The Steak House Winebar + Grill  

This was a sweet four gathering to try the huge desserts at the The Steak House Winebar + Grill.

As I have not been there before, I made a reservation through their website.

They actually called me back, unlike other hotels/restaurants who have websites with emails to make it look like a website!!!

Anyway, they called me and said that The Steak House Winebar + Grill has a minimum charge of $500 per person so for desserts you can just walk in and dine at their bar section.

As the title states, it was girl's night out on Saturday and having decided that we all wanted to go for a nice dinner before pre-Halloween celebrations, we ended up booking at Intercontinental hotel's Steakhouse~

6pm found us being led into the dimly lit dining room and we were seated by the windows which offered a decent view of the water. The layout of the steakhouse is more of a square, with the tables set out along the sides of the square, leaving the centre of the room open for their renowned appetiser buffet table. Their menus are quite interesting, at first I thought we were being presented with a standard book, but upon opening, it was actually a double screen listing out the menu in an electronic fashion. Very techy, but as the surroundings grew darker, the brightness of the screen became a bit harsh on the eyes.

Bread was served first. A simple assortment of dark rye, sourdough, baguette, sesame lavosh and parmesean crisp in a cone shaped basket. Unfortunately the bread was not served warm, but it was of decent quality. I liked the lavosh bread most, crunchy with the toasted sesames giving a nice flavour.We were also served a small bowl of parmesean crisps with pumpkin dip, the crisps were fine, shattering nicely with a light pressure, but I found the pumpkin dip to be a little bland.I was the only one that ordered an appetiser, but I was very glad I did as the lobster bisque was quite marvellous. Smooth and rich, the flavour of the bisque was intensely concentrated with a few bite sized pieces of lobster hidden inside. I really liked this, as it was not overly salty and it was served piping hot which was definitely a plus for me.It was quite amusing that we chose to go to The Steakhouse, despite two of us being non-beef eaters, but that was not a problem since we discovered that The Steakhouse does other items very well too. Originally, I was not going to order steak either, as I had a very solid recommendation from a reliable source that the Sea Bass was worth trying, but since J and S decided to order the Sea Bass I picked the centre cut filet mignon (12oz) instead. H was definitely going the steak route choosing the special of the day which was Nebraskan aged beef (14oz) and C chose the organic Welsh lamb racks.

Prior to serving the mains, a slim rectangular rack holding 8 shot glasses of different types of salt was placed on the table. The Steakhouse is renowned for this, as it gives diners the opportunity to try out the varying flavours of salts from around the world, intriguing, but I do not think any of us used it on our mains. Us meat eaters were also able to choose our own knives which gave a personal touch towards the whole experience. Our mains soon arrived which was accompanied by a waiter proffering a tray with a wide selection of different types of mustards. I picked the seeded, dijon and honey to be my choices for the evening. When my filet mignon was placed in front of me I was stunned at the size and a little worried that the thickness of the cut would result in the meat not being overcooked. How wrong I was. The knife cut through the filet like it was cutting butter and one slice into it revealed a gorgeous pink hue. It was so so tender and perfectly seared so that the juices were locked into the meat. Very good~H's aged Nebraskan steak had a stronger beef flavour, but I found the texture to be overly chewy. It did not seem to bother H though as she managed to finish the whole steak with ease.I tried some of J's sea bass and I can really understand why this was recommended to me. It was perfectly cooked, the snow white flesh firm, but easily chewed and it carried a wonderful buttery flavour which I think was largely attributed to the natural oils of the bass. I really enjoyed this and probably ate about a third of J's dish C's lamb was remarkable too, cooked to her requested medium rare, it was tender with no gamey taste at all. Coupled with mint jelly, it really was a winning combination In addition to our already generously sized mains, we ordered four sides to share:

Creamed spinach- wilted spinach in a light cream. It was not as heavy as I expected it to be and it probably was the side I enjoyed the most.Black truffle mashed potatoes- this was not smoothly blended as it was slightly lumpy, but the black truffle aroma was there.

