2* A Wong - Pimlico, London
What a lucky little cow I am. Bagging a table at the most in-demand Chinese Restaurant in London not even a month after post-lockdown reopening! I visited A Wong 4 years ago on my Birthday for their A la Carte. After receiving it’s second Michelin star, A Wong quickly catapulted to the top of my list, and I just had to book in for a revisit.
We were seated at one of the restaurant’s fur-covered seats at their brilliantly warm outdoor terrace with a glass of bubbly on arrival. Throughout the restricted outdoor dining period, A Wong are currently only offering their ‘Touches to the Heart’ menu, a 12-course Dimsum experience with a paired wine flight. I was very impressed by their Covid prevention measures, including distanced tables and hovering an LED germicidal lamp over each new plate placed on the table.
蝦餃 Clear shrimp dumpling, sweet chilli sauce, rice vinegar cloud, 燒賣 Pork and prawn dumpling, pork crackling
After some Nyetimber, the chilled ‘smacked’ cucumber with trout roe, chilli and garlic vinegar foretold the meal to come; deliciously delicate and it got the mouth watering for more. The starting platter of clear shrimp dumpling with sweet chilli sauce was topped with a rice vinegar cloud, paired with a pork and prawn dumpling with pork crackling. The classic dimsum flavours were there, but with another level of finesse. The vinegar added a spring depth to the plate.
The matching wine was a Maximin Riesling 2018; deliciously honeyed, working well with the dish.
上海小籠包 Shanghai steamed dumpling, ginger infused vinegar, 雲吞 Crispy won ton with sweet chilli jam
The Xiao Long Bao was fragrant and paired nicely with the little tapioca balls resting on top. The Wonton with garlic, chilli oil and soy poached yolk was very clever indeed; the elements shaved thinly and tasted divine when mixed together as instructed in the bowl.
带子腸粉 Isle of Mull seared scallop and honey glazed Iberico pork cheung fun
Isle of Mull seared scallop and honey glazed Iberico pork cheung fun was served sandwiched between two crisps, and reminded me rather of a Spanish sandwich, but with a Hongkie twist. When eaten with the blobs of chilli oil, the combination of Iberico pork and the scallop reminded me of Bakkwa I used to eat at home in Singapore as a kid. I love that stuff.
The duck rolls were silkily seductive in texture. Its filling was unexpectedly delightful – crunchy bits of roasted duck rolled with cucumber and caviar and a that meshed with the umami of the sauce.
兔肉咸水角 Rabbit and carrot glutinous puff
The rabbit and glutinous puff made me go "oooooh!" delightedly. Such an innovative and delicate dim sum dish, and I adored the presentation.
How appropriate, then, that one of the final offerings should boggle my mind so. A Wong’s famous duck yolk custard bun has the rare quality of being able to make me giggle; it tasted like euphoria in a dainty little bun! Salty sweet pine flavoured the sweet milk and if I was wanky enough to have closed my eyes while devouring on it I'd have imagined myself back in Hong Kong. I attacked the delicate handful with almost indecent relish, leaving no morsel on the plate.
流沙包 Steamed duck yolk custard bun
We finished our lunch with big grins plastered across our faces and vowing to come back for a blow-out dinner. We felt really well looked after; the service throughout the meal was exemplary, being just the right side of informal. Some places can make you feel like a second class citizen with choosing the standard wine flight rather than the prestige, but not at A Wong. The only downside if I had to be picky was that the service was a tad bit too quick, but understandable for our mandatory 2-hour dining window.
