Kiang Wine & Dine

Review

Room for pig's ear salad

Graphic: studioback / Kiang Winebar Two and a half years ago, it was quite an experiment: Joseph Kiang came back to Vienna after years in Beijing, took over a hopeless mini artists' bar on Yppenplatz with inflatable wall decorations and, together with his wife Li Chen, offered Chinese-Mediterranean street food with sophisticated wines. With no kitchen, just a microwave, no space and not the slightest idea whether anyone in Vienna would want something like this. Let's put it this way: the moment to serve highly aromatic small dishes with a certain tendency towards arrogance could not have been better. And the complete lack of space, the fact that a radiator had to be used for heating, as well as the absurd design of the previous restaurant, created a density of experience, a groove that was unparalleled in terms of spontaneity. Of course, this didn't last long, and working in the mini-bar proved to be both extremely exhausting and not very profitable. A few weeks ago, the Kiangs moved to a restaurant in the Servitenviertel, and lo and behold: not only does it look a bit like the old place - the white walls with the integrated light strip - it is also just a shade bigger. At least there is now a real kitchen here, where Li Chen and his staff can cook northern Chinese food. Tapas-style small dishes are still the main focus, but there are now also a few things that could definitely be described as main courses. And fortunately, the highlights that were already so great in the Yppen wine bar haven't changed dramatically, and why should they? So there's still the so-called "flatbread" with grammel filling, which is one of the best beer snacks you can imagine (€ 3). Or the thousand-year-old Chinese egg, completely classic, delicately nutty, but just that little bit more delicious than you're used to in a conventional Chinese restaurant. The jellyfish salad may even be the best in town, so incredibly crunchy and actually really spicy, wonderful (€ 5.20). Or the "Chinese burgers", which are filled with, among other things, a disintegrating ragout of pork belly - now commonly known and popular as "pulled pork" - and spring onions (€ 8.80). Or the pig's ear salad, my goodness, it's crunchy! Or the pig's trotter, cooked with the five Chinese spices to create an aromatic mixture of brawn and bone (€ 5.80). Or the tripe, marinated to perfection and mixed with noodle-like chopped cabbage to make a salad - don't be put off by the comments of tripe opponents ("like an old man's bad breath"). It's all insanely good. The Servitenviertel awakens from its slumber. Summary: Joseph Kiang and Li Chen continue their devastatingly casual street food concept, albeit with a little more space. Kiang Winebar, 9th, Grünentorg. 19 Tel. 0664/515 36 33, Tue-Sat from 3 p.m.

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