Update: Huge dim sum demand leads New Fortune 2 to limit hours to four days a week

Update: The lines were so intense at 12300 FM 620 last weekend that you might have thought Franklin Barbecue was hosting a pop up in Anderson Mill.

But the hungry folks waiting for the doors to open at New Fortune 2 were there mainly for dim sum service. William Wong opened the second iteration of his beloved Chinese restaurant late last week, and longtime fans were more than ready for the dumplings, shumai and chicken feet.

Lines stretched to a two-hour wait at times, with many folks finding the dim sum carts fully depleted by the time they sat. The massive demand put such a strain on the staff and kitchen that ownership has decided to change operating hours for the foreseeable future.

New Fortune 2 will only serve Thursday-Sunday (eliminating Monday-Wednesday service) in order to ease strain on the kitchen and ensure a quality dining experience for guests, according to a representative for the restaurant.

Lunch service will run from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with dinner service starting at 5 p.m. Weekend service will start at 10:30 a.m. Dim sum will be served while supplies last, with the dim sum cart only rolling through the dining room on the weekends.

Management is considering removing some tables to ease the burden on the kitchen, which makes all of the dumplings by hand, and create easier flow of traffic for the carts. The representative said the carts, which display the dim sum offerings, have a visual appeal that can entice guests to over order, thus causing a shortage of food by the time the carts make their ways across the large dining room.

Management will consider expanding service to earlier in the week if the crowds lessen in the months ahead. Wong and his partners in the original New Fortune, Ted Liu and Cao Nguyen (former T&S Seafood co-owner), operated that restaurant in the Chinatown strip center from 2014 to 2021. Wong was also previously a co-owner of Jade Restaurant in Davenport Village but recently sold that Chinese restaurant to out-of-town operators.

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One of Austin’s favorite Chinese restaurants from the last decade has gotten a new life across town.

William Wong opened New Fortune 2 Thursday at 12300 FM 620 near Anderson Mill Road. The restaurant is located in the building that was previously home to Jenna's Asian Kitchen. 

Wong and his partners closed the original New Fortune in 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic crippled the restaurant's sales.

The daily dim sum menu includes more than two dozen dishes, including Shanghai soup dumplings, pan fried shrimp-leek cake, scallop dumplings and more. The dining room will feature roving dim sum carts on the weekends. 

The main entrée selections feature more than 70 dishes, ranging from Peking style pork ribs to walnut shrimp and Vietnamese shaking beef. There is also a hot pot selection with five choices. 

Weekday lunch specials ($11-$15) served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. include a selection of “Hunan Style” dishes like General Tso’s chicken or broccoli with beef, and “Hong Kong Style” selections like salt-and-pepper pork ribs and sautéed clam with black bean sauce, served with an egg roll and choice of soup and rice. 

New Fortune 2 is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday-Friday, and 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 

Wong and his partners in the original New Fortune, Ted Liu and Cao Nguyen (former T&S Seafood co-owner), operated that restaurant in the Chinatown strip center from 2014 to 2021. Wong was also previously a co-owner of Jade Restaurant in Davenport Village but recently sold that Chinese restaurant to out-of-town operators.

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