Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - The Dining Room by BluHouse

Having visited the vibrant dining hall style BluHouse on Rosewood Hong Kong a few weeks back, I come again this evening to its sister restaurant on the same location in Victoria Dockside, at the rear end of BluHouse, looking forward to a more refined Italian dining experience. 

Seated comfortably at the booth near the bar, the décor is neat and chic, without a lot of excess decoration, successfully creating a cozy, relaxing ambience. As the restaurant has yet to get its liquor license, I brought along a bottle of Michel Bouzereau Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs Gains 2015, to take advantage of the free corkage. 

We started with Battuto di Vitello Piemontese ($388). Seasoned perfectly, the Piedmont milk fed veal tartare is very tender and without the strong, meaty taste. In the middle there is a buffalo ricotta with some Pantelleria capers, renown as the best capers in the world, providing creamy and a bit of sour note which goes very well with the tartare. On top there are pieces of artichoke and greens to further complement on texture and flavors. The chef also provides a few pieces of sourdough crisps to go with the tartare. A really nice appetizer. 

The second appetizer was Insalata d’Astice ($398). The lobster salad was a feast of colors, with the bright red lobster meats very sweet in taste, with the salad having a mix of fennel, greens, and different citrus fruits from Amalfi Coast, a famous holiday destination in southern Italy. The orange and grapefruit pulp, together with the lemon butter sauce, has nice acidity with also hints of sweetness to balance. Another nice one. 

Then the main course of La Casseroula di Mare ($988) was served. A large casserole of seafood stew, the staff reheated it at tableside, before helping to split it to two portions for us. Trying to recall the different types of seafood, the first serving contains sea bass, mussels, squid, lobster, and langoustine, with the tomato broth fully absorbing all the wonderful flavors of the seafood. A true bomb of umami, all the seafood is very fresh, with the combination fantastic in taste. A must order.

But that is not all. The staff also added the small pasta, looking similar to mini gnocchi, to the broth, and then served together with the clams. The pasta had a nice, soft bite and together with the broth was simply unstoppable. I finished every drop of it at the end and nearly trying to lick the plate clean because of how good it is. 

While we were enjoying the seafood casserole, the Linguine ai Ricci di Mare e Gamberi Rossi ($568) was served. To be honest it was a surprise on its timing and certainly not ideal. Having to leave it aside for a while, when we finished the other dish the pasta has already cooled down. Furthermore, with the sauce being a thick sea urchin emulsion, the whole experience has taken a big discount. The texture of the linguine is nevertheless very good, of firm bite and chewiness which we like, while the Mazara del Vallo red prawn has amazing concentration of flavors. It would be much more delicious if we could enjoy it straight away.

For dessert, my wife had Tiramisu al Pistacchio ($128), with layers of ladyfinger, espresso, pistachio, mascarpone cream beautifully balanced and appropriate on sweetness level. The crisp on top provided an additional texture to the dessert which was a nice touch.

I went for Selezione di Formaggi Italiani ($280), with four selections of Italian cheese. All of them were not too strong in taste, with different condiments provided. Personally, I like the soft cheese most, with the bit of honey perfectly integrating the sweetness to the creamy with the rich palate of the cheese. 

There are some Petits Fours to go with the coffee, and overall, the service is good, with the staff friendly and courteous, but perhaps they can spend a bit more time to explain each course. The bill on the night is $3,067. For sure, this restaurant is not bad, but it did not create an exceptional feeling for me as a fine dining restaurant, and in terms of the total experience and CP value, I would recommend BluHouse more.