Chef of the Year 2017 Andrew Wong Names His Next Restaurant

Eater London’s chef of the year, Andrew Wong has confirmed that the name of his second restaurant will be Kym’s and it will open in September of this year in the City’s Bloomberg Arcade. The precise date is yet to be confirmed.

The restaurant was first rumoured to be entering the Bloomberg Arcade almost a year ago — before being confirmed in October last year. It had been thought the restaurant would be called Madame Wong, but there had been some disagreements between the chef and branding agencies over the name.

The new, two-floor 120-cover site at Bloomberg’s new European headquarters in the City of London, is significantly larger than A. Wong. Where that restaurant serves dim sum in the style of modern Chinese, Kym’s will be “a modern premium casual Chinese restaurant with a relaxed and comfortable interior.”

Wong said: “My food has always been about the journey: the history of China and the cultures of its gastronomic regions. Kym’s will be no different really but this time it’s about my community and my own journey. The name is actually something very personal to me and my family.”

Kym’s was the name of the chef’s parents’ restaurant in Pimlico (which opened in 1985) and where the family worked for 27 years; it is where Wong himself spent his childhood. Together with his wife Nathalie, Wong reopened that restaurant as A.Wong in 2012. Last year it was awarded its first Michelin star.

The food at Kym’s will centre around dishes based around Wong’s “interpretation of classic Chinese dishes,” where he will also call on “select craftsmen from Soho’s Chinatown, championing their specialist creativity and artisanal produce linking the landmark trading areas of London’s Chinese community with the heart of the financial Square Mile.”

The menus will feature a selection of small dishes, including Yunnanese lemongrass salad, peanuts, lettuce, chilli, lime; sharing platters of crispy duck, pancakes, plum sauce and classics such as Slow poached soy chicken, ginger relish, rice. Desserts too will feature such as ‘Chinatown’ pineapple bun with custard

Kym’ will also offer a smaller “grab and go” menu during lunch.

Wong added: “Some of the flavours will be instantly recognisable and even hark back to the nostalgia of the original Kym’s menus, with sweet and sour elements and more rice-based dishes. Like so much of Chinese gastronomy, it’ll be deceptively simple food with a big emphasis on the ancient craft of Chinese ‘roasting’ meats — and that includes poaching [chicken with soya].

“For me though, it’s also about celebrating and paying my respects to the contribution the Chinese community has had over the past 100 years on British gastronomy. I think we’ve all evolved and I want to offer casual Chinese food that is something away from what guests have come to expect.”

A circular bar, with space for up to 30 guests, will serve beer, both on tap and bottled, as well as a selection of cocktails “influenced by China’s diverse food traditions and will reflect the capital’s contemporary and classic cocktail culture.”

A private dining area will be available for groups up to 50 — and will be located on the mezzanine level.

Kym’s will be open Monday to Saturday lunch from 12 noon to 3pm and 5pm to 11pm for dinner. On Sundays, Kym’s will open with a Chinese Sunday Roast Menu from 12 noon to 9pm. Disabled access will be at ground level.

More soon.