By the time we return to Chez Wou Chinese Restaurant, we’ve been dreaming about their garlic ribs for months.
We stumbled in late one night at the beginning of the year, drooled over a friend’s ribs while he tried to impress his date with his lack of acquaintance with gwerries and his hasty “try the garlic ribs!” before desperately shooing us away was taken as gospel. We’re back again for Marcel’s birthday.
He has his eyes on Sichaun style prawns and I have my eye on a waiter who has responded to my query as to why the La Capra Sauvignon Blanc isn’t chilled with “eish. You know these Chinese”.
A little mild Asian-bashing aside, Chez Wou is like a little holiday.
Welcomed to the oriental style establishment by two gold dragons and a smiling teller before being led to a semi-private dining room off to the left, we settle down on a Monday evening with dreams of feasts past necessitating an order fit for a small army.
On top of plates of pork, chicken and vegetable spring rolls, prawns, egg fried rice and chicken noodles, we’re all going in on the garlic pork ribs minus Mon who struggles to understand life beyond beef.
About a half an hour after we’ve given up on in-menu guide on how to use chopsticks, Francisco and Danny, two Spaniards, join us with some ruinous information: Chez Wou serves sake.
Having first had it served hot and delicious at a sushi bar in Malaysia and similarly at Daisho, I immediately call for a birthday round only to be greeted with shudders.
Danny says it’s too strong. And this coming from a man who introduces himself every time he meets me before apologising profusely for being an encounter-forgetting inebriate is caution one needs to consider seriously.
I do and order a round anyway and the waiter brings glasses. Tall lukewarm towers we didn’t order but he insists on setting aside the sake because “people always need the water”.
I’m a little disappointed that the rice wine isn’t hot but, as I’m Google’ing my grievances in bed later, I learn that many places which offer sake piping are trying to disguise the fact that they’re serving it to you cheap as hell.
The heat masks the bitter flavour and often the really good stuff is served in less of a disguise.
As for the water, I don’t know what this says about me as a person, but I don’t need it.
Even Danny drinks his down without much physical manifestation of regret and he joins us in the general feeling of having been well taken care of and fed.
A comment on the food?
Everything we ordered was deep fried, death to diets but delicious.
Charming, chilled and not adverse to firing up the vacuum cleaner once you’ve overstayed your welcome, Chez Wou is the place to be if you enjoy a wealth of Chinese dishes served generous, a little pricey when it comes to prawn and duck but always in a way that will earn a return.
Chez Wou is located at Windhoek Country Club and is open for lunch and dinner. Call 061 238 151 for more information.
