Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Howard’s Gourmet 好酒好蔡

I have heard about Howard’s Gourmet for a while but did not get the opportunity to try. A few months ago, when visiting Kanesaka in CCB Tower I noticed that the restaurant is located on the same floor. Reigniting my interests, today we come to Central to experience what this Black Pearl 3-Diamond has to offer.

The staff leads us to a large dining room, with a gorgeously high ceiling with chandeliers, full height windows looking out to Victoria Harbour, spacious tables and plush leather seating, richly attired designs with a touch of colonial vibe. It is comfortable and neat, relaxing and luxurious without extravagant.

The Dinner Menu ($1,880 per person) starts with Chef’s Espresso 特色暖胃湯. The lotus seed, lily bulb, and red dates soup is rich in flavours, prepared using Western techniques to blend and thicken the soup and served in hot temperature, like espresso. Warming the stomach and getting us ready to start the meal.

The Chaozhou Snack 時令兩小碟 include garlic shoots with minced squid ball and pickled green carrot. The garlic shoots are tender, with small pieces of minced squid that are flavourful and bouncy. And as appetizers normally pickled radish and carrots will be used, but here they have green carrots instead, with a nice crunchy bite and sweeter taste.

The tapas is Crispy Crab Cake Cube, Seaweed 野生紫菜脆蟹肉粒. Apart from crab meat, there are pork in the cubes for additional flavours and texture. On both sides of the cube the chef has put seaweed, so that after deep-frying there is a great crispness. The taste is phenomenal even without dipping into sweet chili sauce.

Next is HG Signature Sea Cucumber 招牌脆皮婆參. Demonstrating amazing techniques, the large sea cucumber has a crisp surface while the inside remains soft. Along with a rich and delicious sauce to go with the sea cucumber, the staff suggests we having a bite with the sauce, then with custard, for the best enjoyment.

To cleanse the palate on the gluey mouthfeel of the sea cucumber, a tea from special old pu’er tea tree 古樹生普 is served to help remove the heaviness and get us ready for the next course.

Then comes Geoduck Clams, Chaozhou Rice Fermented Sour Soup 酸湯象拔蚌仔. Personally, my favourite dish in the evening, the chef has cut the geoduck into smaller pieces and served in the delicious sour soup, highlighting great tenderness and its umami taste. The soup also has a perfect balance of sourness and spiciness, so good that my mouth starts to water even when I think of it afterwards.

Next is Fried Crispy Horsehead Tilefish, Scale, Soya Bean Sauce 甘鯛立鱗燒配普寧豆醬. Using the Japanese techniques of uroko-yaki, the scales of the tilefish are deep-fried by pouring hot oil on top, making them crispy and edible, while the flesh remains soft and moist. It is paired with a sauce made with Pu Ning yellow bean sauce to compliment with a savoury taste. Delicious.

Continuing with Charcoal Roasted Chicken, Herbs 香草烤雞, it is perfectly roasted, with the chicken skin crispy, and the meat tender and juicy. Seasoned well with herbs, the chicken is nice and flavourful, but the special dipping sauce, made with lemongrass, shallot and garlic, adds further wonders to the already amazing chicken.

To cleanse the palate again after finishing the chicken, the second type of tea is served. This time it is the traditional Chaozhou tea 潮州雙髻娘山單叢, a type of Oolong with a nice honey aftertaste.

Then comes Wok-fried Mustard Green, Crispy Fatty Pork 香油渣炒芥菜苗. It might seem simple, but it takes great skill to stir-fry the mustard green to the perfect level, keeping them crunchy while not having any ‘green’ taste. The touch of fatty pork provides a savoury taste and fragrance to the vegetable in great harmony.

Next is Fried Rice, Diced Pork, Preserved Radish 潮州菜脯肉粒炒飯. The fried rice is nicely done, dry on the texture without feeling any greasiness. With a bit of diced pork and preserved radish to provide savoury and crunchy bite, it is rich in flavours. Even though I am quite full I quickly devour the whole serving and still want to ask for more.

The dessert is Pistachio Mousse, Resin, Sugar Cane Sponge Cake 開心果桃膠拼紅糖糕. The first one has the healthy peach resin served in a lightly sweet soup, with a creative mix of pistachio mousse to infuse with extra flavours. The sponge cake has a chewy bite, again not too sweet, completing our meal with high satisfaction.

The bill on the night is $4,910, with two glasses of wine. Service is good, but the staff can explain more about the dishes, which will bring much more interest and understanding on the ingredients and details the chef has taken to prepare. Still a great place I highly recommend to visit if you want nice Chinese cuisine, in a great ambience.