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Thread: Kung Fu Restaurants & Bars

  1. #121
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    Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen

    A Showman Puts Noodles on Display
    Hungry City: Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen
    NYT Critics' Pick
    By LIGAYA MISHANAPRIL 17, 2014

    There is no ramen at Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen. At least not the kind New Yorkers have come to associate with the word: no roiling Japanese broth, no heady undertow invoking at once the barnyard and the ocean floor.

    Get that disappointment out of the way and you can move on to the real pleasures of Kung Fu, which opened in Hell’s Kitchen in December. The specialty here is ramen in its original form, as it first arrived in Japan from China: la mian, or hand-pulled noodles, which are as much theater as comfort food.

    The 27-year-old chef, Peter Song, does the pulling in view of the abbreviated, bare-bones dining room, smiling sunnily through a window in the back kitchen as he stretches and swings the dough in great spinning slurs, folds the ends together, twists the dough into a rope, slaps it down and tugs it apart again. The strands multiply. This happens swiftly, repeatedly, in swooping gestures like a manic port de bras.

    Mr. Song grew up in Fushun, in northeastern China. He started singing and dancing on televised variety shows when he was 14 and has appeared in several Chinese films (including, most recently, a comedy whose title loosely translates as “Don’t Talk to Me About Tall, Rich, Handsome Guys”). After immigrating to New York four years ago, he found work at Lan Zhou Handmade Noodle, a stall in the Golden Mall food court in Flushing, Queens. There he won the trust and support of his boss, Andy Liu, who is now his partner in Kung Fu.


    The chef, Peter Song, pulls noodles in view of the dining room. Credit Yana Paskova for The New York Times

    Last year, Mr. Song returned to China to study under a master noodle maker. (Along the way, he shot a short film involving noodles and nunchuks, which occasionally plays on the dining room’s flat-screen TV.) His research paid off: Mr. Song’s noodles are chewy, dense and so delicious that the soup they swim in seems almost superfluous.

    Almost. That soup, of which I had expected so little because it wasn’t “real” ramen, chastened me. Gentle at first, it grew deep and its flavors kept going, aromatic layers of soy, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and star anise. The house special, loaded with shrimp, fat-streaked beef and a soy-stained egg, was restrained, but a variation labeled spicy beef proved that the kitchen had firepower.

    The same noodles come fried in a dubious assemblage that recalls the greasy lo mein of dorm nights past, but tastes better than you remember. There are cold sesame noodles, too, not the usual mire in peanut butter and sugar but neat ribbons with a side of improbably light sesame sauce, for dipping. This is refreshing, although it lacks the classic’s gooey heat.

    But noodles are only half the restaurant’s name. Little steamed buns, or xiao long bao (better known in the West as soup dumplings), have fantastically juicy, porky interiors. Don’t grab them too lustily, though, or they will tear and all that lovely pent-up broth will splatter. The safest approach is to nestle one in a soup spoon with a bath of black vinegar, nibble a hole in the skin to let the steam out (to prevent scalding your tongue), then look deep into yourself and either take a dainty sip of broth or wolf down the whole thing at once.

    The menu has a few more necessities: thick, pleated buns with pork and gelatin liquefying inside, and brown-bottomed pan-fried buns sealed around Peking duck and hoisin or whipped eggs and chives. Otherwise, the scallion pancakes are oily, the ordinary dumplings leaden. You tiao, strips of deep-fried dough typically eaten for breakfast, could be good if the kitchen worked out the timing; mine were stale within moments of arrival.

    Be warned that the noodles cling desperately to one another and reach such lengths that attempting to partition a bowl may yield little but mirth, then frustration. Hand-pulled-noodle shops often have scissors on hand for fumbling diners like me, but none were offered on my visits.

    One night, I had to rise from my chair as I tugged at the strands, which continued spiraling upward, ever longer, refusing to break. “Just take them all,” my companions said, sighing. Well, if you insist.

    Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen

    811 Eighth Avenue (West 49th Street), Hell’s Kitchen; 917-388-2555; nykungfuramen.com

    RECOMMENDED Spicy beef ramen; cold sesame ramen; egg fried noodle; steamed buns; pan-fried pork buns; Peking duck buns; fried buns with chives and egg.

