Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Xin Rong Ji

My last visit to this Michelin 1-star restaurant was back in 2021, and today, five years later, we returned to their HK branch in Wanchai, with high anticipation, to experience the wonderful Taizhou cuisine they offered. 

Walking up the steps the staff led us to the main dining area, and we were seated at a table on the side. The décor and setting had not changed from our last visit, with an overall comfortable, but high-end, ambience.

There were some Appetizers ($48) provided to start, along with Fresh Pomelo and Almond Crisps. These snacks, although they might look simple, were truly good. We recalled last time the walnut was so good we ended up buying some to take home.

First course was Crispy Cutlass Fish 黃金脆帶魚 ($299 half). The staff had helpfully recommended half the portion for us, to avoid having all 12 pieces in the normal serving. The smaller bones on both the top and bottom of cutlass fish were removed before deep-frying, showing a beautiful golden colour crispy surface while the flesh was moist and tender. Fantastic.

And the staff also helped us to combine Steamed Wenzhou Fish Cake 手工魚餅 ($119 half) and Cuttlefish Sausage 墨魚香腸 ($119 half) so we could enjoy both without ordering the normal portion. Both were very delicious snacks, with my preference going to the sausage because of its crunchy texture of the cuttlefish pieces inside.

Having Clam with Chicken Soup 清雞湯西施舌 ($198 each) again, it still was amazing, with the clear chicken soup intense in flavours, without any single drop of oil, while the clam provided umami and some chewy texture to the soup. We also liked how the soup was served in a hot temperature to showcase its best flavours.

Another signature dish was Braised Yellow Croaker in Home Style 家燒黃魚 ($598 each). The yellow croaker had very tender meat, absorbing the wonderful flavours of the sauce during the cooking process. The size of the fish was also right so we could finish the whole tail without being too much.

A seasonal dish we tried was Fried Eggs with Chinese Toon Leaves 香椿炒土雞蛋 ($238). The highlight was apparently the toon leaves, which were the young shoots from the Chinese mahogany tree, with nice savoury umami flavours. Together with the perfectly done fried eggs, it was a simple dish but one not to be missed in Spring.

The Yangtze Grenadier Anchovy Dumplings 刀魚餛飩 ($98 each) was served with a flavourful broth, with the dough of the two dumplings nicely done on thickness. The fillings were delicious, bursting in umami. The fish had very soft bones and delicate in texture, best in the current season, so no wonder this was a favourite for many locals.

When the Baked Fresh Pomfret Rice in Hot Pot 鯧魚飯 ($498) was served we took a gasp because it was very large in size. By now we were very full so we could only finish one serving and had to take the rest home. But we did not regret ordering, as the rice was very flavourful, with the pomfret fillets tender. It could serve 5-6 people easily. Not to be missed.

For dessert we had Traditional Sichuan Ice Jelly with Brown Sugar Syrup 紅糖冰粉 ($68 each). The transparent ice jelly was made from konjac root, with peanuts, sesame, wolfberries, and the syrup adding sweetness but not excessive. A nice finish to a great meal. 

Service was very good, with the staff attentive, and proactively offered to adjust the portion so we could enjoy it without having too much. They even asked us to reconsider ordering the pomfret rice initially. The bill on the night was $3,631. Considering the overall experience, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 83 points. Worth returning. 

Wineshark Mystery Restaurant - Niwa

This Japanese sushi restaurant is located on Caine Road, Central. With a small sign on the outside, and pushing open the wooden door, we came into a nice space, with a 6-seat sushi counter facing a miniature garden wall, with also real plants inside.

Apart from the counter, there is also a table for bigger groups as well as a private room. Chef Katsuji Shibayama, who came from Hokkaido, was serving on the night. There were two menus for dinner, and we had picked Niwa Dinner Omakase ($1,880). 

I had a bottle of 楯野川 純米大吟醸 三十三 ($1,880). With nice sweetness, this sake was made from the special rice 出羽燦燦, with 33% rice polishing to showcase the characters. A rich and powerful sake to go with food tonight.

The first course was starter featuring three delicacies, including Kurage 海蜇 with shiso flowers, Unagi Kabayaki 鰻の蒲焼 with pickled cucumber, and Asari あさり with Arima sansho 有馬山椒 and Shimeji mushroom. Nice and flavourful. 

