Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Birdie

This yakitori restaurant is located on 6th floor of H Code, the hip building near the top of Pottinger Street. There is an open kitchen right in the middle, with 18 counter seats surrounding the kitchen plus a number of normal tables on the side. The restaurant is very popular and with serving arrangements, the first slot from 6 to 8 pm, while the second from 9 to 11 pm.

Tonight we came a bit earlier than our booking time, arriving at 6:45 pm while there were a number of customers dining already. We sat at one side of the counter and in fact I like the spot as we could see the team in action clearly. There is a grill 'island' and seeing the staff filling the charcoal, busy grilling the different yakitori is entertainment already. The restaurant soon was fully seated. With the current coronavirus outbreak it is amazing they are still attracting so many patrons.

We started with a new dish, a collaboration between Birdie with Tominokoji Yamagishi. The Tender Chicken Breast with Uni and Yamagishi Special Vinegar Jure ($150) is beautifully plated, with the uni on top of the chicken breast, with some finely chopped seaweed sprinkled. The uni is sweet and matched very well with the vinegar sauce, thickened to semi-jelly texture. And mixing with a bit of wasabi the dish is a really good appetizer.

We have ordered many different yakitori, with the first round having Wing ($38), Gizzard ($45) and Liver ($45). The chicken wing is grilled perfectly, with a crispy skin seasoned well with salt, while the meat is tender and juicy. The gizzard is very crunchy and the liver has been coated with a home-made sauce, with a soft bite. All are very good.

The next batch coming had Pork Belly and Asparagus Roll ($45), Ginkyo ($35), Pancetta and Mozzarella Roll ($40) and Chicken Harami ($42). The pork belly is not too fat and got a rich aroma, while the asparagus offers a nice contrasting bite. The ginkgo is decent, and the pancetta and mozzarella roll is a surprisingly good choice. The cheese was very soft and melting in the bacon, with the smoky note highly appealing. The chicken harami got a very interesting crunchy texture, and is my first time eating that, and definitely worth trying it out.

The final round I had Grilled Rice Ball ($40), Heart ($45), Thigh ($45) and Tsukune ($45). We saw how the rice ball takes meticulously effort to grill properly, with the chef putting a shiso and then adding a sauce during different stages of the grilling. The result was fantastic and the rice got a nice crunchy surface but not burnt or dried out.

It was my first experience on the grilled chicken heart. They were very good and the chef had prepared a yuzu sauce with spring onion, and it was one of my favorites in the evening. The thigh was meaty and good, while the other of my favorites is the tsukune. The minced chicken got some small soft bones so offering a great bite. The sauce was very tasty, not overly sweet or salty, and seeing the chef personally handling all the grilling of this for all tables probably also show the importance of this yakitori to himself. A truly great tsukune, one of the best I have ever tasted.

With two bottles of water, the bill was $1,211 which is reasonable considering the quality and and whole ambiance it is worth the price. They also got some seasonal sake but because I was driving so could not sample them. A good place I recommend in town if you like yakitori.