Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Hugo’s

Hugo’s was a fine-dining restaurant located in the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Asia, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong on Nathan Road, originally opened in 1969. With the closure of the hotel in 2006, the restaurant re-opened later in the new Hyatt Regency in Hanoi Road, continued to offer classic Western cuisine to diners.

The restaurant was named after a fictional Bavarian character, with his armour in display at the entrance. Together with medieval European décor like coat-of-arms, shields, chandeliers, and wooden beam ceiling, the dining experience presents a unique and classic atmosphere.

We ordered Hugo’s Classic Set Menu ($1,498 each), plus wine pairing ($798) for me. After a welcome aperitif, a non-alcohol sparkling rose, the first wine was Champagne Lamiable Souffle d’Etoiles Grand Cru Extra Brut NV. It was a good match with seafood in general, having good citrus and minerality, very dry in body.

The first course was Freshly Shucked Oysters with Mignonette Dressing. Even though the two raw oysters were not plump, they had nice creaminess and flavours. Paired with Mignonette dressing, the classic French vinegar with shallot and white peppers, it was a typical way to enjoy with oysters.

The second wine was Lucien Crochet Sancerre Les Calcaires 2021, with the Sauvignon Blanc varietal having a nice, rounded texture, demonstrating good structure and minerality. Its freshness and herbaceous characters are a good match with the garlic butter stuffed inside the escargots.

The second course was Escargots a la Bourguignonne. Served on a traditional metal baking dish, which got indents to hold the snails in shells in place, each of these French delicacies had been stuffed with garlic butter to give an extra layer of richness in fragrance and taste.

The third wine served was Anselmann Riesling Kabinett 2022. It was an off-dry German Riesling, with a good balance on acidity and sweetness, making it pleasant and very easy to drink. Citrus with elegant white flowers, plus steely minerality, the wine was a surprisingly good match with lobster soup.

The third course was Lobster Bisque. Prepared on table side, the lobster bisque was heated up and then ‘flambe’ with the added brandy, for the fragrance of the spirit but burning off the alcohol in it. With a dash of cream in the middle, some freshly crushed black pepper to season, it was delicious.

The fourth wine served was Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, an Australian red from Margaret River. The full-bodied wine had ripe black fruit, plenty of spices and oak, plus an integrated tannin that went well with red meat, in particular the peppery notes was good match with the seasoning of the steak.

The fourth course was Steak au Poivre, with the meat cooked to medium rare, having good tenderness and remaining juicy. Having plenty of black pepper on the surface, the steak was a bit spicy though, but I liked it a lot. On the side was mashed potato and some glazed seasonal organic vegetables.

For the fifth and final wine pairing, it was Mas Amiel 1969, a fortified wine from the Roussillon region in France. The dried fruit of fig and walnut was pronounced, while the balance of cocoa and warm spices provided a wonderful match with the likes of chocolate or blue cheese. The bottle was a special edition for Hugo’s as well.

For dessert, I had chosen French Cheese Selection. The staff pushed the cheese cart to our table, and I ended trying all four types available. On the side there were fresh grapes, raisins, and fruit chutney to go with the cheese. My wife had chosen Hugo’s Chocolate Souffle, which was paired with a custard brandy sauce.

The Petits Fours was a Chocolate Cherry, with the staff dipping the cherries in melted chocolate before putting them in the liquid nitrogen to freeze the coating. A fancy way to wrap up the dinner, with the menu also included Coffee or Tea, and I finished the meal with a nice cup of Espresso to my satisfaction.

Service was good, with the staff attentive and friendly. But the restaurant was quite strict on dress code, and I saw a guest having some issue because of that. The bill on the night was $3,443. Considering the food quality and overall dining experience, I would rate them a Good 70 points. Worth trying.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Warm Bread 溫飽

On this sunny Sunday, we went for a walk in Sai Kung and decided to have a light lunch at a café, choosing Warm Bread at See Cheung Street. Occupying the ground floor of the building, there was already a queue outside. After registering with my phone number, we could walk around the neighborhood at leisure while waiting.

It took almost 45 minutes but finally we got a table. It was a small café, with simple but neat décor, and an open kitchen on the side. I had a Brazil Daterra Cold Brew, a medium roast coffee, having nice dark chocolate, dried fruit, and hazelnut notes. My wife had a simple Hot Brewed Coffee instead.

