Drawing on the chef’s research in Beijing and Shanghai, the new Collections of China menu will explore what tradition means in modern Chinese cuisine, spanning traditional cooking techniques and their evolution in some of the country’s leading contemporary kitchens.
The menu puts particular emphasis on texture, from the soft, yielding mouthfeel of collagen-rich ingredients such as sea cucumber to the elastic resistance known as ‘Q’ in hand-pulled noodles and the contrast between tender chicken meat and crisp, lacquered skin.
Texture often carries as much weight as flavour in Chinese cuisine, with slippery, gelatinous and chewy qualities prized in dishes that may challenge Western diners less familiar with them.
Other influences include slow-simmered stocks enriched with aged ingredients such as fermented soy and tangerine peel; clay-jar mother brines used to flavour delicate stewed fish; and pickles that offer a palate-cleansing contrast to intricate braises.
Dishes will include stuffed sea cucumber with prawns and Cantonese crispy pork skin; whole pickled chilli steamed turbot; ‘milkless’ white fish broth; pineapple and beef candied floss; chilled sweet potato noodles with red sugar and jujube syrup; century egg with pickled ginger and chilli chutney; and whole shredded baby chicken salad with rehydrated bean curd sticks.
The new tasting menu takes the Collections of China name from its predecessor. The restaurant’s previous menu will remain available under the new name Collections of A. Wong, while the Wilton Road restaurant’s à la carte dim sum lunch will also continue.
The relaunch follows a substantial rethink of the restaurant’s layout, with a new show kitchen visible through glass panels from the entrance and dining room.
Designed with Gareth Sefton of SHW Design, the kitchen combines the requirements of a professional workspace with display windows that give diners a closer view of Chinese cooking techniques.
Tables have been positioned to make the most of those views, while a new 12-seat private dining room sits alongside additional restaurant seating arranged around a curved banquette.
The interiors have been developed with London and New York-based architecture and design firm Michaelis Boyd. Details include twilight blue velvet banquettes, honey gold Art Nouveau-inspired dining chairs, dark walnut-stained oak flooring, walnut and burr elm joinery, and jade-coloured tiles.
Two artworks have also been commissioned for the space. A circular stained-glass ceiling light, created with John Reyntiens Studio, draws on the Manzhou windows found in Guangzhou’s old dim sum houses. The flat, 180cm-wide piece has been designed to appear convex when illuminated.
A five-panel mural by French artist Claire Basler runs along one wall. Commissioned with support from the Lee Kum Kee family, it reflects the artist’s focus on landscapes and floral compositions.
Originally founded as Kym’s by Wong’s parents, Annie and Albert, some 40 years ago the restaurant was renamed A. Wong in their honour when he took over in 2012.
During the refurbishment, Wong decamped to Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London for a six week summer residency.
2026 will go down as a busy year for Wong: he is currently working with Dishoom co-founder Amar Radia on a Chinese pub concept which is expected to launch at the end of the year.