The second course featured two sashimi, with Mirugai 海松貝 and Menuke 目抜. The geoduck had a crunchy texture, with nice umami flavours, and best to enjoy with a bit of salt and lime juice to season. The red rockfish was a prized catch not often seen, rich in taste and best to go with wasabi and shoyu.

The third course was Hokkaido Kegani 毛蟹. The chef had meticulously removed meat from the horsehair crab, so that we did not need to figure out how to eat them. Mixing with crab miso, vinegar jelly were also added to complement the flavours.

The fourth course was Chawanmushi with Tobiko 飛子 茶碗蒸. Flying fish roe were added to the silky soft steamed egg custard, creating a poppy texture, and further enhanced the umami taste of the egg custard. An interesting combination.

The fifth course featured Komochi Yari-Ika 子持槍烏賊. Only available in the current season, the spear squid was cooked in special sauce to prepare anago, with the inside bursting with the squid egg. Its chewy and elastic texture was unique and memorable.

The sixth course was Tempura Ankou 鮟鱇. The meat of the monkfish was deep-fried with a thin batter, together with Shungiku 春菊. Seasoned with a bit of rock salt, the delicate taste of both the monkfish and crown daisy was pleasant. 

The seventh course was Smoked Katsuo 鰹, which had been mixed with onion, menegi, and chrysanthemum. Paired with a ponzu sauce to give acidity, the skipjack tuna was flavourful and the smokiness and acidity was perfectly matched.

The eighth course was something I had for first time. Featuring Aburabouzu 油坊主, it had a texture like cod, with good fattiness. Serving together with eggplant and pickled lotus root, the skilfish was light in taste though.

Coming to the sushi section, the first piece was Tai 鯛 Sushi. The sea bream had a good bite, with a sweetness that was pleasant and delicious. 

The second piece was Buri 鰤 Sushi. The matured yellowtail was good in taste, with richer flavours. The yuzukosho brought a touch of spiciness to balance the taste.

The third piece was Shiro-Ebi 白海老 Sushi. The baby white shrimps had been marinated in kombu, infusing them with extra layer of umami. 

The fourth piece was Hamaguri 蛤 Sushi. The hard clam was meaty, cooked just perfectly without making the clam rubbery, with rich umami flavours.

The fifth piece was Kinki 喜知次 Sushi. After grilling briefly, the channel rockfish to vitalize the fish oil, it was wrapped inside a nori sheet to avoid the hands getting too greasy. A thoughtful arrangement from the chef.

The sixth piece was Sayori 針魚 Sushi. Seeing the silvery sheen of the skin already got my mouth watering, and the fresh halfbeak also delivered on the taste.

Coming to the seventh piece, it was Maguro 鮪 Sushi, with the tuna caught around Tsushima in Nagasaki. With a smooth texture, it had nice fattiness and was very flavourful. 

The eighth piece was Bafun-Uni 馬糞雲丹 Sushi. It was sweet in taste, without any weird note, testimony to the quality of the Hokkaido sea urchin.

The final one was Kamasu Bozushi 魳 棒寿司. The rod sushi featured Japanese barracuda, and after cutting a section, the chef put on a kombu on top before serving on nori sheet, with some sesames. A more traditional style which was appetizing.  

The Tamagoyaki 玉子焼 was fluffy, with the egg paste mixed with seafood so that there was nice shrimp and seafood flavours in the egg omelette. 

I also asked for an additional piece of Botan-Ebi 牡丹蝦 Sushi ($80). The spot prawn was a bit too cold, as it was taken from the fridge to make the sushi on my request, so it was not the best in serving temperature. 

The other additional one was Aji 鯵 Sushi ($60). The horse mackerel was in the right temperature to serve, but not too fatty. It seemed the best ingredients were used already in our menu.

The clear soup had turnip and some other vegetables, delicate but rich in flavours, warming to comfort our stomach after the meal.

Dessert was seasonal fruit, having a slice of melon and strawberry. The melon was juicy and sweet, while the strawberry was ripe and fragrant. Both were very good.

