Could Victoria be the next part of London to get a foodie makeover? It now has two restaurants of interest - Tozi which will open on Gillingham Street in March and Wilton Road eaterie A. Wong which got three stars from Fay in the Standard two weeks ago.
We caught up with A Wong's owner, Andrew Wong, to find out a little more about the place Fay dubbed a bar-raiser for the area. He took over the restaurant following the death of his father who ran it previously.
"The place was reopened in December last year," Wong told us. "The entire menu was rethought out and the interior was redone."
On the food front he explained; "Our cuisine currently is about 'Chinese' cuisine from the whole of China, whether [that's] our take on dim sum at lunch time, or our Sichuanese Gong Bao chicken with peanut foam for dinner."
That lunchtime dim sum is what has a lot of people excited - as you can order it one piece at a time - whether it's clear shrimp dumpling, shellfish chilli sauce (£1.30) or wind dried sausage and dried shrimp daikon cake £1.50).
"It's about finding original recipes from all over China and bringing them back to the restaurant table. This concept is brought together in our eight course tasting menu where each course is a celebration of a particular region of China. [We're] taking guests on a journey throughout the menu."
So what are his ambitions for the place? "Offering authentic recipes, giving them our spin, but most importantly giving diners top quality food at a reasonable price. A lot of work has gone into our food concept and the sourcing of ingredients. Our concept for the restaurant is modelled along the lines of a 'tapasesque' form of dining, sitting at a bar, eating good food but doing this all in an environment that is not stuffy or pretentious. Guests can look into the kitchen, speak to the chefs, and watch them prepare each dish."
A.Wong is at 70 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE. To book call 0207 828 8931 and follow them on Twitter @awongSW1
Picture by Kaleem Hyder at Point Perspective Studios.