I went for Warm Bread All-Day 溫飽全日早餐 ($128). Large in portion, the all-day breakfast came with a choice of half bagel or sourdough, featuring smoked salmon, Parma ham, half avocado, scrambled eggs, and greens. Satisfying and fulfilling, the ingredients were all good in quality.

My wife went for Mentaiko Linguine 辛口明太子蟹肉扁意粉 ($128). The linguine was al dente in texture, topped with some crab meat, crab roe, dill, seaweed powder and dried chili flakes, in mentaiko sauce, giving a nice combination of spicy and savoury flavours. It was another popular choice among the customers.

Since the bagel was so good, we had an additional half to share. Service was decent, but I like them taking the effort to call in customers on the waiting list, instead of just requiring them to wait outside under the sun. The bill on the day was $377. Considering the food quality and experience I would rate them a Good 70 points. Worth trying.

Wineshark Home Cooking - Three Colour Eggs 三色混蛋

Ingredients (for 4):

• Salted egg - 1
• Thousand years egg - 2
• Egg - 3
• Chicken stock - 1 cup
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. On the inside of the rectangular baking tray brush with sesame oil.

2. Peel the shell off the thousand years egg and cut into small pieces. Put inside the tray.

3. Separate the egg white from the salted egg, then brush some oil on the chopping block and put the egg yolk on it. Press the egg yolk flat. 

4. Add the salted egg white to the whisked egg. Mix well.

5. Gradually add chicken stock into the whisked egg. Mix well.

6. Pour the whisked egg into the tray. Put the flattened egg yolk on top. 

7. Cover the tray with tinfoil, then put in a larger baking tray and immerse with boiling water up to half height.

8. Put the tray in a wok to steam for 18 minutes under medium-low heat.

9. When the egg is formed, remove and let it cool down. Cover with kitchen wrap and put in fridge.

10. Use a spatula to remove the egg from the tray, then flip it over on the dish, cut into slices to serve.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Xing South Beauty

This high-end Chinese restaurant is located at Nan Fung Place in Sheung Wan, focus on contemporary Shandong and Sichuan cuisine, with the menu designed by the famous Lu Shang Lu and Qiao Jiang Nan, plus some select dishes from other Michelin restaurants in China.

The restaurant is spacious, with the tables in the main dining hall nicely separated to ensure privacy and comfort. The décor has plenty of cultural elements, like using a traditional drum as the table base and lantern-like lamps on the ceiling. But there is also a strong sense of mainland Chinese restaurant design.

For starter we had Smoked Chicken Shreds with Crispy Scallion 脆葱手撕諸城燻雞 ($298). The traditional Shandong Zhucheng smoked chicken was flavourful and delicious, hand-shredded to remove the meat from the bones, to combine with some deep-fried crispy scallions to add an extra layer of fragrance. Very good.

Next, we had Mashed Chicken Ball with Egg White and Matsutake in Chicken Soup 松茸清湯雞豆花 ($198 each). The chicken soup was clear and without any oil, but intense in wonderful flavours. In the middle was a white mashed chicken ball that was mixed with egg white, soft and fluffy, plus some matsutake mushroom to enhance the smell.

The other starter was Mixed Pork Ears with Scallion 章丘葱白雲脆耳 ($238). A pleasant snowy white presentation, the finely shredded Zhangqiu scallion white was mixed with shredded pork ears, with a good crunchy texture. Compared with the smoked chicken this dish was much lighter in taste and would ideally be served first for better effect.

For the main dish we had Stir-Fried Pork Kidney 魯上魯爆炒腰花 ($298). This was a signature dish of Lu Shang Lu in Beijing, with the stir-fried pork kidney beautifully carved on the surface, tender and easy to chew, infused with the dark sauce for a wealth of wonderful flavours.

Lastly, we had Braised Hairtail with Scallion 葱燒渤海灣帶魚 ($498). The meaty hairtail from Bohai Sea was braised in a thick sauce, together with plenty of scallion, with rich flavours, having a mix of savoury and sweetness. The fish meat was tender, while it had been pan-seared to bring forward the delicious fish oil.

Service was good, with the staff attentive and friendly. Together with the aged pu’er to enjoy throughout, the bill on the night was $1,967. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 75 points, worth returning.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - YuSang

Hearing that a new restaurant has recently opened in Prince’s Building in Central, offering contemporary Korean cuisine under the concept of yusang goksu, the traditional poetry-and-drink game in Korea, we came today to try it out.

