THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Wong

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Wong Restaurant Review:

In this vibrant area of the West Village, chef Simpson Wong (formerly of Café Asean) is cooking what he calls “Asian locavore” cuisine that is simple and almost all family-style. The 45-seat space is set up with some communal dining plus two bars; some diners might get the feeling that they’re practically on top of one another. The atmosphere is fun, but it can get noisy. Puffy naan bread appears from the tiny open kitchen to kick off the meal. Small plates range from blowfish tails with herbed tartar sauce and spicy pear slaw to Hakka pork belly to scallops with crispy duck tongue, jellyfish and cucumber. From the larger plates, opt for the sweet and sour pork chop, rice noodles or the lobster egg foo yung served in a skillet with leeks, salted duck egg yolks and dried shrimp crumble. Judy Chen handles the sweet side of the menu, offering desserts such as local peach shortcake and --- for the more adventurous palates --- roast duck ice cream with star anise-poached plums, a five-spice cookie and sugar tuile. There are several local beers available by the bottle, as well as a couple signature cocktails and wine on tap supplied by the keg-wine company Gotham Project.