    PRICES $2 to $14.99, no American Express.

    OPEN Daily for lunch and dinner.

    RESERVATIONS Not accepted.

    WHEELCHAIR ACCESS The entrance is level with the sidewalk. The restroom has a handrail.
    mmmm hand-pulled noodles.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #122
    If you go to a noodle house nowadays, you are offered the choice of machine made or hand pulled noodles.

    Hand pulled or shou la mian is more chewey or tough outside, soft inside.

    Machined made is with the same toughness/thickness both inside and outside.

    Depending on your preference,

    Hand pulled is always better but it would cost you a dollar more.

    Personally I like blade cut/sliced noodles. Dao Xiao Mian.

    A bigger mass to chew.

    That is.

    In high school, I went to a Shan Xi One dragon diao xiao mian noodle house in Taipei. It was da best.

    When the chef was cutting the noodle slices into the boiling water pot. He was so fast that the noodle slices are so closely connected as if a dragon dipping into the water.

    Thus the name one dragon or yi tiao long.

    And that is the kung fu noodle.


  3. #123
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    Yet again...

    What is up with this place?

    #NoKungFuDallas

    Kung Fu Saloon once again slammed by allegations of racist policies
    BY CLAIRE ST. AMANT 5.19.14 | 11:56 am


    Kung Fu Saloon bills itself as a casual arcade bar. Kung Fu Saloon/Facebook


    DeAndre Upshaw, center, was told his footwear was unacceptable for Kung Fu Saloon. Courtesy Photo


    Bar games draw a young crowd to Kung Fu Saloon in Uptown. Courtesy of Kung Fu Saloon


    Kung Fu Saloon
    Get Directions - 2911 Routh St. Dallas

    When DeAndre Upshaw was first denied entry to Kung Fu Saloon in Uptown Dallas on Sunday afternoon, he thought the bouncer was just making a joke. "I've been going to bars all my adult life, and I've never heard of a policy against high-top shoes," says Upshaw, a 26-year-old black man.

    But the bouncer at the casual arcade bar was serious. Upshaw says he was told his high-top Converse sneakers were "against the dress code." This statement was especially puzzling, because several members of Upshaw's party were wearing similar shoes. The only difference? They were white.

    "This is setting yourself up for failure when you have a dress code that only applies to a subset of society," Upshaw says. The issue becomes even murkier considering the dress code isn't publicly posted. "They are not having issues. They are just trying to keep out people of color."

    ​​"It's pretty funny when we live in a society where being called racist is the thing we are upset about and not the policies that are discriminating," DeAndre Upshaw says.
    Upshaw is a marketing professional with thousands of contacts on social media, including this reporter. When he posted his account of the incident on Facebook, it generated nearly 100 comments, several of which detailed similar reports of racist dress code enforcement. The incident has even spawned its own hashtag, #NoKungFuDallas.

    Calls and emails requesting comment from Kung Fu Saloon were not immediately returned. Upshaw says after he was turned away, he left a message about the incident with the general manager, who called him back and was upset about the allegations of racism.

    "It's pretty funny when we live in a society where being called racist is the thing we are upset about and not the policies that are discriminating," Upshaw says.

    The May 18 incident is far from the first allegation of racist door policies at Kung Fu Saloon, which also operates in Houston and Austin. Last summer, an African-American man reported that he was denied entry to the arcade bar in Austin because he was wearing basketball shorts. His white friend who was clad in similar attire was allowed inside.

    Online reviews of Kung Fu Saloon reveal numerous allegations of selective dress code enforcement, including a Dallas man who was barred from entry due to wearing loafers without socks in May 2013.

    Upshaw says he tried to be reasonable about the ever-evolving dress code, but it was clear he wasn't going to be allowed in. "It was my friend's birthday," he says. "I was trying to figure out a way to make it work."

    He says the general manager offered to let his group into Kung Fu Saloon on another night, but it was too little too late for Upshaw: "I'm not coming back — ever," he says.

