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How Han Chiang of Han Dynasty turned a themed dinner into friendships with his hip-hop heroes
The 15-course tasting dinner is inspired by the rap supergroup's first album — and has drawn guests from GZA to Masta Killah.


Han Dynasty owner Han Chiang poses with Wu-Tang Clan's Masta Killah at a 15-course tasting dinner inspired by the group's seminal album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)."
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
by Beatrice Forman
Updated Dec 13, 2022

A Chinese restaurant owner, a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, and a guy from South Jersey walk into a bar.

Actually, it wasn’t a bar. It was the University City location of Han Dynasty for Monday night’s Wu-Tang Beer Dinner, a 15-course family-style Sichuan meal with 15 beer pairings that’s loosely inspired by Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the rap group’s seminal first album.

Now in its seventh year, the dinner’s vibe is very nightclub-meets-potluck: Jamel “Masta Killah” Irief (another Wu-Tang member) presided over the room, there were flavored blunt wraps at each table to encourage some undercover puffing and passing, and diners were instructed to eat and talk with complete strangers.

Owner Han Chiang, 43, said the dinner has roots in his Lancaster County upbringing, where, as a Taiwanese immigrant, Chiang said he was the only Asian student in a majority white school.

“I was dealing with a lot of racism back then, so I almost exclusively listened to a lot of angry music,” Chiang told The Inquirer. “Now, [Wu-Tang ’s] music feels different. I’m not as angry any more.”

For the diners, the tasting is the realization of a fandom fantasy, where they get to slurp noodles and slug beer in the presence of hip-hop royalty for $145 a pop.

But for Chiang, the event is a childhood dream realized: He’s forged friendships with group members like Raekwon, GZA, and Method Man, who filmed the music video for his song “Big Sky” in one of Chiang’s New York City restaurants.

“It was a dream come true,” Chiang said. “If you build it, they will come.”


Owner Han Chiang holds court at the restaurant's annual Wu-Tang Beer Dinner, which drew around 100 diners.
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

Now regarded as one of the most significant albums of the 1990s, Enter the Wu’s mixture of cipher-style rhymes, hardcore production, and East Asian influence has left a traceable imprint on hip-hop. The group’s lore has spawned a scripted series on Hulu, a spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and, yes, another Wu-Tang-themed dinner in Seattle.

Here, the album lends an aura to the menu, but Chiang said the event was originally supposed to be a literal interpretation of the 36 chambers: 36 courses spread across breakfast, lunch, and dinner and three of his restaurants. Monday’s menu was a mixture of traditional Sichuan favorites, from cumin-spiced lamb with shrimp crackers to snapper topped with peppercorns on the vine and a flaky pineapple-stuffed puff pastry for dessert.

Attendees skewed Gen-X and white, with a sprinkle of 20-something hypebeasts thrown in. Some were casual listeners, while others were longtime fans.

For Tina and Rodney (who didn’t want to provide their last names because of the undercover puffing and passing), the pair of engaged ex “secret office lovers” who now live in Mt. Airy, it was a trip back in time.

“Tonight takes me back to my late teens and early twenties, wearing Timbs and baggy jeans, and smoking blunts,” said Rodney, who was a freshman at West Chester University when Wu-Tang’s first single “Protect Ya Neck” dropped. (He later went on to write a paper on the song “C.R.E.A.M” for a literature class, which he did not deem an academic success).

Others were Wu-Tang rookies: One guy said he listened to a song and half before attending, but Chiang’s cooking was actually the bigger the draw.


At Han Dynasty's annual Wu-Tang Beer Dinner, guests are encouraged to sit with strangers (and maybe pass around a joint).
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

When Chiang started throwing the tasting in 2014, he didn’t have authorization from the group. Then, Greg “G” Provost — the WPRB 103.3 FM DJ who was the first to play Wu-Tang on the radio and still works with the group on Philly appearances — caught wind.

“I found out on Facebook, and when I looked at the menu, I saw pork everywhere, and I got mad. How are you going to do a Wu-Tang dinner and have pork on the menu when they’re totally against pork?” Provost, who is from South Jersey, said, referencing several of the group members’ Muslim faith.

As Provost tells it, he marched down to the restaurant to tell Chiang: “I said, ‘It’s cool you guys are doing this, but it’s really disrespectful for pork to be on the menu.’”

Chiang apologized and swapped pork for beef. A few weeks later, Provost invited him backstage to a GZA concert, and soon, the trio was “smoking blunts and talking about everything — food, music, family.”

