A.Wong in London

September 19 2016

AS THERE ARE hundreds of GREAT RESTAURANTS IN LONDON, WE DIDN'T even KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN TO LOOK FOR a restaurant.  THE OTHER DAY AT THE BOOKSTORE WE quickly glanced THROUGH A BOOK WHICH LISTED THE TOP RESTAURANTS IN london and WE STUMBLED UPON ONE NAMED A WONG. IT GOT pretty good RATINGS AND HAD OUR LAST NAME, so MAYBE WE COULD even BE RELATED TO THE CHEF ;)

Appetizers included 63 degree ‘tea egg’ with shredded filo (茶叶蛋), very tasty as the eggs were cooked perfectly and then the crunchiness of the filo added a nice texture. next was CRISPY DUCK: MRS. CHOW’S PANCAKES AND PLUM SAUCE (香酥脫骨鴨) which was their version of peking duck. nothing compares to the real beijing kaoya but this was still delicious and a very interesting idea to use a small brush to paint the sauce onto the pancake.

next dishes were Dong Po slow braised Blyth burgh pork belly(东坡肉), Sichuanese aubergines(四川香辣手撕茄子), Clay pot braised daikon in lotus leaf, lardo and XO oil(荷葉一品煲), and Chicken wings stuffed with prawns and black bean sauce( 金风夾白肉).  all were quite tasty but if you compare it with similar dishes in china, then i think some dishes are lacking either in flavor or creativity.  the pork belly was good but needed a little more richness to it, the sichuan aubergines were tasty but nothing really memorable, the chicken wings were good but the portion size was a bit too small. however my favorite was the braised daikon, lots of flavor, a famaliar taste but with a bit of a twist.

DESSERT INCLUDEd COCONUT, WHITE CHOCOLATE, STRAWBERRIES, YOGHURT AND MOCHI (椰香乳酪果凍) and TEA SMOKED BANANA, NUT CRUMBLE, PINEAPPLE, CHOCOLATE AND CARAMEL (朱古力焦糖球).  the chinese are not known for their desserts and unfortunately this also confirms it.  the desserts here are not great, i would definitely skip them unless you really have a sweet tooth.  the petit four of mahjong tiles were a very clever idea however the execution wasn't quite there.  the flavors didn't work and it tasted a bit old.

in all it was a good experience to see and taste food from a chinese restaurant who is trying to put a spin on classical chinese dishes. but maybe i came in with the wrong mindset as i was expecting that some of the dishes would taste as they would in china but maybe that was not the intension of the restaurant. i would recommend it for anyone who wants to try a bit of an upscale chinese restaurant with a bit of a twist. 

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A.Wong

70 Wilton Rd, Pimlico, London SW1V 1DE, UK

http://awong.co.uk/