Mr. Wong

Australia Day Monday. How to celebrate? With Chinese food obviously!

It happens to be pissing down with rain thanks to the remnants of cyclone Oswald, so it is the perfect day to be inside with good food and nice cocktails. Unfortunately everyone else wandering around Sydney seems to have the same idea. Luckily my forward-thinking mother booked us the best table in the house (I’m not telling you which one) in advance, so we are quickly whisked from the wet doorway to our cosy nook.

Those of you who are fans of the Merivale group will know that Mr. Wong has replaced the former nightclub Tank, but the last thing this place feels like is a converted bar. There are thick wooden beams, dark green tiles, 1920’s light fittings and an eclectic mixture of wooden furniture, both modern and colonial. A healthy bustle fills the space, which takes up two floors. Only the upper floor is open for lunch service, and the space is full. At the far right end there is a kitchen replete with a few benches for customers who enjoy watching the carnage in the kitchen, and large glass case full of BBQ chicken, pork and pecking duck. Quite a display! In the middle is the dumpling kitchen, and round the corner to the left is a beautifully stocked cocktail bar.

The menu is styled much like the one at your local Chinese; dumplings and raw dishes are listed first and subsequent dishes are categorised either by meat or noodles and rice. There are even banquet menus ranging from $68 to $148. The selection of dishes is comprehensive enough to cover all your favourites (including sweet and sour pork), but not so large you get lost. Even if you do flounder a bit the crisply-dressed staff are extremely helpful. We start with a selection of dumplings, which are apparently designed by a master dumpling chef from London of all places! The lobster mei si roll is crisp and contains a surprise vein of cheese and a slither of fragrant greens; beautifully balanced. The Xiao Long Bao, or ‘soup’ dumplings are just perfection. The translucent asparagus and scallop dumplings with XO sauce are equally satisfying. Looks like the head-hunting for an kick-arse dumpling chef paid off.

Now all of you know how big a fan I am of the steak tartare at Ms. G’s, so when I saw the Sichuan spiced steak tartare on Mr. Wong’s menu you know I had to give it a try. The floral Sichuan pepper and garlic marry well with the rich red meat. It is a very satisfying interpretation. We also order the five spice slow roast belly pork with Hoi Sin. It is tender with perfectly rendered fat, and the lovely crispy spiced skin is satisfying to bite through. We also order the stir-fried rice noodles with Wagyu beef, bean sprouts and garlic chives. This dish is possibly the only one I wouldn’t bother ordering again. This sweet dish is missing any depth. It could do with either some acid or spice to lift it.

I am so, so in love. Thank you Merivale group. You have your critics, but I am not one of them.  

3 Bridge Lane

Sydney NSW 2000

http://merivale.com.au/mrwong

Sushi E

We in Sydney do love our sushi. Oh yes indeed we do. And while there are many nice places in Sydney to enjoy a chunk of raw fish (mainly in train format) there is only one place that captures some of the essence of a Tokyo sushi restaurant, Sushi E.   

The Establishment building on George St. is mostly known for its namesake bar on the ground floor (P.S. do not go here on salsa night unless already accompanied by a man, seriously), but if you venture to the 4^th floor and manage to resist the charms of Hemmesphere you will find arguably the best sushi restaurant in Australia. You are guided to a hushed space, humming with light chatter and sleekly dressed staff. There are about 40 seats, half of which are dotted around the waist-high, central kitchen. Classically trained Japanese sushi Chefs reverently slice fish to order overlooked by their well-heeled clientele.

While the almost religious mood of sushi dining has been maintained at Sushi E, the menu has been tweaked to include many non-sushi options as directed by Chef Ura-san. We start with two Sydney rock oysters, one natural, one steamed. The natural oyster comes with salmon roe, cucumber and ponzu, a lovely refreshing combination. The second oyster is delicately poached, retaining the creamy texture you expect of an oyster accompanied by soy, mirin, shallot and peanut oil. This is followed by snapper sashimi dressed with white soy and sesame. It is by far my favourite dish. Every component lifts the next, with the slightly smoky sesame balancing the sweet flesh of the snapper, and the salty soy rounding the dish off. The prawn shumai are silky little pillows that melt in your mouth. A truly stunning sashimi platter comes with tuna, salmon, kingfish and bonito. Save the bonito for last; it’s intense flavour is a pretty unique sashimi experience (in a good way). Seared scallops coated with spicy mayo and chilli are quickly devoured, as is the scampi nigiri sushi.

The cocktails up here are excellent. I recommend the Ume royal, a Japanese take on the Kir royal. A bitters soaked sugar cube, sake and Chandon. The rest of the meal is accompanied by cold sake, akishika shuzo, a lovely dry sake that goes beautifully with the meal.

