Mr. Wong, Syndey

Sigh.

Another busy business trip, filled with meetings, jetlag, and of course, dining.  As often happens during these trips, I take photos while dining out, I take copious notes, but, I am unable to write up my posts immediately after because, well, I AM there for work after all.  Time elapses, I return home, I go to write my post and ... the notes were displaced along the way, and memories jumbled from a slew of rapid succession dining extravaganzas.

Which leads to the story of Mr. Wong, a modern Chinese restaurant in Sydney.  Mr. Wong had been on my list for ages, known for higher end Chinese cuisine, and a part of the well known Merivale restaurant group.  It is the product of Executive Chef Dan Wong, who I was quite familiar with from some *fabulous* trips to another of his restaurants, Ms. G's.  The entire menu sounded fabulous to me, full of seafood, plus an incredible lunch only dim sum line up, and very well known peking duck operation.

Feast!

I was happy to secure a reservation for our group of 7 one evening, for dinner.  We had everything family-style, so were able to try a large variety of the menu.

I remember liking the meal, and adding to my notes that I'd be happy to return, but wouldn't go out of my way for it.  Unfortunately, I lost all my notes, but, amusingly, DID write up the dessert section that night.  So, here you have mostly a picture review, along with full dessert review.  #priorities.

Our visit was in March 2019, but literally every single one of the dishes (besides a slight seasonal variation in one dessert) is still on the menu.  Clearly, these dishes sell well!

Setting

Mr. Wong is located right in the CBD, part of the Establishment.

Which way?

To get to the Mr. Wong entrance though, you go down a bit of a side street, following the perhaps not-so-easy to spot marking on the stone.

Side alley.

But once you find the entrance, you are greeted with anything but quaint!  

Seating.

The venue occupies several stories, seating nearly 250 people.   This area was mostly for smaller groups.

Bar,

They have seating for groups of all sizes, plus private areas and a bar.

More Seating.

Like I said, sooo much seating, many different styles.

Carnage.

If you are shy of seeing carcasses, you might want to avoid Mr. Wong.  The duck program is on full display.

Roasting.

They roast, and serve, a LOT of duck every day.

Open Kitchen.

I think there are several kitchen areas, but this one was open, and a constant flurry of activity.  

Wine Wall.

The stairwell has an epic wine wall along it.

Bathrooms.

Bathroom stalls even had some charm.

Drinks

The cocktail program, like most Merivale establishments, is worth a look, or really, a taste.  We all started with cocktails, and most of us continued with a second cocktail, rather than shifting to wine, as the meal evolved, as there were so many interesting sounding drinks to try.

#10. $20.

"Don Julio Reposado, Olmeca Reposado & Del Maguey Vida stirred down with 5 spice agave & rosemary salt."

Was the rosemary annoying to drink around?  Yup.  But, style points?

#1. $20.

"Hibiscus infused Antica Formula, Aperol, Camppari & kaffir lime infused Beefeater gin, stirred down over block ice."

De Bortoli 'Noble One' Botrytis Semillon.

This was to pair with the fabulous desserts.

Cuisine

We ordered family style for our group of 7, but most dishes seemed best suited for about 4 people to share.  Since our visit was at dinner, no dim sum was available (that is lunch only), but we hit most of the menu categories, skipping only the pippies (available in sooo many styles), and the mud crab (also available sooo many ways).

 Vegetarian Salad.$15.

"Cucumber, fennel, wakame, celery, pickled ginger, wood ear, enoki."

First up, a light offering, from the "Salads, Cold Cuts, Appetizers" section of the menu.  I remember liking this.

Peking Duck (Whole). $98.

We *obviously* had to get the peking duck, also from the "Salads, Cold Cuts, Appetizers" section.  It came with the classic accompaniments, and everyone was pleased with how well prepared it was, which, at some level, was to be expected. 

16 Pancakes.

I remember particularly liking the pancakes. 

King Crab Fried Rice. $36.

"Typhoon shelter style" with garlic & chilli."

I don't normally go for rice, but, the King Crab fried rice, typhoon shelter style, from the "Rice & Noodles" section clearly jumped out, as I am a crab lover.  It came covered in crispy bits, which most certainly pleased me.