Environment:
We arrived in the earlier session : 6:00-8:00. There few people there, but the noise level got a bit louder as more people come in. They handed out LED back-lit menus which helped us read the menu when the light was dim.
We sat at a table for two in the main dining hall. I feel that we were a bit too closed to the table of four next to us (for a restaurant of this caliber) as we were able to distinctly hear their conversation. This is not pleasurable. We decided to seek the help of a few glass to block out the background noise.

Service was good. We ordered 2 steaks and I wanted Roquefort to top mine. We were asked whether we are sharing, and we were. They served up equal portions of each the two steaks on our plates, with mine having the cheese and my date not. It is the details that shows the care.

Wine:
We had to hop to a few gatherings afterwards so we were more prudent with our order volume today. The server suggested their carafe of Brunello Di Montalcino, taken from a Jeroboam apparently. It went well with the steak, especially with a nice punch through the Roquefort topped sliced cap (more on that later). It was a good versatile choice.

Dishes:
It would be heresy to come to a great steakhouse and waste room on other dishes, in my opinion. We opted out of the appetizer and dessert as it was American size afterall, and we wanted to save room for the sides and of course the steak.
They were very courteous to serve us their onion soup gratis as we had not ordered appetizers. Served in a shot glass sized cup and saucer like English tea. The soup was decent, not too salty, of a medium bite.
We were also served bread basket, with thins and rolls and a selection of three spreads. (see other reviews above for details)

Order (for 2):
Rib Cap, 12 oz
New York Strip, 18oz
Rocquetfort Blue Cheese
Garlic Portobello
Potato GratinSides:
The Portobello mushrooms were very juicy and tender, a much appreciated side for the steak. The potato gratin was creamy and cheesy, and while tasted great was not in the realm of spectacular.

Steak:
I am a fan of the Rib Cap, which while I grill and cut them myself I was not aware that they serve this individually in Hong Kong. This is actually the outside cut of a usual rib eye steak, where it is extensively marbled. For those who really like the intense flavour of steaks, this is the choice. The cut was well marbled, tender, flavorful, and done at the right temperature (We ordered medium, as it was fatty enough to withstand more doneness). This steak goes well with a strong red wine that pierce through the fat, with very masculine taste a deep charcoal smoke (not burnt, I might add). This went extremely well with the Roquefort, a generous slab placed on the steak.

The New York strip was very juicy, flavorful and a classic favorite for those who love the sight of browned steak’s pink center. The key to this cut is age and timing, as these two factors affect the tenderness of the cut, which can get very, very chewy. The steak was soft to the knife, quite tender though of course not as much as the cap, with a slight crisp on first cut. It was very well executed as well.

Overall:
While I think there should be more attention paid to the ambiance of the place, given its stature as one of the pillar of restaurant establishments in Hong Kong, the steaks were superb and service was up to par. You can feel that this place respects the food it serves, rather than many other steak houses that only play on the gimmicks. This is no doubt one of the best places to fulfill your steak desires in Hong Kong.

The aptly named 'Steak House' has been a fixture at the Intercontinental Hotel (and previously the Regent) for as long as I can remember. After undergoing a renovation and makeover 4-5 years ago, the place transformed from a nice place with great steaks to a 'trendy' place with great steaks.

We started off in the bar, located next to the main dining room. Large, red-leather banquettes and comfortable chairs make the place a great first stop for a pre-dinner cocktail. Along with your drinks, they serve a small bowl of fat, juicy green olives and some wasabi peas. Those olives are to die for...I could nearly make a meal out of those...After taking our seat at the dining table, we selected our menu choices. Most of us chose to enjoy the fabulous salad bar that is available.

One might think that a salad bar is nothing special, but maybe because they're such a rarity in Hong Kong, the Steak House's iteration stands out. Large bowls are different lettuces, dozens of different vegetables, some grilled vegetables and even grilled fruits, nuts, pickles, and fruit, and then a modest, but quality selection of cheeses. Again, it would be easy to make a meal out of this alone (and I know people who have done just that!)...but you need to be sure to save room for the main course!

One of our party also had the lobster bisque. A generous portion of creamy soup, with some chunks of lobster meat. Having had this several times before, its nice, but far from the best lobster bisque I've had. A bit lighter than I prefer and also not nearly enough lobster meat (especially given the price).

Another starter to consider is the foie gras, again, nice, if that's what you're in the mood for, but not the finest execution.