If you do find yourself in need of a really good sushi fix, this is your place. Nab a spot at the bar if you can, it is the best spot to watch the chefs work their magic and do a little people watching for night time entertainment.

Level 4, Establishment

252 George St, Sydney 2000

http://merivale.com.au/sushie

Momofuku Seiṑbo

So Momofuku Seiṑbo. The super-hyped, New York import that has Sydney siders harping away at Melbournites. David Chang blah blah, lucky peach blah blah, you can read that shite anywhere. I’m going to tell you about the food…

Going out for dinner is a ritual engrained in many cultures, each with their own variations, but for the most part it has a fairly predictable natural progression. The courses get richer as the meal progresses, alike dishes will all be plated in exactly the same manner and desert is the final course. Not so at Momofuku Seiobo. The team at this place do what they want, when they want, how they want, and now it is exactly what I want. This place has selected which rules they want to follow and have discarded the rest. There are no white table cloths, the dishes are served by the chefs, music circulates through rock’n’roll to chilled Radiohead to hip-hop, you do not know what you will be eating that evening until it lands on your table and you get to use your hands! I think the one change that shocked me most (and this is lame of me) is that the still and sparkling water are both filtered tap water, so you don’t have to pay shitloads to stay hydrated if you like some fizz. Sounds like utter chaos eh? Reality is they know what they are doing and invite you along to discover a new form of dining. One where all pretence is removed. Instead it is about the flavours and textures, and those hard working geniuses in the kitchen putting it all together for you.

Momofuku Seiṑbo is snuggled away behind closely-spaced dark beams opposite the glare of Adriano Zumbo’s patisserie at The Star; only a large silver peach indicates that there is something inside. The dining room is dark woods and deep blue, with a small spotlight over each table making the setting intimate. You must pre-book. The system is not difficult to navigate if you are organised, so quit whingeing about it. Once your bum is on a seat the food starts arriving. Now the menu here varies, with one or two dishes changing on a daily basis as ingredients are fresh, or new ideas arise. You should trust these guys.

All up there were 14 courses. And there is no way I am going to describe all of them to you. We started with smoked eel brandad, with apple gel. The crisp pastry hides salty, smoky mash cut through with the bitter sweet tang of green apple. Best part; you eat it with your fingers. Yes next up was a pork bun. These are world famous. This is what people line up for. And guess what? At Momofuku Seiṑbo they sell them per piece at the bar, so you can have a dinner consisting solely of buns. And booze. Next; striped trumpeter with celery and mustard oil (chopsticks for this one). The celery enhances the freshness of the dish, and the mustard oil provides the richness and tang the lifts the dish from being regular sashimi to something else. The most interesting dish was the wagyu beef with radish, black bean and watermelon. The beef is diced finely with watermelon, coated in blackbean and then hidden under finely shaved radish. The watermelon and astringent fresh radish cut through the black bean and beef creating a dish that takes a couple of mouthfuls for the flavour combination to get rolling, but once it does there is this wonderful whole-mouth feel to the dish (oh dear that sounds dirty).

I think my favourite dish was the ham congee with donuts and yolk, but then I am a huge fan of salt. A beautiful dollop of soft, briny rice porridge contrasts with the crisp little fried balls of savoury dough, coated with a thin egg yolk film. Just enough of each to get the perfect amount in each mouthful. I could eat this dish forever. Marron with broccoli and lemon was probably the most conventional dish served, and would have been at home in any of Sydney’s top restaurants. Squab with caramelised lettuce and pear comes as a breast and a leg (foot still attached – love it!). The breast is medium rare and a little on the tough side but the leg is fall-apart tender. The pear matches nicely and the ‘cooked’ lettuce provides the fresh flavours the dish needs to cut through all the richness.

Dessert is roasted pineapple with yogurt wafers, and vinaigrette sorbet. Yeah, vinaigrette sorbet. Oh man, so good. We all sat there for a long one trying to guess that one! The sorbet matches the slight bitter tang of the pineapple, rather than trying to smother it. The caramelisation of the pineapple the sweetness of the yogurt wafer round the dish out and prevent it being too punchy. Now for the final course, more a ‘petit fours’ according to the staff, a dish of 8 hour slow roasted, caramelised pork shoulder. Meat? After desert? Oh yes. And this pork is good! I don’t care when you serve it, I just want it. It is to be eaten with the hands. Get messy. 

Drinks wise there is the pairing (if you can handle 14 glasses), but there is also a fruitjuice degustation for teetotallers. I went with Pinot Noir from Bordeaux, forget the name. The wine selection is long enough to satisfy curiosity, but short enough not to get lost in.

This restaurant is not for everyone. If you are after the classic opulent special-occasion dinner where you can get a steak and potatoes this place is not for you. However if you want to explore food the likes of which you have never experienced before get yourself to a computer.