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Pictures and menu for Michael O'Halloran's Kong
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Pictures and menu for Michael O'Halloran's Kong
Kong (702 N. Second St., 215-922-KONG), the new Hong Kong street food-inspired restaurant from Bistro 7 chef/owner Michael O'Halloran, will open to the public this coming Saturday, August 15, at 5:30 p.m., with a lion dance performance out on the sidewalk in Northern Liberties.
The idea for the spot, on the corner of Second and Fairmount in the former Sovalo, sprung from O'Halloran's regular trips to Hong Kong to visit the family of his wife, Sophia. Out there, the couple caught some of their most memorable eats at dai pai dongs, the open-air kitchen stalls where you're treated to endless takes on dishes that are often static in the hands of more traditional Chinese sit-down restaurants.
Though the menu (after the jump) is broken down into simple categories � dim sum, dumplings, buns, noodles, rice � there's plenty of variation to be had, and O'Halloran and his crew are keen on scratch-making everything, from the delicate dumpling dough to the five spice-cured slab bacon that makes several appearances in dishes. (Pictured above � O'Halloran's mother-in-law, Ping, prepping the "three-way" pork dumplings, which are stuffed with that bacon, pork belly and ground pork.) Think of it as fast slow food � lots of dishes that take "30 seconds to [cook], but five days to make," O'Halloran says. Prices are being kept low, topping out at $16. Wine and beer lists are tight; five beers on tap, including a house rice ale.
The restaurant itself is a split space � bar on one side, and a dining room, with a raised-platform communal table, on the other. They distressed look on the wall is original � they uncovered it after ripping off layers of dry wall and paper, and later decided to dress it up with characters inspired by the work of Tsang Tsou Choi, whom many consider the world's first graf writer. Speaking of artists � land pirate is responsible for the parachuting pandas in Kong's bathrooms.
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[...] we dropped by Michael O’Halloran’s Kong (702-704 N. Second St.) back in August, we got to check out his mother-in-law Ping (above) cranking [...]
[...] 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 [...]
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