Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Ying Jee Club

This Michelin 2-star Chinese restaurant is located in Central, headed by the famous Chef Siu, who came from T'ang Court, then to Duddell's, before coming here, bringing fresh ingredients with traditional Chinese culinary techniques to guests. On the ground floor there is a bar area, featuring a nice range of wines and other liquors. We were shown to the upper floor which is the main dining area, and tonight the restaurant was not particularly busy so we did enjoy a quiet corner for our dinner.

The decor is modern, with a nice ambiance highlighting a premium yet comfortable environment. There are some emerald green plates and chopsticks stand which kind of remind me a bit of Yan Toh Heen, though to a much lesser degree in extravagance. The staff are all very friendly and attentive, coming to introduce the menu, each course along with the wine throughout the whole meal.

We decided to order the Tasting Menu ($1980 each) to sample more dishes, with wine pairing ($600) for me as well. Before the first course an Amuse Bouche was served, including two small pieces of dried tofu soaked in a nice broth, as well as Chinese style pork terrine. I like the latter more as the gelatin and meat was so rich in flavors and even without dipping any vinegar. A nice starter.

The first course was Chilled Sliced Sea Whelk with Jelly Fish and Caviar, along with Wok-fried Kagoshima A4 Wagyu Beef with Scallion and Soy Sauce. Very beautifully plated, the sea whelk is tender, delicate yet flavorful, and the caviar provided a bit of savory to enhance the overall enjoyment. The jelly fish is very crunchy, seasoned well with sesame oil but not overly so. But the beef is the true wonder in this dish. So intense on taste, I found the scallion having a magical effect to showcase the beef flavors as well as the soy sauce. The meat itself is very tender too. The wine paired is Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2016 from Languedoc, and I like the matching also. A great dish.

The second course was Baked Lobster with Cheese and Garlic. The two halves are the lobster tail was coated with some cheese and garlic, and I like the chef did it with the right proportion, making the feature still on the lobster and not on the cheese. The lobster was very fresh, with delicate taste yet one can tell the quality with the firm texture of the flesh. The garlic also helped to enrich the whole flavors without overpowering the finesse of the lobster. Very nice indeed.

The third course was Steamed Garoupa with Egg White and Hua Diao. When the cover was lifted we already could smell the nice hua diao aromas, and the egg white certainly was silky smooth and soft, complementary to the equally soft garoupa fillet, steamed to perfection with the flesh not 'over-cooked'. A very delicate dish that in my opinion a true test to the ability of the chef to control the temperature and steaming time, the quality definitely for a great chef for Cantonese cuisine.

The fourth course was Braised South African Abalone with Pork Belly and Vegetable in Oyster Sauce. The size of the abalone was fairly large, and I guess had been braised for a long while to make it so soft that the knife can cut clean through easily. Very rich in the abalone taste and also absorbing the oyster sauce really makes this a dish from heaven. I also like the pork belly a lot. It is not fat at all and equally tender, and while taking on the oyster sauce still retained the nice pork flavors. While I would still rate Forum as the best abalone I had experienced, this dish is among the very good ones I tried. The wine paired was Stags' Leap Chardonnay 2017 from Napa Valley, a nice match with both the abalone and pork belly.

The fifth course was Poached Fish Maw with Wolfberry in Chicken Broth. The fish maw was very nicely done, very tender and giving a rewarding and satisfying bite with sufficient thickness. The young kale was also of great quality, without any fibrous chew to show how tender they are. But overall the biggest highlight is the chicken broth. So rich and concentrated, the broth clearly reminded me of the homemade broth in which my mother would put a lot of ingredients to prepare a thick and rich soup like this one, with every ounce of essence tasted. It was so good that I cannot help but to finish the whole broth with a spoon.

The sixth course was Fried Rice with Barbecue Pork, Roasted Duck, Shrimp, Crispy Conpoy and Vegetables. Honestly this one was my favorite in the evening, and I don't think I had a fried rice better than this one. With plenty of ingredients, all the different components sort of complement each other, no matter in taste, texture, or colour. Each rice is distinct and individual, creating a harmony in the bowl that I almost tempted to ask for another serving. A must-try in my opinion.

Finally it was the Ying Jee Dessert, including Double-boiled Imperial Bird's Nest with Almond Juice, Lotus Seed Paste Puff with Tender Ginger and Preserved Egg, and Glutinous Dumpling with Mango, Egg Custard and Coconut. Unfortunately for dessert I did have a recommendation. I am not sure why but there are simply too much bird's nest added in the almond juice, so very soon the whole dessert became a thick gelatin. With the bird's nest not having taste on its own, the almond note is diluted disproportionately, making it bland and tasteless. It might seem generous and luxurious, but I would rather have less bird's nest in this case. The other two desserts are good but could not rescue the shortfall on the main feature in this course. The wine paired was Szepsy Szamorodni 2013 from Tokaji.

