Out for a duck

Egg foo young, moo-shu pork, kung pao chicken … these were the Chinese-American dishes that fascinated me in my 20s when I read about them in books or heard them mentioned on sitcoms.

And then there were those cool cardboard boxes with the wire handles that Chinese-American takeaway came in. Common now, but so exotic to me way back then.

When Husband and I travelled to Los Angeles, the first thing I ordered was Chinese takeout. And I fell in love with kung pao chicken, a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts, capsicum, and chilli.

So when I spotted it on the menu at Mr Wong on Sunday night it was a no-brainer to order. But a mistake …

Sorry, I’ve started halfway through the story. Let me rewind …

Every Christmas my sister gives Husband and I a gift voucher to a restaurant, with free babysitting for the night. Cool present, huh? This year the venue was Mr Wong.

Everyone from punters to reviewers rave about the place. Gourmet Traveller says: “Much of what makes Mr Wong so likeable stems from its grandiosity, the sweep of its vision, and the richness of its realisation.”

But the voucher got lost in the drama of the separation. It resurfaced during last week’s clean-up operation and I asked my sister if she’d like to partake of her Christmas gift instead of the dearly departed Husband.

Would she ever?

We took along her boyfriend, who kindly procured two glasses of Chandon for us at Establishment while we waited for line-up time at Mr Wong. The restaurant doesn’t take bookings, so the queueing starts around 5pm for the 5.30pm opening.

There were already about 20 people milling around when we arrived, then a bloke wearing hilariously over-the-top red sneakers rounded the corner.

I was thinking “tosser” when my sister and her boyfriend hissed that it was Timomatic.

Mind you, I’m a fine one to talk since I was wearing these …

Now, in theory I know who Timomatic is. He won some talent show didn’t he? (Google tells me he rose to fame on So You Think You Can Dance and also appeared as a contestant on Australia’s Got Talent.)

But in reality I wouldn’t know him if I fell over him.

Still, I helped my sister make it look like he did some awesome photobombing …

 

Back to the food … we ordered shanghai noodles with crab, roast duck (mmmm, roast duck, oh how I love you!), bok choy with chilli and garlic, salt and pepper balmain bugs and kung pao chicken.

All totally delicious … except for the kung pao chicken, which was a profound disappointment. So much so that we left half of it. The chilli was way too over-powering, and that’s coming from someone who likes her spice.

The venue itself was incredible, so atmospheric and buzzy.

Mr Wong isn’t cheap, even with a substantial gift voucher. But it’s yum. Totally worth a visit. Just don’t order the kung pao.

Thanks sis!

Song of the day (inspired by how the kung pao chicken made me feel): INXS “Burn for you”