Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Honjo

This modern Japanese restaurant is on Queen’s Road West, Sheung Wan, offering a wide range of Japanese food from sushi, sashimi, tempura, to cooked dishes, with plenty of alcohol beverages available. It was kind of an izakaya but infusing different cultures into its Japanese cuisine.  

The design and décor of the restaurant is certainly interesting. There is a private room with a large table and its own bar on the side. Going into the main dining area the contemporary setting was pleasant, with comfortable booth seating on both sides and communal tables in the middle for bigger groups. We had chosen to sit at the counter at the far end, however. 

Decided to choose the Traveler Menu ($980) and me opting also for the Wine & Sake Pairing ($560), the first wine served was Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut Champagne, which paired surprisingly well with the Edamame. The whole immature soybeans had been cooked and seasoned well with sea salt. A nice appetizer to start.

The Salmon Puff came next. The chopped salmon and avocado had been stuffed into tapioca puff, with the crispy crust and the soft fillings providing nice contrast in texture. A bit of yuzu kosho was added to season, with a refreshing citrus and spicy aftertaste. This one was also quite good.

The second wine served was Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, another Champagne. The Hamachi Salad was of big portion, with plenty of mizuna leaf, with its mildly bitter and peppery taste matching well with the yuzu dressing. There were also some cherry tomatoes and crisp pieces mixed. The hamachi though was not too fresh and have a slight fishy note. 

The fourth course was Otoro, with the fatty tuna thinly sliced and drizzled with some creamy wasabi and light soy sauce, as well as bubu arare, which are tiny crunchy rice pearls. On the side was some shredded red onion to go along with the tuna to freshen up the palate. Decent in taste. 

Then Domaine Corrinne & Jena-Pierre Grossot Chablis was served with the next course. The Spicy Tuna was presented on top of shiso leaf tempura, with tobiko, or flying fish roes, and chives. The tempura was quite nicely done without feeling very oily, and the tuna pieces had good balance of the spice but not excessive. A nice piece.

The sixth course was Wagyu Beef Tataki. The fillet was thinly sliced, lightly seared, added with tosazu, the Japanese vinegar dressing and some chorizo oil to enhance the flavours. Together with some shishito pepper and bubu arare to give different texture, it was another nice dish.

Afterwards the staff brought us a ‘sushi boat’, featuring four kinds of Sashimi and Sushi respectively. The sake paired was Four Fox Sake Junmai Daiginjo. The sashimi included salmon, tuna, hamachi, and hirame. These were of general quality, like those you would get in a buffet, but I would not rate them as good for a Japanese restaurant.

Likewise for the Sushi, the four pieces of nigiri was decent but not giving any excitement. The bigger issue for me was the fact that it was just a repeat of the four sashimi in terms of ingredient. I was not sure that was how typical it was done in this restaurant, but certainly a bit of letdown from a customer’s perspective.

Coming to hot food, the Barramundi was grilled with salt, served together with green pea and pea shoots, with fresh & pickled wasabi as condiment. Nicely done, the fish was still moist after grilling and the peas were equally delicious. The wasabi added a bit of spicy kick but not overly so. 

To pair with the Wagyu Striploin, the staff served Beringer Nights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The dish was my favourite in the evening, with the meat tender and juicy, and having my preferred lean level. There was a yuzu-soy dipping sauce, rock salt and shichimi which provided additional seasonings if needed, but to me the original taste was very good already. 

We were already very full at this stage, so could not finish the Broccolini & Corn Tempura. With selection of salts & dipping sauce, the tempura was certainly not bad but just that the portion size was way above our ability to handle.

With the Chocolate Truffles the Chateau Doisy-Verdines Sauternes was paired. Made together with Asahi Beer batter, the truffle had a rich, tasty chocolate ganache. The berry coulis on the side helped to provide some acidity to balance the sweetness, while the matcha ice-cream gave a contrast in temperature to make it a fulfilling and complete finish to the meal.

Service was good, with the staff courteous and attentive, but they could probably explain more the food throughout. The bill was reasonable at $2,871 and one recommendation was that the restaurant could consider reducing the number of courses and portion but using better ingredients instead. I think this could up-level the overall experience readily.