Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - One Duck Lane 尚萃軒

This restaurant is located at Hyatt Centric Victoria Harbour Hong Kong, offering contemporary Chinese cuisine specializing in Peking duck and some other classics. Arriving early in the evening, we were shown to our table, passing by a semi-open kitchen where we could see the ducks getting roasted in the oven.

Seated at a table on the window side, looking out was the East Coast Boardwalk. With dusk falling, seeing the many people jogging or walking home from work brought a sense of serene peacefulness. Coupled with the neat design, marble tabletop and comfortable seats, the dining ambience was relaxing, high-end but not intimidating. 

We started with two appetizers. Chilled Jellyfish, Black Vinegar 陳醋脆海蜇 ($118) was simple, with the crunchy jellyfish pieces drizzled and seasoned with sesame oil and black vinegar. Delicious in taste, with also some smashed cucumber on the bottom giving contrast in texture. A nice starter. 

The other one was Chilled Sliced ‘Yin Yang’ Chicken 擔擔鴛鴦雞 ($138). A signature of the restaurant, the steamed patty from the different colour meat of local three yellow and silky chicken, cut to diamond shape and assembled to a star pattern, sitting on top of a dan dan sauce with rich peanut notes and a bit of spiciness. Also nicely done. 

Next came the soups we ordered. My wife had Double Boiled Pork Lung Soup, Dried Tangerine Peel, Chinese Cabbage 陳皮菜膽燉白肺湯 ($148) while I went for Hot and Sour Soup, Shredded Fish Maw, Scallop 花膠帶子酸辣羹 ($138). The pork lung soup was delicious, sweet in taste and sufficiently hot in temperature to serve.

My hot and sour soup was honestly probably the better option, with lots of ingredients including fish maw, conpoy, scallop, wood ear, bamboo shoot, shiitake and enoki mushroom. The balance between the spiciness and sourness was perfectly executed, bringing me a pleasant sweat, and the flavours were so good.

After finishing the last course for 45 minutes, the pre-ordered Signature Roasted Peking Duck 京式明爐烤鴨 ($448 half) finally arrived. The meat was cut into three ports, including duck skin, breast meat and leg meat, with different texture and fattiness. Quite tender and juicy, the duck was paired with cucumber, leek, garlic, soy sauce, wapped a steaming hot pancake. Not bad, just that it took too long to arrive which affected the experience.

My favourite dish though was Pan Fried Scallop, Shrimp Paste, Fresh Lily Bulb 豉油皇百花煎釀帶子 ($388). The fresh scallop was sliced in butterfly style, attaching the bouncy shrimp paste on top, before putting to pan-fry with soy sauce. The taste was amazing, with some lily bulb in the middle as condiment to balance. 

For dessert, I had Chilled Mango Pudding, Fresh Mango, Mango Jelly 鮮芒果布甸 ($68), while my wife had Red Bean Sweet Soup, Dried Tangerine Peel, Lotus Seed 十年陳皮蓮子紅豆沙 ($68). The pudding was covered by the mango jelly, with fresh mango underneath, plus some pieces of cake to offer a variety of texture to enjoy. Good as not too sweet.

The other dim sum we had to share was Housemade Sesame Roll, Toasted Sesame Seed 手工芝麻卷 ($68). Beautifully presented, the sesame roll had a distinct black and white layers, rich in sesame flavours and not too sweet. Not to be missed if you enjoy this traditional dessert which was not regularly seen nowadays in restaurants.

Service was decent, but I could feel the staff was a bit disoriented and unsure, probably still early in the opening stage and not getting fully familiar with the operations. The bill on the night was $1,585 after a 15% discount. Considering the overall experience, I would rate this restaurant a Good 70 points, worth trying.

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - La Volta

This Italian restaurant is in Lan Fong Road, Causeway Bay, under the helm of Chef Roland Schuller, who had been the mastermind behind the Michelin 2-star Octavium until recently. Hearing that he has opened this diner offering his signature pasta at very reasonable price, we came today to try it out.

With its popularity, at the early evening hours the restaurant was already quite packed. Seated at the innermost table, the décor showed a design bringing some artisanal Italian homes, with exposed brick walls, soft lighting, plenty of photos, paintings and other artworks decorating the wall to offer an intimate atmosphere. 

Ordering a bottle of Saicho Hojicha ($290) to share, we started with Burrata & Truffle Honey Bruschetta ($98).  On the toasted bread was some creamy burrata, drizzled with truffle-infused honey, and seasoned with Maldon sea salt. The sweet and savoury mix of the cheese was appetizing, and a nice snack to start the dinner.