    UPDATES:

    Around 2 pm, Kung Fu Saloon emailed the following statement:

    Management of Kung Fu Saloon is currently investigating a claim that an employee of the company made an inappropriate comment to a customer trying to gain entrance to the bar wearing unacceptable attire. Management will determine whether the comment was racially motivated and if so, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. Kung Fu Saloon is home to one of the most diverse crowds in the Dallas bar scene – a reputation that we value and cultivate. It is not the policy of Kung Fu Saloon to deny any customer entry based on race or ethnicity. Our aim, as always, is to continue to provide a fun, safe and welcoming atmosphere to anyone, in keeping with Kung Fu Saloon policies.

    On May 19, one of Upshaw's Twitter followers sent along the following video from St. Patrick's Day, when a group of black men were reportedly turned away for not wearing socks.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  4. #124
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    On a more positive note...

    Serious Gong Fu here.

    The Hakka 'Kung Fu' noodle in north Sichuan
    2014-05-20 15:06 People's Daily Online Web Editor: Si Huan


    A worker arranges the noodles in a Hakka "Kong Fu" noodles shop in Nanchong city, southwest China's Sichuan province on May 11, 2014. [Photo/People's Daily Online]
    Noodle is the main staple of Hakka people (a branch of Han Chinese who speaks Hakka Chinese). As a unique culture inheritance, the Hakka "Kung Fu" noodle of north Sichuan is passed down from generation to generation, making an important delicacy of Hakka people.

    The preparation of the Hakka "Kong Fu" noodle is exquisite: dough of 25 kilograms is pulled into a thin strip of over 200 meters long, then the strip is cut into shorter bars and each bar is pulled to 4 meters long. It takes 12 procedures and 18 hours to make the noodles.



    Sun-drying the noodles. [Photo/People's Daily Online]


    Pulling one bamboo stick from the other, the noodles are stretched. [Photo/People's Daily Online]


    Further pulling the strip into thinner strip. [Photo/People's Daily Online]
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  5. #125
    1 Shou (hand) La Mian vs Hanging La Mian (Ra Men in Japanese)

    Hanging may get you long and thin noodles.

    Hand pulled may get you toughness or tenderness.

    2 Dao Xiao Mian knife cut noodle

    It is kung fu of knife cutting. The same size and shape of noodle with the same weight at speed.

    In the end, whatever you like or prefer.

    Hanging kung fu, hand pulling kung fu or knife cutting kung fu.

    cooking and soup base are other kung fu.


  6. #126
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    Kungfu-themed restaurant

    Kungfu-themed restaurant in E China city (1/5)
    2014-08-05 14:43 Ecns.cn Web Editor:Yao Lan


    A waitress in ancient Chinese clothing passes a wall featuring wash painting of martial art masters in a kungfu-themed restaurant in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province on August 4, 2014. With its decoration similar to that of restaurant in ancient China, the themed eating house makes its customers feel like “swordsmen” in ancient China. [Photo/ China News Service]


    Customers enjoy meal at a kungfu-themed restaurant in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province on August 4, 2014. Martial art elements in the eating house like ancient weapons, straw shoes, and bamboo flutes makes the customers feel like “swordsmen” in ancient China. [Photo/ China News Service]


    A waitress of a kungfu-themed restaurant in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province shows an antique sink on August 4, 2014. [Photo/ China News Service]


    Decoration of traditional Chinese style is seen at a kungfu-themed restaurant in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province. [Photo/ China News Service]


    Photo taken on August 4, 2014 shows a manuscript menu of a kungfu-themed restaurant in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province. [Photo/ China News Service]
    Cool! Um...what was the name of this restaurant?
    Gene Ching
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  7. #127
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    Kung Fu Kitchen

    Kung Fu Kitchen: A Kung fu dining experience
    By Maria Elena Catajan
    Sunday, August 10, 2014

    YOU would want to try their Kung Fu!

    Inspired by a movie, Kung Fu Kitchen takes you to China through the authenticity of their food and ambiance to boot.

    Opening early this year at the Ayala Techno Hub in Camp John Hay, the Chinese seafood place is slowly making its niche for foodies in the city.

    The food chain is part of the small empire actor turned businessman Marvin Agustin has built with popular restaurants like Tokyo Grill, SumoSam, Marciano's, John & Yoko, Johnny Chow, Komrad and Robotosan.

