Mr Wong is tucked away in Bridge Lane and is only a short stroll from Wynyard station. The restaurant's booking policy requires a minimum of 6 people for a group booking, so I booked for 6 a few days beforehand; however our party only consisted of 4 lovely ladies. We were nice and early for our 6:30pm booking and it wasn't busy just yet, so thankfully we were just led to a smaller table. Phew!
Upon walking inside, I was immediately impressed by the decor and ambience. It had a rustic but contemporary feeling - think bamboo and timber but concurrently classy. I also noticed how big the place is! There are two levels and the restaurant apparently seats 240 people.
Service was great and very friendly, with people greeting us from the door until we reached our table. We were also attended to by a great waiter who started off our dinner with a wonderful white wine recommendation.
We took a while deciding what to order, unsure if we should opt for the banquet option or not; or maybe it was because we were enjoying our wine too much? In the end we decided to order a la carte.
We started off with the steamed dim sum platter ($32) which consisted of that day's specialties and from memory, we had dumplings which contained scallop, veggies and prawn. They were fresh, soft and tasty. I definitely want to come back to try out the rest of their Dim Sum menu which sounds delicious but is only available at lunch. I've heard lunch at Mr Wong is one of, if not, the best fancy, yum cha on offer in Sydney.
We started off with the steamed dim sum platter ($32) which consisted of that day's specialties and from memory, we had dumplings which contained scallop, veggies and prawn. They were fresh, soft and tasty. I definitely want to come back to try out the rest of their Dim Sum menu which sounds delicious but is only available at lunch. I've heard lunch at Mr Wong is one of, if not, the best fancy, yum cha on offer in Sydney.
Scallops are one of my favourite foods and the scallop entree we ordered did not disappoint. Described in the menu as a 'sashimi of sea scallops, woodear mushrooms, lime and bonitio dressing' ($17), this dish was flavoursome and contrasting with its soft scallops, crunchy orange balls (not too sure what they were - they tasted like rice puffs?), and red caviar.
 |
| Credits to Tria |
The scallops main was just as good. Described as 'steamed scallops with ginger, shallot, XO sauce and silken tofu' ($33), this was my favourite dish of the night. The scallops were each sitting on a bed of really soft tofu, the sauce was delicious, and thinking about it now, the dish reminds me of Japanese agedashi tofu, which I love. Yum!
I'm a big fan of fried rice. Some might say that 'Mr Wong's special fried rice with pork and prawn ($18 small, $26 large) was just average, but to my taste buds, I reckon there was something in it that made it extra tasty. It wasn't oily either.
Wanting to try a noodle dish, we chose the 'Hong Kong style stir fried rice noodles with Wagyu beef, bean sprouts and garlic chives' ($18 small, $28 large). This dish was tasty but nothing special, and we agreed that it tasted like fancy pad see ew with bits of wagyu beef.
Compared to the pork belly that I'd had at Blackbird Cafe the day before (post to come later) wherein the skin was crispy but chewy and had a disgustingly thick layer of fat, Mr Wong's 'roasted five spice pork belly' ($26) was crispy and crunchy the way it should be, and only had a thin layer of fat. The pork belly meat was nice and tender, the spices added a nice taste, and the sauces were interesting, to say the least. In particular, the yellowish sauce, which we learned was spicy enough to clear your nasal cavity after Tria unknowingly dipped her pork belly generously into the sauce. It tasted like wasabi but I found that it worked well with the black sauce.
Dessert was a delicious affair with two deep fried ice creams with butterscotch sauce ($14), a green apple ice with yuzu sorbet, osmanthus jelly and water chestnuts ($14), and a mango pudding with passionfruit granita, fresh mango, pomelo and pearls ($14).
We were close to ordering three deep fried ice creams, and luckily we didn't because I wasn't a big fan. The crumbing was too fluffy and thick for my liking, although the rich butterscotch sauce was a redeeming factor.
We were close to ordering three deep fried ice creams, and luckily we didn't because I wasn't a big fan. The crumbing was too fluffy and thick for my liking, although the rich butterscotch sauce was a redeeming factor.
The green apple ice was a bit shocking at first because it was so sour, but once I got used to it, I was able to appreciate the freshness of the dish with its creamy sorbet, crispy apple bits, and refreshing apple ice. This was my favourite dessert.
The mango pudding was my second favourite dessert. The pudding was soft and creamy, the passionfruit granita added an element of freshness similar to the green apple ice dessert, and the exploding pearls were a nice refreshing touch.
Oh, and we pretended it was Kaye's birthday to see if we would get any freebies - we got a free candle.
I enjoyed my dining experience at Mr Wong and it was definitely a case of good food with good company. I wasn't blown away by the food but I'd definitely go back to take Josh (who was cut when I told him I'd be going without him) and also to give the highly acclaimed lunch menu a go.
No comments:
Post a Comment