Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (TST)

On Saturday, while puzzling where I should go for lunch, I thought of having xiao long bao. Since I have not been to Din Tai Fung for a long while, we decided to go to their TST outlet on Canton Road to see whether they can maintain quality over the years.

The restaurant is huge and spacious, and given the late lunch hours one section was not open. Seated at the main dining area, it has a no-frill, casual dining ambience matching well with their food, solid and not fancy.

To start, we have Green Bean Fettuccine and Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce 蒜香粉皮肉 ($68). The sliced pork, with the slightly spicy garlic sauce, is great in flavours, and mixing with the fettuccine adds an extra layer of texture to the enjoyment.

The Crispy Shrimp Pancake 香酥蝦餅 ($80) is another good dish, with the pancake pan-fried to crispness on the surface, while having the bouncy texture of the shrimp in contrast. Good in flavours, it is just a touch oily which can be improved.

The signature Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) 小籠包 ($70) has a total of six. The skin is not too thick, with the soup retaining inside, bursting forth on the bite with great satisfaction. The flavours are nice and is even better than my prior visits.

My wife has Taiwan Style Noodle Tossed with Spring Onion and Soy Sauce 台式香蔥拌麵 ($60) while I go for Double-boiled Chicken Soup Served with Noodle 清燉雞湯麵 ($92). The clear soup is rich in taste, not oily, with the noodle al dente in texture. The noodles also perform better than my last visits.

For dessert, we have Steamed Mini Sesame Paste Buns 迷你芝麻包 ($42). There are three mini buns which sesame fillings, not too sweet, and lacking a bit of the fragrance I would expect from the sesame. I will probably skip this one in future.

Service is good, with the staff attentive despite they are busy serving the many tables. Together with two soy milks, the bill on the day was $530. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate this restaurant a Good 68 points, worth trying.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Pacific Cod with Soy Bean Crisp 豆酥銀鱈魚

Ingredients (for 4):

• Cod - 400g
• Bean crisps - 1/2 cup
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Shallot - 2
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Tapioca starch - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Oil - 1.5 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Chop the garlic and shallot finely.

2. Grind the bean crisps.

3. De-froze the cod and wash clean, cut into thick strips.  

4. Use kitchen paper to wipe dry the cod, then marinate with salt and tapioca starch for 5 minutes. Drizzle with 1/2 tbsp of oil afterwards.

5. Steam the cod at high heat for 8 minutes. 

6. Heat the pan with oil, then add in the shallot and stir-fry briefly.

7. Add in garlic and white pepper powder. Stir fry well.

8. Add in bean crips and mix well. 

9. Transfer the cod onto a clean plate, and scatter the bean crisps on top to serve.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Um Yong Baek

Hearing that the popular Korean restaurant has opened a branch in HK, today we came to Stanley Street in Central to try it out. The restaurant is famous for offering Busan cuisine and its high-quality pork. Because of its popularity, there were two dinner servings, and we came on the first session, starting at 6:30pm.

The décor was neat, with the use of wooden furniture and columns to recreate a vibe of older and traditional Busan cottages. The restaurant was quite big, with two floors, and we were seated on the ground floor. On the side were communal floor seats in the traditional Korean style, for bigger groups.

Ordering the UYB Pork BBQ Set for Two ($510), it included a selection of UYB’s signature pork cuts served on one plate, including belly, collar, and jowl, plus chives and garlic. Like in Korea, the staff would help to grill the meat at the table, saving us the effort and ensuring also the meat was cooked properly. With different sauces and condiments, the quality of the meat was wonderful, and the taste was very good as well.

We also had Truffle Duxelles Stuffed Mushrooms ($80) too. The baked scallop-shaped mushrooms were marinated with truffle oil, topped with sauteed minced mushrooms. It took a while to grill on the side at lower heat, with the intense mushroom flavours pleasant and a good complement to the meat that almost everyone ordered.

We also had some additional meat, picking Yangnyeom-Gui ($330), marinated special cut, with pork ribs, Gabrisal, the prized pork belly section connecting loin to the neck, and cheek meat. With the marinade the meat was more flavourful and tender, offering different texture and experience.

Finishing with Haemul Dolsot-bap ($65), seafood stone pot rice, the issue for us was that this was served too early, while we only started to enjoy the grilled meat, and by the time we finished all the meat the rice had cooled down quite a lot. It tasted good though, and there were rice crisps at the bottom.

Service was great, with the staff not only helping to grill the meat, but throughout the process explaining the different parts of the meat and how to best pair with the different sauces, in what sequence. The bill on the night was $1,128. Good value for money. Considering the overall experience, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 78 points, worth returning.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Jasmine 八月花

With the heavy rain in town, to avoid getting wet we decided to drive to nearby Tsuen Wan for dinner. Parking at Citywalk, we chose a restaurant in the mall and ended up going to Jasmine for Cantonese cuisine. While we used to go to the same restaurant in Central often many years ago, it was less frequent we went to this one despite being closer to home.

It was not too busy on this night, and the general impression was decent, brightly lit, clean and neat. The tables were a bit packed but that was understandable given the high rental. Picking from the menu and chef’s recommendations on the day, we had the following.

Starting from the Crispy Roasted Piglet with Salad 脆脆BB豬沙律 ($208), the roasted piglet had a nice crispy skin, with the meat marinated well and flavourful. On the side was the fresh vegetable salad drizzled with some balsamic vinegar, helping to balance the fattiness of the piglet. Nicely done and was my favourite dish in the evening.

