Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Asaya Kitchen

This restaurant is located on 6/F Rosewood Hong Kong, offering diners with Mediterranean cuisine of sustainable and local ingredients, focusing on healthy and natural dishes. Arriving early, the restaurant was not yet open, so we took time to look around at the shop on the same floor. 

Going through the large door one could see the open kitchen right in the middle. We were seated at a corner, with good privacy and facing the window looking out at the Space Museum and the harbour. The restaurant had a comfortable, relaxing ambience, with marble floor, neat furniture with subtle design elements, and smart use of mirrors. 

Decided to order a la carte to sample their signature dishes, the first dish was Red Prawn ‘Crudo’ ($328). The large raw red prawns had been drizzled with some arbequina oil, similar to extra-virgin olive oil but without the bitterness and more healthy. Wonderful in sweet taste, the prawns had fat in the head that was amazingly good too. The Espelette pepper dusted on the plate adding a bit of mild chili note as complement. On the side was the hummus with a rich creamy texture contrasting with the toasted chickpea on top. Very good dish.

Next was definitely one of the signatures, with the Spanish Octopus ($268) thick and large in size, but very tender and not rubbery at all. Grilled perfectly, it was nicely seasoned with juniper salt and paprika. On the side were charred eggplant made to a puree, with some preserved lemon slices on top. A very nice appetizer and would suggest to add this even if you were ordering the set menu. 

The third dish was the recommendation from our server, with the Wild Sea Bass ‘Cartoccio’ ($388) presented in a plastic bag, with the fish fillet having been slow-cooked together with manila clams, asparagus, and the sweet Piennolo tomatoes coming from Campania. The fish was great, full of flavours, the vegetables were also wonderful too, but all the essences of the fish and vegetables had been concentrated in the broth, making it the best part of the dish. 

Then came Lobster Bouillabaisse ($348), with the lobster meaty, and from the texture you could immediately tell they were fresh. Together with rouille, baby greens, cherry tomatoes, potatoes and fennel pollen, the stew was super tasty and there were pieces of sourdough provided so we could enjoy the sauce as well. A thoughtful and nice approach. 

Coming to dessert, I had Hazelnut Panna Cotta ($108). The panna cotta was smooth and creamy, and mixed with lots of hazelnuts to give the flavours and bits of crunchy nuts for bite. On top was cherry coulis and some dried rose, providing some sourness which made the whole dessert balanced on sweetness. A good one.

My wife opted for Amalfi Lemon Sorbet ($108). The sorbet was very appealing with the good acidity and sweetness balanced, and the many forest berries were tempting just by appearances alone. Scattered with thyme leaves on top to give fragrance, this one was even better in my opinion to the panna cotta.

Service was good throughout, with the staff attentive, coming to explain each dish in details, and helpful in making recommendations too. The bill on the night was $1,856 which was fairly reasonable considering the overall dining experience and food quality. No wonder this restaurant is so popular.