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New menu and approach at Kong
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
New menu and approach at Kong
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
When chef Michael O'Halloran opened up Kong (702-704 N. Second St.) last August, he set out to create a rustic Hong Kong street food experience. Recently he altered and added to the menu/homage, and Meal Ticket caught up with O'Halloran to get privy to the new direction. Here's what he told us.
"In the beginning, we were only cooking within the confines of that [Hong Kong street food] concept," says O'Halloran. "Once we got comfortable with the area, and after receiving lots of customer feedback, we made some changes. We wanted to maintain the spirit of rustic and informal Hong Kong street food, but translate it to the Philly palate."
So, what's changed? Guests can't get enough of the âPhilly Cheesesteakâ dumpling offered during his Thursday night 50-cent dumpling deal, and O'Halloran has taken notice — it is now featured on the regular menu along with a few previous deal-night-only options. The popularity of this event also inspired O'Halloran to dream up more shindigs, like a Szechuan-style crawfish boil and rustic Chinese BBQ. (Those'll be perfect for spring/summer weather ⦠we'll have those details soon.)
Check out the revised menu in full below. There are now more vegetarian options (O'Halloran thinks Ray of Ray's Seitan has the best stuff in the area) and re-worked versions of Kong's mu shoo, ribs, BBQ beef brisket, buns (now sliders) and chicken wings. They are hybrids spawned by mating old-school Chinese with non-traditional techniques and components, too, like stuffing mu shoo with more than just pork, and clarifying rib-braise stock then reducing it for an accompanying sauce.
âI am very happy with the menu right now," adds O'Halloran. "I keep looking over it for a dish that irritates me, but right now, I'm happy with all of it.â
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Menu link broken?
Sorry Kevin! Please try now, it should be good to go.
[...] Kong has tweaked its approach and menu. Giving the people what they want is evident in the cheesesteak dumplings. [Meal Ticket] [...]
[...] They've also added the popular Philly Cheesesteak Dumplings to the regular menu (formerly a special) and have transformed their "buns" into sliders, offering them in Ginger and Scallion Pork, Sesame Beef, 12-Hour Chinese BBQ Brisket, or Crispy Fried Tofu. You can view the new menu at City Paper's Meal Ticket. [...]
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