Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Fong Wing Kee

This restaurant is located in Kowloon City, being one of the famous hotpot restaurants in town, and in my memories one of the first to promote the best quality local beef. Not a beef-eater, I did not try their signature beef offerings but rather go for their other well known dish - the satay soup base.

The pot is a 'hybrid', with one half being the clear broth and the other half the satay soup base. Decided to go for the normal dishes instead of expensive seafood, we had prawns, mutton roll, chicken pieces, squid balls, Grass Carp pieces, Vegetables and a bag of Udon.

The clear soup in fact was not clear, but a rich, intense soup base prepared with a large piece of dried flounder. And the satay soup was really concentrated, and even after adding water to the soup base for many times, at the end of the meal the soup was still very flavorful.

All the food ordered was fairly good, with the prawn meat firm even though they were not live ones. The mutton roll was best when cooked in the satay soup, as well as the chicken pieces. For the squid balls, you can put it at either soup and they are still decent. But it was more those you would buy from supermarket than ones made on their own. So maybe better to order the squid paste instead.

The grass carp was generous in portion, particularly considering the price. But just that there were quite a number of small bones so for foreigners or someone not apt at eating such fish it might be difficult.

Personally I like the udon quite well, as they are of a nice texture and after absorbing the flavors of the soup it was in fact very tasty. The vegetable is a mix of two types which has no surprises.

The overall environment is clean, bright and with good air-conditioning so even in the hot summer like tonight you won't feel hot eating the hotpot. As mentioned, the price is very reasonable with the total bill only $422 which in today's standard very good valued, with good portion on all the food.

My rating in summary is 60/100.

Chinese Home Cooking - 2. Minced Chicken and Lotus Root Two Ways

Ingredients (for 4):

• Lotus root - 400 g
• Chicken fillet - 400 g
• Shiitake mushroom - 6 pieces
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Shallot - 2 pieces
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Spring onion - 1 sprig
• Chinese coriander - 1 sprig
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Water - 2 tbsp
• Egg - 1 
• Chinese yellow wine - 2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - dashes
• Corn starch - 2 tsp
• Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Soak the shiitake mushroom in water until softened.

2. Cut the mushroom into small pieces.

3. Peel the lotus root and put under slightly salted water to avoid turning brown.

4. Cut the chicken fillet into strips, then cut into small pieces.

5. Add water to the minced chicken and stir until the water is fully absorbed.

6. Add egg white to the minced chicken and stir well.

7. Add the other seasonings to the minced chicken and stir well.

8. Use a masher to prepare the lotus root mashes, then add to the minced chicken.

9. Heat the pan with oil, then add the smashed shallot. Stir-fry until it is fragrant.

10. Remove the shallot, then pour the oil into the minced chicken, stir well.

11. Heat the shiitake mushroom on the pan until fragrant, then add to the minced chicken.

12. Finely chop the spring onion and Chinese coriander, then add to the minced chicken.

13. Take 1/3 of the minced chicken and prepare some meat balls out of it.

14. Put the pan on medium heat with oil, then put the meat balls on the pan, pressing slightly to form cake shape.

15. When the side is done, then flip to cook on the other side.

16. Put the remaining of the minced chicken on a dish, then steam over water for about 15 minutes.

Chinese Home Cooking - 1. Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup

Ingredients (for 4):

• Sand-blasted fish maw - 8 pieces
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Ginger - 30 g
• Shallot - 2 pieces
• Chicken stock - 4.5 cups
• Chinese ham - 30 g
• Blue sea crab - 2 pieces
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Salt - dashes
• Egg - 1
• Chicken stock - 0.5 cup
• Corn starch - 2 tbsp
• Salt - dashes
• Sugar - 0.5 tsp
• White pepper powder - 0.125 tsp
• Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Soak the fish maw in water for overnight to ensure it is well-hydrated.