My wife told me throughout the meal that she thought one of the staff was familiar. And at the end of the dinner when we chatted a bit we found he also came from T'ang Court, and probably had served us when we were a more frequent customer many years ago. We exchanged cards and I think I would like to visit again to try some other dishes and also the dim sum during lunch. The bill was $5,100 and considering all the elements I would say this is worth the price.

Wineshark Japan Tour Hot Spots - Towada Art Centre 十和田市現代美術館

Address: 青森県十和田市西二番町10-9

Tel: 017-620-1127

Website: http://towadaartcenter.com/

Date of Visit: 2 Nov 2019


In recent years, due to the reorganization of government offices, many ministries and the branch offices were relocated. Accompanying the development of joint government offices, many vacant lots have been found on the city street, which is the also symbol road of the city. For this reason, Towada City would like to create a more attractive and beautiful view of the government street, and has been working on the ‘Arts Towada’ plan as part of a new town development for the future.

This plan is set in an outdoor space called ‘Government Street’, and the whole street is considered as a single museum, with various art works developed. Such efforts are rare in the world. In addition to arts, the projects aims to encompass Towada City's history and beautiful nature, to draw out the vitality of the region and connects it to the future.

Towada Art Centre (十和田市現代美術館) is the core facility for ‘Arts Towada’ aiming to create an “open facility that offers new experiences through art”. Opened in 2008, there are numerous permanent exhibition featuring 38 works that can only be seen in Towada, commissioned by 33 artists from around the world, such as Yayoi Kusama (草間彌生) and Ron Muek.

In addition to the permanent exhibition space, there is a special exhibition space, a cafe, and a civic activity space as a base for promoting support and exchange of cultural arts activities. The feature of the museum is that each exhibition room is made independent as a “house for art”, with buildings distributed in the site connected by glass corridors.

By arranging each exhibition room independently, an architectural space can be created according to each art work, and the two can have a closer relationship. This decentralized composition is inspired by the characteristics of city streets, where squares and buildings alternate, and art works and cities mix organically.

And by creating large and small spaces in the building, there is a continuity with the streets of large and small buildings. This decentralized layout also creates outdoor exhibition space and event space, allowing visitors to experience indoor and outdoor spaces simultaneously. In addition, the space where artworks are displayed has a large glass opening in various directions, making it an open structure as if the artwork is being exhibited in the city.

The museum opens daily except Monday, from 9:00 to 17:00. There is a parking lot behind the museum which can accommodate 10 cars. If fully occupied, visitors can park at the nearby Towada City Nishi Nibancho Parking Lot (十和田市西二番町駐車場), about 2 minute walk, and free parking tickets can be collected at the museum.

Aki Inomata, an artist who creates original works through observation and research of living things, is presenting his first solo exhibition at Towada Arts Centre during September 14, 2019 to January 13, 2020. She is renowned for looking at the essence of human beings and society through interactions with other creatures.

The title of this exhibition, ‘Significant Otherness’, was inspired by the relationship between living species on the earth advocated by scientific historian Dana Haraway. There are works that involved octopus and ammonite, works that observed clams that were affected by an earthquake, and works showing creatures wearing small chopped women's clothes. Each of them expresses the world viewed from the perspective of living things that are different from humans, and causes the viewers to think about the flow of time, the environment, and the ecosystem.

This exhibition will also feature new works based on the horses that were raised in the southern part of Aomori Prefecture, including Towada.

• Entry fee (2,400 yen each) x 2 

Wineshark Hotel Stay - Hotel Jogakura ホテル城ヶ倉

Address: 青森県青森市荒川八甲田山中

Tel: 017-738-0658

Website: https://www.jogakura.com/

Date of Visit: 1 Nov 2019

Coming down from Mount Hakkoda, we drove for a short while to arrive at the hotel for the night.

Hotel Jogakura (城ヶ倉), surrounded by virgin beech forest, is a Scandinavian-style resort hotel blessed with majestic natural scenery. With good access to Lake Towada and Oirase Gorge, it is the perfect base for enjoying the seasonal activities in the area.

The hotel has 30 rooms designed with a luxurious, warm and welcoming ambiance, using plenty of wood, reminiscent of European villas. We are staying at the Grand Comfort (グランドコンフォート) Room, all located on the mountain side, and the beech forest can be seen from the spacious living room and bedroom. The scenery changes colours in each of the four seasons, making you forget the passage of time.