Chiang’s favorite memories from chilling with the Clan? A tie between a Christmas Eve visit to a strip club in Queens for Chiang’s birthday with Raekwon, and a trip to Atlanta to meet Raekwon’s family.


Plates of Sweet Sesame Duck, one of 15 courses served at the Han Dynasty's annual Wu-Tang Beer Dinner in University City.
Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

“His mom cooked me the best Southern food I ever had,” Chiang recalled. “It was a special experience.”

Admittedly others have tried to fanboy their way into Wu-Tang ’s inner circle in the past. Disgraced “pharma bro” Martin Skreli paid $2 million dollars in 2015 for the only known copy of an unreleased album from the group, only to publicly fight the group as they tried to reclaim the album during his legal proceedings.

So, why then, is Chiang’s admiration different?

“What sticks out about Han is humbleness. I would’ve walked right by him,” said Masta Killah, who met Chiang for the first time at the dinner. Praise of Chiang’s cooking spread through the rap group, so Irief, who is vegan, was excited to try a specially-prepared menu just for him.

“Han’s real. He’s very dedicated and very, very intense, but he takes a lot of pride in his food … and that’s the thing,” Provost said. “A lot of people have money, but they don’t have his understanding.”

Published Dec. 13, 2022

Beatrice Forman
I'm a general assignments reporter who enjoys covering Philly-specific tomfoolery, both online and IRL.

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Xbox Wu-Tang Clan Game Details Leak
BY JOHN BONELLI
PUBLISHED 5 DAYS AGO
Project Shaolin, the Xbox game centered around the famous hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan, leaks some key details about the title's gameplay.


HIGHLIGHTS

Project Shaolin, a co-op melee combat game developed by Brass Lion Entertainment, will reportedly feature all nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan and incorporate their music into the gameplay.

According to leaks, the game will have a social space called "The Neighborhood" for players to enjoy music and engage in various activities, potentially with live service capabilities.

Project Shaolin is likely to be an Xbox console exclusive and may release on Xbox Game Pass in the future, with an official reveal yet to happen.

A new batch of key details have emerged about the Xbox Wu-Tang Clan game codenamed Project Shaolin. First reported back in 2021, Project Shaolin is an Xbox game described as a sort of hip-hop-infused third-person melee dungeon crawler with up to four-player co-op and a heavy helping of Wu-Tang's music and style.

Xbox has a lot of projects in the works at all of its internal studios, including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. When it comes to third-party partnerships, Xbox also has some interesting games in development with several talented external studios as well. Contraband, a co-op heist game, is still in production at Avalanche Studios, the team behind Just Cause. The Hitman studio, IO Interactive, is collaborating on what seems like a fantasy title in Project Dragon. Xbox's partnership with Kojima Productions is still in play, as well as a handful of smaller titles like Ara: History Untold and Towerborne, both set to launch next year. One of Xbox's more intriguing partners is the beloved hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, teaming up for the co-op melee combat game known as Project Shaolin.

The Fallout TV show's reveal impresses Xbox executive Phil Spencer so much that he is blown away by its trailer, ahead of the show's 2024 release.
It seems like development on one of these third-party projects is progressing quite well, as some key details about its gameplay and art design have surfaced. According to Insider Gaming, Project Shaolin, which is in its alpha stage of development at a newer studio named Brass Lion Entertainment, will allow players to play as all nine Wu-Tang Clan members. As expected, the title will heavily incorporate Wu-Tang Clan's beloved discography, and it'll even be fused with the game's third-person action combat.


Interestingly, Project Shaolin will provide players with a social space called "The Neighborhood" where they'll be able to enjoy music and use vendors among other activities. The Neighborhood hub seems perfect for co-op, but the way it's described by Insider Gaming makes it seem like it's built with live service capabilities in mind. Insider Gaming added that Project Shaolin's art style is quite reminiscent of the Spider-Verse animated films, incorporating a stuttered frame rate for a more stylized visual effect. Project Shaolin won't be the first musically-focused Xbox game to feature an animated cartoon-like art style, as just this year Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush released to rave reviews and has been nominated for five categories at The Game Awards.

