Wineshark Cooking Class - Braised Goose Web with Shiitake Mushroom 冬菇燜鵝掌

Ingredients (for 4):

• Goose web - 8
• Shiitake mushroom - 8
• King trumpet mushroom - 250g
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Chicken broth - 2 cup
• Chinese yellow wine - 1 tbsp
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp
• Oyster sauce - 2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 2 tsp
• Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Chinese yellow wine - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - dashes
• Ginger - 2 slices

Procedures:

1. Remove the nails of the goose web, and then use salt to wipe away the dirt on the web. Further clean using flour to remove any remaining dirt. Then wash away all the flour and salt.

2. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Then put the goose web in and cook with medium heat with lid for 20 minutes.

3. Remove the goose web and put under running water, then break along the joint.

4. Soak the shiitake mushroom till softened.

5. Add Chinese yellow wine, sugar, salt and ginger to the shiitake mushroom, then pour oil to mix well. Steam the mushroom for 20 minutes.

6. Cut the king trumpet mushroom into pieces.

7. Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar together.

8. Heat the pot with 1 tbsp of oil, then add the garlic cloves.

9. Add the goose webs and stir-fry, then sprinkle with Chinese yellow wine.

10. Add chicken broth and continue to cook until the sauce boils.

11. Add the mixed sauce. Cover with lid and lower the heat to medium-low and braise for 60 minutes.

12. Add the king trumpet mushroom at 40 minutes. 

13. Add the shiitake mushroom and the sauce upon time, then continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Add sesame oil and then serve.

Wineshark Cooking Class - Stir-fried Vermicelli with Crab Meat and Egg 蟹肉雞蛋炒粉絲

Ingredients (for 4):

• Crab - 1 (around 300g)
• Vermicelli - 40g
• Beansprouts - 175g
• Salt - dashes
• Chives - 75g
• Egg - 3
• Chicken broth - 1/2 cup
• Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/8 tsp
• Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Procedures:

1. Steam the crab for 10 minutes. 

2. Remove the meat from the crab.

3. Mix the crab meat with sesame oil, white pepper powder and sugar. 

4. Soak the vermicelli in water till softened.

5. Heat up the chicken broth till boiling.

6. Turn off the heat and put the vermicelli in, cover with lid to allow the vermicelli to absorb the broth completely.

7. Cut the vermicelli into 3 sections, and then put in whisked the egg and mix well.

8. Cut the beansprouts into halves.

9. Cut the chives into 3cm sections.

10. Heat the wok with 1 tsp of oil, then add dashes of salt. Toss the beansprouts to quickly stir-fry until about 70% done. Remove.

11. Wipe dry the wok and heat it up, pour in 2 tbsp of oil. Add the vermicelli and use chopsticks to separate. Cook until the eggs are well-done.

12. Add the beansprouts back in, add chives and continue to stir-fry.

13. Add crab meat and continue to mix well. Then serve.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Amalfitana

This restaurant has two outlets, one in Central, and the other at The Pulse, the shopping mall in Repulse Bay. Decided to sample their artisan pizza while able to enjoy a leisure walk beforehand on the beach, we came to the latter one in late afternoon of a weekday. 

We got a good spot, close to the open front to enjoy the beach view while sufficiently covered by the air-conditioning to be comfortable even in the hot summer. There is a bar on one side, with the large brick oven at the back. Simple in décor with small tables and chairs. 

Having Quinoa ($100) for starter, the portion is quite big. The salad got a good mix of bell pepper, zucchini, celery, pomegranate, quinoa, and mixed leaves, dressed with balsamic vinaigrette which provided appetizing sweet and sour flavors. The vegetables were fresh and good, and I like the pomegranate giving a nice bite. 

There are many different choices of pizza and we ended up picking Amalfitana ($250). With the pizza bearing the name of the restaurant, it was appealing in appearance, with a tomato base and toppings consisted of two different types of mozzarellas (cow and buffalo dairy), cherry tomato, porcini mushroom, Parma ham, and rocket. Freshly baked from the oven, the pizza got a nice crust with good chewiness in the dough and was also good in taste, with a decent size to allow sharing for two people. 

Ordering the dessert, I decided to have Affogato ($70) while my wife had the Strawberry Gelato ($50). The espresso and vanilla gelato were served in separate cups, with a third cup to help one to mix the preferred amount of ice-cream with coffee. Quite nice in taste, the coffee was aromatic and good on its own. If you might not fancy the dessert ordering just an espresso would be a good choice. 

The bill on the night was $594, reasonable in price. Service is decent, with the staff attentive and friendly. Seeing some bad comments on the social media previously I believe the restaurant had put effort in improving. And seeing how many people came to order takeaway, their other pizzas should also be good too, and overall the experience would prompt me trying them out another time. 

Wineshark Cooking Class - Stewed Chicken 無水燉雞

Ingredients (for 4):

• Chicken drumsticks - 4
• Onion - 1.5
• Potato - 4
• Carrot - 1.5
• Mushroom - 1 bag
• Ginger - 1 piece
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Remove the bone from the chicken drumsticks and season with salt on both sides.

2. Cut the potato into pieces.

3. Remove the roots of the mushroom.

4. Cut the ginger into slices.

5. Heat the pot with oil at medium level, put the onion in and stir-fry for a while.

6. Add the chicken and cook for a while to get some color. 

7. Add the carrot and potato.

8. Add mushroom and ginger. Then cover with lid.

9. Cook until steam seeps out, and then mix the ingredients well to avoid sticking and getting burnt. Then close the lid again and lower the heat to cook for another 40 minutes.

10. Season with salt and white pepper powder, then serve. 

Wineshark Cooking Class - Thick Corn Soup 巧達玉米濃湯

Ingredients (for 4):

• Onion - 1.5 
• Celery - 4 stalks
• Carrot - 1.5
• Corn - 1 can
• Milk - 200 ml
• Corn starch - 1 tbsp
• Water - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Cut the onion into quarters.

2. Cut the celery into sections.

3. Cut the carrot into sections.

4. Heat the pot with oil at medium level, and then put the carrot, celery and carrot in. Cover with lid.

5. Cook until steam seeps out, then lower the heat. Continue to cook for another 40 minutes. Then remove the vegetables and cut into small pieces.

6. Put the vegetable back into the pot, and then pour in the corn. 

7. Pour in the milk, then cook until boiling.

8. Mix the corn starch with water.

9. Pour the starch mixture into the soup and stir well. Season with salt and serve.