Of course what everyone comes here for is the steak, and the Steak House doesn't disappoint. Generous (14-18oz) cuts of New York sirloin will be brought out to you. The Steak House grills their meat over charcoal so the flavor is special. No butter or other condiments to take away from the taste either.

The meat is grilled to perfection, which is not always easy given that thicker cuts of meat are hard to cook through without overdo'ing the edges.The steaks are served by themselves, with accompaniments needing to be ordered a la carte. Recommended here are the lobster macaroni (essentially macaroni cooked in the lobster bisque...nice!). Also the onion rings, and any of the potato dishes are sure things.

One of our party doesn't eat beef but instead chose the rack of lamb. Fantastic! A HUGE 4-bone rack is brought (uncut) so the center is nice and rare, just how I like it. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for meat, but not beef.

One of the gimmicks of the SH is they like to offer an array of options for routine items. For example, along with your bread basket (nice selection by the way), they bring you a trio of butters, including plain, black truffle, and sun dried tomato.

In addition, instead of offering just plain table salt or may sea salt, they bring you a rack featuring 8 eight or ten different salts from around the world. These include smoked salt, peruvian pink, hawaiian, etc.

For your steak, they also offer you a choice of steak knives...some small and delicate looking ones from Japan or France, all the way up to a machete-looking thing from America. I favor the Global knife from Japan or something the Laguiole from France.

Lastly, to accompany your entree, they will offer you a selection of I think 16 different mustards, from basic english and dijon, all the way to flavored mustard with horseradish or chili.

I have to give credit to the staff for being able to remember all these different options.

Desserts are great, but the portion size is crazy. One dessert can serve 6-8 people...no kidding!

My one big gripe here is the price. $700+ for a steak, plus $200+ for starters, etc means a big bill is coming at the end of the evening. No doubt the Steak House has great food, and the crowds seem to show that. But, someone in the hyper-competitive restaurant industry will come along and undercut them on price while offered the same high quality. It's only a matter of time.

Also, I have to complain about the bottled water cost...over $100 for a 300 ml bottle Come on. Don't insult us. Also, the wine by the glass prices are equally insulting. $175/glass was the cheapest red wine on the list. Again, as someone who dines out seven nights a week, I understand that alcohol is a profit-center for restaurants, but to me this is pure taking advantage of the consumer. Intercontinental...take note...wine drinkers will vote with their pocketbooks!

All in all though, the Steak House is still one of my favorite places in Hong Kong and the tops for red meat in the city. But I hope they don't rest on their laurels and feel they can take advantage of their loyal clientele.

After reading numerous reviews and staring at their famed chocolate fondant, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be ordering one and stabbing it with my fork. And so it was on Saturday night, that I met up with two friends to go desserting with the (or my) focus being the chocolate fondant.

Since we were only there for dessert, we were seated at the bar which is a separate room situated adjacent to the restaurant. Decorated in oak browns and reds, it gave an instinctively masculine feeling when taking in the surroundings. Menus were given to us promptly, we all ordered a coffee and after a few minutes of 'discussion' the strawberry trio was selected along with the chocolate fondant.

The desserts arrived quite quickly, which lent to the assumption that they were not made fresh to order and further proven when the chocolate fondant was only lukewarm. The size of the desserts were definitely quite astounding. The chocolate fondant was litterally face-sized and nearly two inches tall! While the strawberry trio came in a big glass trifle bowl which I'm sure could have been shared amongst six people at least.

Although the quantity was there, the quality was not that great. The cooked part of the fondant was very thick, and tasted like a very unspectacular chocolate cake. The vanilla ice-cream was the highlight, but way too small in comparision with the size of the fondant. They should really consider serving a bigger scoop .The strawberry trio tasted like a McDonald's strawberry sundae, but with better quality vanilla ice-cream. It was essentially composed of layers of strawberry puree, mascapone cheese, vanilla ice-cream and cream topped with crumble bits. The coffee was decent, the texture of my latte was quite smooth, but there was a slight bitterness to the taste and the temperature was not hot enough despite my request of extra hot.

All in all I would say the experience was disappointing, maybe because I was anticpating it somuch. And unless they decide to decrease the quantity and increase the quality of the desserts, I would probably say trying it once is more than enough.

