Wineshark Home Cooking - Fish Fillet with Lees 糟溜魚片

Ingredients (for 4):

• Frozen green wrasse - 250g
• Bamboo shoot - 20g
• Dried wood ear - 5g
• Egg - 2
• Tapioca starch - 1 tbsp
• Wine lees - 3 tbsp
• Chinese yellow wine - 1 tbsp
• Chicken stock - 125ml
• Ginger juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Oil - 250ml

Procedures:

1. De-froze  the green wrasse and then clean. Use kitchen paper to wipe dry, then cut into thick slices.

2. Marinate the fish fillet with egg white and 1/2 tbsp of tapioca starch for at least 30 minutes.

3. Blend the wine lees into a thick sauce.

4. Soak the dried wood ear in water, then remove the stem and tear into smaller pieces.

5. Blanch the bamboo shoot slices in hot water until it is cooked. Drain for later use.

6. Mix the lee sauce with ginger juice, salt, sugar and chicken stock.

7. Heat the oil to half hot, then add in the fish fillet to cook at low heat until 80% done. Then remove.

8. Drain off the oil but keep around 1 tbsp remaining, then turn to high heat and add in wood ear and bamboo shoots to stir-fry. Spray with Chinese yellow wine.

9. Add in the sauce and continue to cook until the sauce is boiling.

10. Add in the fish fillet and quickly mix everything together. Use 1/2 tbsp of tapioca starch with water to thicken the sauce. 

11. Serve.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Creamy Tuna and Salted Kombu Spaghetti 鮪魚美乃滋佐鹽昆布義大利麵

Ingredients (for 2):

• Spaghetti - 160g
• Canned tuna - 1
• White dashi - 2 tbsp
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Mayonnaise - 2 tbsp
• Salted kombu - 2 tbsp

Procedures:

1. Boil the spaghetti in a pot of hot water for 2 minutes less than the recommended time on the packaging.

2. Remove the spaghetti. Keep 150ml of the water from the pasta.

3. Add white dashi, olive oil, mayonnaise, salted kombu, tuna, and the water from pasta to the frying pan, together with the spaghetti. Cook at medium heat until the sauce boils.

4. Lower the heat and continue to cook for 3 minutes.

5. Serve.

Wineshark Home Cooking - New Year Shredded Salad with Abalone and Jellyfish 鮑撈起

Ingredients (for 4):

• Jellyfish - 200g
• Roasted duck - 100g
• Salted chicken - 100g
• Canned abalone - 1
• Celery - 100g
• Carrot - 100g
• Melon - 120g
• Pear - 120g
• Japanese sesame sauce - 80g
• Thai sweet chili sauce - 80g
• Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Cut the celery into strips.

2. Peel the carrot and cut into strips.

3. Put both celery and carrot in boiling water to blanch briefly, then remove and soak in iced water. Drain dry for later use.

4. Cut the salted chicken into strips.

5. Cut the roasted duck into strips.

6. Mix the instant jellyfish with the included sauce for later use.

7. Peel the pear and cut into strips.

8. Cut the melon into strips.

9. Mix Japanese sesame sauce with Thai sweet chili sauce and sesame oil. 

10. Place the jellyfish in the middle of the serving plate.

11. Place all the other ingredients on the plate. 

12. Put the abalone in the middle and drizzle with the sauce to serve.

13. Serve.

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Paper Moon

This Italian restaurant is located at Ocean Terminal Extension (OTE) and having just visited another Italian restaurant a few days ago, it is unavoidable we would compare the two. Unfortunately, this one is inferior in most respects.

Seated at a table on the window side, the breathtaking view of Victoria Harbour is certainly a selling point for the restaurant. When weather permits, the seating on the balcony offers another good option to experience the amazing view in even better way.

The décor is neat, and apart from the large windows facing the harbour, the other walls display some nice black-and-white photographs, creating a nice ambience which is comfortable and relaxing.

We order the Lobster Festa menu ($1,088 each, with 50% off for the second set). To start with, I have 3 Oysters ($178). They are quite big, fresh and with a nice briny taste. A squeeze of lemon juice helps to brighten the acidity.

The first course is Appetizer, featuring Poached Lobster with Caviar, Heritage Carrots and Buttermilk Cream. The claw and lobster tail does not have much taste on its own unfortunately, and even with the caviar and dressings it did not help much. The carrots are also a bit too hard and would be ideal to cook slightly longer. Not a good start to impress.

The second course is Soup, featuring Lobster Bisque with Roasted Pumpkin. While the soup is served steaming hot, which meets my most basic requirement, with also good intense flavours, it was not as complex as the one I had a few days ago. The lobster meat are tiny and has a bit of fishy taste.

For the Main course, my wife has Lobster Fregula in Spicy Lobster Broth, while I go for Butter Poached Lobster with Celeriac Puree, Banana Shallot Confit & Lobster Jus, plus the upgrade of Australian M5 Wagyu Beef Sirloin with Red Wine Sauce ($300 additional). There are abundance of lobster meat in the pasta, but the taste is rather mediocre.

