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“Wong”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	West Village	Moderate	Great

er a blanket of stars. He serves a stack of warm homemade naan, the shape of buttermilk pancakes, on a pretty tray with a peanut curry dipping sauce and a bouquet of mint leaves in the tiniest of vases. It’s remarkable gesture that starts the meal off so sweetly.

The food continues, for the most part, to reward. The duck bun ($9) is quite nice. It’s prepared in the style of your classic char siu bao (barbecued pork bun), but instead it’s stuffed with a confident quack not a squealy oink. The duck gets topped of with cool refreshing slices of cucumber, pickle, and layered with Chinese Celery for the right amount of zip and zing. But I’ll add that the bun itself is remarkable: round and pillowy but the color of a yeasty biscuit not a piece of white bread, and it’s touched with a slight sweetness that makes it seem like it would be right at home on the breakfast table slathered with butter and jam or stuffed with fried eggs, and slabs of smoky bacon.

While the Times’ Pete Wells went nuts for the scallops and crispy duck tongue meatballs with cucumber and jellyfish ($15), I’d agree and disagree. Yes, I loved the scallops, cooked impossibly well so they’re plump, caramelized and sweet, and I enjoyed those wacky and wonderful crunchy on the outside, quacky on the inside duck tongue meatballs. My problem was that I had no idea why the two were on the same plate. There was no unity to the dish, and no connection between the two components. I think each would fare better if given their own star turn. Perhaps those duck tongue meatballs would work as a sandwich, tucked into some naan with a curry paste like some wicked tricked out falafel? And those scallops, so perfect, could be served just with slivers of jellyfish and cucumber on their own, not losing the spotlight to the tongues.

I have no complaints about the shrimp fritters though. These are huge, the size of peaches, loaded up with shrimp and fried in a wonderfully fluffy, light and airy wheat-flour batter that also contains shreds of sweet potato and jicama, along with garlic chives. It crisps up so there’s no grease, nothing soggy, just a lot of crunch followed up by sweet shrimp. The fritters come in a big white bowl the size of a nun’s habit, with bits of ham, noodles, Asian pear, and sunflower sprouts ... [more, click below]

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Posted: January 22, 2012

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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