Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Ciak in the Kitchen

This Italian restaurant is located in Landmark Atrium, with a nice bar area at the entrance followed by the dining section at the back. The decor is nice and relaxing, and walking in we could see the different kitchen stations, including the pizza ovens, grill, pastry and pasta bar, providing a close-up spectacle for diners to watch the activities throughout the meal.

To start off we had the Japanese Blue Fin Tuna Tartare ($240). Nicely plated, the tuna is fresh and chopped to small cubes, marinated well to give a nice tasty, tender bite. Pairing with fresh orange and confit tomato, there are some citrus acid to provide a refreshing balance to the tuna. Quite a good start for the meal.

We then had the pizza freshly made and baked out from the oven. With many choices, we went for Marinara ($190), with tomato sauce, Cantabrian archovies, oregano and garlic. The pizza is crisp and of the right thickness, with the tomato sauce rich and full of flavors. The archovies are much larger than the normal ones we had seen, with a great savory note which complemented well with the oregano and garlic. A really nice pizza in my opinion.

The main course we ordered was Lamb Chop Scottadito Style ($390), it featured three pieces of beautifully grilled US lamb chop, with a sprig of rosemary decorating. At medium-rare level, the lamb was pink and juicy, and the good quality tender meat is already so flavorful with some rock salt to season. Another great dish on the night.

Also ordering the Artisanal Spaghetti, it was prepared with garlic, olive oil and chili pepper with Sardinian bottarga ($250). Bottarga is a sort of salted, cured fish roe from tuna, similar to the ones we are used to in Taiwan. The pasta is one of the best I have tried in HK, with the texture of the spaghetti perfect to the bite with the chewiness. The bottarga also offered a great taste and truly reminded me of brine from the sea. However, it was served right after we started with the lamb chop so when we finished the prior course the spaghetti was getting a bit cold. Having told the restaurant we were sharing I would hope they plan the serving better, and this dish would be simply fantastic at the right temperature.

For dessert my wife decided to try the Semifreddo ($100), with wild berries, apricot emulsion and raspberry sorbet. Refreshing and colorfully rendered, it was a great finale to the meal if you do not want something too heavy.

On the other hand I went for the more traditional dessert Tiramisu ($140). This is also one of the best tiramisu I had in town, with a clear layer of coffee jelly and lady finger sponge with espresso at the bottom, the creamy mascarpone in the middle, and the chocolate powder on top. On the side there is a coffee ice-cream which is rich and not too sweet. This is a truly nice and reminded me of the similarly fantastic tiramisu I had at Sabatini at Royal Garden HK.

Service was nice but I hope the server could come and explain the dishes more, which I have written numerous times here that it is one of the areas many restaurants did not pay attention to. I think the diners generally would have a much better appreciation on the dishes if they can know those details.

The bill on the night was $1,518 and considering all the dishes and quality of food I would say it is reasonable. The restaurant also has another outlet in Taikoo Shing and it seems we should try it out as well.