Credit Crunch Lunch - Wongs

Mar 27 2009 by Richard McComb, Birmingham Post

Place: Wongs, 5-11 Fleet Street, Birmingham, B17 9QH . T: 0121 212 1888
Why go?: Veteran restaurateur Henry Wong was one of the first to bring Chinese cooking to Birmingham – and he remains a leading light.
Price: There are set menus but all of the individual dishes represent good value for money for such assured quality. Starters are £4-£7.80 (chicken yuk shung, for two). Good choice of seafood (soft shell crab, scallops in garlic sauce and mussels with black bean sauce). Frogs legs with chilli pepper (£5.80). Bargain soups from £3.50 (prawn won ton, crab meat and sweetcorn).

There’s a great but, thankfully, not bewildering selection of main courses, from £9. The menu changes every three months, allowing the chefs to experiment and work with the best new seasonal produce. Beef, lamb, duck, pork and chicken are all tackled with classic aplomb and speciality dishes included sizzling venison and ostrich, both served with ginger and spring onions or black bean sauce (£13.50).

The meal: I let my guest, Calamity Jayne, pick the venue, because she’s American and therefore tricky. I expected her to select a venue specialising in cattle, Thousand Island dressing and mint juleps. I was chuffed when she screamed with the enthusiasm of a virgin cheerleader: “Wongs! We simply must go to Wongs, Richard! I love Wongs! Don’t you? Don’t you love Wongs?”

Wongs it was. Mr W has had various culinary incarnations in the city. His much-loved Fleet Street restaurant, now his sole enterprise, has been going since 2004 and the restrained Oriental decor and food show no signs of tiredness. Far from it.

The food isn’t cutting-edge or new/retro/peasant/artisan (or whatever the latest fad is); it is comfortably traditional, cleanly executed, well presented and jolly tasty. Service is impeccably efficient and friendly.

Wongs must have one of the biggest dining spaces in the city – with a bijoux upstairs private dining room, to boot – yet Calamity and I were alone except for a gaggle of lawyers.

Now Calamity made a point of saying I should order just what I fancied, always a sure sign a dining companion has their gastric juices set on something. She said I should have duck with minced prawns, because I love prawns and she’s allergic.

Then she blurted out: “Barbecue spare ribs! We simply must have barbecue spare ribs, Richard! I love barbecue spare ribs! Don’t you? Don’t you love barbecue spare ribs?” That’s the problem with these Yanks – no discipline.

We had the spare ribs, not least because I do love them. Really. We also split a fine dish of crispy squid with chilli pepper, pepped up with a good splash Mâconnais blanc.

The Thai-style sea bass (£16), Calamity’s choice (obviously), was excellent, hot and spicy with great contrasts of sweet, soft meat and the occasional crispy crunch. Strong, confident cooking. The loin of pork with ginger and spring onion had a good sauce, solid lunchtime eating, start of the week comfort food with decent egg fried rice.

With a portion of lightly spicy Singapore stir-fried noodles and some wokked up green beans, all was right with Calamity and the world.

Bread watch: Don’t be crackers.

Verdict: * * * *  Wongs offers flavoursome, affordable food of a consistently high standard, in classy, relaxed surroundings. Efficient, friendly and discreet (unless a journalist is dining).