Neil Perry’s Jade Temple to challenge Mr Wong
And the battle is on.
Chef Neil Perry’s latest project, a Cantonese restaurant called Jade Temple, opening in Sydney next Monday, July 3 will be up against Mr Wong.
Opened by the Merivale group in 2012 with Dan Hong heading the kitchen, the 240 seat two storey Mr Wong is undoubtedly the place to be, picking up awards and serving 1000 customers a day.
But Neil Perry will be a tough competitor. As the author of two books on Chinese cuisine and the entrepreneur behind two Spice Temple restaurants, he is regarded as one of the best interpreters of Chinese food in the country.
Jade Temple is opening after Perry sold his business to Urban Purveyor Group 12 months ago, which subsequently rebranded it as Rockpool Dining Group, and selling his Bridge Street restaurant to the group in March.
For sure, Jade Temple will be smaller seating 120 but it has the Rockpool Dining Group’s talents. It will open for lunch and dinner daily, offering dim sum for lunch. Diners will also find Catonese classics such as lemon chicken, roast duck and live seafood for dinner. There are also plans for $79 and $99 banquet menus.
Perry is prepared for the competition.
“I think we can match them on dumplings when Moon Kuen Ng [Jade Temple's new dim sum chef] gets here at the end of July,” Perry told Gourmet Traveller.
“I think on roast [duck] I'm really happy with the gear we've been testing. We have lots of drying refrigeration [for the birds] so the skin is coming up really well. If anything, our normal dishes might be a little more authentic than Dan's. By that I just mean we won't be reinventing the wheel."
Dan Hong said Mr Wong provided a unique atmosphere and experience.
"I'm very confident in our dim sum,” Wong told Gourmet Traveller. “Obviously Michael Luo is the best dim sum chef in the country. And our roast meat game just gets better every year. We've been perfecting it for almost five years now."
So watch this space. Sydney will be the winner.
by Leon Gettler, June 27th 2017
