Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Inaniwa Yosuke 稲庭養助

This Japanese eatery originated from Akita, and has more than 150 years of history, famous for its udon. Now having 16 outlets in Japan, and another 7 outside the country, we visited this evening the shop in TST Prince Tower, the newer of the two outlets in HK, with the other one in Hung Hom.

As the restaurant is located high in the commercial building, there is a great view if you happen to sit at the window side. Unfortunately we were seated in the middle, and the setting is decent, reminding us of many local ones we visited in our travel in Japan, with a open kitchen behind the 'sushi bar'.

We ordered a few small dishes to start. First is the Pumpkin Salad ($78), as recommended by the staff. The salad tastes good, with the sweetness of the pumpkin mixing well with the mayonnaise, with the shredded onion, lettuce and cucumber giving a nice bite. There are flakes of almond and raisin on top too. No wonder this is a popular dish many customers order.

The next is the Egg Roll with Mentaiko ($88). Freshly prepared, the egg roll was still steaming when being served, and we could see the mentaiko in the middle of the roll. The egg roll is decent, without the sweetness one often found in such egg roll, but to me there was a lack of the flavors of the egg. The mentaiko is rather mediocre and also not exhibiting any noteworthy flavors. A little bit disappointing.

We also had the Spicy Sausages ($110), which were shipped direct from Japan, a seasonal specialty on the menu. Quite nice on the taste with a spicy note not overpowering, with a crunchy skin on the bite, but frankly I also did not associate anything unique too which may justify the price the restaurant is charging. I would suggest the restaurant (and the staff) really explained that to allow customers a better appreciation to avoid maybe an unfair criticism. Then we had a Skewer of Chicken Kidney ($68), which are beautifully seasoned, and a great complement to beer.

Instead of having udon, we decided to try out its Chicken Hotpot ($480). Served with the stove, the hotpot has pieces of chicken served in two ways, one the simple raw chicken with plenty of black pepper on top to season and aim to highlight its original taste, the other being deep-fried for a while giving a golden brown skin. Apart from the chicken, there are lots of cabbage and mushroom added as well. The chicken is really tender, and while it might be too hot having hotpot in the current weather, the overall flavors are good indeed.

For dessert we had the Ice-cream directly imported from Japan, with me going for the Sea Salt version while my wife had the Rice flavor ($55 each). I tasted both and the sea salt version is more interesting and flavorful for me. A bit too sweet for me for overall not bad.

The table is rather small for putting all the food and feel a bit clumsy when the food are served together, and you might want to order things one at a time if possible. Service is decent without any red flag though equally not impressive. The bill on the night was $1027, quite expensive if my opinion, and maybe I should simply try the udon next time instead.

Wineshark Cooking Class - Mussels in Creamy White Wine Sauce with Conchiglie

Ingredients (for 4):

• Blue mussels - 24
• Conchiglie - 1 bowl
• Low fat milk - 1 cup
• Cream - 1 cup
• White wine - 8 tbsp
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Thyme - 4 sprigs
• Butter - 4 tsp

Procedures:

1. Wash the blue mussels and drip dry.

2. Peel the garlic and cut into slices.

3. Wash the thyme and drip dry.

4. Heat a pot of water, then cook the conchiglie according to the package instruction.

5. Heat the pot with butter, then add the garlic.

6. Add the thyme and cook until fragrant.

7. Add the blue mussels, then add in the low fat milk and cream. Cook for a few minutes.

8. Add the white wine, then add the conchiglie to mix well.

9. Taste the sauce and add some salt if needed.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - China Tang 唐人館

This restaurant was first opened in 2007 at the Dorchester Hotel in London, dedicated to offer a fine-dining experience for Chinese cuisine. Coming to HK in 2013 with an outlet in The Landmark, they opened another outlet at the Harbour City. Arriving early, even though we did not make a booking, we were able to sit at the table on the window side, with a wonderful harbour view to accompany our dinner.

The design and concept is developed by Sir David Tang, the restaurant tried to recreate the dining atmosphere at the turn of the century, with plush carpet and orange chairs, a table lamp which bring diners back in time. All the waiters are dressed with the traditional Chinese tunic suit, and even the music on the background is the oldies from the period.

We ordered two soups to start, with me going for the Signature Seafood Hot and Sour Soup ($128), while my wife had the Double-boiled Almond Soup with Fish Maw and Pig's Lung ($258). The soup is really tasty, with an intense spicy and sour taste which balanced each other very well. The finely shredded fish maw, bamboo and wood-ear provided a good bite. There is also a large prawn which is fresh, crunchy and full of flavors. It has been a while since I had a nice hot and sour soup and happily I have one today.

We then had the Barbecue Eel with Osmanthus Honey ($198). Grilled beautifully, the skin of the eel is crispy, showing an appealing brown color. The eel is thick and meaty, good in taste and pairing well with the osmanthus honey, which not only giving a light sweetness which nicely complement with the eel, the osmanthus has a delicate fragrance too. Another good dish.

Next we had the Crispy Prawn Casserole with White Pepper and Basil ($338). When the lid is opened there is a great peppery note jumping out, and the golden-color prawns are artfully arranged to sit on top of the white peppers. The prawns have been deep-fried briefly to make the shell crispy, while keeping the flesh moist and not drying out. With some of the peppers sticking to the flesh, eating the prawn there is a nice pepper note on top. My favorite in the evening.

The other dish was Grilled Abalone and Stewed Chicken and Scallions with Huadiao Wine and Abalone Sauce in Casserole ($568). Again when opening the lid the first impression was the nice huadiao wine aromas. The two abalone is large in size, grilled with salt, and the waiter took them out and served to us on a dish so we could enjoy it with knife and fork, wonderful in texture and with the abalone sauce and scallion. The chicken is tender and good in taste, but somehow I found the huadiao aroma surprisingly lacking. 

