Bristolian foodies might be familiar with the name Wangs, or at least, their cute bowlman mascot
. Wangs is the brainchild of husband and wife team Sacha and Sandy. Sandy is from Hong Kong and romantically met Sacha in a food queue there back in 2013. They’ve been doing pop ups in the city for the last few years and now they have their own bricks and mortar place in the city!
They opened a few months ago and have quickly become a local favorite, serving an array of sharing and main course Chinese dishes inspired by regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sichuan, and Xinjiang. I was there with some of my blogger friends and we decided to just order a load of stuff between us.
So, what did we eat?
- Turnip cake with Chinese sausage and scallop roe XO sauce: The turnip cake was perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and the XO sauce added a fantastic umami punch.
- Hong Kong chilli wontons: Slathered in house-made chili oil and filled with pork and prawn, these were SO good.
- Sichuan aubergine: I love chinese braised aubergine and pork mince and this was reminiscent of that dish.
- Night market fried chicken: Crispy, juicy, and seasoned to perfection. I didn’ want to share.
- Donggu dumplings (with mushroom & Chinese leaf): Stunning. No feedback! LOL.
- Wangs house pickles: Fresh, tangy, and a perfect palate cleanser between the richer dishes. Whenever I see pickles on a menu, I always order them. These reminded me of the excellent pickles (and namesake) of the greatly missed Bristol pop up duo Tsukemono.
- Taiwanese beef noodles: The highlight of the meal for me. The broth was lightly spiced, aromatic, with the softest, most tender pieces of braised beef shin.
- Dan Dan noodles: Rich, savory, with a hint of peanut and chili—a comforting bowl of goodness.
Making room for drinks and desserts:
I also had a Sichuan spicy margarita that was out of this world. The cocktail had just the right amount of heat and zest, making it a perfect accompaniment to the bold flavors of our meal. I’d never tried a spicy marg before (although they’re all the rage on the American reality TV shows I secretly love to watch).
For dessert, I went for for the Hong Kong milk tea semifreddo. I don’t usually have a sweet tooth, but I adore HK milk tea so I really wanted to try it. The semifreddo captured the flavour perfectly. Add some Taiwanese brown sugar caramel and a hidden biscuit and you’ve got a perfect little pot of joy! 😃
Our overall experience
Everything aside from the noodle dishes came out sharing style, arriving at the table when it was ready, ensuring everything was hot and fresh. Highlights for me were definitely the turnip cake, HK chili wontons, and the beef noodles. Everything was delicious, though. The broth on the beef noodles was lightly spiced and so aromatic, with the softest, most tender pieces of braised beef shin. The chili wontons were slathered in house-made chili oil and filled with pork and prawn. I could easily have eaten the entire plate myself.
We even got the chance to chat with the owners, Sandy and Sacha, and learn a bit more about what goes into opening and running a restaurant. They’re doing an incredible job along with their head chef (she’s amazing, give her a follow on IG!!) and should be super proud of what they’ve created.
Our bill for three people with an alcoholic drink each was around £40 a head.
Find Wangs here: