Savour lobster sandos and wasabi margaritas at Wang Chung, the punchy new Manly restaurant from The Arsonist crew
A long-running staple of Manly’s waterfront food scene has been reborn. Tide on the Jetty just has undergone a slick makeover and rebrand, debuting last week as Wang Chung – a Pan-Asian restaurant serving up an inventive menu of eats and flavour-packed sips. Swing through for raw local snapper wonton tacos, Hervey Bay scallops with wasabi butter, Moreton Bay bug dumplings and smoked Stockyard wagyu-brisket red curry, then stay a while longer and enjoy another round of black sesame-infused espresso martinis.
Peta Prestidge knows all about the magic of Manly. As founder and director of The Consortium QLD and an active member of the Manly Chamber of Commerce, Peta has not only witnessed the beautiful bayside suburb’s evolution in recent years, but also played a pivotal part in making it happen in the first place.
When The Consortium QLD opened its first venue – above-water restaurant and cafe Tide on the Jetty – on William Gunn Jetty in 2016, it heralded a new age for the suburb’s dining scene, which was at that point was mostly comprised of a few long-running institutions and a handful of cafes.
“When we opened Tide, the area was quite different,” recalls Peta. “You had Wilsons Boathouse Seafood Restaurant and you had the Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club – both were un-renovated and their menus were a bit old school. When we came in, Tide was the new trendy new place to go.”
Soon, though, Tide wasn’t the only new kid on the block – Shucks Bar opened in 2017, Groundhog Social arrived in early 2020 and The Consortium QLD set Manly’s esplanade alight in 2021 with its top-tier fire-powered restaurant, The Arsonist. By 2024, both Wilsons Boathouse and the trailer boat club had been revitalised and reborn as Manly Boathouse and the Manly Harbour Boat Club, respectively, which now left Tide as the relative relic of the bunch.
Seeing the need to keep pace with the area’s ongoing glow-up, Peta and The Consortium QLD team decided to enact a pivot, transforming Tide on the Jetty into Wang Chung – a modern Asian restaurant that looks to fill a glaring hole in the suburb’s culinary offering.
“Some of my favourite places to dine are Rick Shores in Burleigh Heads and Rice Boi in Mooloolaba,” explains Peta. “We just thought there’s nothing here that’s like that – you’ve got your traditional Chinese and Thai places around, but nothing in that Asian space.”
On Sunday January 12, Tide on the Jetty closed ahead of a swift makeover and a rebrand. Peta and The Consortium QLD’s creative director Haidee Jackson oversaw (and participated in) a whirlwind cosmetic revitalisation, which exchanged Tide’s nautical-themed aesthetic for a sleek neutral-toned palette. The team demolished a brass bulkhead over the bar, ripped out old banquettes and removed a number of mirrored surfaces and old greenery before applying new rendering to the walls, a tiled bar front, and installing rattan panelling and a new eye-catching neon sign. The resulting look emphasises the breezy, easygoing aspects of its position above the sparkling waters of Moreton Bay, while still offering a sense of sophistication.
When it came to fashioning Wang Chung’s offering, the culinary team – including group executive chef Mathew Fulford and head chef Chris Bernhagen – used produce as the jumping off point for the menu, spotlighting the best of what’s local across a share-style menu that includes light bites, small plates, large-format dishes and desserts, all presented simply, yet artfully.
“We really wanted to have the option to play and emphasise that really fresh aspect of elegant coastal dining,” says Mathew. “We just build off the fact that we want to showcase the best local produce – we’re using Mooloolaba tuna and the prawns are all local. Everything we buy is as local as possible.”
Subscribe for updates
Wang Chung’s debut menu is versatile and malleable, lending itself towards both light grazing or full-send experiences. Guests can start small with Hervey Bay scallops with wasabi butter, rendang-spiced beef tartare on sesame leaf with chilli and coconut, raw local snapper wonton tacos with nam jim, ginger mayo and kaffir lime, and lobster sandos – an early standout boasting Japanese mayo and house pickles.
Plates like barbecued local king prawns with koji, white soy and green onion oil, Moreton Bay bug dumplings with crispy chilli and black vinegar, Wang Chung fried chicken ribs with chilli aioli, and warm squid salad with salted cashews and ginger dressing make for great stepping stones towards the main event. Think master-stock-braised pork belly with soba noodles, enoki mushrooms and green mustard, smoked Stockyard wagyu-brisket red curry with Thai basil and bean shoots, Kung Pao cauliflower with tempura shiitake, and market fish with local prawn tom yum, rice noodles, herbs and fried shallots. Later in the month, Wang Chung will launch a breakfast menu featuring a number of dishes boasting Asian-inspired tweaks. For now, locals can still pop in from 9:00 am for coffee and pastries.
“We want Wang Chung to be approachable – we want people to come in here with their families and try something a little bit different than what is in the area currently,” says Mathew. “That’s the whole point.”
The restaurant’s beverage program has been devised by group general manager Mihhail Zavertajev (with future input from new-hire restaurant manager Gino D’Arienzo), who has drawn inspiration from the culinary offering to shape the bar’s array of cocktails that riff on classic recipes via the use of unconventional ingredients.
“I think unlike The Arsonist where the drinks are quite strong, smoky and rich, this cocktail list is light, zesty and features a lot of Asian-inspired ingredients,” says Mihhail. “There are plenty of ingredients that you normally wouldn’t see on a cocktail list – oolong and black sesame, for example – but they really work well with the flavours of the food.”
Signature sips like the Wang Chung High Ball (scotch, cherry, vanilla, lemon and soda), Wasabi Margarita (wasabi-infused blanco tequila, lime marmalade and lime), Oolong Strawberry Martini (oolong-infused vodka, fraise de bois, strawberry wine and lemon) and the Black Sesame Espresso Martini (sesame-infused vodka, Kahlua, honey syrup and espresso) blur the lines between the familiar and the unusual to great results. These concoctions are backed by a sturdy wine list filled to the brim with aromatic drops and unheralded varieties like grüner veltliner, picpoul and torrontes from Argentina. There is also three kinds of sake on deck, for those looking to venture beyond their comfort zone.
“They’re all different styles,” Mihhail tells us. “They start from a very light option that you could have with your sashimi, or even just on its own, and then finish with one that really stands out with grilled meats.”
As Manly’s dining scene continues to grow (The Consortium QLD has big plans in the works that will materialise soon), Peta is keen to ensure Wang Chung maintains the casual approachability of Tide, while still offering something exciting for locals.
Wang Chung is now open to the public – head to The Directory for more information.