After reading much rave reviews and hearing recommendations from friends and family decided to try this restaurant. We made a reservation for dinner on a Saturday a week in advance, so there was no waiting upon arrival to the restaurant.

The hostess directed us to our table to a corner of the restaurant, which added to a more romantic and intimate atmosphere. However, this was slightly ruined by the very noisy patrons sitting next to us . However, our waiter was polite and attentive and tried to make us as comfortable as he could, a bread basket and water were immediately available as we sat down. The menu's were quite innovative, they would light up when opened, added to a 'very techno' vibe.

I am not going to comment on the selection of salts, knives and mustards, as this was already covered quite well in the previous reviews. But I must say that they were well presented and added to a very fun and entertaining dining experience. A bit of learning plus show and tell.

Starters
Hubby ordered the lobster bisque as a starter and I decided to go for the salad bar.

Lobster Bisque - Thick texture with bits of lobster, enough flavor without being too much. (Hubby asked for pepper, and the waiter proceeded to use an automatic lighter pepper mill, which took us by surprise)

Salad Bar - Just as previous reviews have mentioned, the salad bar is a must for anyone who visits this restaurant, the selection was vast and the salad leaves were very crisp and fresh. The selection of cheese available were quite yummy also. Definitely must try their cheeses

Mains

Both of us ordered the New York Striploin and it was simply delicious. The steak was well-cooked (medium rare) and every bite was like buttery meat that would melt in your mouth.

It was quite simply one of the best steaks I've had anywhere in Hong Kong, where usually steak is drown with side sauces and overdone. Our waiter quite frankly told us, NOT to have a side sauce as it would take away the real flavor of the meat. So we went with his advice and it was a bit of meat heaven in our mouths. Happy stomachs!

For anyone looking for a good steak I would highly recommend a visit to the Steakhouse!

Price for two including drinks was around perhaps almost HKD2000. Not cheap but it was worth it. Simply great food and great service.

Post entry of a Birthday Celebration.

Visited with Aunt, Uncle n Pig. Thanks to Pig (who knew the sommelier) we didn't have to pay no cockage, or else it is like 500 per bottle. Hot Damn!!

Internal atmosphere was good. Appropriate lighting, quite spacious, and customers were pretty well groomed and mannered. You wouldn't see a f-load of chattering Mainlanders which would ruin the night. Quite a favorable place for anniversaries n dates. The only thing is that even if you wanna sit by the window, you only get a small portion of the harbour view. Nothing as compared with Morton's open view.

Yet in terms of food quality, The Steakhouse beats Mortons. To start off with, that salad bar is IMPRESSIVE!!! Wide range of choice, all fresh and high quality. With no photos to support, I'll give an analogy here - if you consider the buffet salad bar in Island Shangri La is "smart casual", then the one here is "chic and well-groomed". No wonder they charge 300 per head on it if people don't order mains. You can literally eat your heartz fill without going for the steaks.

Then of course, as a meat lover, why would I even consider not getting a steak dish? I ordered the Canadian prime rib, Uncle ordered the lobster tails and Aunt n Pig teamed up to tackle the fillet mignon for 2. As you may imagine, these were eventually shared amongst us all so that everyone gets a taste of everything.

I wanna mention that the place, before serving the mains, placed like 8-10 variety of salts on the table. Yeah you heard me, SALTS!!! From different places around the world, this would be from some mountains n that would be made with whatsoever. Each type does have their unique flavors and this is all very fascinating. But with your steaks all salted already for roasting, why the heck would I wanna add any of this to my mains? fun factor 1, actual use 0.

So, the meat. I was never a fillet mignon lover, so all I can say about that fillet for 2 is "a tender, juicy slab of beef". Nice, but not touching. And somehow they over-seasoned the surface before roasting it, so another few marks off. The lobster was good actually - I would word it "easy-going" - as compared with the beef. But as I remember, it costs around 600 bucks for like 4-5 strips of lobster tails (notice I call them strips so you can imagine the size) so it all comes down to whether you wanna spend that on some macho or some easy-going.