The ‘surf and turf’ I have, apart from lobster, included also red prawn and sirloin steak. The lobster compared with the appetizer is better in seasoning, while the beef is reasonably done too. It does not give a big wow to the palate but is decent in flavours. But I am not sure I will call it good value to pay the additional to have the steak.

Finally, the Dessert is Paper Moon Tiramisu. Following the traditional recipe, the tiramisu is good in taste, with the mascarpone rich and delicious, the ladyfinger at the bottom soaked in espresso to give the bitterness to balance the sweetness of the mascarpone, and the cocoa powder on top wrapping up nicely.

Service is good, with the staff attentive and cheerful. The restaurant is quite busy for a Wednesday evening, which is a good sign. However, with the bill on the night at $2,461 it is not exactly good value, considering there is already 50% off for the second set. It is clear which one I would recommend among the two Italian restaurants I visited this week.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Ultimate Roasted Pork with Ginger 終極薑汁燒肉

Ingredients (for 2):

• Pork - 200g
• Ginger - 15g
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Pepper salt - dashes
• Flour - 4 tbsp
• Cooking wine - 2 tbsp
• Mirin - 2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 1.5 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Cabbage - 1/4

Procedures:

1. Season the pork with pepper salt.

2. Cut half of the ginger into shreds, and finely grate the remaining.

3. Cut the cabbage into shreds.

4, Mix cooking wine, mirin, soy sauce and sugar into a sauce.

5. Coat the pork with flour on both sides.

6. Heat the pan with oil, then pan-fry the pork on both sides under medium-high heat, until slightly charred.

7. Add in the ginger and the sauce. Mix well so that the pork is well-coated with the sauce.

8. Serve with the shredded cabbage on the side.

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Sabatini Ristorante Italiano (IFC)

Sabatini is one of the Italian restaurants that has a long history in HK, with more than 30 years of experience, operating at The Royal Garden. In 2023 they opened another outlet in HK side, in IFC Mall at Central. Today we went there to see whether there is any difference vs. what we experienced in TST.

Seated comfortably at a table in the middle of the dining room, facing the full-length windows, with the gorgeous harbour view as the backdrop, the restaurant is neatly designed, with arched ceilings, dome walls and brick floors all combined to create a classy and comfortable vibe.

As we were in the white truffle season, we decided to go for the Seasonal Tasting Menu ($2,288 each). Starting with Amuse Bouche, which is a mini tart with beef tartar, plus shaved white truffle on top. The chopped beef tartar was seasoned well, having some capers to give a bit of acidity, with the aromatic truffle integrated into the flavours.

Next came Pink Prawn Salad. The prawn had been minced to a delicious gooey paste, where the tartar is served with prized Oscietra caviar and smoked oil, adding umami and a touch of woody fragrance. Together with salad vegetables scattered on top, it is of wonderful taste, a complete and fantastic starter.

Then it was Slow Cook Egg, which is one of the most iconic ways to enjoy white truffles. The poached egg was placed in the middle, surrounded by porcini mushroom, as well as a sauce made from Parmesan cheese. The Alba white truffles were shaved on tableside, with a fantastic nose that insert its presence but not over-powering the other ingredients.

Next was Boston Lobster Bisque. Very rich and flavourful, the soup was served nicely hot. Apart from the lobster meat, which was firm and sweet in taste, there were some croutons to add texture to the soup. The complex and intense flavours was phenomenal. Another must-try.

Continuing the white truffle specialty dishes, another signature to feature the prized delicacy is pasta. The Homemade Tagliolini with Alba white truffle delivered its promise, perfect al dente in texture, and the pasta was able to carry the sauce and the amazing truffle taste so well I would like to order another one straight away.

The main course was Veal Loin served with morels, parsnip puree and veal jus, plus white truffles. The veal was very tender, beautifully seasoned, with the portion just right to be filling but not too much. The rich flavours of the jus enhanced the enjoyment, with the puree creamy and tasty. The truffle was the icing on the cake.

Dessert was Alba White Truffle Ice-Cream. An interesting ice-cream which had distinguished white truffle flavours but did not feel awkward in taste, having good sweetness level but not excessive, and the crumbs at the bottom provided extra layer of texture and delights.

The Homemade Petits Fours included Almond Biscuits with Jam, Compote Jelly, and Chocolate Mousse on mini taco. All nice small bites to pair with the delicious, fragrant coffee. The menu also included coffee or tea, and with a cup of double espresso the meal finished on a high note.

The bill on the night was $5,144. Service is good, but the staff did not spend time introducing the dishes or ingredients and even did not talk about this year’s white truffles. Considering this is a special menu apparently it is a big miss. Food quality is good though and continue to live up to the Sabatini reputation.