    Assistant Restaurant Manager Hart Gagelonia said the branch in Baguio is the third in the country with more on the way.

    "Our prices are affordable and all dishes are good for sharing," boasts Gagelonia.

    Best sellers are the dimsum bacon rolls, chicken feet, pork siomai and their cute Piggy Pao for appetizers. Prices for dimsum starts at an affordable P55 up.

    The entire make of the resto which can seat 50 people will take you to a movie set in Chinatown with poster murals and Chinese newspaper covering the tables.

    Bestsellers main dishes are the patatim and kung pao chicken with their rendition of the Schezwan Eggplant.

    In the highlands where seafood is hard to come by, Kung Fu Kitchen will indulge the cravings with their fresh catch cooked in their signature Kung Fu secrets.

    Seafood dishes come at their best with the crab bucket, the only resto in the Summer Capital to offer for only P595 with 3-4 pieces of succulent crabs while rock lobsters are at the same price and quantity is a definite favorite in the highlands.

    Kung Fu Kitchen also serves peking duck which is not in the menu and is subject to availability of the delicacy, an order costs P2,600 and can feed 10-15 people.

    Steamed rice bowls start at P85 for a full meal of rice, beef, pork or seafood, satisfying foodies on a budget.

    Gagelonia said the aim of Kung Fu Kitchen is to serve affordable meals in authentic Chinese cooking served by the 16 trained personnel which takes care every need of guests and operating hours starts from 11am to 10pm. Gagelonia said the resto also delivers (call 244-0840 or 0916-3375323) and they will bring the food right to your doorstep.

    The resto will give your tummies as well as your visual cravings satisfaction guaranteed!
    This is in the Philippines apparently.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #128
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    Kung Fu Tea

    First Taste: Kung Fu Tea

    Here's a secret: I love bubble tea more than pretty much anything. I would be to absurd lengths to acquire a solid cup of bubble tea, laden with an embarrassment of chewy tapioca pearls and filled to the brim with creamy milk tea. So it was with much excitement that I discovered Kung Fu Tea in Chinatown, a bubbly newcomer to the neighborhood's tapioca-happy dining and drinking scene.


    Kung Fu Tea

    Located on the second floor of the illustrious, energized Chinatown Square, Kung Fu Tea is a haven for comfort and leisure. It's the Chinatown equivalent of a hipster coffee shop enclave in, say, Logan Square. Filled with vibrant colors, board games, and pulsing Top 40 hits, the space feels like a junior high dance, but with less pimply awkwardness. Unlike most bubble tea shops, like Joy Yee or the new Bee & Tea spot in Bucktown, Kung Fu is ardently devoted to capturing the pop culture-chic essence of an Asian cafe. It feels and looks a little more like a Tokyo haunt than a Chinese one; like an excerpt from a Gwen Stefani video during her Harajuku era. Open all day into late night, the energy levels vary drastically. By day, it's a cute and quaint tea shop. By night, it's downright clubby, filled with ecstatic customers and employees who blatantly laugh at you when you ask what ingredients are in which drink. But it somehow comes off endearing and fun, like I'm a part of some inadvertent party. There's also a random smattering of board games throughout the soda pop-colored space, from innocent two-player options like Connect Four to anxiety-inducing Jenga.

    Now let's get to the bubble tea. It's refreshing to encounter a bastion for boba in Chinatown, as opposed to randomly selecting a restaurant that just happens to serve it (many of them do, it's a crap shoot). You come to Kung Fu Tea for bubble tea, simple enough. Although expansive, the menu is relatively straightforward and clear, divvied into sections such as Kung Fu Signature, Kung Fu Milk Strike (lol), Kung Fu Classic, Kung Fu Punch, Kung Fu Espresso, and Kung Fu Slush. For each drink, customers can adjust sugar and ice levels, which is a beautiful touch. Although the language barrier can sometimes result in laughter in your face. My go-to bubble tea is taro, here exhibited as a rich and decadent option on par with silken tuber buttercream. Good luck finishing a medium. Other less abrasively sweet options are the white gourd green tea, wherein the squash nicely balances out the heady green tea. It's like an earthy Big Gulp. The standard iced coffee beverages are nice and smooth, the saccharine qualities midigated by bitter undertones. For something straight-up fruity, pineapple sunshine tea and passion fruit slush drinks are purely refreshing and clean, like fresh fruit at its cleanest. Add red beans, jellies, or tapioca pearls to most any drink to enliven with a touch of chew.

