Kate’s Review: Jim Wong Chinese Restaurant, Barkly Street Footscray

Jim Wong Chinese Restaurant ? 259-261 Barkly Street Footscray

What else are you going to do the week that the Western Bulldogs are in the Grand Final.

Shamefully, I’ve lived in Melbourne’s west for over a decade, and I’ve never eaten at Jimmy Wong’s.

I’ve heard about the restaurant and the man, I’ve tasted his Dim Sims, I saw the outpouring of grief and affection when the man himself passed away earlier this year.  

Well, on Sunday night I dropped in for some good old fashioned Australian Chinese.

It’s as you would accept, there are tiled floors, there’s a fish tank, lazy susans, and this week there are a hell of a lot of red, blue and white streamers and balloons.

As with many Chinese restaurants, it’s an intimidating menu. It’s just so big. The old favourites are there, beef in black bean, satay chicken, san choy bao, special fried rice.

It’s old school Chinese, but it’s good old school Chinese.

We ordered the steamed dim sims, because you must. These ones stand out because you actually see/taste the cabbage and celery, they look fresh. You can tell they are home made.

I’m never the type to order a sweet and sour, and yet the sweet and sour fish arrived and it was gooooood. Crispy batter, fabulously bright orange sauce, the fish inside was tender and flaky. It was actually a great dish.

Mongolian chicken sizzled as it should ? plenty of meat, sticky sauce, crunchy snow peas, and onion.

The winner was the rainbow beef. The strips of meat look like they’re dusted in flour then deep fried, they’re crispy, and a little sweet. The name clearly comes from the brightly coloured veg that accompany it ? carrot, red peppers, spring onions. Just. Yum.

It’s not fine dining, but it’s good reliable, tasty tucker with fun service and punters who look like they just love being there. It’s part of the community, and that’s a pretty special thing these days