Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Aera

On this Saturday evening, we come to Aera, located on Stewart Road in Wanchai. The restaurant only offers a tasting menu, helmed by two young chefs Chevalier Yau and Sheen Foh, who take the inspiration of Nordic cooking, emphasizing the use of local ingredients, using traditional techniques like pickling and smoking into the dishes.

The interior design has an industrial vibe, neat and with minimal décor. The open kitchen is on one end of the restaurant, where we can see the team busy working on the creations and preparations. The tasting menu cost $1,288 per person, with a wine pairing option, where I pick the 6 Glasses one at $888.

The Amuse Bouche includes three small bites. The first one is Mussel / Panna / Caviar. The savoury panna cotta has some marinated mussels at the bottom, with some shallot that has been stir-fried with local Three Yellow chicken fat to give extra fragrance, plus some caviar on top. With a touch of shiso and yuzu peel to give refreshing taste, it is a creative and delicious wake up call of the palate.

The second one is Uni / Ponzu / Smorrebrod. Presented just like a sea urchin gunkan sushi, it is in fact a smorrebrod, a type of open sandwich. On the bottom is a piece of rye bread, made with mixed seeds, topped with sea urchin from Hokkaido, with some ponzu jelly in between. The sea urchin has been brushed with fermented soy sauce and lime juice to increase its umami taste.

The third one is Rosti / Lardo / Lingonberry. Rosti is a traditional snack, using a slice of potato fritter that has been added with some crispy bacon and jam, made into a spherical shape. Inside the ball are some mashed potatoes that are added with truffle juice and pancetta. On top is the lingonberry gel to give a bit of tartness to balance the taste.

The first wine is Mutsu Hassen Junmai Daiginjo 陸奥八仙 壺八仙 純米大吟釀, a sake from Aomori. With some delicate white floral notes, this sake is not sweet in taste, with more fruity characters and not too heavy. It is a good alternative than the usual way to pair with a sparkling at the beginning of the meal. Instead of the normal bottle, this sake is stored in a clay pot which is interesting too.

The starter is Dill / Roe / Lohikeitto. The chef has lightly grilled the kampachi, or amberjack, to put in the bowl, then adding some pickled daikon and salmon roes. Chef Foh then pours the soup on top, which is called Lohikeitto, a traditional Finnish fish chowder, made using the remaining of the amberjack, together with some dill oil. Very good in taste.

The second wine is Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio Riserva 'Giatl' 2020, from Alto Adige in Italy. The wine has a nice ripe pear and tropical fruit nose, good fragrant floral aromas, supported by a good minerality in the mouth, with a bit of saline characters, as well as having the touch of cedary flavours coming from the aging in French oak, plus some ginger notes on the finish.

The Bread is Soy / Yeast / Horseradish. The soy-infused sourdough is homemade, with the bread starter also developed in-house. Having a nice crispy crust while the inside is fluffy and soft, the bread is very good in texture, with the butter being added with caramelized yeast and horseradish to provide a complex complement.

The second starter is Egg / Cabbage / Anchovy. The concept is to recreate an egg, so the chef has prepared the different components, with the egg yolk featuring a quail egg marinated with soy sauce, the egg white being chicken mousse prepared with cream, and the eggshell is in fact a chewy spinach glaze. Underneath is a cabbage salad with anchovy breadcrumbs, together with cabbage dashi as the sauce. While it is not my pick in terms of flavours, I applaud the team’s innovative creation.

The third course is Pattes / Malt / Lemon. A signature of the restaurant, the local Three Yellow chicken thigh is first marinated with malt for a day, air-dried for another day, before grilling it on the third day. Brushed with some fresh lemon juice before serving, the meat is tender and flavourful, very delicious indeed. The chef thoughtfully wraps the feet with strings so we can hold it up to eat, which offers the best way to enjoy in my opinion.