    Amidst a sea of restaurants peddling bubble tea menu supplements, Kung Fu Tea is a welcome homage to the sweet (and occasionally silly) pastime.

    - Matt Kirouac
    I'm not fan of pearl teas. When I hear 'Kung Fu Tea' I think gongfu cha.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #129
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    More on Kung Fu Tea

    Kung Fu Tea Expands Its Grip on Boston
    by Rachel Leah Blumenthal Sep 24 2014, 9:39a @blumie


    A Kung Fu Tea location in Philadelphia

    The Asian bubble tea chain has a Cleveland Circle location on the way.

    Kung Fu Tea, an international bubble tea chain with the bulk of its locations in New York, has been snapping up Boston real estate rapidly since first expanding to Allston in early 2013. Since then, the shop has also appeared in Chinatown, Symphony, and Malden, and a previously announced Davis Square location (237 Elm Street) is still in the works.

    Now, there's another upcoming location, reports Boston Restaurant Talk: 1916 Beacon Street in Brighton's Cleveland Circle neighborhood, taking over the short-lived Fruitee Yogurt space.

    Kung Fu Tea offers a variety of hot and cold tea and coffee drinks and slushes, and customers can adjust sugar and ice levels and add boba, red bean, mung bean, herbal jelly, or nata jelly.

    Kung Fu Tea to Open in Brighton [BRT]
    Kung Fu Tea [Official Site]
    I checked out their site locator. Turns out there are two in the S.F. Bay Area, in Pleasanton & San Mateo. Neither city I frequent.

    I love their logo and would totally rock a T-shirt even though I'm not really a fan of bubble tea....
    Gene Ching
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  10. #130
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    Kung Fu Noodle

    Clever review title
    October 02, 2014 Chow » Chow Feature
    Kung Fu Noodle's Not a Knock Out
    By C.J. Hamm



    Kung Fu Noodle
    3122 N. Campbell Ave.
    881-7800
    Open: Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
    Pros: Great noodles made in-house
    Cons: Dubious services, issues with some of the meat dishes

    With a silly name like Kung Fu Noodle, you would expect some ass-kicking Asian food. This is not the case with the little Chinese noodle house tucked away in the corner of a strip mall on Campbell just south of Fort Lowell. Where their namesake, the noodle, is done very well, they have a lot to learn about the accouterments that are served along side them, as well as the staff that serves them.

    The restaurant has little to no curb appeal in the nondescript strip mall that houses places like Hungry Howie's "Pizza", Wingstop, and a gym. (Yes there were people on treadmills literally 3 feet and a wall away from my table where I was stuffing my face, ironic) However, upon entering the place you are brought to an authentic Asian noodle house. The space is small, but does not feel crowded. The super clean room is decorated tastefully with Chinese art and lighting fixtures, just enough for feel and effect, but not overdone. The very authentic appearing clientele all hovered over huge bowls of steaming hot broth and noodles had me excited for the experience. If I had one critique of the ambiance, it was the terrible acoustical ceilings, but I am sure that comes with the territory of renting strip mall space.

    My first visit was a Friday lunch with my Aunt Janice. We have a history of exploring ethnic hole in the walls, so this assignment was right up our alley. We were greeted immediately by (who I can only assume) was the owner, who was very friendly and warm, but slightly incredulous to our visit. She had asked if it was our first time, in which we replied that it was. At that point, she began to tell us that they were a noodle house, and we would not find any rice, General Tso's Chicken and the like. (In talking to her later on, I came to realize that there have been a wave of customers coming in looking for the Americanized Chinese cuisine consisting of MSG-laden corn starchy dishes of which they serve none) For our starter, we ordered the Szechwan Chili Beef. It came out quickly, but that's because it was pre-cooked and served cold. The thin slices of beef were terribly overdone to a mealy consistency. Despite the abundance of chili oil and the afterthought of tossing some cilantro on top, the only thing I could really taste was bad roast beef cold cuts.