As for my choice, delish~ Canadian prime rib has always been a personal favorite, not as heavy as the US Angus n not as casual as the Aussy Wagyu. The grill was perfect - medium rare ordered as it is, satisfying both visually and on the palate. Together with the bottles of 2000 Echezeaux, life suddenly became peaceful for a moment as we slid the meat n wine down our throats.

Now adding to the buffet salad (which I engulfed like 4 plates -_-) we were all pretty well-fed, but it doesnt hurt to have a sweet delight with the tea n coffee right>? So we ordered a melting choco cake n an apple crumble to share. Thatz when everything went downhill. In a good way though.

Whyz that? Coz turns out those "delights" were HUGE!!!

Literally, both were each bigger than the slab of 30-sth ounce of steak I had. Now this stuff ain't bad either - so there was more indulging done with little resistance. Had to take away half of each in the end. I felt like a lump of concrete as I waited for my car at the valet. Nonetheless, the devilish grin didn't go away until a long long time later.

Overall, very satifying and filling. I would give it a 8.5/10.

Finally made the trek over to Kowloon to try the famous Steak House WineBar & Grill at InterCon. Décor is very nice, but a bit too noisy given I wanted to have quiet dinner with my girlfriend and some friends. Service was attentive and friendly. But the food was disappointing. We were surprised they offered salad bar; doesn’t really fit such a premium restaurant setting and the A La Carte only offered standard Caesar Salad, which was ordinary. I had the Filet Mignon; while the texture was nice, that unique nutty beefy flavor was lacking and the crispy exterior didn’t explode with flavors I was hoping for. While they provide you with an impressive array of salts, mustards, sauces, and knives to enhance your carnivorous experience, I prefer the purist approach; a steak should be great on a standalone basis without any sauces or garnishes or other distractions, and my steak here was average. My girlfriend had the salmon fillet which was okay, but a bit dry. Wine selection was good and sommelier was helpful. Overall, not great value for money, and feels like a place happy to sit on its laurels. I prefer the new boutique steakhouses popping up which seem hungrier to offer innovative menus and truly special cuts of beef.

We ordered steak and lamb chop. The steak (though is rare) is a bit tough but the lamb chop is really tasty! It's medium but it's tender!

However, the soup is too salty...very disappointing!

We really like the gimick stuff--including the 3 types of butter--really tasty and we finished all the 3! Can't believe it!

For the mustard, it's quite good! though there were different kinds of salt, we think tasting lamb chop with mustard is much better.

In the first place, we ordered the chocolate fondant...but after trying really hard to finish the two main courses, we're too full to have the chocolate fondant! Luckily, the waiter is very polite and he helps us cancel the order.

Overall, we love the service and food though it's a bit noisy.

Not sure if it was a random occurrence since only ate there once. My friend said she had eaten there twice before and it was not bad.

The place has a pretentious atmosphere but this is HK so thats to be expected and indeed Im sure plenty of people love that. Had some bread and several butters which was very nice.

I ordered the "Gourmet Burger" made of US Angus Beef 12oz for nearly 400HKD, and my friend ordered the Steak House Skewer Combo with beef lamb and chicken.

Had a teacup full of some sort of lobster soup while waiting on our mains. It had a strong seafood taste too it. Not really my thing though I love seafood, but since it came with main nothing to complain about.

The burger came and was a nice size but the first bite surprised me since it was so salty and tasted like a mouthful of oregano. Thought maybe it was first bite bad luck. The meat was surprisingly not very juicy at all for beef and I had ordered medium well. Forced myself to eat 75% of this 400 dollar burger but couldn't take the super-salty oregano taste anymore and left the rest.

My friends steak and lamb were indistinguishable from one another. Both VERY* salty which was surprising as the servers had brought a salt rack with around 8 different types of salt. Seemed strange to give someone lots of salt then already have super-salted the food.

For 400 dollars, I'll never give a burger there another chance. Also not confident to ever spend more trying the steak after I tried my friends. For the prices its ridiculous. Nothing at all special, just another pretentious place with sub-par food quality. The burgers at Archie B's in Mid-levels all cost around 60 dollars and are way more juicy and of a better quality.

For steak Bubba Gumps, and several other places in HK have been far better. I guess youre paying for the atmosphere at The Steak House Winebar + Grill. ITs a great place if you want to experience the feel of living in a soap opera. Or perhaps if you want to show off your money to a girl?

