New Brisbane restaurant with eye-catching name

The owner says it’s Chinese mythology, but it’s clearly a moniker created for hype and attention. And it’s working.

Tell someone you’re visiting the new Asian-inspired Brisbane CBD restaurant Longwang and you’re met with one of two responses.

The “Sorry, what did you say it was called?” expression of shock and disbelief, or an awkward childish giggle. While the co-owner, prolific restaurateur Michael Tassis (Rich & Rare, Fosh, Fat Cow, et al) will tell you the venue is named after the god of the sea in Chinese mythology, it’s clearly a moniker created for hype and attention. And it’s working.

Longwang restaurant in Brisbane CBD.

Our personable and proficient waitress tells us the 110-seat restaurant was inundated in its first week, packed every night and serving 170 covers on Mother’s Day. While she admits everything didn’t run exactly smoothly, she says it was a great learning experience and the baptism of fire seems to have paid off on our visit with service mostly seamless.

Fried calamari from Longwang in Brisbane CBD.

As well as the cheeky name drawing in guests, so is the building itself. Longwang fills what was previously an empty laneway between two high rises. The bold, purpose-built construction along Edward St is just 3m wide, by 30m long over two-and-a-half levels, with the team from Brisbane’s Clui Design splitting it into a formal dining room, flexible function areas, a rooftop bar and cocktail lounge, and a kitchen wrapped by counter seating.

Crispy fried eggplant with green chilli.

We’re in the dimly lit, brutalist-leaning downstairs space, but the place to be is upstairs, in the two greenery-filled dining zones under retractable roofs which, when open, give a lightness and freshness to the narrow room.

Also behind much of Longwang’s appeal is business partner and executive chef Jason Margaritis. The former Spice Temple, Melbourne chef previously won Brisbanites over with stints at CBD restaurant Donna Chang and most notably at James St, Fortitude Valley favourite Same Same with his creative, contemporary spin on southeast Asian cuisine.

That signature multicultural approach to menus has been rolled out here with a lengthy line-up of snacks, salads, live seafood plucked from a tank, mains and sides ranging from the Longwang chicken bao with green chilli jam or, say, Sichuan salt and pepper tofu to curries from cauliflower to kingfish, and even stir-fries and whole fried baby barramundi.

Seared scallops with strange flavour sauce.

Portions are generous and after our first two plates, I know we’ve ordered too much. First to arrive are steamed pork and prawn wontons ($30). The six perfectly pleated dumplings deliver a beautiful sweetness from the seafood in contrast to the rich and meaty tonkatsu pork broth they bathe in.

Next up is the Wagyu beef dumplings ($30) that have been pan-fried until their skins go crispy and deeply tanned. With pops of cumin and fennel, they stand strong on their own, but are even better dipped into a black vinegar and sambal mix with a chilli hit.

One of the dishes from Longwang in Brisbane CBD.

Cooling things down is the pork belly green mango salad ($28). The Vietnamese mint, cashews, toasted coconut and tart tamarind dressing is given a fatty richness thanks to melting slabs of roasted pork belly and crunchy squares of crackling throughout.

Lamb massaman curry ($48) delivers a gentle hum of heat amid the signature sweetness, with tender meat and a nest of fried potato ribbons on top to add crunch. Be sure to order some of the flaky, not-oily roti ($8) on the side for mopping up. For something bolder there’s the twice-cooked half chicken. Sous vide first to render its flesh tender, before frying to ensure crispy skin, it’s blanketed by a potent sweet and salty Timorese sassate sauce.

It’s well paired with the gin-based Purple Dynasty – one of the venue’s many cocktails – but would no doubt work well with either the Longwang House session ale or a glass of riesling from the global wine list, which even boasts a section for Queensland drops.

Longwang may be attracting guests with its cheeky double entendre, but it’s sure to keep them coming back for its whole package.

Longwang

144 Edward St, Brisbane City

3211 8880

longwang.com.au

Must-eat dish

Wagyu beef dumplings

Verdict – Scores out of 5

Food 4

Service 4.5

Ambience 4

Value 3.5

Overall 4