2025年6月16日 星期一

Wineshark Home Cooking - Ultimate Napoli Ragu 終極拿坡里肉醬麵


Ingredients (for 2):
  • Frankfurt sausages - 4 
  • Onion - 1/2
  • Mushroom - 6
  • Green bell pepper - 1
  • Spaghetti - 200g
  • Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
  • Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
  • Butter - 20g
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
  • Salt - 10g
  • Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
  • Parsley - dashes
Procedures:

1. Cut the sausages into slices.


2. Chop the mushroom into slices.


3. Cut the onion into shreds.


4. Cut the green bell pepper into shreds.


5. Shave the Parmesan cheese finely.


6. Heat the pan with oil, then pan-fry the sausages, flipping when it turns brown.


7. Add in the shredded onion and stir-fry until softened.


8. Add mushroom, tomato paste and tomato ketchup. Continue to stir-fry until the sauce is dried.


9. Add in green bell pepper and butter, stir-fry briefly to keep the crunchy texture.


10. Boil a pot of water, add in salt and cook the spaghetti according to the required time shown on the packing.


11. Add the cooked spaghetti into the pan, stir-well. 


12. Serve with Parmesan cheese and parsley on top.



2025年6月14日 星期六

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Le Colvert


Le Colvert
is a duck specialty bistro that recently opened in Sai Ying Pun, offering a menu that essentially has duck in all its dishes. Located in Des Voeux Road West and near Water Street, you can see the duck press through the full height glass wall from the street.


The bistro has a neat and stylish design, with a lot of decors with duck as the theme. There are counter seats facing the open kitchen allowing customers to interact with the chefs readily, as well as booths for more intimate discussion, and the normal dining tables.


After enjoying the mocktails to quench the heat, our dinner starts with Planche de Degustation ($298). The tasting platter includes some thinly sliced smoked duck breast, pate in a crust, foie gras with toasted brioche, and gizzards confit in garlic. We like the gizzard most, having a good bite but not rubbery, with good flavours. A good way to experience the different delicacies and no wonder almost all the tables have ordered this.


We also have Salade Perigourdine ($198), which is green salad with smoked breast, gizzard confit and foie gras. The salad is fresh, drizzled with olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt, plus some crunchy seeds instead of croutons. The other components are mostly a repeat of the tasting platter so do not feel excited anymore. It would be good if the staff can remind us during order so we can pick something else.


For the main course, we have chosen the signature Magret a la Peau Croustillante ($498 for the whole portion). The pan-fried crispy breast is prepared to medium rare, already sliced to pieces to allow us to share easily. Paired with duck jus and mushroom cream sauce, the duck breast is juicy but with some tendon so making it a bit tough to chew. On the side are roasted garlic and chicory.


The other main course is Macaronade au Foie Gras, Magret Confit, Cepes et Truffles ($298). The baked penne pasta has foie gras, porcini and breast confit added, finishing with some shaved black truffles on tableside. Very rich and flavourful, it is best for sharing as the portion is big and would be too much for an individual. Even for big eaters like us, we cannot finish, also leaving no room for any dessert in the end.


Service is good, with the staff friendly and attentive. The bill on the night is $1,615 and quite reasonable. Having an all-duck menu is certainly a selling point but I hope they can evolve the menu to include a bit more options regarding the preparation, probably making it more fun and interesting, to attract repeat customers.

2025年6月13日 星期五

Wineshark Home Cooking - Pot Stickers 生煎菜肉鍋貼


Ingredients (for 2):
  • Dough - 150g
  • Pork - 150g
  • Chinese cabbage - 500kg
  • Soy sauce - 1 tsp
  • Salt - 1/4 tsp
  • Sugar - 1/2 tsp
  • Tapioca starch - 1/2 tbsp
  • Sesame oil - 1 tsp
  • Zhejiang vinegar - 2 tbsp
  • Ginger shreds - 1 tbsp
Procedures:

1. Wash the Chinese cabbage.


2. Put the Chinese cabbage in boiling water, and cook until it softens.


3. Flush the Chinese cabbage in cold water and then drain.


4. Chop the Chinese cabbage finely. Then squeeze out the water.


5. Mince the pork meat, then add in soy sauce, salt, sugar and 2 tbsp of water. Mix well and marinate for 15 minutes.


6. Add the chopped Chinese cabbage in, mix well.


7. Add in tapioca starch, and mix well, then add sesame oil and mix well.


8. Put about a tablespoon of meat in the middle of the dough, then apply a bit of water on the rim. Fold the dumpling, starting from the middle, then the two sides. 


9. Cut the ginger into shreds.


10. Heat the pan with oil, turn to medium heat and then place the dumplings on it. Splash with 60ml of water and cover with lid. Turn to low heat and continue to cook until the water has completely evaporated.


11. Open the lid and then continue to cook until the bottom is fried to brown.


12. Serve with Zhejiang vinegar.



2025年6月12日 星期四

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Bo Innovation


It’s been almost 4.5 years since I visited Bo Innovation, while it was still in Wanchai. This Michelin 2-star restaurant has since then moved to its current location in H Code, and today, we return to see what Chef Alvin Leung has prepared in his latest menu.


Once stepping out from the elevator on the left is the kitchen and bar, and on the right is the reception leading into the dining area, with a nice backdrop of Lions Rock depicting in a contemporary fashion.


Seated at a table at the corner to enjoy good privacy and a glimpse of the street view, with also nice murals on the window, the décor has retained the fun and local elements, like the dense building landscape represented by pai gow, and the ‘red-white-blue’ design walls.


