Wong

7 Cornelia St., Greenwich Village, NY

7.4

map & more

Neighborhood
Greenwich Village

Cuisine
Pan-Asian

Nearby
Blue Note
Le Poisson Rouge

212-989-3399

Official Website

By Chris Stang
January 9, 2012

We’re not big fans of the word “Pan-Asian.” I suppose it evokes visions of a Saturday Night meal at a PF Chang’s somewhere in Northern Virginia. Even worse is when the word “fusion” is added and used to describe a restaurant’s cuisine – a sure fire indication that the place not only sucks, but probably also has a fog machine. Anything to distract you from that spicy cheeseburger pot sticker that you just ate with a fork.

You’ll understand then, why we were a bit skeptical about Wong, a Locavore (more adjectives) Pan-Asian restaurant that opened last fall – especially once we saw that there were pizzas on the menu. That’s exactly the kind of thing that we’d like to avoid.

Despite our reservations, we have some good news to report from Wong. This place has a handful of dishes that are straight up incredible, including a street food inspired shrimp fritter that will make you want to fly to wherever in Pan-Asia it was created and high five people. The restaurant itself is not what you would expect either – no fog machines, and no lounge music. It looks way more like the Fat Radish than it does Tao. Throw in some good service and an excellent playlist of classic rock jams, and you’ve got a pretty solid restaurant on your hands. But there’s just one problem. The few excellent dishes on the menu are counterbalanced by a whole bunch of underwhelming ones. You’ll go from flying high after the Lobster Egg Foo Young to crashing hard on the pork plate in a matter of just minutes. That’s what separates this from a restaurant like Kin Shop. Maybe Asian inspiration is better executed when it’s more focused. Or maybe Wong just needs to step it up a little bit.

Food Rundown:

Shrimp Fritters
Wanna know how to have a perfect meal at Wong? Eat nothing but shrimp fritters. These delicious things come in a giant bowl atop some rice noodles, and are drenched in an insanely good fish sauce before your eyes. Nervous about the idea of fish sauce? Don’t be. It’s what Asian food dreams are made of. Also, you should get out more.

Spinach, Frisee & Mushroom Salad
We ordered this. I’m not sure why. It’s a fine salad, but you aren’t coming here to eat salad. Save the ten bucks for something else on the menu.

Scallops with Crispy Duck Tongue, Cucumber, Jellyfish
Neither the duck tongue meatball nor the jellyfish could save this scallop from being one boring dish. The meatball has a slightly unsettling texture. Also, we were kind of hoping the jellyfish would be some 10,000 Leagues Under The Sea looking thing with big eyes and a sailor hat or something. It wasn’t, and it didn’t taste like much either.

Duck Buns
The ubiquitous pork bun is getting tired, so now we move to duck buns. It makes sense here since Wong uses duck like the Native Americans used buffalo. There’s cooked duck parts all over this menu. The buns that surround the duck here have a pancake like sweetness, which works nicely. If that sounds like your thing, order away. We liked them, but we’ll take a pork bun in it’s place any day of the week.

Point Lookout Fluke Sashimi with Fennel, Radish, Dried Scallop Vinaigrette
These little pieces of fluke are fresh and pleasant, but they lacked the wow factor that we were hoping for. Save this order for a sushi restaurant.

Cha Ca La Wong Noodles
It’s fun to say, and it’s even more fun to eat. This bowl of rice noodles comes tossed with tumeric and dill. You are then presented with a plate of perfectly cooked hake fish, and some more of that fish sauce from the heavens. Mix to your liking and take it to the house. We loved this.

Lobster Egg Foo Young
An emerging star on this young Wong menu, it’s an interesting take on an old school dish. Basically, it’s just a few pieces of perfectly cooked lobster atop two eggs, but it’s then topped with a spicy chili tomato sauce and some dried shrimp. It’s really delicious, though it felt to us like more of a brunch dish. Either way, you should order it and decide for yourself.

North Carolia Wreckfish
This was a tasty plate of white fish with some kale and coconut kaffir sauce, but what was more interesting was the 45 minute discussion we had about the term “catchin’ wreck” because if it. Google that if you need to.

Eco-Friendly Farm Pork Plate: Chop, Rib, Meatball, Brussels Sprouts, Sweet & Sour Sauce
we aren’t exactly sure what makes this pork plate “Eco-friendly” but it doesn’t taste good. The only thing that impressed us on the plate was the big meatball, but come on. It’s a meatball. Of course that’s gonna be good. The rest of it was dry and lifeless.