Mr Wong

After the success of Ms G’s and El Loco, Justin came back to talk about opening a Chinese restaurant in the middle of Sydney’s CBD. Tank was a hugely popular nightclub that opened in 2001. Justin’s vision was to transform the vast subterranean space into a huge Chinese restaurant, complete with bronzed, roasted ducks hanging in the window and dim sum. With such a huge task on my hands, I wanted Jow to be the head chef.

As well as his passion for Chinese cuisine, Jow had an understanding of how we’d make the food distinct. While it’s fair to say I’ve probably eaten at every decent Chinese restaurant in Sydney, neither Jow nor I had any formal culinary training in Chinese cuisine. Chinese food is both subtle and complex. It requires very specific knowledge and a set of techniques in order to pull it off, as well as skills and recipes passed down through the generations.