Next came Vitello Tonnato ($188). The thinly sliced veal tongue was tender and full of flavours, mixed with veal jus and tuna sauce, with capers and chives on top to decorate. The combination of veal and tuna was a match in heaven, demonstrating why this dish, or a variation, was always on menu for Italian restaurants.

Another starter we got was Wild Mushroom Tart ($78). On the crunchy shortbread tart crust the chef had stuffed in confit assorted wild mushrooms, having a nice texture and good bite. Together with creamy leeks and green chives to provide fragrance. The serving included two pieces each.

For the pasta, we had Fettuccine alla Bolognese ($198). The ragu was a 6-hour-simmered Italian beef bolognese, rich in flavours. The fettuccine was homemade and having a great al dente texture. I thought there was Parmigiano Reggiano on the pasta, but somehow it was missed. Considering the hype of the restaurant, this was a bit short of expectation. 

The Crab Cake ($178) was additional order when we found the portion was small and we could eat more. The crab cake was breaded and deep-fried to beautiful golden colour, with the delicate sweet meat quite delicious. Paired with homemade tartare sauce and pickled onions, there was also lemon wedge to add a bit of citrus acidity if one desired.

The Grilled Spanish Octopus ($218) was quite large, with the thick tentacle cooked nicely, very tender and easy to chew, serving with a seafood bisque, to enrich the flavours. Together with chorizo, taggiasche olives, crispy potatoes, smoked paprika, fried capers, it was a dish meant to be shared. 

For dessert, my wife had the Gelato of the Day ($58), which was a Sesame ice-cream with rich flavours, also not too sweet per the Hong Kong people’s palate. I had the La Volta Tiramisu ($98), with layered ladyfingers, mascarpone, espresso, and cocoa dust to present this traditional Italian dessert in its full justice.

Service was good, but apart from one of the female staff whom I was impressed with her diligence in introducing the food and followed up on service requests, the others was less enthusiastic. The bill on the night was $1,544 and considering the overall experience, I would rate this restaurant 70 points, worth trying. 

Wineshark Home Cooking - Baked Mushroom and Potatoes French Style 法式焗烤鮮菇馬鈴薯

Ingredients (for 2):

• Potato - 2
• Shimeji mushroom - 1 pack
• German sausages - 4
• Baking cheese - 40g
• Egg - 3
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Parsley - dashes
• Salt - 1 pinch
• Black pepper finely - 1 pinch

Procedures:

1. Peel the skin off the potatoes.

2. Cut the sausages diagonally into three sections.

3. Cut the roots of the shimeji mushroom, then break it apart.

4. Cut the potatoes into quarters, then soak in water for 5 minutes. Drip dry.

5. Put the potatoes in the baking tray, cover with shimeji mushroom and sausages.

6. Bake in oven pre-heated at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

7. Whisk the eggs.

8. Add in milk, season with salt and black pepper finely. Stir well.

9. Remove the tray from oven, pour in the egg mixture, scatter with baking cheese on top.

10. Put it back into oven to cook for 15 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven.

12. Scatter with parsley on top and serve.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Ultimate Mapo Tofu 終極麻婆豆腐

Ingredients (for 4):

• Pork - 200g
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• Tofu - 500g
• Spring onion - 1 sprig
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Chili bean paste - 1 tbsp
• Sweet bean paste - 1 tbsp
• Chili oil - 2 tsp
• Water - 200ml
• Soy sauce - 2 tsp
• Cooking wine - 1 tbsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Tapioca starch - 1 tbsp
• Water - 2 tbsp
• Sansho powder - dashes

Procedures:

1. Chop the pork into mince. 

2. Cut the tofu into small cubes.

3. Cut the spring onion into small pieces.

4. Cut the garlic finely.

5. Heat the pan with oil, then stir-fry the minced pork until it is almost-cooked.

6. Turn to low heat and add in garlic, continue to stir-fry.

7. Add chili bean paste and stir well. 

8. Add sweet bean paste and chili oil, stir well. Turn off heat.

9. Cook the tofu in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and drip dry.

10. Add into the minced pork.

11. Add in water, turn up the heat and cook until the sauce boils.

12. Add in half of the spring onion. Mix well.

13. Turn to medium-low heat, add in the mix of soy sauce, cooking wine and white pepper powder.

14. Mix tapioca starch with water, then gradually pour in to thicken the sauce.

15. Serve on the plate, and scatter the remaining spring onion on top.