Kong Turns Up the Flames
I love a seat at the bar, especially when it faces a working kitchen. It’s thrilling to watch the quiet chaos unfold: flames rising, knives flashing, chefs moving in practiced rhythm. It feels alive, unfiltered, intimate. There’s a grown-up pleasure in sharing that space with a dinner date or friend, elbows on the counter, a good glass of wine in hand, and something delicious on the plate. It’s unpretentious, vibrant, and full of energy.
In playful sophistication, Kong builds on this intimacy with a fundamentally Aussie-Asian menu centered around live-fire. The entire 24-seat bar wraps around the kitchen where every dish is either kissed by flame or tossed vigorously in a wok. The energy here is in electric. It’s a space where bold flavors take center stage and the craft of cooking is on full display.
Kong is the latest project from Ingga Cabangon Chua and Tommy Woudwyk, the team behind the wildly popular Crosta pizzeria. Together with Gerard “Gezza” d’Ombrille, an Australian chef with deep Southeast Asian experience, and John Baquir, a Manila-born grill master with serious precision and fire, they’ve all created something that feels both grounded and inventive, and an expression of Australian-Asian cuisine that’s personal, expressive, and full of intent.
The flavors at Kong are not timid. Deep-fried tofu cushions are seasoned robustly with salt and makwaen pepper, and are served with a fermented pineapple dip. Slices of crispy pork belly provide textural delight and are paired with vermicelli noodles and crisp lettuce for wrapping around the pork. The fresh green leaves and accompanying tangy piquant sauce not only add an additional layer of texture, but helps cut through the richness of the pork’s fat and blistered skin. Handmade noodles with the right amount of spring and chew are seared and tossed with black fungus mushrooms and flavored with sambal, citrus, and chili. These are high-saturation, in-your-face flavors, and they are delicious.
A fried chicken in green curry crackles with heat and spice, its sauce built slowly and carefully in a mortar and pestle that develop layers of flavor that sing with every bite. Then, there’s the immensely flavorful Peking-style duck—a masterpiece of technique, patience, and dexterity. Scalded, rubbed, dry-aged, blown, roasted, and finished with hot oil, the duck is served alongside a red curry studded with lychees that marries a smoky richness with bright, fruity notes. A house favorite, the Shantung Chicken honors an Australian adaptation of a Chinese classic. Brine-aged, roasted, and finished with a hot oil bath for glistening, glassy skin, it’s served simply with its own jus and topped with a comforting and familiar scallion-ginger sauce.
Desserts offer perfect palate refreshers. The coconut sorbet, flecked with fresh coconut strips and brightened with lime, cleanses with tropical clarity, while a simply roasted Lakatan banana where one is meant to scoop out its flesh and savor with vanilla ice cream, banana ganache, and a coconut and peanut crumble.
Wine at Kong is taken very seriously but without any airs. Woudwyk, a down-to-earth oenophile, has put together a thoughtful selection of wines that genuinely complement the food. His wine flight offers a journey through pairings that feel natural and accessible. You can also order by the glass or bring your own bottle, making the experience as flexible as it is enjoyable.
Behind the main dining room, a small room awaits its transformation into a speakeasy-style bar, where original cocktails will add another layer of discovery and pleasure to the Kong experience.
Kong is a reminder that a restaurant doesn’t need theatrics to impress—just real fire and good instincts. It’s an invitation to savor food made with precision in a space that’s lively, welcoming, and delivers simply with a roast duck, a wok, and a glass of wine.
Ground Level, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Paseo de Roxas, Makati