flavors were enhanced. Maybe true to its nature, the restaurant did perform better with its grills.

As the portion were all big we could not have room for dessert, but I did finish with my buy one get one cocktail, opting for Man-Hat-Ann ($118) this time. With raspberry juice, rum and other ingredients, I like this one better than the white peach bellini.

Service throughout the meal was just mediocre, probably because the restaurant was super busy during the happy hour period and the waitress had to cover a lot of tables. That still doesn't mean the dining customers would accept the rather non-existence service.

The total bill was $1048, including a bottled water ($62). Rather expensive considering what we had, I would suggest coming for the happy hour (especially since they offered free buffet on snacks) than the normal dining. 

酱爆雞丁

Ingredients (for 4):

• Chicken - 1
• Water - 1 tbsp
• Egg white - 2 tbsp
• Corn starch - 1 tbsp
• Salt- dashes
• Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped
• Garlic - 2 cloves, slice thinnly
• Chinese yellow wine - 1 tbsp
• Red chili pepper - 1
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp
• Spring onion - 2 sprigs
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Sweet bean sauce - 2 tbsp
• Soy bean sauce - 1 tsp full
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Remove the meat from the chicken.

2. Marinate the chicken with water, egg white. Once mixed well with hands, add the corn starch and mix well with chopsticks.

3. Cut the spring onions into small pieces, using only the white part.

4. Heat the pan with oil, then cook the chicken cubes and separate them through constantly stirring. Remove, and keep some oil on the pan.

5. Heat the pan and add the ginger.

6. Add the sweet bean paste, soy bean paste and sugar to continue to stir-fry until the sugar is melted.

7. Add the chicken cubes and stir-fry to coat each pieces with the paste.

8. Add in the garlic and red chili pepper. Add in the Chinese yellow wine, then season with salt and soy sauce.

9. Add the sesame oil and sprinkle with spring onion, then serve.

Glutinous Rice with Sun Dried Seafood

Ingredients (for 4):

• Glutinous rice - 2 bowls
• Chicken thigh - 330 g
• Dried scallops - 4 pcs
• Dried shrimps - 2 tbsp
• Shiitake mushroom - 2
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Spring onion - 2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 4 tsp
• Dark soy sauce - 4 tsp
• Chicken stock - 1 bowl
• Oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Soak the glutinous rice for 20 minutes. 

2. Soak the dried scallops till soften. Drip dry then break into pieces and retain the water.

3. Soak the dried shrimps till soften. Drip dry and retain the water.

4. Soak the shiitake mushroom till soften. Drip dry and cut into small cubes. Retain the water.

5. Peel the garlic and chop finely.

6. Remove the fat and skin from the chicken thigh. Cut into cubes.

7. Heat the pan with oil, then add the garlic to stir-fry till fragrant.

8. Add the dried scallops, shrimps, chicken cubes and shiitake mushroom. Stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove.

9. Put the glutinous rice, chicken stock and all the soaked water to the rice cooker, and add water to the proper level. 

10. Put the stir-fried seafood on top and cook with the rice-cooker.

11. When it is done, sparkle with the chopped spring onion before serving.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Wing Lai Yuen

This restaurant has a long history. Originated in Wong Tai Sin and became famous for its Dan Dan Noodle, it had moved to Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom for many years, continuing the journey to offer the signature noodle but also other dishes from Sichuan and Shanghai. The decoration offers a traditional atmosphere, using plenty of bright red colours which created a warm and festive mood. But the tables are quite crowded and there was a sense of urgency to quickly finish your meal, with the food serving in very speedy manner, which had affected the overall dining experience.

We ordered the Cold Pig Knuckle Jello ($78) for appetizer. The taste is decent, with a nice chewy bite on the jello. On its own the flavors are a bit weak and requiring dipping in the vinegar to enhance and bring forward the taste.

The Stewed Sliced Fish in Wine Sauce ($118) was also decent, with the fish soft in texture, and there were some mushroom and cabbage to accompany. The wine sauce was a bit below par in my opinion. It was not aromatic enough and also I thought there was a tiny note of stale.

The Braised Beancurd with Chinese Mushroom in Brown Sauce ($73) was a common dish one could find in most restaurants. This one was quite good, with the beancurd silky smooth on the inside. The brown sauce could use a bit more oyster sauce in my opinion, but overall it was fairly tasty and would be my favorite on the night.

The Pea Shoots in Supreme Soup ($83) was good also, with the seasonal vegetable young and tender, and the supreme soup was nicely seasoned. There was no green taste on the pea shoots too. A good dish.

Of course coming here was mainly for the Signature Dan Dan Noodles ($35), with me going for the spicy style and my wife taking non-spicy. The noodle had a nice texture, with the soup rich in taste and I particularly liked the small amount of minced meat and pickled mustard. This remains and holds true on what the restaurant is famous for.

