Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Sharp Star 利星火鍋海鮮小炒

This neighborhood restaurant is located in Sham Shui Po, near the two famous computer malls that I used to come very often when I was in high school. Have not been in this neighborhood for decades, it brings back a lot of memories, with the street still busy and full of people.

Seated at a small table on the side, the place has the familiar ‘local’ ambience and vibe, with clippings from magazines about the restaurant, beer promotions, and a large TV on the wall. While the tables are quite packed, it is overall feeling clean and tidy.

The first dish we have is 利星小炒皇. It is large in portion size, with many different ingredients like chives, dried shrimp, squid, deep-fried baby white baits, preserved turnip, peanuts and cashew. Good in taste, with nice combination of umami and savoury flavours though a tiny bit salty on its own. However, together with rice it is a perfect, and I can easily finish a whole serving with this dish alone.

The second dish is 鐵板魚卜. Served on a sizzling hot iron plate, the fish swim bladders are seasoned well and tasty, with the scallions, onion, shallot and ginger adding to the fragrance. A few roasted pork is added to give extra flavours. The texture of the bladders is also nice, offering a good chew but not rubbery. A great dish to pair with some icy cold beer. My favourite dish in the evening.

The third dish we have is 椒鹽鮮魷. The batter of the squid is crispy, with the squid also tender. However, not sure whether it is the flour or other things that have been added to the mixture, or simply the oil itself, I do not like the taste of the batter. Also, it feels like the peppery salt are added to the squid only on serving, with the two components separated. A bit of a disappointment.

With a bottle of beer, the bill on the night is $535 which is very reasonable. Another highlight of this restaurant is the staff, who interacts with the customers in friendly and cheerful manner, making everyone feel good and welcome. Maybe now I got more reasons to return to this neighborhood even though I no longer go to those computer malls.

Wineshark Weekend Cooking - Stuffed Sea Cucumber 百花釀遼參配蔥汁

Ingredients (for 4):

• Sea cucumber - 4
• Chicken stock - 150ml
• Ginger juice - 1 tbsp
• Shrimp - 300g
• Coarse salt - 1/2 tsp
• Fatty pork - 10g
• Egg white - 1/2
• Salt - 1/8 tsp
• Sugar - 1/8 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/8 tsp
• Tapioca starch - 1/4 tsp
• Spring onion - 6 sprigs
• Wasabi - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/8 tsp

Procedures:

1. Prepare the sea cucumber and clean the inside thoroughly.

2. Squeeze the mashed ginger to get the ginger juice.

3. Steam the sea cucumber with the chicken stock and ginger juice for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the head and shell of the shrimps. Remove the intestines. Add coarse salt in and rub the shrimps before rinsing off. Use a cloth to dry the shrimps.

5. Clean the chopping board and then flatten the shrimps with the flat of the chopper. Then use the dull edge of the chopper to mince the shrimps.

6. Take the sea cucumber out. Keep the stock for later use.

7. Add egg white to the minced shrimps, use chopsticks to mix in one direction until it becomes sticky.

8. Cut the fatty pork into small pieces.

9. Add in salt, sugar, white pepper powder and tapioca starch into the minced shrimps. Take the paste and smash back into the bowl a number of times until the paste is very sticky.

10. Add in the fatty pork pieces.

11. Cut the green part of spring onion. 

12. Blanch the spring onion in hot water for 10 seconds. Remove and flush in cold water.

13. Finely chop the spring onion.

14. Stuff the shrimp paste into the sea cucumber.

15. Steam the sea cucumber for 10 minutes.

16. Pour the sauce on the sea cucumber before serving. 

Wineshark Weekend Cooking - Braised Lion's Head 紅燒獅子頭

Ingredients (for 4):

• Pork - 500g
• Egg - 1
• Tofu - 1/2 brick
• Water chestnut - 130g
• Carrot - 60g
• Spring onion - 2 sprigs
• Ginger - 30g
• Rice wine - 2 tbsp
• Water - 150ml
• Cabbage - 250g
• Dried shiitake mushroom - 3
• Dried shrimps - 10g
• Ginger - 10g
• Spring onion - 20g
• Stock - 800ml
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Soy sauce- 2 tbsp
• White pepper powder - 0.5 tsp
• Tapioca starch - 1 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushroom in hot water until softened. Remove and squeeze dry.

2. Soak the dried shrimps in rice wine for 5 minutes, then remove and drip dry.

3. Peel the skin off the carrot and water chestnut. Cut into small pieces.

4. Mince the pork.

5. Prepare the spring onion ginger water. Cut the spring onion and ginger and add into 2 tbsp of rice wine and 150ml of water. Squeeze the ingredients to extract the flavours and let it for 3 minutes. Drain off the water for later use.