Will Project Shaolin Be an Xbox Console Exclusive?
Since Project Shaolin is being developed by Brass Lion Entertainment as part of a third-party partnership with Xbox, it's a safe bet that the Wu-Tang game will be exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem. Additionally, Project Shaolin might drop directly onto Xbox Game Pass when the time comes. Insider Gaming noted that the game still looks like it's one or two years away from being released, but it's possible that its official reveal could be coming sooner rather than later, perhaps at the imminent Game Awards.

Hopefully one of you gamers will have something to say about this...

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Wu-Tang Clan Brands Come Together At National Cannabis Festival: All About Shops Of Shaolin
Javier Hasse
Senior Contributor
A column about cannabis, hemp, CBD and psychedelics.

Apr 9, 2024,02:44pm EDT

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 08: Raekwon, Method Man, RZA and Ghostface Killah perform at 10th Annual ONE ... [+]WIREIMAGE

This year’s National Cannabis Festival in Washington, D.C., is set to feature a notable highlight for Wu-Tang Clan enthusiasts and cannabis culture aficionados: the Shops of Shaolin. According to information procured exclusively ahead of an official announcement, this pop-up shop will, for the first time, assemble a collection of brands linked to the legendary rap group in one location, offering a unique attraction for festival-goers. Scheduled to take place on April 19th and 20th at the RFK Stadium, the festival expects to attract more than 30,000 attendees, including cannabis advocates, enthusiasts, and industry leaders.

As Nathaniel “Nutta TICAL” Vereen, co-founder at TICAL Official, Method Man’s cannabis and lifestyle brand, explains, “For the first time, brands representing the Wu are all under one roof supporting each other like the family we are. It’s going to be special.” This sentiment reflects the ethos of the Wu-Tang Clan, emphasizing unity and mutual support that extends beyond their music into various entrepreneurial ventures.

The Shops of Shaolin will feature a range of products from Wu-Tang members, including:
Method Man's Tical Athletics, TICAL Official, and RX Water
Ghostface Killah's Killah Koffee
RZA's Park Hill Clothing
Raekwon's Hashstoria and Compliments of the Chef
Brands representing YDB, Cappadonna, DJ Mathematics, U-God and Inspectah Deck.

This joint initiative reflects the Wu-Tang Clan’s wide-ranging entrepreneurial ventures into the cannabis and lifestyle realms, presenting an exclusive chance for attendees to engage with the Wu-Tang brand in a novel way.

Aside from the Shops of Shaolin, the National Cannabis Festival festival will also host a robust lineup of musical talent, including headliners Wu-Tang Clan, Thundercat and Redman, along with a variety of performers across genres.

Caroline Phillips, the festival's founder, highlights the broad appeal of this year's event. “Our new two-day format, incredible headliners and performers, and other experiences you can only get at NCF are guaranteed to make this our best one yet.”

Moreover, the festival will feature six education pavilions covering topics from wellness and policy to culture and psychedelics, alongside specialized lounges for the LGBTQIA+ community, seniors and military veterans.

The introduction of the Shops of Shaolin at the National Cannabis Festival highlights a fusion of cannabis culture and the Wu-Tang Clan’s musical heritage, establishing a fresh benchmark for artist-led entrepreneurial projects in the festival landscape. This new feature of the festival is poised to offer an unforgettable encounter, appealing to both the Wu-Tang Clan’s loyal followers and the wider cannabis community.



Javier Hasse

Javier Hasse is a cannabis, hemp, CBD and psychedelics-focused reporter, currently serving as head of content for Benzinga and CEO of Spanish-language news site El Planteo, a company he co-founded. His book, “Start Your Own Cannabis Business,” was published by Entrepreneur Media in 2018 and hit the #1 Best-Seller spot on Amazon.He is also a Senior Contributor on Forbes, and a member of the Rolling Stone Culture Council and Entrepreneur Media’s Entrepreneur Leadership Network VIP.As an award-winning reporter and editor, Javier’s had more than 5,000 unique articles in multiple languages published across numerous mass media outlets including CNN, Forbes, MSN, Chicago Tribune, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur Magazine, MarketWatch, Rolling Stone, Houston Chronicle, The Street, Nasdaq, Morningstar, Playboy, Benzinga, MERRY JANE, High Times and many others.He was recently named in the High Times 100 list of most influential people in the cannabis space.Beyond cannabis, Javier is a published photographer and Billboard-charting rapper, featured on hip-hop albums that also included Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Inspectah Deck, Twista, Lil Windex, Riff Raff, Cyhi The Prynce, Yung Bleu, DJ Whoo Kid, Jonathan Hay, and others.

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