Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Brut!

This small restaurant is on Second Street, Sai Ying Pun, with a lot of personality in its philosophy, bringing unusual combination of flavours and interesting wines to create a fusion cuisine that is playful and unexpected.

Greeted by owner Camille Glass who has good knowledge in organic wines, we were seated at a communal table with highchairs. With chic music in the background, dim and moody lighting, rough and raw wall, the whole ambience was hip and relaxing.

We decided to go for the Tasting Menu ($480) and wine pairing ($380). To start off, Camille poured me the grower champagne from Champagne Lamiable Souffle d’Etoiles Extra Brut, with refreshing bubbles and very dry, a great aperitif.

The first course was Beef Tartare. The finger food was very delicious, with the beef tartare nicely seasoned, intense in flavours. While the nori sheet could be toasted to make it crisper it did add umami to the taste and the egg yolk gel was unique and creative. A nice starter.

The second course was Scallop, with the chef slicing it thin and added some finger lime to give acidity and vibrancy to the palate. The sauce was a genius combination of almond milk and homemade XO sauce, balancing the two but not masking their individual characters. Another nice one.

The next wine served was Tohu Whenua Awa Riesling, a very nice one from NZ and my favourite in the evening. With good minerality, the wine was refreshing, energetic and having good fruity notes, matching well with the next couple of dishes.

The third course was Brussels Sprouts Salad. The brussels sprouts had been nicely charred, mixed with radish, celeriac, shiitake mushroom and whipped ricotta, sprinkled with some small rice pearls to give a bit of crunchy texture. I do like this salad even though I am not a big fan of brussels sprouts.

The fourth course was Torched Calamari. This was my favourite dish, the squid having a slight smoky note, with a nice bite but not rubbery. The mix of the black garlic and smoked miso was certainly the soul behind, with the umami from the miso, sweetness, and fragrance from the garlic truly amazing.

Then we were served the Atlas Swift Shelter Chardonnay from South Africa. A nice organic wine with a more refined oaky character. I found it tasted better with the food in the next course than on its own though.

The fifth course was Carrot, and the chef had braised it to great softness, with the natural sweetness of the carrot coupling perfectly with the tom yum sauce on top, with a bit of coconut cream added as well. Decorated with some lemongrass, with onion crumble on the side, this was a nice veggie dish I recommend.

To pair with the next course, the Ottomani Chianti Classico was served. I liked the earthy and spicy note which matched well with the steak.

The sixth course was Hanger Steak. Cooked to medium rare, the beef had been marinated with finely grounded coffee, together with a cured egg yolk and soy sauce. The delicate coffee note was apparent but not excessive, and the soy sauce brought out the umami and flavours of the beef well. Just a suggestion was that beef would be better eaten with fork and knife than the chopsticks provided, as it was not cut to bite size.

Finally for dessert, the Soy Panna Cotta was silky smooth, with appropriate sweetness. The rich taste of the soy was appealing, and the only comment was that it was perhaps better to prepare individual portion instead of sharing one among ourselves, requiring each of us to scoop on the same, due to hygiene reason.

Service was decent, with Camille very busy serving all the customers just by herself so it was a bit hectic, even though she did her best to have conversations and introduce the dishes and wines. The bill on the night was $1,645 and it was reasonable in price. A good spot to enjoy some nice food with wine in a friendly setting.