This western-style room is of 42 sq. metres in size, and got its own open-air hot spring bath. It is pure pleasure to open the windows to look out at the forest, surrounded by cool air and the scent of nature from the mountains, and immersing in the clear spring water. The Simmons beds also promises the best sleep to guests during the stay.

Every morning, the chef will select the fresh fish caught in the waters of Aomori, and seasonal local vegetables and beef grown in the area. Dinner is served at the Dining Room with fireplace, where guests can enjoy kaiseki cuisine that changes from season to season. Breakfast is of buffet style and served in the banquet room. Guests can enjoy seasonal ingredients such as local farmers' vegetables and Sakamoto (坂本) poultry eggs. Below was our dinner menu:

Sakizuke (先附) - Mushroom with Spicy Konbu (茸汐辛昆布和え), Crab with vinaigrette vegetable (蟹膾), Grilled Eggplant Tofu (焼茄子豆腐)

Sashimi (造り) - Blue Fin Tuna (本鮪), Strait Salmon (海峡サーモン), Conch (真螺), Greater Amberjack (寒八)

Yakimono (焼物) - Grilled Scallop with Cheese (帆立チーズ焼)

Konro (焜炉) - Aomori Beef on Stove (青森県産牛柳川)

Futamono (蓋物) - Crab Tofu (蟹豆腐)

Konno mono (香の物) - Pickled dry squid and konbu (松前漬)

Tome-wan (止椀) - Fermented fish broth (鰊切込み汁)

Shokuji (食事) - Glutinous Rice on Snow Crab Shell (ズワイ蟹甲羅おこわ)

Dessert (水果子) - Strawberry Cream Mochi (クリーム苺大福)

The public bath of the hotel offers an open-air bath which can be used all season. Guests can enjoy the blissful moments while watching the fresh greens, vibrant red leaves, and the strict white silver beech forest in each season, and at the same time listening to the mountain stream of Tori Takizawa (鳥滝沢). There is also an inner bath with a big bath, mist sauna, rain shower and jacuzzi.

The onsen is a chloride spring (塩化物泉) with temperature of 50.2 degree Celsius, suitable for healing neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, coldness and fatigue (神経痛、筋肉痛、関節痛、冷え症、疲労回復). The bath is also open for day-trip guests from 11:30 to 16:00, but is exclusive for guests from 16:00 to 23:00, as well as 5:00 to 10:00.

On the next morning a buffet breakfast was served which was nice and delicious. The overall experience at the hotel was good, as we can enjoy a Scandinavian accommodation for a change. 

• Ground Comfort グランドコンフォートwith two meals for two (44,455 yen)

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - The Verandah

This restaurant is located in The Peninsula Hong Kong, serving buffet for breakfast, lunch and evening. We came to the hotel for a staycation so had both breakfast and lunch here. Before entering there is a large Christmas decoration, with gingerbread houses, ropeway and trains, attracting both adult and children to stop and admire.

During the lunch hour it was pretty busy, and we were seated at the far end of the restaurant. Though a bit far from the buffet table, it was relatively more quiet. The decor was luxurious and high-end, with also impeccable services to accompany, creating a very nice dining experience.

The Leisure Lunch Buffet ($838 each) is one of the most expensive lunch buffet in town. And I would say the quality of the food certainly matches with the price range. I like the range of salad they offered, with the cold cuts and smoked salmon both delicious. There are also homemade terrine too.

Most people found the seafood section most appealing. There are snow crab, whelk, scallops, prawns, mussels, as well as abalone! The grilled abalone is quite nice while the rest of the seafood, though plentiful, is just decent in taste, along with the range of Japanese sashimi and sushi. But I guess after visiting to so many good Japanese restaurants my standards on such are becoming so high it might not be reasonable to rate a buffet restaurant.

The hot dishes in my opinion are better, with the tempura prawn, Thai-style grilled pork neck and Taiwan braised pork belly all delicious. The roasted ham is nice though a bit salty for me. Each table is also served a pot of mussels but I would say it is not particularly impressive.

For dessert there are many choices. In terms of the sophistication and quality I think this restaurant has the best dessert for me (though I did not go to many buffet restaurants I must admit). The Portuguese egg tart is very good, and the others are equally tasty and all beautifully prepared. There is also a souffle per table but because we had to catch our limo service we could not try it out. A bit unfortunate.

The restaurant also offers beverage free-flow ($538 each), and I went for the package offering Ruinart Rose. Depending on how many glasses you would end up drinking, it might be more economical to pay per glass.

The bill in total was $2,436 and honestly very expensive for a buffet lunch. For similar amount I was able to enjoy a nice dinner at the adjacent Spring Moon the evening before, and that would be a much better meal in my opinion.