Next came Poached Amaranth with Golden and Silver Egg 金銀蛋浸莧菜 ($128). A very common dish available in virtually every Cantonese restaurant, the vegetable was tender, with the broth not too salty, seasoned well from the deep-fried garlic. I would prefer the salted egg to be more cooked than the current runny format though.

The third dish was Fish Maw and Sea Cucumber in Casserole 薑蔥海參爆花膠煲 ($208). Quite generous in the amount of fish maw and sea cucumber used, it was fragrant from the ginger and spring onion, plus some garlic and shallot. Seasoned well, it was good value. The only improvement was to control the amount of oil in the casserole.

The final dish was Fish Fillet in Sour Broth Malay Style 馬來酸湯浸鮮魚柳 ($238). It was the most disappointing one, with the whole dish not reheated sufficiently, having many fish fillet pieces just lukewarm in temperature. The broth, with tomato and asparagus, was quite one-dimensional in flavour.

Despite that, we still ordered dessert to see whether that could help to rescue some marks. I went for Sweet Dumpling in Ginger Tea薑茶湯丸 ($36) while my wife opted for Sesame Roll 芝麻卷 ($36). The sweet dumplings had sesame fillings, decent in texture, while the ginger tea was nice, made with lots of ginger. The sesame roll was lackluster though, missing the nice sesame fragrance I would expect.

Service was decent, with the staff friendly but not very interactive, typical in more traditional Chinese restaurants. The bill on the day was $999. Considering the food quality and overall dining experience, I would rate this restaurant a Decent 63 points, can skip.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Stewed Beef Brisket 貴妃牛腩

Ingredients (for 4):

• Beef brisket - 500g
• Tomato - 300g
• Carrot - 100g
• Spring onion - 20g
• Ginger - 20g
• Star anise - 2
• Black cardamon - 1
• Water - 300ml
• Chili bean paste - 2 tbsp
• Sweet bean sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup - 4 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
• Rice wine - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Cut the beef brisket into chunks of about 4cm wide.

2. Cut the tomato into pieces.

3. Cut the ginger into slices, cut the spring onion into sections. Wash the star anise and black cardamon.

4. Peel the carrot and roll cut into pieces.

5. Mix chili bean paste, sweet bean sauce, tomato ketchup and sugar together.

6. Heat the pot on medium level and then add in the beef brisket. Sear on both sides until it is browned.

7. Add in ginger, spring onion, star anise and black cardamon. Stir-fry until fragrant.

8. Add in the mixed sauce, and stir well.

9. Add in soy sauce and mix well.

10. Add in tomato, carrot, water and rice wine. Stir well and cover with lid to cook for 30 minutes under low heat.

11. Open the lid and turn to medium heat to reduce the sauce. Continue to cook for 15 minutes.

12. Serve.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Locanda

This Italian restaurant is located at Yuen Yuen Street in Happy Valley, a small street off the main Sing Woo Road. The entrance can easily be missed, and only the display of a whole ham leg and the pasta roller hinting of the specialty of this restaurant. Greeted by the staff warmly, we are seated at a table at the back.

The décor inside is similar in style as the entrance, having a no-frill, neighbourhood design which is modest. Frankly for us as first-timers it might be perceived as low-end and ‘just another local pretend’. But knowing better to judge before eating, we order a few of the signature and daily special dishes for our dinner tonight.

I have a bottle of Petrolo Boggina B 2022 ($1,250) to pair with the food on the night. It is an organic Italian white wine from Tuscany, made from 100% Trebbiano, with a nice mineral, citrus and apple characters, also nice toasty flavours from the ageing in French oak barrels. A versatile and easy to drink white which goes well with food.

For starter, we have White Asparagus ($330), with the asparagus coming from France, and after poaching, they are dressed in a citrus mayonnaise. On the side are pieces of 48-month Iberico ham, together with toasted Rocca Parmigiano Reggiano to give a nice crisp and savoury addition to combine with delicate sweetness of the asparagus.

The other starter is the daily special Butterfly Clam ($330), fresh from South Africa, which are sauteed with garlic and white wine in a traditional and simple style. The clams are large, meaty, very sweet and rich in umami while not tough on texture. The jus remaining is also wonderful in taste, with me scooping us all of them with sourdough.

For pasta we have picked ‘Mancini’ Linguine ($1,280 for two). A luxurious treat with two large Spanish carabinero, deep in flavours and amazing in taste, the prawn miso is used to cook the pasta together with tomato and green zucchini. The linguine has al dente texture, picking up the sauce perfectly, no wonder the signature of the restaurant.

On the main course we have chosen the daily special Grilled Whole Bay Lobster ($820). On the bay lobster is a tomato sauce that has also added with finely chopped chorizo, to give a bit of spicy kick and increasing the complexity in taste. With some kale underneath, it is another wonderful dish which might look simple but has a lot of depth.

For dessert, we have Locanda Tiramisu ($158) to share. Served in a coffee cup, the chef has prepared this traditional Italian dessert in an authentic recipe, with the ladyfinger soaked in coffee at the bottom, a layer of mascarpone cheese on top, finishing with the cocoa powder on the surface. Rich and flavourful, a treat to finish a delicious meal.

Service is nice, with the staff attentive and checking in repeatedly on food quality, calling my name in the process to illustrate they are paying attention to the customers.  The bill on the night is $4,660. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate this restaurant a Good 70 points, worth trying.