6. Crush the tofu by hands.

7. Add minced pork, egg, water chestnut, carrot, salt, sugar, soy sauce, white pepper powder. Mix in single direction.

8. Gradually add in the spring onion ginger water until the pork has fully absorbed.

9. Add in tapioca starch and mix well.

10. Cut the spring onion and ginger for the soup.

11. Take about 100g of the pork mixture and roll into a ball. Continue until finishing all. Heat a pot of oil to 180 degree Celsius, and then put the minced ball in to deep fry for 30 seconds. Then remove.

12. Heat the pot with 1 tbsp of oil, and then add in ginger, spring onion and dried shrimp to stir-fry briefly.

13. Put a layer of cabbage on top.

14. Put the lion's head on top.

15. Put the remaining cabbage, shiitake mushroom and stock in.

16. Lower to low heat when it starts to boil, cover with lid and simmer for 20 minutes.

17. Serve.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Carna by Dario Cecchini

This Italian steakhouse is located on 39/F of Mondrian Hong Kong in TST, developed by the famous butcher Dario Cecchini who originate from Chianti in Tuscany. He has a belief of sustainability and promotes the idea to use all cuts of meat in cooking. There is a separate lift lobby with direct access to the restaurant, one floor up from the popular bar Avoca in the hotel.

At the circular reception there is a nice tinted glass mural, with the staff pouring us a glass of Chianti (or mocktail) and inviting us to try some prosciutto while checking our reservation. They are very friendly and creating a great first impression about the hospitality of the restaurant.

Seated at a table facing the windows, we can enjoy a great view looking at the harbour at an angle. The design of the restaurant is chic, with pattern tiles, plenty of wood fixtures and arches, circular ceiling lights giving a warm and cozy ambience. The overall atmosphere is very comfortable and already wins me over.

To pair with the food on the evening, I have ordered a bottle of Agricola Querciabella Batar 2020 ($1,580). This iconic Italian white wine is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, reminiscent of a Burgundy white with some classic minerality, lemon peel and jasmine, as well as some spice and pear. The vanilla characters are quite strong too.

The breadbasket contains Focaccia and Charcoal Carasau, with the former having a crisp surface nicely seasoned with some sea salt, and an airy interior. Perfect to go with the Sicily olive oil I have chosen. The latter is black toasted flatbread, crunchy and with a bit of smoky flavours. Both delicious. There are also some pickled vegetables to go along too.

We start with Burrata E Pomodoro Cimelio ($248). Featuring a trio of tomatoes, with cherry tomatoes, some tomato tartare, and a tomato gazpacho on the side, a soft and creamy Apulian Burrata cheese is placed on top, drizzled with some olive oil and black peppers to season. There are also some aromatic bread crumbles and a refreshing basil sorbet, which gives complex and refreshing flavours after mixing together. A very good starter.

Next is Chianti Tartare ($298), with the staff pulling a cart to prepare the dish on tableside. Using a meat tenderizer, she processes a rump of beef, before adding some garlic, black pepper, and paprika, a bit of zesty lemon juice, chili, Chianti salt, and plenty of olive oil to season. The choice of the meat is great, offering more intense flavours than the traditional use of lean tenderloin, with the seasoning on a lesser level to highlight the original taste of the beef. With a bit of rosemary to add to the fragrance, and some egg yolk and yuzu puree on the side, some sourdough toasts are provided to enjoy with the tartare. Really nice.

Coming to the main course it is Bistecca Alla Fiorentina ($1,980). The Porterhouse steak comprises of a tenderloin and sirloin on the two sides of the bone, about 1.2kg in size. The black angus beef comes from the famous producer Rangers Valley in Australia, having dry-aged for 45 days. After showing us the steak, the staff helps to cut into cubes for us to enjoy. The charcoal grill has imparted the steak with nice smoky flavours, cooked to medium level, with the meat tender and juicy. The staff also arranges five sauces, including Bearnaise, Green peppercorn, Chimichurri, Truffle sauce, Red wine sauce, as well as some sea salt to go with the steak. It is very nice but because the portion is so big we cannot finish all. Best to order if you have three people or more.

For dessert, we have Tiramisu di Casa ($208). It is of sharing portion. Under the rich cholate powder with the name of the restaurant depicted are layers of Savoiardi biscuit, coffee, and mascarpone cream. The soaked ladyfingers have an aromatic coffee note, with the slight bitterness balances with the sweetness of the cream cheese. Very delicious and despite already very full, we manage to finish the whole serving.

There is an end dessert provided, kind of like petits fours and signature in Italy. The Lemon Zest Sponge Cake has a fluffy texture, not excessively sweet, with the lemon zest giving a refreshing note and I also like the drizzle of olive oil on top.

On the night it is the Doraemon drone show and the restaurant is a good spot to look at that. The service is certainly one of the highlights. At the beginning the staff asks us on the temperature and volume of the music, helping to tune it down based on our feedback. Apart from introducing the menu, they also come to check in throughout the meal on the food. The bill on the night is $4,832. Overall, it is a great venue to enjoy some nice meat, in a comfortable environment surrounded by impeccable services. Highly recommend for beef-lover.