Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Kin's Kitchen 留家廚房

This restaurant is located in Wanchai, renowned for the focus on food quality, with the owner Mr. Lau being a food fanatic and always trying to find good food and recipe to share with his customers. We used to come here quite often as it is near my office, but after relocating to Kwun Tong early this year this is the first time I returned.

The decor is quite modern, with some design elements like the circles of different sizes on the ceiling showing the artistic background of the owner himself. And despite the COVID situation in town, it is still drawing a lot of customers, with all the tables occupied, as if they are not affected by the coronavirus at all.

We ordered the signature Deep-fried Custard of Chicken Broth 太史戈渣 ($100 for 4 pieces). Prepared by mixing the a supreme broth with egg and corn starch, the mixture is cooked until forming a paste, before putting to fridge to form a pudding. Then coated with a thin layer of corn starch, it is then deep-fried at a high-heat pot of oil until golden. Eaten with a bit of sugar, this is very good, with the texture so soft it was like eating the broth. A must-try in my opinion.

Next we had the pre-ordered Kin's Smoked Chicken ($408). The whole chicken has been marinated perfectly and then smoked, so the skin and meat has been seeped with a nice fragrance, really delicious, with the chicken flesh also very tender, apparently also because the chicken is fresh, not chilled nor frozen. I like the restaurant also served the marinated liver and kidney which is another great addition. Another dish I highly recommend.

The next dish is Pan-fried Fish Paste with Clam Sauce ($128). Looks simple, but doing it well is not a guarantee. The restaurant certainly did this with flying colors, with the fish cake bouncy and seasoned appropriately. The chef had made pan-fried these without any feeling of oiliness, and paired with the clam sauce which added a nice salty and savory component to the fish cake. Great value for money.

We nearly forgot we had ordered some soups as they were only served after all the above dishes. I had the Soup of Vegetable and Fresh Crab Meat ($78). Came from a large western bowl, the portion was however pitiful, and I finished in three or four spoons. The taste is good though, with the tiny bit of crab meat fresh and delicate. But overall this is so small in size I almost feel I am being cheated, especially seeing the sizes for the other two soups my wife and mother had picked.

The last dish was another 'simple' dish, Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetable ($108). Opted for Chinese Kale with Ginger, this dish is a great example of how the attention to details the chef had placed on even the most common dish, with the kale crunchy and tender, sweet and not any hint of bitterness. The small ginger cubes added the aroma and flavors to the vegetable and removed any green notes too. Very good indeed.

Overall the food is very good, with everything delicious and carefully prepared. The bill was $1,256 which is reasonable and considering the quality of the food I would also say good value. No wonder the restaurant is full-house on the night and I am happy to return again to see everything is still as good as it used to be.