Service was nice, but there was very little interaction from the chef because of the language barrier. The bill on the night was $6,358. Considering the overall experience and food quality, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 75 point. Worth returning.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom Gochujang Spaghetti 嫩筍鮮菇苦椒奶油義大利麵

Ingredients (for 2):

• Spaghetti - 160g
• Bamboo shoot - 8 slices
• Enoki mushroom - 1 bunch
• Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
• Black pepper finely - dashes
• White dashi - 2 tbsp
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp
• Gochujang - 2 tbsp
• Milk - 200ml

Procedures:

1. Put the spaghetti into boiling water and cook for 2 minutes less than the time suggested on the packaging.

2. Remove the spaghetti onto a frying pan. 

3. Add in enoki mushroom and bamboo shoots.

4. Add in white dashi, olive oil, gochujang, milk and cook at medium-low fire until the sauce boils.

5. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir well.

6. Serve with Parmesan cheese and black pepper finely scattered on top. 

Wineshark Vacation Travel - Waka no Ura Onsen Manpa Resort 和歌の浦温泉 萬波

和歌の浦温泉 萬波 Manpa Resort

Date of Visit: 14 Mar 2026

As our flight was delayed for almost two hours, it was almost 5pm when we arrived at Shinwakaura 新和歌浦, where we would spend the night at Manpa Resort 和歌の浦温泉 萬波.  

It was strange but no one was at the entrance to greet us and took our luggage on arrival, and only after unloading by ourselves did someone come. The parking area was quite packed, illustrating a lot of guests staying on the night. 

The staff then took us to our room ‘Zen 禅’ on 7/F, on the top floor of the building. This royal suite with open-air bath is the most premium room in the hotel, renovated in 2023. The corner room has a fantastic panoramic view of the sea. 

Facing the door is a mini bar in which all the beverages are free. On the two sides are a spacious toilet, and an accessible bathroom, showing that this room is also designed to cater for people with reduced mobility.

The Western-style bedroom has two beds, with also a comfortable chaise lounge. Separating by movable partitions is the 10-mat Japanese-style room, which can accommodate another 3 people, making a total of 5 guests in total. 

The large windows in the Japanese-style room look out to Horai-Iwa 蓬莱岩 just beside the hotel and Wakaura fishing port 和歌浦漁港 in the distance. The TV and closet are also on this part of the room.

From the Western-style bedroom we can directly access the balcony. On the side is a small washroom with a single sink, leading to the bathroom with the typical shower. The bathroom has also direct access to the balcony.

Stepping out onto the balcony is a spacious open-air bath, offering complete relaxation while watching sunset and the beautiful sea. However, the water is not hot spring. Sitting on the rattan chairs to cool down after the bath, savoring a can of icy beer, is priceless. 

We went to the public bath for a dip before dinner. The indoor bath has two pools, one with the air jets to provide massaging effect. The outdoor bath is popular because of its fantastic sea view. There are also two private baths (with fees) if one desires more exclusivity.

Approaching dinner time we went to Wakaura Smoke Dining エビスガオ, a new restaurant only starting from March 2025, featuring dishes using traditional ash-drying 灰干し and grilling over wood 薪焼き in preparation of Kumano Beef 熊野牛.

Apart from the semi-private tables, the restaurant also has a few spacious private rooms, and we were assigned to one of those. I ordered a bottle of local sake, 紀土 KID 純米酒, from 平和酒造 (3,500 yen) to pair with the food on the night.

The first course 前八寸 has 新じゃ がアーリオ・オーリオ Fresh potatoes sauteed with garlic and olive oil, 筍木ノ芽和え 若鷺甘露煮 Bamboo shoot and Kinome leaf salad, and Wakasagi in Kanroni style, 紀州名物雀寿司 蕗含め煮Special Kishu style sushi, and Cooked Chinese onion, ホタルいか錦糸巻 Firefly squid Kinshi-maki, and 満開桜昆布Full bloom Sakura Kombu. 

The second course 向付 has 本日厳選のお造り五種盛り which included the day’s fresh catch from the sea, with Ika, Maguro, Katsuo, Kanpachi, Ebi, Taichio, Uni, Tai, pairing with 醤油, 桜香塩, 金山寺山葵味噌 Shoyu, Sakura salt, and Kinzanji wasabi miso as condiments.