    For our lunches, I ordered the Dan Dan Noodles and my aunt had the Chinese Beef Burrito. Again, the dishes were brought to the table pretty quickly and, unlike the appetizer, there were flashes of talent in the mains. The noodles from the Dan Dan are obviously made in-house, and made well. Just enough bite to them for some texture, yet soft enough to absorb some of the flavorful sauce from the bottom of the bowl. I could slurp up these noodles and sauce all day. There was one flaw with my dish what was described as minced pork that topped the noodles, while tasty, was not a texture conducive to any pork I have had. It was hard, like rock candy hard, I'm talking pork flavored Nerds® candy. My aunt's "beef burrito" had a different beef filling than the starter, wrapped in a freshly made crepe. The beef had plenty of five spice and hoisin flavor throughout the tender meat. The crepe was amazing, fried to a perfect crunchy exterior, yet still tender and pliable with a bit of fluff on the inside. The only knock on this dish was they killed the balance by including an entire bunch of cilantro in the burrito.

    On my second visit, I brought the family for dinner on a Monday evening. The restaurant was not nearly as busy when we arrived, but picked up during our dinner. We were not greeted by the friendly welcome I got on my first visit, in fact, we were not really greeted at all. Basically, the one server on the floor pointed at a table that would fit our party of four, then the waitress came to take our drink order. Kung Fu does not serve alcohol, so we decided to try a flavored tea (in our case, mango) and a couple of sodas. The tea had a great bit of fresh mango flavor, however was a bit too sweet for our liking. When the server (finally) came back to take our food order, and we had trouble trying to explain that we wanted to order starters first, then our mains, but that was due to the language barrier undoubtedly. For the apps, we decided on Jalapeño Chicken Feet, Cucumber Salad, potstickers and spicy pork wontons. My eldest son and I were the only ones brave enough to try the chicken feet. We did not enjoy them, but having nothing to compare them to, it could just be our tastes. I will say there was no sign of jalapeño in the dish. The potstickers and wontons were well executed. Again, you could tell that the wrappers were house made and fresh, and the filling had a good flavor of pork, cabbage and herbs. The sauce that accompanied the spicy wontons was fairly spicy, with a hint of sweetness. The cucumber salad was meek, huge chunks of skin-on cucumber with a faint hint of dressing consisting of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and garlic.

    For our mains we ordered the Kung Fu Beef Noodle Bowl and the Chef's Spicy Noodle Bowl to share. Déjà vu, in a couple of ways. The signature Kung Fu dish again had great noodles piled high in the large bowl, with a hot (in spice and temperature) broth and an assortment of vegetables. The broth was flavorful, but way too greasy. The beef in this beef dish was really where the problem arose. It was not any cut of beef that I could identify (and I know my way around a cow). In fact the only thing it resembled was a small bat wing, however, I realize that was not what it actually was. Again, it had that stale roast beef flavor to it. The Chef's Spicy Noodle Bowl was a mirror image of the Dan Dan Noodle Bowl I had for lunch, only with the addition of julienned cucumber. It was by far the best dish of the night, even with the reappearance of the pork Nerds®.

    Service on this dinner trip was horrendous, especially given the great conversation and service from my lunch visit. Not once were we offered a refill on any of the drinks or were we checked on after food arrived. In fact, one of my biggest pet peeves in service occurred when not one single dish from our four appetizers was bussed from the table until we had left for the evening. The young lady server was fairly busy towards the end of our visit and there was a language barrier, however, I have worked in restaurants and understand a busy service, so I made adjustments for all of those variables, and it was still unacceptably bad.

    I really do like the fact that Kung Fu Noodle takes pride in their noodles and dumplings and make them fresh daily, and it shows in those components. However, I just wish they paid more loving attention to the rest of their ingredients/dishes. Same goes with the atmosphere; if they could get the service to a level nearing the decor, they could be on the right track. However, as of now, they need some serious work. I will not be dining on those great noodles until they can piece together a dish around them that warrants a visit.
    Gene Ching
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    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  11. #131
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    i cant believe tightey whitey are stupid enough to pay good money to eat noodles.