I don't think I need to say much about The Steak House cos it's self explanatory that they are really reputable in town. Food-wise, I ordered the salad bar & a petite filet mignon (organic). I was told by the waitress that I should go with 35% cooked instead of medium rare cos the meat is organic. I am really glat that I took her word cos the texture and taste of the steak was exceptionally juicy & tender. My God, it's awesome!!!

As a side not, I really like their choice of mustard...my personal favorites are the balsamic mustard and mustard seed, they further enchance the taste of the beef, unbelievable match

My only complaint is the environment...it's very noisy which made me feel like sitting in Cafe de coral...based on ambience, I will say Spoon or Nobu is much quieter and comfortable for diners...

Had a great Sunday brunch at The Steak House.

We were offered juices as soon as we sat down. The brunch also came with 3 white and 3 red wines to choose from.

We started with the appetizer buffet which was very good with different varieties of fresh & roast vegetables, cured meats and cheeses. I would have been happy just eating the appetizers!

Then we were served a bowl of lobster bisque, which was full of lobster flavors and had tiny chunks of lobster meats. The soup had a good consistency and was not too creamy.

I had medium rib eye as the main which turned out to be a bit disappointing as I like my meat with a proper char. The rib eye was of very good quality and it was juicy and properly cooked to medium rare. However, the meat barely got any color on the outside! I think a proper char really brings out the meat flavor which this steak lacked.

But overall we really enjoyed the wines and food at The Steak House Winebar + Grill!

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I am currently sitting in the EuroStar heading towards Paris & am writing this review at the same time. Kowloon side in my previous posting on Australia Dairy Company is a hidden gem for a culinary experience & in areas of Tsim Sha Tsui, InterContinental Hotel is by the most accomplished hotel group with the best collection of F&B outlets. The likes of NoBu, SPOON, Yan Toh Heen, Harbourside with quite possibly Hong Kong’s best buffet on offer & above all, THE STEAK HOUSE winebar + grill. Not exactly rocket science in guessing what this fine establishment specialises in & if you are a carnivore + passionate meat lover looking for a piece of fine grilled steak with a spectacular wine collection, this is definitely your first choice of venue. The purpose of our visit on the evening was my birthday celebration & I have decided to drop an email to the hotel’s PR Team in advance that I will be reviewing the restaurant. To my surprise on our arrival, a complimentary bottle of bubbles was arranged as well as a very special & extremely attentive level of services for my special occasion. Most importantly, we were allocated to the table whereby we enjoyed our meal with the backdrop view of the Victoria Harbour with the surprisingly beautiful blue, clear sky, which was quite possibly the best table in the restaurant for a special occasion. The overall experience prior the food was already very impressive & now, the food part was equally as impressive!

Point to Note: Photos of the food & dishes in this post arent great as it was virtually impossible to be taking good shots in such environment

Highly Recommended Dishes We Ordered::

Belik Salmon with ‘MIMOSA’ EGG, DOUBLE CREAM & MELBA TOAST - Belik Salmon is quite possibly the equivalent to Kobe Beef in the Salmon World & is literally the Ferrari of salmon. Such premium salmon is rare & expensive to enjoy & since tonight was a special occasion, this must be ordered to satisfy my search for perfection. Since Belik Salmon is the most premium part of the salmon, there is no question on the quality of the taste as it was extremely smooth & fresh. Every bite of the salmon along with the sour-cream & condiments as well as the thickness & portion of the Belik Salmon gave me an extreme oral pleasure as it is totally different to your usual smoke salmon or Scottish Salmon. Overall taste was simply breath-taking & dear oh dear, just look at the photos below & I am already looking forward to my next Belik Salmon!

Crab Cake New Orleans Style – Another cracker of a starter whereby we thoroughly enjoyed! I have had many crab cakes in my entirely life & to my mind, RED SoHo in Hong Kong (see link) does one of the best crab cakes in town therefore it was a good comparison on both sets of crab cakes. Good points about this dish is the generous portion with large chunks of sweet, juicy, no non-sense crab meat were enough words to describe this overall crab-cake. On the down side, Seasoning of the crab cake fell slightly flat, as well as the overall taste was not as fresh as the crab cakes at RED SoHo. The cooking method for both crab cakes may differ as the crab cake on this evening was slightly pan-fried but at RED SoHo, the grilled crab cakes manages to keep all its succulent crab meat juices which makes it slightly more tastier for my palate. Overall, it was an enjoyable starter to kick start your meal.

