WANGS 王 — Restaurant in Bristol

Tonight, I embarked on a Chinese culinary adventure at Wang’s, right in the heart of Montpelier in Bristol, and what an experience it was! Seated by with a view into the bustling kitchen, we watched culinary magic come to life.

We began with a non-alcoholic kumquat homemade lemonade, a citrusy delight that danced on the palate. So addictive that I had to order two. My partner’s lychee martini was equally enchanting. Our evening commenced with a parade of cold starters, the star being the smacked cucumbers on the pickles plate, delicately kissed with sesame.

Turnip cakes surprised us with a texture akin to white fish, a perfect harmony of flavour and form. The beef noodles comforted with their spicy embrace, while the wonton dumplings melted in the mouth. Though too full for dessert, our appetites were more than satisfied by the main event: poached chicken with rice, a dish elevated to perfection.

The beef noodles were truly a highlight, with the beef shin slow-cooked to perfection, so tender it melted in the mouth. This dish was a comforting embrace of flavours and textures, leaving a lasting impression.

The chef shared with us a few of her recipes, and when she described how she pickled the daikon, I truly felt I had met the new queen of Chinese cuisine in Bristol. I might be wrong, but I felt that I recognised some of the staff from the Ethicurian, which is now closed. I didn’t ask, but either way, it’s a young, talented, and refreshing team that delighted us throughout the evening.

Price-wise, it is very reasonable. We almost ordered everything on the menu (8 dishes, we were full after 6 dishes) for £80, including three cocktails, and didn’t have room for dessert.

I have seen some bad reviews and all I can say is that I can cook everything that is on the menu and I know what it takes. It is small plates of fresh cooked food and not frozen industrial dishes microwaved on demand. I admit that I was not really interested by the scallops and didn’t order it so I cannot comment on that. But what we ordered tonight was good and worth every penny. I also saw someone complaining about a flat asahi, I m not sure how a draft beer could come out flat.

The staff were attentive, and the atmosphere was a blend of casual sophistication. Wang’s isn’t your typical Chinese eatery; it’s a tasteful gastronomical place where tradition meets innovation. I can’t wait to return and explore more of the...

I really wanted to love Wang's, we'd been for the collab with Tomo No Ramen and enjoyed that experience. Perhaps there are some teething issues after their recent opening, but we had to wait 25 mins to be sat down at a table despite there being free tables when we arrived. And then after that, it took around 10-20 mins intervals for the dishes we ordered to arrive. Even the semifreddo took 20 mins to arrive and we had only ordered one (but they gave us two and at this point we didn't bother to correct them). Seems quite understaffed. And after initial apologies from staff about us not having a table to sit at (despite one being set up and free), we were pretty much left unacknowledged on that matter for the rest of the meal, I'd have at least expected the pickles to be offered on the house given we ended up paying a bill of £94 (one cocktail, one beer, six small dishes and two desserts).

Rant over on the experience.

The food was a little disappointing for me. Being a HK native, I was looking forward to some nostalgic flavours but some of the dishes felt like they pulled the punches. I appreciated the inclusion of fuyu which isn't usually commonly used in western restaurants, but felt like the sauce was a little runny to be fully appreciated on the broccoli. The highlight of the menu was the Taiwanese Beef Shin noodles which had the best flavour combo, broth and noodles were fantastic but with 4x pieces of daikon, 4x carrots and three pieces of beef shin, it felt a little meagre.

I had planned to come back next week to order the second half of the menu to sample more HK signature dishes (like the scallops, jellyfish and chicken and turnip cake), but now quite put off by the experience and also the price. (I know XO sauce is expensive but the size of the turnip cakes was half the size of the ones you can get at Wai Yee Hong which you can get for £6.50.)

Maybe I'll come back in future once things are running more smoothly but I won't be...

Arriving by self around 17:25 aiming for a quick dinner, ended up leaving around 18:30. Would have rated it a 1-star experience if the owners didn’t come by the end to express their concern and care.

The setup of nice decor and open kitchen, with an innovative & kinda reasonably priced menu, gave me high hopes for it. Sadly, everything is tapas portion - the £6 broccoli 🥦 comes with 5 pieces, £1 per piece!! The £7 scallop is 1 bite. The chicken 🍗 rice is 60% the size of a regular Asian restaurant. The cooking style is Asian Fusion, mainly based on southern China (Canton & HK) recipes, with a western twist.

My main issue with the experience, was the long turning time for solo patrons: 1-1.5 hrs make sense if I’m with my beloved or friends, sipping 🍷& chatting, but definitely too much if you’re by self sitting on the counter.

In respect to the owner’s explanations, I agree with most of it (3-weeks opening only, still trying to figure things out; aiming to provide best quality of food thus the price), but I don’t agree on 1 point:

I don’t think most cheap chinatown restaurants sacrifice food quality for reduced price, it’s simply a different business model catering for different costumer groups:

Quick table turn, more customers who pay less; Or Slower table turn, fewer customers who can pay more.

After the conversation with the owners, Sasha & 珊 (who is herself from HK), I don’t worry about the authenticity of its brand or food. But with the knowledge of the portion, serving speed, and price, I’ll probably only return for late evening snacks. (But with the kitchen closes at 10pm, this option is...