It’s amazing how often one can drive by a restaurant and never even think to enter. It’s even more astounding when one breaks from tradition (Peking Duck), samples the grub, and finds that the restaurant is a real gem. Such is the case for Wong Kee BBQ & Peking Duck, a stealth bomber Chinese restaurant in Norcross, GA. Even if the meal wasn’t flat out perfect, there isn’t a single reason to think that our abbreviated lunch experience at Wong Kee won’t go down as one of the more scrumptious samplings of this calendar year.
Tucked in the corner of Ben Thanh Plaza (know to us Gaijin as Oakbrook Square Shopping Center), foot traffic for this strip mall usually goes the way of Hong Kong Supermarket. To (Peking duck) complicate matters, Wong Kee’s immediate neighbor is the widely overrated Bento Café (which I’ll recap in the next few days if not hours). As a consequence of those two hot topics, this “little Chinese restaurant that could” seems to get a little lost in the mix. After a single glance, that appears to be a real shame.
Having just spent a good 30-minutes stuffing my face full of Celia’s, Spark Plug and I left Brother Chris behind and went to top off over at Bento Café (Peking Duck). On our way through the Ben Thanh parking lot, two words of mystical harmony caught my eye: “Peking Duck.” One look in the window and we were hooked. Adventures were in order and Wong Kee gladly obliged.
The love affair with Frank Ma South has come and gone in this city. Late in 2008 when Frank Ma moved in with the gang at Chopsticks in the Emory area, all hell broke loose. Most everyone got all giddy at the idea of a seemingly authentic Chinese restaurant located somewhere other than BuHi. I was never all up in that … shocking I know. At the time, I recapped my thoughts on “THAT SITE” during my pre-blog days.
Suddenly, like a fart in the wind, Frank up and vanished. In his wake, chef’s have come and gone and the crowds have thinned. However, the menu remains basically the same. I’ve been diving in and out of there intermittently since Frank’s departure with the latest visit being yesterday for the Chinese New Year. While the restaurant still satisfies my urging for non-nationalized Chinese grub, it’s still unable to compete with our cities top dogs.
Buford Highway restaurants carry with them a certain pedigree that is often unsubstantiated. The straight shot road that stretches from the inners of the city to well beyond the loop is home to a number of ethnic delights. However, self-proclaimed foodies seem to treat any establishment located on or near BuHi with unabashed reverence. Call it guilt by association.
Public enemy number one, none other than the ever popular Café 101. The large, free-standing rotunda that sits about a half-mile inside the loop, has been there for years. It seems like a good two or three since I myself last sat down to sample C101’s goods. So though this isn’t quite a first impression, this isn’t a full review nor a quick hits post.
So the Keng Gang, aka Chinese Southern Belle … DOT COM [think Expedia] has graduated from Eggrolls & Sweet Tea and moved onto viral videos. So check out the video, and hit up their calendar to see where the mother/daughter team is heading next.
There is a certain dance that occurs every few months in Atlanta’s Chinese restaurant community. The formula is simple: Well regarded chef shows up; foodies flock to said location; chef up and leaves soon thereafter; foodies follow. Rinse and repeat. It’s happened with Frank Ma, it’s happened with Chef Chang (of Tasty China), and it’s happened with countless others. The latest rendition finds us at Bo Bo Garden up in the Doraville/Chamblee area.
The chef, whose name is still a mystery to me, showed up a few months ago at Wan Lai, a Cantonese job up BuHi. Word spread like hot sauce at a cook out and foodies flocked (myself included). Most loved it, some enjoyed it (that’s me), and a only a few turned their nose up. Then, like a fart in the wind, the head chef, his wife, and a handful of others vanished. Turns out, that group shot up the street and settled in Pinetree Plaza.
Wan Lai on Buford Highway has hit the ground running. In just a few short months, this Cantonese restaurant has landed on most everyone’s “must visit” list. After missing out on Monday’s opportunity, I made the “obligatory” drive up BuHi earlier this afternoon to check out the buzz. Joined by a good friend from the CDC, we came away with a similar impression. While the meal was good (at times very good), I’m not ready to hand this place the keys to my Cantonese castle just yet.
Apparently, Phuong has mysteriously gone missing from Tasty China. Two weeks ago, I was told she was out sick. Didn’t think much of it… until I read this in my twitter feed. So is she gone for good? Boy I hope not. I will see if we can get to the bottom of this.
