Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Check In Taipei (Harbour City)

This restaurant has got some nice reviews as an Instagram-able eatery, specializing in Taiwan snacks and simple cuisines. Originally started in Central, they have now closed down that one, but has got outlets in TST Harbour City as well as Yoho Mall. Today we came to the one in TST to try it out.

The décor has a pinkish hue that is pleasant, with clever use of lightings to create a cozy and comfortable ambience. We were seated in a booth on the side, having nice private space though it is pretty tight between seat and table, making it difficult to go in and out. 

On the wall there is an LCD screen showing different Taipei landscapes with an artistic touch, bringing memories of prior visits to those locations, successfully bridging and reinforcing the dining experience with the individual.

The Mentaiko Fish Cakes ($78) is a favourite dish, with the fish cake having a chewy and nice bite, pan-fried nicely with a slight crisp surface, and then drizzled with a sauce made from mentaiko, the salted pollock roe, with a delicious savoury taste. Very good and definitely worth trying out.

The Seafood Okonomiyaki Egg Crepe ($128) is fairly large in size, and good for sharing among four people. With pieces of octopus, crab sticks, nori and abundance of katsuobushi on top, the crepe has a nice, richer taste because it is made from duck eggs. Quite nice. 

I have the Taiwanese Lu Rou Rice ($68) while my wife chooses the Signature Beef Noodles ($118), skipping the butter as she did not like the fattiness. She apparently liked the noodle and finished all. The rice, on the other hand, is rather mediocre. It was not bad but just not having the fragrance I looked for in the minced pork. The runny egg was marinated well though.

For dessert we shared the Matcha Milk Mochi ($108). The light green matcha mochi was sitting on a plate full of kinako, the roasted soybean powder. It was fun to cut the mochi into pieces and coating with kinako, the taste was decent but having that bitterness from matcha. 

The other dessert was the signature Mochi Pineapple Cake Egg Tart ($48). With a beautiful crust, the egg tart has the right level of sweetness in the custard, and on the bottom having the mashed pineapple, which gives a nice sourness to balance the taste. Another of the dish I would recommend. 

The service was decent, with the staff friendly and attentive. Together with two drinks, Classic Pearl Milk Tea ($45) and Black Sugar Ginger Tea ($38), the bill on the night was $694 which is reasonable in my opinion. A nice causal diner to visit for some fun time.