Passing through the dark brown wooden shutters at the entrance, the staff led us to our table on the window side, looking out to Statue Square. The soft lighting, subdued color and neat patterns created a cozy and comfortable dining ambience.

Like in all Korean restaurants, we were served an array of small dishes to start. The six involved kimchi, pickled cucumber and carrot, seaweed, fresh vegetables, and white baits. They were good and we finished all before the arrival of the first course.

For appetizers, we started with Yukhoe 宮廷生牛肉 ($225). The raw yukhwe was seasoned well, lean yet tender, and upon mixing with quail egg, minced garlic and onion, pine nuts, was truly phenomenal in taste, with the shaved black truffle adding some earthy tones. On the side was seaweed rice crisps to enjoy the beef tartar together.

Next came Seonggeal Gimbap 海膽魚子御卷 ($280). While they looked like Japanese sushi, no vinegar was added to the rice. Instead, an abalone liver paste was used to enhance the flavours of the sea urchin roe kimbap. The sea urchin and caviar topping were both premium and of wonderful quality.

The third appetizer was Baekgimchi Oi 白泡菜 ($122). Made in two styles, the shredded carrot and burdock were wrapped in either cucumber or white cabbage, with the vegetables lightly fermented with a bit of sourness. The clear white kimchi cucumber was a signature of the restaurant, great in texture and taste.                                                                    

Then we had Modeum Buchimgae 韓式綜合煎餅 ($350). The assorted Korean pancake was my favourite dish in the evening, dry and not oily, with a crispy texture, and plenty of seafood toppings like clams, white baits, red bell pepper, prawns. The dipping sauce had a wealth of flavours and enhanced the pancake tremendously.

For the main course we had Dubu Hansang 白切肉配手工豆腐 ($365). Each poached sliced pork belly was enjoyed together with homemade tofu, with a bit of either salty shrimp paste, white bait sauce, or gochujang to pair. On the side there was also some kimchi to go with the pork too, offering different tastes and experience.

The last dish we had Byeongeo Gui 辣醬炙燒馬友魚 ($280). The large fish fillet was charcoal grilled beautifully, brushed with Korean chili paste gochujang to add a bit of spiciness. Drizzled with some lemon juice on top to freshen up the palate, this would a good alternative if you did not want to go for the usual Korean BBQ beef or pork.

Service was good, with the staff attentive and doing a bit of explanation of the dishes, though they could probably go a bit deeper. The bill on the night was $2,266. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate them an Excellent 80 points, worth returning.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Mala Mia

This restaurant offers Polynesian-Caribbean cuisine, aiming to bring customers to the tropical islands with its relaxing, fun, and vibrant energy, through its casual dining ambience, from the ceiling fans, wood and hemp furniture, and an outdoor terrace offering a nice view of Victoria Harbour.

Located at Wing On Plaza in Tsim Sha Tsui East, we came on a Tuesday early evening to try it out. The weather was still very hot, and we opted to sit inside to enjoy the air conditioning. The restaurant offered Happy Hour, with discount prices on beverages and some snacks, so we started with Young Coconut ($58) and Lime Kombucha ($58).

For starters, we had Ahi Tuna ($138). The pan-seared ahi tuna was crusted with sesame seeds to give additional layer of fragrance, while the fish was predominantly raw and tender. On the side the dish was served with pineapple salsa, with good acidity to wake up the palate and get the appetite rolling.

Another starter was Garlic Beef Skewers ($98). The succulent, tender beef cubes were grilled to perfection and topped with crispy garlic chips, giving a nice contrast in texture, with the beef marinated well and flavourful. The portion was quite generous, with three skewers included in the serving.

For the mains, we opted for Spiced Cauliflower Steak ($0). It was a complimentary dish because of the current promotion, with the paprika-spiced grilled cauliflower steak served on a bed of creamy, smooth hummus. The cauliflower was good in taste, with the hummus having rich chickpeas flavours.

The other main was Caribbean Jerk Chicken ($228 for full chicken). The fiery Caribbean-spiced grilled chicken was not sufficiently spicy in my opinion and was quite dry too. Rather disappointing, we could not finish the whole portion. The chicken was served with house-made pickles to balance.

Service was good, but the food was not introduced and as a result had missed the opportunity to engage with the customers on a deeper level. The bill on the night was $654 which was very reasonably priced. Considering the overall dining experience and food quality, I would rate them a Decent 60 points, can probably skip.