10 Things to Know When Wu Chow Opens

Wu Chow, the long-awaited modern Chinese restaurant from the Swift’s Attic team, is set to open soon in downtown Austin. Announced in late 2013, the restaurant teased the city with a series of pop-ups, food events, and dinners. Here’s what diners can expect when it finally debuts.

Mah Jong tiles line the wall where the dining booths will be located. [Photo: Wu Chow/Official]

1) Wu Chow will focus on family-style dining. Servers will talk to diners about the backgrounds and influences of each dish.

2) Chefs Ji Peng Chen and Ling Qi Wu came to Wu Chow from Fuzhou, China. General manager Howard Chang previously worked for beloved D.C. ramen shop Toki Underground. The kitchen will use Chen’s housemade spicy chili oil. Originally, Callie Speer was set to helm the pastry program, but she left the group for Hotel Van Zandt.

3) Don’t worry: while dim sum will only be available on Saturday and Sunday, the soup dumplings and some other dishes will be included in the regular menu all week, until everything runs out. The weekend service will also include a dim sum tasting menu.

The hedgehogs have come out to play! Pork Belly Boa for the @edibleaustin #chefauction!

A photo posted by Wu Chow Austin (@wuchowaustin) on Oct 8, 2015 at 5:00pm PDT

4) Other dishes on the menu will include Seafood Bird’s Nest, where shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas are nestled into a bed of fried noodles, whole roasted Peking Duck with steamed Chinese pancakes, mala spare ribs, and braised beef Asian meatballs.

5) Yes, there will be a large patio out in the front for excellent downtown people-watching to add to the list.

6) Tiki-style drinks are in store courtesy of beverage director Jeff Hammett (who also runs the bar at Swift’s Attic), along with all-day tea service, which is highly recommended for dim sum.

Wu Chow's dining room plywood. [Photo: Wu Chow/Official]

7) Night owls will be able to dine at Wu Chow late: it will be open until 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

8) Takeout can be placed ahead of time with a limited number of reserved spots.

9) Seating arrangements will range from bar, tables, to booths. There's also a semi-private dining room.

10) Behind the scenes, the wok range in the kitchen will be ten feet long so that three cooks can use it at the same time.