Instead of wine, the sommelier asks whether I prefer to try the pairing with a local craft beer. Being adventurous and want to try something new, I go for Hunk Sir Milffee Porter from Heroes Beer, with a creamy and smooth texture. Its taste matches well with the malt sweetness of the chicken. An interesting pairing with good effect.

The fourth course is Oyster / Pea / Apple. The chef has used ‘Samurai Gold’ oysters from Hyogo, taking the jus from the shell to boil the oyster to 45 degrees C, to present a half-cook style. With some local green peas toasted on charcoal to give a slight smoky taste, together with fresh green apple and a beurre blanc sauce made with green apple and green peas to provide acidity and earthy notes, it is delicious with complex flavours.

The fourth wine is Le Marie Sant Agostino Vino Blanco 2021. This is a Arneis from a small winery in Piedmont, with the grape quite rare to be seen outside Roero because of low yield and susceptible to disease. The wine has good floral and citrus, with some green apple and nice sweet bell pepper notes, a good match with the oyster.

There are two choices for the main course, in which I have picked Pigeon / Ham / Blueberry. The breast of the local pigeon has been aged for a couple of days, then pan-fried the skin with butter before grilling on charcoal. The chef uses local spring onion to prepare a Swedish pancake 'panakaka' to wrap it up, adding some pickled blueberries inside, and serving with the ricotta cheese and pigeon jus. On the side is a cabbage wrap with pulled pigeon leg meat ragout, stir-fried with Chinese ham and Chinese yellow wine, taking the inspiration from a Chiu Chow dish. A must try. 

The fifth wine is Alain Gallety Cuvee Emma Vallee du Rhone 2019. The blend has 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, with plenty of red and black berries, silky smooth and go very well with the pigeon with the gamey notes and the sauce perfect in harmony. The best pairing on the night in my opinion, as it enhances the flavours of the food and the wine to another level.

My wife has A3 Wagyu / Truffle / Rapa ($288 additional). The wagyu sirloin comes from Saga, and the chef has prepared a local rapini on the side, which has been charcoal grilled. The beef jus is cooked with finely diced pickled king oyster mushroom and Chinese sausages to go with the wagyu, together with some Australia winter truffle on top.

The pre-dessert is Matcha / Melon / Cucumber. A refreshing palate cleansing dish, the melon spheres and cucumber has been soaked in a tea brewed from matcha, with some lemon oil added. The flavours are delicate and not sweet, with everything slightly chilled to make it even lighter on the taste.

The dessert is Strawberry / Oat / Crumb. On the bottom are some candied roselle bread crumbs with some strawberry sugar, a creamy oatmilk ice-cream in-between, and on top the strawberry mochi, with an interesting texture. Chef Foh shares that she tries to recreate the same experience of a lollipop she enjoyed at a young age. Not sure I have tried that lollipop before, but this dessert is creative and shows how the team brings in new thinking into their cuisine.

The fifth and last wine is Giovanni Almondo Fosso della Rosa 2020, with a slight fizziness in the wine, sweet and very light on alcohol, having plenty of red fruit of strawberries, redcurrant, raspberries which are appealing served chilled, with its good acidity making it refreshing and very easy to drink.

With a Double Espresso ($45) to wrap up, the Petit Four includes a Sake Lees Madeleine, Chocolate Matisse with toasted almond flakes, a Zucchini Sweet, and a Mochi Cake. All are delicious and I am in particular intrigued by the way the team made the sweet using fresh zucchini, with a nice gummy texture and not too sweet, but exhibiting a slight note of the vegetable. The mochi cake is also creative, with a crunchy crust and a q-bite inside, with sour cream on top.

It is a wonderful experience, with the food delicious, the dishes creative and I also like how the chef comes to the table to explain all the courses, which are very clear and provide context on the ingredients, and how they are prepared, significantly increased the enjoyment of the meal. The bill on the night is $4,260 which is reasonable, I am very happy to see such good example of young chefs showcasing their skills and thinking, which is what we need in the current dire dining industry in HK.