Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Robatayaki

This Japanese robatayaki restaurant is located in Harbour Grand Kowloon, but the entrance is actually on the wing adjacent to Two Harbourfront. I remember that many years ago we came here but it was a teppanyaki restaurant then. 

Going inside we were seated at a corner of the 'stove' where a chef has seated and preparing to serve. The counter table is made of coarse granite, and coupled with the wooden beams on the ceiling, as well as the decors, create a local Japanese ambience. Even though a bit dated, the overall atmosphere is comfortable and pleasant.

We ordered Kyushuken Assorted Pickles ($98) to start. I could not tell whether they were home-made or purchased, but overall it was decent in taste, and I personally like the burdock the most, with good marinated flavors and crunchy texture. We took this as an appetizer which certainly made us hungry. 

Starting with some Fresh Naganoa Gingko ($90), the chef first use a long pin to skewer the gingko and grill for a while, then using a knife to remove the skin, before putting back to the grill. Seasoned with salt, the gingko is good in taste, without any bitterness and just perfect in texture. 

Then we were served Chicken Skewers with Japanese Leeks ($100). The chicken meat is tender and juicy, again grilled to perfection with a nice char on the outside. The leek however is too tough in terms of texture, with me having difficulty to chew it up. 

Next it is Hokkaido Corn on the Cob ($80). The whole corn is of good size, meticulously grilled, and when it is ready the chef cut it into four pieces and skewer, helping us to pick it up to eat. The kernels are sweet but not overly so, and overall it tastes good. 

Then we have Spicy Fish Roe ($148). Appropriate in the balance of savory and spiciness, this is a great dish to pair with beer or some sake. Unfortunately I was not drinking on the night as I have to drive... 

Continuing with King Prawn ($240), it is gigantic in size, and I was amazed when seeing it on the grill. The chef skillfully grilled to the right level and then cut the head to further grill to ensure the head is well-cooked. While the flesh is bouncy, I found the prawn has no taste. Maybe it was meant to be eaten with some dipping sauce but still it was quite disappointing on the lack of taste overall.

Coming to the meat, the Hungarian Mangalica Pork ($420) has the right amount of fat and lean meat, and again grilling to perfection to remain juicy and tender, the pork is a much nicer choice frankly compared with the tiger prawn earlier. The chef also sprinkled with freshly grounded black pepper to enhance the taste further. Delicious.

The other meat dish we had is Smoked Duck Breast ($100). With the skin grilled to crispy texture, the duck breast has a nice smoky flavor and seasoned well, pink and juicy on the flesh, and again it reinforced my impression that this restaurant has better meat than seafood. 

We had also Hokkaido Whole Scallop in Shell ($250). Again I was surprised by how large the shell of the scallop, but seeing the number of scallops and tasting them, they are not the original piece of scallop from the shell, and are also frozen. Decent in taste after grilling together with butter, still it proves me right about seafood is not their strongest suit.

The last dish helped to rescue a bit my disappointment. The Tokushima Sweet Potato ($80) is nice and sweet, and what I like most is that the skin has been grilled and caramelized, thus having an even sweeter taste and great in taste. Very good and I recommend to try it out.

Wrapping up I ordered Apple Sherbet ($98). A creative and interesting dessert, the chef curved out the inside of the apple and then put the sherbet in, before freezing again. The sherbet has nice apple flavors and not too sweet. A refreshing palate cleanser. 

The service is decent, but the most impressive throughout is how the chef had been watching our pace and serving the different food to us, without bombarding us with too many different dishes at a single time, but also not leaving the table empty. 

The bill was $1,875 and it was reasonable in price, and I feel that they are trying to show that the serving is large as that was always one concern for customers visiting a robatayaki restaurant. But if it meant they have to compromise on the quality of the ingredients to achieve that, I think it might be a better strategy to reduce the portion size to keep to the price point with higher quality, especially the seafood.