2. Cut the fish maw into strips of 2 cm wide. Then cut into square-shaped pieces.

3. Blanch the fish maw in boiling water for a while. Then drip dry.

4. Steam the blue sea crab and then remove the meat.

5. Season the crab meat with a bit of salt and white pepper powder.

6. Cut about 2 tbsp of Chinese ham to prepare for the sprinkle.

7. Place the remaining of the Chinese ham in a bowl with 0.5 cup of chicken stock, then steam to prepare a ham extract.

8. Heat a pot with oil, then put the ginger and shallot in. 

9. When it is fragrant, remove the ginger and shallot. 

10. Put the fish maw in, and stir-fry. Sprinkle with some Chinese yellow wine.

11. Soak the fish maw with 0.5 cup of chicken stock, cook for a while, then remove the fish maw for later use. 

12. Clean the pot, then put the remaining chicken stock in, and put the ham sprinkle in, saving a little bit for decoration at the end.

13. Bring the soup to a boil, then put the fish maw and ham extract in. When it boils turn the heat to low and allow it to cook for 15 minutes.

14. Mix the thickening, including chicken stock, corn starch, salt, sugar, white pepper powder and sesame oil. 

15. Pour in the thickening while constantly stirring the soup.

16. Add the crab meat and allow to continue to cook for about 5 minutes.

17. Pour in the egg white while constantly stirring the soup.

18. Serve with some ham sprinkles on top. 

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Aqua

This contemporary restaurant is located in One Peking, at the top floors of the building, with a really fantastic view looking across the Victoria Harbour. Being a very popular place for locals and tourists, one must make reservations in advance. The restaurant has a row of small tables along the window, which can accommodate two persons. And that view itself is certainly the highlight of the whole meal.

We ordered the Italian tasting menu, prepared by the Italian chef Davide Borin. The first course is Quinoa Salad with Crab, Avocado and Cucumber. The thin slices of cucumber are fresh, with a few fish roes on top to provide a nice salty taste, which is in good harmony with the crab meat and the avocado. The quinoa added a chewy bite to the salad, with a plum tomato on top to supplement the color and flavors. A nice starter indeed.

The second course is Calamarata Pasta 'Liguori', with Mediterranean Mussels, Wild Clams, Datterino and Shrimps. The pasta is home-made, with a great texture and the sauce was very well-prepared, with the tomato and seafood sauce giving an intense palate. The seafood are generally quite good too, where we can readily taste the original flavors of the mussels and clams. The portion is adjusted down allowing us the room to taste the other dishes.

The third course has a choice of fish or beef, with me choosing the Wild Caught Sea Bass with Red Prawn, Semolina Gnocco and Smooth Clams Sauce. The fish is pan-fried nicely, with the skin crispy while the flesh tender, and I particularly like the clams sauce, with a very rich flavors which complements perfectly with the fish. On the other hand, the red prawn was a bit disappointing, with the flesh a bit mushy and giving me the impression that it was not fresh at all. The gnocco got a nice cheese notes, though its size is a bit too big even for a guy like me.

The final course is Visciolata Cheese Cake, with Fresh Cherry Sorbet, Preserve and Amarena Syrup. Beautifully decorated, however the size is honestly quite daunting as by the time we were quite full. The cake is rich with nice sweetness balanced well with the acidity of the cherry jelly on top, and the bottom layer of crust giving a nice contrast in texture too. The sorbet further helps to bring freshness and tartness to the dessert. The preserved cherry pieces also are a good thought to provide a bit of chewy to the overall sensation.

Maybe because we were so distracted by the constant group of people moving to my side to take photos of the nice view, there were not a lot of comfort that I get out from the ambiance. Also, the restaurant is busy and each table is just too close to one another for any sort of privacy. But still the signature HK harbour view is worth a million and nothing can surpass that.

The bill on the night was $2,577 including two sets of the tasting menu, a bottle of still water and a cup of coffee. Quite expensive but again not a surprise considering the view we have throughout the meal.

My overall rating is 68/100.

Ah Sir's Recipe - 29. Bordelaise Sauce

Ingredients (for 4):

• Shallot - 1 tbsp
• Onion - 50 g
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Mushroom - 50 g
• Tarragon - 1 tsp
• Meat gravy - 100 g
• Red wine - 50 ml
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper finely - 1/4 tsp

Procedures:

1. Chop shallot finely.

2. Chop onion finely.

3. Chop mushroom finely.

4. Saute shallot and onion with butter.

5. Add mushroom and saute till fragrant.

6. Add red wine and meat gravy. 

7. Season with tarragon, salt and black pepper.