The theme of the tasting menu is Family Meal ($1,280 each), and I also order a bottle of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs ($950) to pair with the food. The mark-up on the wine is very reasonable. The champagne has a ripe citrus and brioche nose with good acidity.


Starting with Home Favourites 家的最愛, the chef has reimagined three local dishes that are common at home to make some appetizers. The first is 豆豉鯪魚油麥菜, with a small ladyfish coated with Douchi powder before deep-frying to resemble Dace, season with some shichimi, to enjoy together with Chinese Lettuce puree plus Puning bean paste foam on top. The flavours are amazingly similar.


The second one is Mui Choy Kau Yuk 梅菜扣肉. The crispy cone holds the ice-cream made with mui choy, or preserved vegetable, with some pickled mustard greens on top, sandwiched with a foam made with bacon for a savoury taste. Refreshing with complex flavours. Interesting.


Served on a rotating plate with a lantern in the middle showing the photo of Chef Alvin in his youth having a meal is the third one 豬油撈飯. Inside the crispy Woba, there is a sou vide Egg yolk, seasoned with goat cheese and Soy. On top is a piece of Pork Fat, with a touch of ponzu to give a bit of yuzu citrus to balance.


Next comes Beef, Leek in a Shell 蔥爆牛肉. From the bottom, it is oyster sauce mousse and a layer of jam from beef extracts, plus the green avocado and spring onion cream. With some dried beef crumbs on top, and two pieces of leek, one pickled in kimchi style and one baked to crispness, offering nice fragrance. Complex in flavours and delicious.


The third course is H2 Egg. It is a Chawanmushi, but the chef has used the French beurre blanc sauce to mix with the egg to prepare for the steamed custard. Inside the chef has added some conpoy for umami taste and then scooped a large teaspoon of caviar on top. Another interesting feature is that the cutleries are kept inside the drawer of the table, like that of a mahjong table.  


The Precious 3 煎釀三寶 includes three pieces. The first one is chu-toro tartare, wrapped in a nori sheet and a red pepper crisp. The second features tofu prepared using fish soup, soy milk and Chinese marinade sauce, with some salmon roes and fennel on top. The third is crispy potato ball mixed with mashed eggplant and white anchovy to enhance the savoury taste, plus mango chutney on top.


Coming to the fifth course, Fish the Good Old Way 古法蒸魚, the chef has used the three elements of the traditional dish, shredded pork, aged mandarin peel, and shiitake, to create a completely new concept. With turbot fish noodle serving as the anchor, the shredded pork is replaced with Nuodeng ham from Yunnan and lightly grilled with a brush of honey and aged mandarin peel for more flavours. A stock made with matsutake, porcini and morels is then poured on top, with the chef deliberately making it darker in colour to resemble soy sauce. Very creative.


A traditional paper bag holds the next course Char Siu 叉燒, like how in the old days the family would bring home as additional dish. Putting it in a contemporary Western style, the BBQ pork is served on a baguette with some Mee Chun Pickles, rather like a submarine sandwich. The sourness of the pickles helps to balance the fattiness of the pork well, but the baguette is not crisp enough which is a bit of letdown.


We have ordered an additional Xiao Long Bao ($90 each), the signature of Chef Alvin. The pinkish orange casing is infused with the essence of the pork and soup in the traditional delicacy, with a small white paste on top, which encompasses the flavours of ginger and Zhejiang vinegar, provides a full experience of xiao long bao in a totally unrecognizable format. It is the dish that won Chef Alvin his accolade of introducing molecular gastronomy to HK.


The seventh course is Fungi Chicken 冬菇蒸雞. Removing the bone in the chicken wing, the chef has stuffed with some finely chopped matsutake mushroom before putting it to steam. Once that is done, hot oil is continuously poured onto the chicken wing to give colour and a bit of crispness. The chicken is moist and not over-seasoned so the original taste can be better appreciated, true to the concept of the original.


For the main course we have both opted for Elevated Shrimp Omelette 蝦仁炒蛋. The langoustine is grilled well, tender and with a sweet taste. The chef has prepared different sauces to complement, including the orangish sabayon sauce, the red beetroot sauce, and the green spring onion oil. On the side is the ceps and the chives, stir-fried to give nice fragrance.


Coming to dessert, the lighter version is Home Sweet de Night 其樂融融, featuring some small, diced kiwi at the bottom, gingko nut foam on top, plus some deep-fried rice crisp to give extra texture. The sauce used is a condensed beancurd and egg vanilla sauce to integrate all the flavours together.


The final course is Sweet Potato Tong Yuen 團團圓圓. At the bottom is the apple almond compote, with the Paris-Brest, made with mochi powder and milk, sitting on top, having a nice chewy bite. Together with sweet potato ice-cream and crisps, on the side is a sweet sauce made from stem ginger. It is a filling dessert which ensures our stomach do not feel empty leaving.


The Petits Fours include Muy Choi Macaron, Indian Lettuce Marshmallow, and Lard Residue Crème Brulee. All very interesting with unique flavours, and personally I like the macaron the most, as the muy choi flavours are forward and apparent.


Finally, the staff brings us a traditional wedding basket which contains lots of traditional sweets for us to pick and take home. The bill on the night is $4,147. There are many wow factors in the dishes, but I still like the menu from prior visits more. It is truly amazing to see the creativity and innovation how Chef Alvin and his team can go, and in particular we like the showcase of local flavours and stories, which made it unique and resonate.