For desserts we have the Chilled Sago Cream with Pomelo and Mango ($42). Decent in taste, there are plenty of pomelo and mango, with the sago having an interesting poppy texture.

The other dessert is Steamed Dark Sugarcane Sponge Cake ($42). The cake is of light sweetness and giving us a sense of satisfaction without the guilt of over indulgence. The texture of the sponge cake is also good with a bit of chewiness.

Service is quite good, with the waiters attentive and coming over to pour tea whenever my cup is empty. I hope that they can explain each dish to us however, as that would in my opinion help significantly to improve the dining experience even further, knowing how the dishes are prepared.

With tea, two bowls of rice as well, the bill was $1881. Quite expensive, yes, but the dining experience overall is very nice, comfortable and relaxing. A good spot to come for special events. 

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Sabah Malaysian Cuisine 莎巴馬來西亞餐廳

This Malay restaurant is located in Wanchai Jaffe Road, with a fairly long history as I recalled visiting it since I was young. The interior setting was rather nondescript, but the neon signs outside certainly is something eye-catching. After a while the restaurant was fully occupied, including both local and foreigners, a clear sign of its popularity.

I ordered the Cendol ($38) to start as I have not enjoyed one for quite a long while. Good in taste, it was not too sweet, with the palm sugar syrup on the shaved ice matching greatly with the coconut milk, and the small green rice flour jelly giving a nice bite on texture. This brought back some of my fond memories, when my parents often brought me to Malay restaurants and I always ordered this drink.

As appetizers I had the Deep Fried Shrimp Cake ($70). More commonly seen in Thai restaurants, the shrimp cakes are deep fried beautifully, with a crispy outside and a bouncy texture inside, and apart from the nice shrimp paste there are some coriander added to add the flavors and a nice color. A nice dish.

The other appetizer was Malaysian Satay Chicken ($66). The half dozen satay is grilled nicely, fragrant with the charred meat smell, and the satay sauce is also very good, with an intense peanut butter and coconut milk note. The chicken meat is tender and moist, marinated nicely too. The cucumber and purple onion is a good complement to the meat and helps to reduce the fatty mouthfeel. Another nice one.

For the main dish we had the Fish Curry in Claypot ($168), paired with Chapati ($38). The curry is very good, appropriately spicy to give a kick on the palate without making it beyond most people's tolerance, and is a great pair with rice or bread. It was so good that we quickly finished the one portion of Chapati and had to order another serving, which are also freshly baked. I also enjoyed the vegetable in the curry, with the ladyfinger, tomato, onion and celery all good with the curry, and I would say even more tasty than the fish!

The service is decent, and the overall dining experience is fairly good, with a neighborhood no-frill sense, down-to-the-earth style. The bill was $460 and very reasonable as well. Unfortunately I noticed that the restaurant is going to close down by Oct 2019. I hope they could re-open at another location, and continue to offer the Malay cuisine to HK people.

Wineshark Cooking Class - Seven Treasures Sweet Soup 七寶甜湯

Ingredients (for 4):

• Lotus seeds - 3/4 cup
• Ginkgo - 1/2 cup
• Chestnut - 12
• Lily bulb - 1 bulb
• Red dates - 1/2 cup
• Wolfberries - 1/4 cup
• Quail eggs - 8
• Rock sugar - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 20 g

Procedures:

1. Use a toothpick to drill a hole at the bottom of the lotus seeds, and then use the other end to poke out the shoot of the lotus.

2. Clean the lotus seeds and then put in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove and drip dry.

3. Clean the chestnut and put in boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove and drip dry.

4. Crush the shell of the ginkgo and remove the bean.

5. Put the ginkgo in boiling water for 10 minutes, then remove the skin and drip dry.

6. Put the quail eggs in a pot with cold water, then turn up the heat to boiling. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove and remove the shell.

7. Soak the red dates in water to soften, then remove the pips.

8. Soak the wolfberries in water to soften, then remove and drip dry.

9. Clean the lily bulb and peel the petals. Wash thoroughly and drip dry.

10. Heat about 6 cups of water in a large pot to boiling, then add in the ginger, red dates and wolfberries to cook for 10 minutes.

11. Add the rock sugar and then gradually add the lotus seeds, chestnut and ginkgo. Cook for another 15 minutes.

12. Add the lily bulb and quail eggs.

13. Serve after tasting the sweetness.

Wineshark Cooking Class - Ma Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐

Ingredients (for 4):

• Hard tofu - 1 brick
• Pork - 50 g
• Ginger - 30 g
• Spring onion - 3 sprigs
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Sichuan pepper - 30 
• Dried red chili - 3
• Chili oil - 1 tbsp
• Spicy fermented bean paste - 1 tbsp
• Fermented black beans - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Mince the pork.

2. Cut the ginger, garlic and spring onion into finely. Crush the fermented black beans.

3. Cut the tofu into cubes and then put into a bowl with boiled water, adding 1/2 tsp of salt. Let it rest for 5 minutes before draining.

4. Heat the wok and pour in the oil, then add the ginger and garlic to stir fry.

5. Add the spicy fermented bean paste, chili oil and black beans to continue to stir fry.

6. Add the minced pork and continue to stir fry, adding dark soy sauce, sugar and salt. 

7. When the meat is done, add the tofu and gently mix well with the sauce.

8. Add sesame oil and spring onion, then serve. Sprinkle with Sichuan pepper powder.