Overall everything the portion is very generous, so I would recommend ordering less than normal in order to able to finish the dishes. The service was decent and without surprises. The bill on the night in the end was $486, reasonable in my opinion. 

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Sushi Kado

This sushi restaurant is located in Central Soho area, the first time coming it might be a bit difficult to find, as there was no clear signage and the entrance was rather hidden. Inside you could see a sushi bar with about 10 seats surrounding, plus some tables, with three chef busy preparing the food in front of the customers. The decor is traditional for a sushi restaurant.

We ordered the Zen Omakase Menu ($1750 per head). The beautifully put together appetizers include Seaweed Button, Tempura Shrimp, Chicken Roll, Marinated Fish and Sesame Pudding. Each piece is nicely done and set the expectation high for us.

There are a total of 7 sashimi following. First was Righteye Flounder. The texture of the flesh is great, with a bit of liver paste on top plus some ginger and chives making the flavors equally impressive.

The second was the fish of the season, Saury. Very fresh indeed and not having the fishy taste at all, again pairing with ginger and chives they were great in flavors.

The third was Cod Milt, which some people might not be fond of, but we do like it. The cod milt was first blanched lightly and then added with some chives and mashed radish, further sparkled with some chili powder. The texture was very creamy and another nice one.

The fourth was Skipjack Tuna, with the skin and sides torched to give some burnt flavors. Rich in taste, this one was also good.

The fifth was Largehead Hairtail, a type of cutlassfish. Again this one was torched to give a slight crispy skin, and the chef recommended us to pair with the radish to highlight the delicate flavors of the fish. It was really tasty and I personally think this was the best of the sashimi on the night.

The sixth was Horsehair Crab, and in fact when we arrived the chef was just preparing this and removing the meat from the legs and body of the crab. The crab meat was sweet and great in taste, with also a paste made by the crab yolk on top to further enhance the great flavors.

The seventh was Oyster, which was meaty and fat. It was also slightly poached so was not exactly raw but still maintaining the great freshness and soft texture. And the kelp on the side was also good too.

Before transitioning to sushi we had a choice of a special dish, and we ordered the Crab Spring Roll. It was a spring roll with crab meat fillings, and paired with a special mayonnaise with slight chili spiciness. Freshly deep-fried and so the skin was very crunchy, it was very good and interestingly there was a deep-fried small crab on the side which you could also eat. Very cute in execution.

Then we moved the sushi part, and there were a total of 10 pieces. The first one was Golden Eye Snapper. It was certainly great. The chef had cut the fish in a way so the soy sauce was able to seep and keep on the flesh. A great sushi.

The second one was Squid and it was really tender.

The third one was Akami, the back of the Toro. This part of the fish has no or much less fat so it was particularly well-received by those people who don't like too much fat on the tuna, like my wife. Again another good one.

The fourth was a gunkan sushi made with Kobashira, the abductor muscle of Surf Clam. They were very sweet and tasty, and the texture was soft but retaining a bit of bite. I like this one very much and was one of my picks for the sushi on the night.

The fifth sushi was O-Toro, the prime tuna belly that fetches a high price and was the favorite of many people. This one was rich in fish oil and so highly flavorful, and had the right balance of fat and meat, as I personally don't like these to be too fat. Another good one.

The sixth sushi was Japanese Amberjack, or Yellowtail. It was one of my favorites of sashimi or sushi, and this one also delivered the promise. Full of flavors. A wonderful one.

The seventh sushi was Mackerel which had an intense flavors. For my wife she said it was a bit too fishy but it was acceptable in my opinion. A bit polarizing as you can imagine, but I still believe this one was decent.

The eighth sushi was a tiny bowl with Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe on top of the sushi rice. The sea urchin was very good, sweet and tasty, and one of the better ones I had tried in HK.

The ninth sushi was Grilled Eel. A generous size, with a nice sauce accompanying, the flesh was soft and melting in the mouth. Another good one.

Finally the sushi part was wrapped up with the Egg. Although it might look simple, this one really needs a lot of effort to make it right. The egg was fluffy, with a spongy cake like texture. It also got a nice fragrance on the bite.

The Miso Soup was made from the fish stock and full of flavors. There were thin and delicate bean curd skin instead of tofu, which is rather unique.

There was also a Temaki or Hand Roll with Finely Chopped Tuna fillings. Prepared in a way to look like a rolled cigar, there were plenty of sesame added which added to the aromas and flavors. A nice finale before going to dessert.

There were a few choices for dessert and I chose the Black Sesame Pudding. The pudding was silky and the black sesame was like a sauce on top, so spooning it up you could see the black sauce dripping down the white pudding which was got a nice experience.

Service overall was good with the staff attentive. Jason, the chef and owner, was not too talkative but I saw how he warmed up when talking to the frequent customers. It might be good to have more interactions with the customers to make them feel even more at home which would improve the overall dining experience.

The bill on the night was $3850. Slightly high in price considering the number of sashimi and sushi we had but overall still worth coming to try it out.