Shore Steak Central

Shore Steak's bone-in rib-eye for two is produced at its in-house, dry-aging facility. It also serves free-range beef from Australia, Scotland and the United States. Donna Mah / for China Daily

Shore features a gorgeous, underwater-themed bar.

A stylish Hong Kong bar and seafood restaurant is turning up the heat with a new steak house, Donna Mah reports.

The stylish Central bar and restaurant, Shore, is celebrating a successful first year by launching a premium steak house on its second floor.

Shore has attracted many loyal customers with its fresh seafood and consistently good meal. Its sea-themed decor, built into wood and granite surfaces, has also made it a fashionable venue for all sorts of events.

Now, its new steak house, Shore Steak, boasts an in-house dry-aging facility, which produces flavorful, tender cuts of beef. It also serves free-range beef from renowned breeders in Australia, Scotland and the United States.

Dry aging, says Shore Steak's executive chef Jason Black, has largely been replaced by vacuum packing and aging, since the weight of the meat does not change with this type of aging. With dry aging, you lose some of the moisture as the meat forms a crust, and the longer meat is aged, the less it weighs. But the more intense flavor of dry-aged beef is something its vacuum-aged counterpart cannot replace.

"Not everyone realizes that steak, just like wine, benefits from a certain amount of properly controlled aging. The quality of dry aging is as important as the quality of the meat itself," Black says. "The 10 minutes that you spend enjoying the perfect steak has actually taken us up to about 10 weeks to prepare."

Shore Steak's dry-aged cuts include premium tenderloin, strip loin, rib-eye, bone-in rib-eye for two and grass-fed porterhouse. The steaks are tender, succulent and very flavorful. The strip loin and rib-eye taste excellent, though the cuts are a little fatty for me; I prefer the leaner tenderloin.

The wide range of prime, organic, grass-fed and dry-aged steaks are sourced largely from Australia's award-winning Cape Grim farms in Tasmania and Rangers Valley Cattle Station in New South Wales. Also available are grass-fed Scottish premier cuts, as well as Shogo Takeda Wagyu and USDA prime, all-natural beef from Cedar Farms in Philadelphia.

If you're not feeling like steak, check out the restaurant's rack of lamb, free-range chicken, Kurobuta double-thick pork chops, slow-cooked baby back ribs or 10-oz beef burger with apple wood-smoked bacon, portobello mushrooms and Gruyere cheese.

Another recommendation is Shore Steak's slow-cooked, 42-degree ocean trout, which is remarkably soft and tender.

The stone-baked, two-flavor baguettes, served at the beginning of your meal, are not to be missed. Enjoy them with "offshore" appetizers such as Gillardeau French oysters, harissa-spiced jumbo lump crab cakes, seared scallops, confit of Scottish salmon and prawn cocktail.

There's also an "onshore" selection that includes steak tartare, carpaccio, chicken terrine, foie gras and Parma ham. Tasting platters are available for HK$198 ($25).

Downstairs, the original restaurant Shore features a gorgeous, underwater-themed bar and dance floor. It also has a spacious outdoor terrace, perfect for enjoying a cocktail or two before you slice into that rib-eye.

Lunch costs approximately HK$160-300 a person, while dinner is HK$280-650.

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.