The third course 強肴has 紀州九絵しゃぶ鍋, featuring the prized Kue in hotpot. Apart from the longtooth grouper, there are 豆腐 えのき しめじ 水菜 人参 京葱 tofu, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, carrot and leek, and served in the 薬味 自家製ポン酢 ponzu sauce. The fish was fresh and flavourful, with nice bite on the skin and delicious flesh.

The fourth course 焼物 has 萬波オリジナル 薪焼き Manpa original wood-fire grills, featuring和歌山ブランド 熊野牛Wakayama famous Kumano Beef, 鮑 肝ソース Abalone with liver sauce, 伊勢海老 Lobster, 旬の地魚Seasonal local fish, and 季節の野菜 Seasonal vegetables.

I had also pre-ordered two additional dishes, including 穴子と太刀魚の紅梅揚げ Anago and Taichio Tempura with Red Plum (1,800 yen). The meaty conger eel and beltfish are wrapped in shiso and red plum paste before deep-frying, with the slight sourness of the plum paste helping to remove the fattiness.

The other additional is 紀州雑賀崎 足赤海老塩焼き (1,650 yen). The prized Ashiaka-Ebi, coming from Saikazaki, the southwestern tip of Wakayama, has firm texture and good sweetness, and grilling with salt highlighted its flavours even more pronouncedly. 

Returning to the menu, the fifth course 蒸し物 is 天然鯛桜蒸し 銀餡かけ. A Spring seasonal dish, the Sakura Tai is added with glutinous rice, wrapped in a Sakura leaf to steam, with a silver starchy sauce.

The 御飯 features a nice 筍御飯 Bamboo Shoot Rice. 止椀 has 桜饂飩 三つ葉 Soup with Sakura dumplings and Mitsuba, with 紀州梅鶏卵雲竜仕立て. 香の物 has 和歌の漬物 三種盛り. I manage to finish two servings because of how good they are.

Finally, for デザートdessert, it is カップケーキ風ヨーグルトソース掛け 季節のフルーツ添え Cupcake with Yogurt sauce, together with Seasonal Fruit. The strawberry is sweet and juicy, while the yogurt sauce has nice acidity to balance the sweetness of the cupcake. 

Retiring to our room to enjoy the open-air bath, while it was quite cold and windy, with the hot water it was very comfortable and relaxing to stay out, taking in the sea breeze while bathing. It was a good sleep, getting us fully recharged.

Waking up the next morning, I took another dip in the open-air bath, with the rising sun in the background. At the appointed time, we returned to Wakaura Smoke Dining エビスガオ for breakfast. 

Apart from the Japanese breakfast set, the restaurant also offered a variety of small dishes for self-service in buffet, including だし巻たまご , 納豆, 海苔, 生卵, オレンジジ ユース, リンゴジ ユース, 特製青野菜ス ムージー.

The colourful box お目覚め彩り箱 contained assorted seasonal vegetables and seafood 季節の野菜や季節の海の幸, food that were good for the body 身体に優しい逸品 .

On the stove was a claypot holding dashi and tofu 焜炉仕立て 湯豆腐.

The grilled fish 焼き魚 ホクホク地魚, featuring some local fish with tender meat.

The salad also had some lobster meat added to the healthy fresh vegetables and tomato, paired with a special made orange dressing 伊勢海老サラダ 体に優しい茄で野菜 特製橙ドレッシング.

There was also sashimi of the day’s fresh seafood お造り 本日の鮮魚.

The freshly cooked rice 炊きたてふんわりご飯 used 和歌山県産コシヒカリ越光米, with 和歌浦名物釜揚げしらすwhitebaits that were caught in the nearby waters. 

The soup お汁 was the unique feature of this seaside ryokan 海辺の宿ならではの お魚出汁の荒汁, a fish broth miso soup.

After breakfast we walked around the ryokan, on the lobby looking out from the balcony to the sea, enjoying the nice breeze. There were a few spots for taking photos with interesting décor. 

Going to Lounge ソラフネ, through the small door, it was a comfortable space where we enjoyed coffee or tea while relaxing on the massage chairs, or to spent some quiet time reading books in the library. 

The overall expenses spending for one stay and two meals was 139,100 yen.