In a restaurant and a city consumed with pork, Kong’s honey-glazed Chinese bacon with spicy roasted peanuts stands out. Phoodie has the run down.

The Once-Over: Kong [Phoodie.info]

Rick Nichols is at the opening of Kong, the new Hong Kong street food restaurant at 2nd and Fairmount in Northern Liberties. Nichols gives an early review of the food, salt and pepper softshell crab was missing the spice but there are other dishes that already going full bore.

[W]hen Kong is cooking, it’s just pure fun: My wife and I gobbled down a dim-sum plate of candylike deep-fried asparagus spears with hoisin dipping sauce ($5). Moments later, we demolished a bowl of stir-fried egg with crab, asparagus, lap cheong and rice ($8), which appears to be big with the staff as well.

Comfort from Kong [Philadelphia Inquirer]

A favorite of hospitality pros and late-night revelers, the Daily News’ Lari Robling calls David’s Mai Lai Wah the “best restaurant in town open at 2 in the morning.”

David’s is more retro than current. The first time I entered the brightly lit red dining room gleaming with mirrors and chrome, I was back in the ’60s with my parents. They sipped classic cocktails such as the mai tai, Singapore Sling and Zombie while my brother and I sucked down Shirley Temples adorned with paper umbrellas.

2 1/2 Stars

Chinatown mainstay still delivers tasty fare [Philadelphia Daily News]

It’ll be up in lights on Broadway: Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World – King Kong (1933)

Kong in Northern Liberties may not be aiming to the 8th wonder of the world but the sophomore effort from Bistro 7’s Michael O’Halloran has been eagerly anticipated.

The former Sovalo will feature Hong Kong street food and affordable  dumplings, buns and bowls.

Read the rest of this entry »

Craig LaBan checks out Sakura Mandarin in Chinatown and finds a place that excels in scallion pancakes, soup dumplings, Szechuan food and surprisingly, even sushi.

And pretty much everything Sakura Mandarin cooked with pork was outstanding, from the shredded lean pork with the lightly smoky garlic sauce to the double-cooked pork belly, whose fat-ribboned meat was tossed with dried bean curd, fermented beans, and a vivid flicker of chile heat. Even the heat-blistered Szechuan green beans got a little porcine boost from crumbled spicy meat.

Two Bells – Very Good

Sakura Mandarin [Philadelphia Inquirer]

This week in Philadelphia Magazine’s Restaurant Club Newsletter.

• Our Favorite Local Chinese Spots
• First Peek Photos: Savona Goes Casual
• Food for Thought: Don’t Drink the Kobe Kool-Aid
• Free Lunch at Union Trust!

Restaurant Club Newsletter [Philadelphia Magazine]

Susanna Foo is closing her doors for good on Saturday, June 13th, a couple months before her originally reported closing date.

If you make it into the Walnut Street landmark youl will not just eat a meal at the four-bell Chinese restaurant but will also receive a 20% off voucher for dinner at Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor.

Susanna Foo bows out after 22 years on Walnut Street where she racked up these impressive accolades.

1988 Esquire Magazine – Best New Restaurant
1989 Food and Wine Magazine – Best New Chef
1996 James Beard Foundation – International Cookbook Award
1997 Nation’s Restaurant News – Fine Dining Hall of Fame
1997 James Beard Award – Best Chef-Mid Atlantic Region
1999 Robert Mondavi Award – Culinary Award of Excellence
2006 Food Arts Magazine – Silver Spoon Award
1998, 2001, 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig Laban – Awarded Four Bells

Susanna Foo [Official Site]

In Craig LaBan’s latest online chat one of his Crumb Tracker Quiz items was “the best scallion pancakes in town.” The answer was Chinatown’s Sakura. LaBan describes the pancakes as:

the ultimate blend of crispy and pliant, their flakiness sitting on the plate like lightly bundled handkerchiefs of silk flecked with scallion. And they are simply amazing.

Philadining, the region’s official arbiter of soup dragon goodness makes a return trip to Sakura to praise the Xia Long Bao.

These seem in perfect balance. The skins are tender, yet strong, holding in just the right amount of broth. That soup inside is less salty than many other versions, but comes into perfect balance with a few drips of the gingery sauce that accompanies. 

Xia Long Bao / XLB / soup dumplings / steamed juicy buns, whatever you call them, be sure to check out Philadining’s tips on how to eat them.

Craig LaBan Restaurant Chat [Philly.com]
Sakura – More Soup Dumplings in Chinatown [The Philadining Blog]

Michael O’Halloran of Bistro 7 is opening a Kong, a Chinese street food restaurant in July and some details have been revealed.

The menu will be broken down into categories like small plates, dumplings, buns and noodle bowls. The bowls sound like the most fun. Diners will be able to pick a noodle type such as cat’s ear, knife cut, suomen, fat egg or skinny egg. Then add a protein, like shrimp and crab, pork belly, duck breast, chicken or tofu. Finish it off with a choice of broth including coconut curry, tomato lemongrass or ginger miso.

Kong will be located in the former Sovalo at 702 N 2nd Street.

Craig LaBan dines at Chifa and finds Jose Garces’ gastro-genius on display.

Overall, I find the rambling bilevel space full of odd nooks, and the ambitiously wide-ranging menu a notch less compelling than Garces’ other more-well-defined tapas emporiums. Even if it is inspired by an actual tradition (known as “chifa”) that developed organically over more than a century by Chinese laborers in Peru, one gets the sense that is merely a pretext for this chef and his talented crew to show us their creative chops – and it can feel disjointed and vaguely indulgent.

And yet, if there’s a chef in town I’m happy to indulge, it is Garces. And there are simply so many stunning flavors here, starting with the addictive yucca-flour cheese buns (pan de bono) in the complimentary bread basket, it’s nearly impossible not to leave impressed.

3 Bells – Excellent

Chifa, a Chino-Latino blend [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Chifa [Official Site]