Ducks Unlimited at Wong NYC's New Spring/Summer Menu Preview

By: Finance Foodie

Now that I'm living in the City this summer (well hello again NYC - did you miss me?), it's time to start tackling my lengthy "New York Restaurants I've Been Wanting to Try" list. One dining establishment that I had the pleasure of crossing off my list last Friday night was Wong, a quaint 40-seat "Asian locavore" themed place in the West Village, which was recently opened last fall by chef/owner Simpson Wong (formerly of Cafe Asean). Let's just say, I had quite the duck filled evening...

Duck Buns

My dining companion and I started the night with an order of duck buns ($9.50). I though this was quite a clever deviation from the over-hyped pork belly buns that have become all the rage these days, as the duck was buttery and a great filling option for the soft toasted Chinese buns. We also tried the scallops ($16) served with crispy duck tongue, cucumber and jelly fish. The scallops were tender and their mild sweetness was a nice contrast to the bolder flavor of the tongue.

Scallops

For my main course, I tried the Lobster Egg Foo Young ($25.50), a dish consisting of salted duck egg yolks sauteed with lobster, leeks and dried shrimp crumble. I must admit, I was slightly nervous about ordering such an Americanized Chinese sounding dish. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the combination of salted duck eggs and the (very generous serving of) lobster. This was no Egg Foo Young at the $9.95 All You Can Eat Star Chinese Buffet- this was complex and unexpected flavors all the way.

Egg Foo Young

The entree portions were quite massive but I couldn't say no to the intriguingly named dessert, the Duck a la Plum. This trio of roasted duck ice cream, five spice cookie and plum sake was a culinary trip for the tastebuds. I especially liked the duck ice cream - its salty sweetness was intoxicating and very interestingly tasty.

Duck Ice Cream

The only thing that slightly bothered me about the place was that the resto was really dark and only lit with candles, so it was slightly difficult to see what I was actually eating. Maybe that was part of the ambiance, as there were many couples in the surrounding tables that night, but it always makes me nervous when I can't see my food clearly (without the aid of a camera flash). Other than that, it's so right to be Wong - and I'm totally hooked.

Wong

No. 7 Cornelia Street
New York NY 10014
(212) 989-3399
wongnewyork.com