Andrew Wong’s restaurant in London’s Wilton Road has been described by Jay Rayner as a relaxed space in which to enjoy serious food. And it has established itself as one of London Branch’s favourites.
Andrew spent several years touring China and studying its various regional cuisines before setting up here, and the result is something quite unique, away from the more regimented regimes of Chinatown. Chairman Jeffrey Benson discovered it for London Branch, and arranged a quite incredible Dim Sum lunch here in 2016. This year it was unanimously decided that we should return here to present the Society’s Restaurant Award, and this duly took place on 17th May 2017.
This time we came for dinner, and opted for the 8 course tasting menu. After a welcoming glass of Prosecco, we settled down for a beef scallop salad from the Zhou Dynasty, with an egg waffle and wasabi. This was followed by a duo of Andrew’s delectable Dim Sum marvels, and then Chengdu Street Tofu, with soy chilli, peanuts and preserved vegetables.
Next came the Shanghai steamed dumplings, with ginger infused vinegar, and then a Shaanxi pulled lamb ‘burger’ with Xinjiang pomegranate salad, in an extraordinary ‘bun’ quite unlike anything we had ever seen, or tasted, before. This was followed by Yunnan steamed beef with mint, chilli and lemongrass, served with a pulled noodle cracker and truffle. The final main course was Sichuanese aubergine, with gong bad chicken, roasted peanuts and ‘hot pot’ essence.
But the pièce de resistance was the dessert: a poached meringue, with lychee granite, mango puree and orange sorbet, all beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.
Jeffrey Benson presented the Society’s Restaurant award to chef proprietor Andrew Wong, with thanks for yet another memorable meal.