Photo courtesy of Penny Lane
Potts Point is without doubt my favourite dining hub in Sydney. All the greats sit closely here along Macleay St – The Apollo, Cho Cho San and now the infamous Billy Kwong has moved in. The stunning new open plan Chinese eating house is furnished with native ferns and low lighting yet it feels just as warm and personal as the old 50 seater in Surry Hills. They also now take bookings which is great. No need to sit in a nightclub queue along with 50 other hungry diners at 5:30pm to secure the first tables of the night.
Kylie Kwong’s delicious organic signature dishes remain and for the most part the menu is still gluten free due to the use of tamari instead of a wheat based soy sauce.My favourite starters are the pork sung choi bao and braised beef brisket rice noodles. I always seem to over order when I visit and start to quickly fill up on the mouth watering entrees, but they are just so damn good.
Photo courtesy of Penny Lane
No matter how full I am, there is always room for THAT duck. I have never been a huge duck fan, a protein I historically overlooked on any restaurant menu until I sampled Kylie’s crispy skinned version with a sticky sweet orange sauce. If there were a prize for Sydney’s best overall dish, this absolutely has to be it. It is so magnificent that I contemplated recreating it at home. When I realised it is twice cooked (first steamed, then fried with an aromatic spice mix including star anise and cinnamon) I thought by the time I get all my ducks in a row I’ll be there and back before in no time. Let’s book!
Desserts are not the star course but you will have so many sweet, salty, sticky flavours dancing on your tongue at the end of the night that you won’t want for them. Billy Kwong’s is Modern Chinese at it’s absolute best.
Stand out dish
Crispy skin duck with orange, mandarin or plum sauce depending on the season.
Gluten Free Friendly
Kitchen use tamari instead of wheat based soy. Unfortunately the signature wontons and savoury saltbush cakes are a no go but the other delicious starters more than make up for it.
Ambience
Warm, friendly, bustling.
Website
www.billykwong.com.au
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