Sky Kong Kong, Gallimaufry: 'A manifesto on a plate' - restaurant review
Chef Wizzy Chung's new pop-up offers a mouthwatering taste of what's to come
Jason’s second review for The Bristol Sauce proves he is no one-trick pony, but a many-masterpiece horse. For those rushing to book a table after reading this, we’ll save you the trouble. It’s walk-ins only. But - Sky Kong Kong is in residence until the end of December, so you have two months to make it down there, and you’ll be glad you did so.
Jason paid for all the food on this visit, as is the case with every restaurant we review. I paid him for his work. If you enjoy this review, please consider contributing. Thank you! ~ Meg
I am knelt at the kitchen pass as if it is a kind of stainless steel altar, and in the blue-white halogen light it would seem to the casual observer that I am locked into some prayer-fuelled reverie.
Lost in my own thoughts I am not. Though maybe it is fitting that the chef on the other side of that pass is delivering her version of a sermon. Let me tell you right now: it is a sermon worth hearing. And one worth me being crouched into the only space that will allow for such an exchange to take place.
“Eat first. Eat well.” A sentiment that is simple and agreeable enough but one that stands as a formidable raison d’etre considering the mission that chef Wizzy Chung has set for herself.
Not content with resting on the laurels of her hard-earned success, working in Michelin-starred kitchens around the world and running the Bristol institution that was Sky Kong Kong, she has her sights now set on drastically changing the face of eating in this city. Come January, Wizzy hopes to have opened Bristol’s first 24-hour restaurant.
To redesign the landscape of late-night dining takes capital. Sky Kong Kong’s newest iteration as pop-up at Gloucester Road’s The Gallimaufry is but one arm of that effort. It is clear that this chef means business.
A decade ago, Sky Kong Kong quickly built a reputation for itself around simple and unfussy offerings, deftly executed and with a bill at the end so marginal you were left feeling as though there was a trick being played somewhere that you were almost certainly missing. But there was no trick. One front-of-house, one chef, one table, no menus. Somehow managing to thrill while being disarmingly unpretentious.
So when I heard of this move to The Gallimaufry I was curious. The Galli, as it is affectionately known to locals, recently had to pull the plug on their own gastronomical provisions; a sign of increasingly difficult times for those in hospitality. Known to many as being an integral and stalwart champion of the young creative scene here in Bristol, the space has been crying out for a hero of a different sort to fill the gap ever since.
We arrive at Wizzy’s new centre of operations on a Sunday afternoon, ravenously hungry so, of course, we order every single thing on offer.
When the food starts coming out I am reminded of that singular table ten years ago. There is no spectacle here. We are fed burdock root, subtle, sweet, and seasoned surreptitiously with gochugaru, yet all we see is the whole roast chicken, which in turn is stuffed with sticky rice and wild garlic; a culinary sleight of hand (£15).
What we have on our plates is the best approximation of the Sunday roast I have had in many moons. The chicken is tender, roast vegetables sweet. Paired with pickled wild garlic, a sesame oil dip, and a homemade kimchi, some will find this combination unfamiliar. But what strikes me at my core is how it all just makes sense.
A grilled whole sea bass (£12.5) with its skin crisped and sweet meat sticky with collagen, sits pride of place; equidistant between us as to make picking at it all the easier. “Some people have never tried a whole grilled sea bass!” exclaims Wizzy later, incredulous. For her, this was a childhood staple in Korea, where she grew up. Now we are the lucky ones.
Prawn tempura (£5.5) and sizzling cured salmon (£8.5) are not dishes that I am accustomed to seeing on a Korean menu (nor a Sunday roast menu for that matter) but I am easily won over by both.
The prawns in question are of the fresh, plump and juicy variety with a batter so light and relenting that one of our group who abhors prawn tempura ordinarily (I don’t know how that flew underneath my radar), relents and admits that they are indeed delicious. Phew.
Unanimously we gush over the salmon, a table of gannets come food communists, pedantically making sure everyone receives the same share as the person next to them.
It’s at this point that I have to divulge something of importance: I make not one but two trips to The Gallimaufry for the purpose of this review (I know, I am indeed a trooper).
During the week, the menu changes shape to accommodate perhaps a more indecisive palate. Maximalist in form, it balloons out to include a number of different small plates such as Korean-style hotdogs (£6.5), a sausage on a stick, deep-fried in a casing of leavened dough not too dissimilar to a savoury donut. Mozzarella for the stretch. Dusted with sugar (this isn’t a typo), mustard and ketchup to finish.
For those who are relatively au fait with a typical Korean menu in this country, you will recognise tteokbokki (£5.5), an ever so satisfyingly chewy rice cake often enjoyed in soups and stews (in this case, a chilli sauce). I am entirely caught off-guard by the amount of heat this dish brought and couldn’t be happier about it.
The chicken satay skewers (£5.5) and fried chicken (£6.5) though by no means bad are rendered forgettable by comparison. With as many winners on display here as there are, I can’t say that I am entirely phased.
Vegans and gluten-freers the world over, rejoice! You are catered for here well. The somewhat reductively named vegan box (£8.5) is by far the most visually resplendent of the bunch.
Pickled seaweed, pomelo, aubergine, burdock and perilla frame a generous helping of silken tofu, dressed simply with sesame and the requisite kimchi. I feel that in many ways this dish perfectly exemplifies what Wizzy is trying to accomplish. A manifesto on a plate. A story of hard work, compassion, and of a desire to not only be healthy but to share that good fortune with those around you.
As hinted at earlier and as you might expect, the funds raised by this pop-up alone, which will run until the end of December, will not suffice in fully realising Wizzy’s dream of having healthy food made accessible to the many. To supplement, she is also soon launching a crowdfunder campaign which will hopefully endow those willing to give with an alternative avenue for doing so. “The aim is to be open by the end of January.” Wizzy tells me, full of confidence. I really can’t help but marvel.
All words by Jason Jay Pridham
Photos by Jason Jay Pridham and Meg Houghton-Gilmour
Sky Kong Kong, currently in residence at The Gallimaufry, 26-28 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8AL
Read next:
 | A guest post by
|