Laval’s Huge New Chinese Brasserie Throws Open Its Doors

Laval is now home to 10,000 square feet of dim sum and more, as plus-sized restaurant Miss Wong has opened up in space perhaps best known as former club Moomba.

Named for famed 1920s and 30s Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong, the restaurant is looking to history for its design, although not quite so far back in time. Co-owner Dan Pham (Le Blossom, Le Red Tiger) is running Miss Wong in conjunction with the Foodtastic restaurant group, mostly known for chains — back in the spring, Pham told Eater that he looked to Chinatowns in Vancouver and San Francisco with designer Guillaume Ménard replicating the feel of a kitschy Chinese-American restaurant from the ‘70s.

That means neon, glassy tabletops, and jade-patterned walls, to name a few features, although with a space so hefty, the atmosphere varies across the restaurant — for example, the 130-person terrasse looks towards traditional Chinese gardens for inspiration. It’ll also be heated in the colder months.

David Dworkind/Supplied

David Dworkind/Supplied

But in terms of food, Miss Wong is not so nostalgic and certainly isn’t pulling its menu from the era that gave North America dishes like General Tao chicken. Chef Phong Tach (see also: Le Red Tiger) isn’t leaning heavily on Chinese-American dishes or dim sum classics, getting playful with items like a beef carpaccio with yuzu sauce, shimeji mushrooms and parmesan, a gyro-like take on Peking duck with pickles, baby back ribs with Chinese five spice, and versions of some dim sum staples such as wontons with creamy chili peanut sauce. There’s also a range of bao buns, with fillings including a mapo tofu version, and porchetta char siu.

David Dworkind/Supplied

David Dworkind/Miss Wong

Miss Wong won’t operate solely as a restaurant — with opening hours up to and beyond midnight, it’s really more of a resto-bar, and one section of the 300-person space is a committed speakeasy-style bar, and DJs will be on-site most nights. The playful approach for the food is being extended to cocktails, with a menu devised by Tao Zrafi, who has cut his teeth creating drinks for Nhau Bar and Perles & Paddock.

David Dworkind/Supplied

David Dworkind/Miss Wong

STATUS — Miss Wong is open at Centropolis Laval (1780 Avenue Pierre-Péladeau) from 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday and 4 p.m. to late (presumably post-midnight) on Friday and Saturday; closed Monday. Lunch hours should be coming in September.

• Miss Wong [Official]
• Mega Laval Club Moomba to Be Converted Into Dim Sum Restaurant [EMTL]