If you need to compromise your developmental morals, I couldn’t think of a better place to do it than Ling Wu. Located in The (controversial) Grove, there’s a pleasant woo about the Wu. Named after the chef, Ling Qi Wu worked at Chinatown and La Traviata before making a name for herself with her dim sum and soup dumplings at (not her) Wu Chow.
After leaving Wu Chow, she opened her first restaurant, Lin Asian Bar, in 2018, earning a famous visit from Snoop Dogg’s sidekick, Martha Stewart, to dine her soup dumplings. Since then, she has debuted several more restaurants, earned a 2023 nod from Austin Chronicle as the Best Chef in Austin, and accrued an impressive three stars from Texas Monthly. Chef Wu comes from Fuzhou City in southeast China and uses local, organic ingredients to present traditional and Westernized Chinese cuisine. Besides her signature soup dumplings, our Ling Wu serves dim sum all day/every day as well as an array of entrees and appetizers.
Wu’s soup dumplings are little miracles, with savory soup somehow wrapped in dough and presented as five jewels ($14). If soupy dumplings aren’t your thing, the Pan Sear Basil Chicken Dumplings ($14) are similarly stellar and savory. The Scallion Pancake ($13) is emblematic of ordering because of the surprise of what arrives (all may not enjoy this as much as we do). Indeed, there’s a scallion pancake, but it’s paired with a fantastic side cup of curried pork stew. The Roasted Duck Pancake ($18) is another menu favorite of the regulars (but I found the others we’ve tried better).
For mains, we’ve had the True Morel Mushroom Chicken (steamed morel mushrooms, sausage, mushroom, chestnut, and sticky rice wrapped with lotus leaf; $24) and a Chinese New Year’s special, steamed flounder ($55 for 2.5 pounds). The chicken arrived wrapped like a Christmas present while a full flounder swam in a nectarous, semi-sweet glaze. Both dishes were toothsome and delightful (and the flounder made a second meal at home). Untried interesting items on the menu include alligator, lobster cheese puff, and ox tail. The Wu also has desserts. A fun one we devoured was the Green Tea Tiramisu ($13), a deconstructed architecture of mascarpone and green tea KitKats (!!!).
The restaurant is raise-the-red-lantern gorgeous: fancy, yet approachable, with a watering bowl for the pooches on the patio as a welcoming touch. If you can, ask to see the upstairs dining room with its remarkable murals and red-themed décor. Parking in the garage is free. It’s all enough to suspend your conscientiousness of Perseverance Drive.
Ling Wu; lingwugrove.com; 2625 Perseverance dr, Austin tx 78731; 512-551-9799
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