USDA Certified New York Strip 14 oz & USDA Natural Beef Rib Eye Steak 16 oz – Previous journeys to Bistecca (link xxxx) with fat chunks of steak was highly enjoyable but at Wine Steak House, the steak experience takes you to another level of enjoyment. Before the steaks were served, the restaurant brings to diners 3 forms of great entertainment prior the main courses being served:

a) Salt Pairing — We were introduced to the 8 different types of salt which can be used to pair with the steak. All the types of salt came in various colours & their flavours are as below. All the salt pairings were placed in a shot glass & were lined up in a wooden tray & was the kind of scene that one expects buying rounds of shooters or shots in a bar / club. My personal favourite was the Himalayan Pink Salt as the saltiness matched very well with my piece of red meat but one can argue that a perfect steak simply does not require any sort of additional seasoning or condiments on the side.

Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt - This traditional Hawaiian table salt is used to season and preserve food. Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt is non-processed and rich in trace minerals, all of which are found in seawater. A small amount of harvested reddish Hawaiian clay (Alaea) enriches the salt with Iron-Oxide. This salt adds a unique and pleasant flavour to roasted and grilled meat. This salt is also great with Pork and Prime Rib.
Ittica d’or Sicilian Sea Salt – This delicious sea salt is harvested from saltpans along the famous “salt road” between Trapani and Marsala, on the west coast of Sicily. The salt beds are managed completely by hand in a saline reserve protected from industry pollution. Relying on sun, wind and the clean waters off of Sicily, the salt is unrefined, unwashed, and unaltered in any way. It contains more magnesium, potassium and less sodium chloride than regular salt. This salt is ideal as a condiment to highlight salads, to finish roasts and sauces or to garnish bruschetta. Available in Fine or Coarse grain.
Cyprus Flake Salt – Cyprus Flake is a favorite among professional chefs. The unique pyramid shaped crystals have a fresh ocean flavor and a satisfying crunch.
Murray River Pink Salt from Australia - Murray River salt crystals are light & delicate peach colored flakes. They have a wonderfully mild flavor. The texture is ideal for use as a finishing salt. The crystals melt quickly and evenly, making Murray River flake salt ideal for finishing, roasting, and baking.
Peruvian Pink Salt – Peruvian Pink Salt comes from an ancient ocean, trapped underground, which feeds a spring located 10,000 feet high in the Andes Mountains in Maras, Peru.
Himalayan Pink Salt – Himalayas is an unrefined salt that comes from the Himalayan Mountains at altitudes of over 10,000 feet. This fossil marine salt is rich in many minerals including Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Iron, which give the salt its beautiful speckled pink color. Once a year, in the springtime, the salt is transported down from the mountains to the Nepalese valleys by caravans of yaks. This is the principle income for the mountain people of the area.
Fumee de Sel Chardonnay Oak Smoked Fleur De Sel by Le Tresor from France – This is unlike any smoked sea salt. Fleur de Sel is cold smoked with Chardonnay oak chips to preserve the mineral content and natural flavor of the salt.
Sele Gris Coarse de Guerande from France – This has a unique color that makes this a truly beautiful sea salt. The grey hue comes from its extremely high level of minerals and nutrients. The crystals range in size from 2-3mm. Popular for baking breads, soups and sauces, the soft, moist crystals dissolve quickly and evenly when used in cooking.

b) Steak Knives — For those that like to play around with knives, a waiter or waitress will present a black leather tray of collection of knives from various origins for diners to hand-pick on their desired knife to be used to rip the meat apart. Names of all the knives & origins are as below & for my opinion, I really did not care about which knife I picked as the most important part is that I HAVE A STEAK KNIFE for the steak but I must admit that such attention to details from the restaurant team is a bonus to such dinner experience.