Honey glazed Kurobuta “char siu” pork. $36.

Next we moved into the "Meats" section.  I remember being impressed with the char on this, and the depth to the light sauce.

Steamed Hokkaido scallops. $42.

"White soy, XO sauce and brown butter."

The "Seafood" section is where my real interests were, starting with the simple steamed scallops, as I love scallops.  Speaking of memorable sauces, brown butter with XO sauce most certainly was that as well.  The scallops were good, but, made me realize I certainly prefer a seared scallop.

Crispy fried Balmain Bugs. $42.

"With spicy salt."

What is a meal in Sydney if it doesn't include balmain bugs?  This was a first for everyone in the group besides myself.

Mr. Wong’s deep fried vanilla ice cream. $20.

"With butterscotch sauce."

And then it was time for dessert, always a highlight for me.  We went all-in.

I ordered this one to be the crowd pleaser.  I know it is the top selling dessert at Mr. Wong.  It is the one most seen on Instagram.  It is the one our server suggested.  I figured if the other desserts were too conceptualized for the others, at least this one would please people.

It also made me realize that I don't think I've ever had deep fried ice cream before.  Yeah, really.  At least, I don't have memory of ever having it before.  It always seems a bit boring to me, even though I do love ice cream (as a component to a full featured dessert, generally).

Anyway, it was interesting, and basically comfort food.  Fried goodness, ice cream, and sweetness.  What more do you need?

The shell was fried, like fried dough at the state fair, or a fresh donut.  Pretty good fried dough, if you are craving that sort of thing.  Greasy in the right ways.

Inside was just vanilla ice cream.  No more, no less.  Not particularly creamy, not particularly intense vanilla, just, vanilla ice cream. 

The butterscotch sauce however was delicious, rich, buttery, sweet.  I enjoyed it.

So overall, a fine dessert, a crowd pleaser as I intended, and basic comfort food.  My least favorite, but I'd be happy to have some again.

***+.

Mango Pudding. $19.

"With coconut tapioca, lychee granita & mango pearls."

Next up we had something else entirely: mango pudding, a more elaborate dish, far more elements coming into play.

This is the dessert I had my eyes on.  I like everything included in the description: mango, pudding, coconut, tapioca, lychee, pearls ... it sounded like just my thing.

And it was good.  The mango pudding was a round gelatinous style pudding, fruity enough, but not actually a texture I was excited for, as I prefer a creamier American style comfort food pudding, or something with bits of texture in it.  Still, it was fine for what it was.

The lychee granita was also fine, just sweet ice, but, it was good, and nice to have an icy cold element.  It was not too sweet.

But what really elevated this dish were the components on the side: the coconut tapioca (perfectly creamy, lovely coconut flavor), the fresh bits of mango (so ripe, juicy, in season), and the mango pearls (sweet popping joy!).  I honestly would have just loved a big bowl of this coconut tapioca, topped with fresh mango and boba.  ZOMG.

My favorite dessert overall because I enjoyed the sides so much, and I did appreciate that it was a nicely composed full dish with the mango pudding and granita, those elements just weren't particularly amazing.

****.

Buttermilk Parfait. $17.

"With strawberry, macadamia and meringue."

And finally, arguably the most elaborate of the desserts.  I really appreciated how each one highlighted a different skill of the pastry kitchen.

This dessert was a pleasant surprise.  I'll admit that I selected it mostly just to have a third option, and since I didn't want the green tea or chocolate based desserts due to the caffeine, left this as the only option.

I think most of us were pleased with it, and had very little expectation going in.

At the base was the buttermilk component, the least interesting part actually, a frozen ice milk like element, and I didn't taste much buttermilk.

But everything else was really delicious, and amazing textures.  I adored the crunchy macadamia.  The meringue tubes were crispy and sweet, and totally not a throwaway ingredients as meringue often is for me.  And the strawberry?  That was freeze dried strawberry!  So much texture in these toppings, and really great flavor.

I really enjoyed the toppings on this, my second choice dessert, but only barely losing out to the previous one.

****.