Chinese at Wang’s Flavour

When your Chinese girlfriend says that her quality of life has increased by ten points since she discovered a new Chinese restaurant, you can’t do anything but go there immediately. And sure enough, Wang’s Flavour lives up to all expectations.

For years, there was a Chinese restaurant in the building on Tweede Nassaustraat that looked dodgy, to put it mildly. A few months ago, the decor had changed and suddenly there was plastic fake food in the window. I know it from Japan, where it’s called sampuru, but I had never seen my beloved Chinese mapo tofu, xiao long bao and kung pao chicken presented in this way before. So, quickly inside.

In the mood for French food? Then go to La Vallade in Amsterdam.

Takeaway

Downstairs, there are a few tables where you can eat, but upstairs is a larger room with round tables that also have lazy Susans. Oh, and a shower too, should you need one. Downstairs, people come and go to pick up takeaway, which is also available here, as is ordering online. If you live nearby, I’d opt for takeaway instead, as the online menu is limited.

Favourite dishes

The menu doesn’t really have a specific focus, which I normally don’t like, but all my favourite dishes are on the menu here, so I don’t mind for long. In any case, don’t expect babi pangang; here, you eat regional Chinese dishes. There’s an entire section devoted to spicy Sichuan dishes, but they also serve Cantonese wonton soup and Peking duck.

Homemade tofu

We start with marinated tofu that is so delicious that we immediately ask the waitress how it’s made. The secret? They make their own tofu. We also order the Sichuan spicy dumplings, har gau (steamed shrimp dumplings) and xiao long bao (soup dumplings). All delicious, especially the spicy dumplings. Watch out: what is listed on the menu among the starters as chicken legs is actually chicken feet, which you put in your mouth with the claws and all. You have to be into it, but if you are, you’ve got a top-notch dish here with a spicy flavour and syrupy sauce.

Spicy noodles

For the next round, we go for the spicy Chongqing noodles, with a rich sauce made from minced pork. Basically a kind of Chinese Bolognese, just as savoury and meaty and just as delicious. Perhaps even more delicious. The two chillies listed next to the dish on the menu turn out not to be entirely accurate, because it isn’t really spicy, but it is incredibly flavourful. We also order two cold starters: braised beef (listed on the menu as beed) and steamed cold chicken. You may not be used to eating cold chicken, but give it a try. The meat is incredibly tender, and we’re annoyed that we’re already too full to finish everything. Fortunately, at the end of the meal we’re allowed to take everything home in a container.

Secret sauce

Almost every dish comes with a deliciously fresh and spicy sauce that we try with all our might to decipher. Once again, we enlist the help of the staff, unfortunately to no avail. ‘Garlic?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Ginger?’ ‘Maybe.’ That’s the only information we manage to get from her. Perhaps she really doesn’t know; perhaps it’s strictly secret. Either way, I’ll be back very soon just for this sauce alone. We paid €16.50 per person for this wonderful meal, including tip. So there’s no reason not to come back every week.

Wang’s Flavour
Tweede Nassaustraat 9
Amsterdam