Kershaw SHUN knife – Japan
Global knife – Japan
Mundial knife – Brazil
Laguiole steak knife – French
Laguiole steak knife – French
Picea steak knife – German
Grand gourmet steak knife – German
T- Bone steak knife – Italian
Berti Steak Knife – Italian
Nevada Steak Knife – American

c) Mustard Pairing — For the meat eaters, 12 types of mustard are carried out in a massive wooden tray whereby you can hand pick your favourite mustard according to your choice in steak & your personal palate. For authentic flavours, I personally would recommend the English Mustard, so rustic & pungent flavours that matches well with a grilled steak.

Back to the steak, simple presentation with the grilled steak placed on a normal serving plate as one would suspect that the presentation may be slightly be over the top due to the steak house at a 5-star hotel establishment with skewered vine tomatoes on the side. For a medium grilled steak, I must admit that the Chefs at Wine Steak House was absolutely spot on with the timing for the grilling of the steak. The steak was juicy, tender & surprisingly for a USDA Rib Eye Steak, it melted subtlely in my mouth achievin the sort of melting level of that you will only expect from a piece of Wagyu or Kobe Steak. It truly is a haven for meat lovers & the steaks are also grilled on Hong Kong’s only char-coaled grill which is also another unique attraction for diners. WOW! I must admit that I have not had a steak which is better than this & if you have found a better restaurant for steaks, please drop me a comment and let me know. Wonderful piece of steak and with the steak priced at HKD780, this was
worth every single penny as it was such a satisfying main course & quite a steak not to be missed out on providing there is some spare cash in your wallet.

Best is yet to come & again, I was not expecting any form of surprise even though it was my birthday celebration & guess what, out comes a Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Ice-Cream which was large enough to feed up to 4 – 6 diners. OH MY, it was so massive that the dinner was fast becoming a joke as it was simply impossible for us both to even finish half of it. The first stab at the Chocolate Fondant resulted in a great lava flow of warm Chocolate sauce that filled up half the serving plate of the Chocolate Fondant & quite a scene not to be missed. As much as such great hospitality & surprise from the InterContinental Team, there are definitely improvement areas for the cake itself & I am quite a conniseur in terms of Chocolate Fondant therefore am extremely demanding on this. The size & portion of the Chocolate Fondant is far too large which I understand is an Amercian serving portion but because of this size, the skin or the outer layer of the fondant is far too dense which may not be appealing to diners. Best chocolate fondants are whereby the fondant is soft & thin layered on the outside with oozing warm chocolate sauce on the inside & the restaurant definitely achieved the latter. Overall, still a decent dessert & oh, I forgot to mention about the conclusion of the cake was that we decided to pack the remaining 1/2 of the cake & took us 3 extra days to polish off the whole thing. Waistline definitely increased by an inch or 2 after this dessert.

Wonderful meal, wonderful service, wonderful view of Hong Kong Island & what’s more, WONDERFUL piece of Grilled Steak. For readers that like their steaks, this venue is a MUST VISIT & even though prices are hefty, do take my word to enjoy perhaps the best steak in town. Am drooling over this steak whilst I am ending this review!

Happy Eating!
Geoff

My wife and I went to the Steak House to celebrate our first Valentine Day after marriage.

It was super crowded even on a Thursday night @ 8:30pm. Very noisy - not recommended for a romantic dinner or dating.

Service was good. Waiters were attentive...

Bread and their own butter were good. Becareful - don't ate too much otherwise no room for starter and main course.

Starter - we ordered salad bar for our starter (HKD 160 per person). Selection was not huge but the vegi was fresh (my wife enjoy the Aussie Tatsoy very much), only 3 kind of cold cut. But their cheese selection was not bad. Cheese lover will enjoy it alot. Good selectin of Vinegar and Olive Oil too.

Main Course - My wife ordered 14Oz New York Strip (outside burn and inside median to rare) HKD 620. The steak itself was very tender and juicy. Highly recommended.

I ordered Ribeye Steak (also outside burn and inside median to rare) HKD 588. The steak itself was a bit fat, very juicy but not as tender as the Strip. Maybe it was not as thick as the Strip. And the beef taste was not as strong as the Strip too. Not recommended.

Sider dish - we ordered portobello mushroom. Very fresh. Very Good.