Overview
One month after Melbourne-inspired Wu & You arrived on the strip, another new Asian fusion restaurant has opened its doors in the heart of Mt Eden village. From the owners of Takapuna's Tok Tok and Ponsonby's Le Vietnamese Kitchen comes Xoong. While the former openings focus on delights from the southeast, Xoong, which translates to 'pot', predominantly takes inspiration from the north — more specifically the heavy hitting culinary empires of Japan and China.
Following a research trip to the motherland with owners David Dau and Minh Lu, Executive Chef Cameron Knox has taken classic elements from each nation and peppered them with fragrant flavours from other parts of Asia and from his own journal of ideas.
"I've been a massive fan of Chinese cuisine for a long time, and love the clean, fresh way that Japanese techniques accentuate quality fish and produce." says Knox.
The pairing sees the kitchen producing everything from Chinese congee with salmon teriyaki, smoked paprika, bacon and ikura caviar, to kingfish sashimi, cold chop poached chicken and fried chicken wings with gochujang mayonnaise. Once the restaurant settles in to its home, Knox is hoping to make further use of the wood-fired oven for Peking duck. Under the "fun fine dining" banner, all the dishes comes presented on a unique range of misshapen ceramic cutlery shipped back from Singapore.
Jeremy Nivern of Mea Culpa has been enlisted to create the cocktail list. Following the restaurant's culture clash theme he brings an unlikely approach with Asian ingredients. You'll find classic cocktails using surprising but delightful elements like sesame oil, pandan, Vietnamese mint and wasabi. Elsewhere on the drinks list there's a decent range of sake, local wines, and beer from Hallertau.
The 150-seat restaurant is set over two stories in the two adjoining heritage buildings that previously housed neighbourhood eatery, Molten. Inside, you'll find several dining areas; the walk-in cocktail bar, a lantern-filled laneway that doubles as a chef's table, a red-curtained private function area and an open courtyard. The process was two years in the making, with the Chinese-Japanses vision brought to life by Ctrl Space.
Xoong is open at 424 Mt Eden Road from 10 May. Bookings can be made via the restaurant's website.
Images: Jay Creaghan, Katie Rowden.