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  12. #132
    In the west, you have all kinds of breads and cakes.

    In the far east, you have all kinds of noodles and dumplings.

    It used to be all hand made or manually made.

    Nowadays, you have machines to make the dough and such.

    Machine made or hand made noodles ?

    You pay an extra buck for hand pulled noodles in a noodle soup house.

    The soup base has always been a secret even to day.

    The ingredients for the stuffing in the dumplings are semi secrets.

    In the end, how you like it and how it is made would determine the value or price for the noodles and dumplings.


  13. #133
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    Kung Fu Saloon again

    It certainly lives up to its name.

    Kung Fu Saloon employee charged with assault

    By Patrick Tolbert
    Published: November 25, 2014, 10:19 am



    AUSTIN (KXAN) – An arrest warrant has been issued for a employee at Austin’s Kung Fu Saloon after officers allege he assaulted a customer so severely the man had to have metal plates put in his head.

    Robert Camillone, 24, faces a second degree felony charge of aggravated assault following the Nov. 11 incident at the bar.

    According to the affidavit for his arrest, the bar’s security cameras show Camillone grabbing Joseph Ohare and wraps his arms around Ohare’s neck. The affidavit says Ohare goes limp, indicating he’s unconscious and “dropped on his face by Robert Camillone.”

    Ohare suffered a fractured frontal bone, orbital and a broken nose. Officers noted that “the injuries to his brain are so severe that in order to reduce the swelling he is cut from right ear to left ear on top of his head opening up his skull.”
    Gene Ching
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  14. #134
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    Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao


    Soup Dumplings Learn Martial Arts at Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao, and Other Cheap Eats

    by Robert Sietsema, Dec 5 2014, 3:22p

    Eater critic Robert Sietsema offers three more recommendations for delicious — and incredibly cheap — international delicacies around New York City.

    Over the past 15 years, xiao long bao (a/k/a Shanghai soup dumplings) have become such a thing that now restaurants are specializing in them. Witness Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao in Flushing, way down Main Street just north of the Long Island Expressway among a small campus of Taiwanese restaurants. (Take the Q20 or the Q44 bus south from the Main Street 7-train terminus.)
    Kung Fu buns


    [Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao. All photos by Robert Sietsema.]

    The soup dumplings are absolutely killer, and you've probably never had them with such a gossamer-thin wrapper before. Of the four varieties available, the pork version ramped up with a small amount of crabmeat ($6.95 for six) is highly recommended, but for something really unusual, check out the dessert dumplings filled with molten chocolate. Be careful not to squirt it on your shirt!





    [Clockwise from top left: rice cakes, soup dumplings, tripe, and cold dishes.]

    The menu rounds out with a selection of cold apps in the Shanghai style (a method of dining said to have been invented by the Russians), and a menu of vegetables, soups, noodles, and stir fries, all budget priced. Among the cold dishes is a Sichuan plate of beef tripe in hot pepper sauce, and the noodles include the wonderful rice cake with pork and minced greens. The menu also includes an extensive selection of dim sum, one of which is "fried bun with chives and egg" (a specialty known in Los Angeles as "chive box"), sweet red bean pancakes, and sesame rice ball with osmanthus sauce. The distance from the Main Street station to the café is walkable, in which case you may want to stop at the Queens Botanical Garden at the halfway point. 59-16 Main Street, Queens, 718-661-2882.
    This place looks pretty good.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  15. #135
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    Jan 1970
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    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
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    47,946

    Another Kung Fu Noodle

    Franchise chain or coincidence? See KFN1 & KFN2.

    Kung Fu Noodle's Barebones Charm
    By Jessica Elizarraras


    Courtesy
    Beware—this lamb soup is hot as hell

    It's hard to get enthused by the looks of Kung Fu Noodle, but the aromas making their way from adjacent tables tell another story.

    I have to stress how, shall we say, efficient, the space is. Five wooden tables are lined up on either side of the narrow dining room, totaling 10. And these aren't your usual restaurant tabletops, either, as they were all handmade by the family in charge using sturdy two-by-fours, some still imprinted with random marks courtesy of Home Depot. Don't expect to sit back and recline on the wee little stools used at these tables. Other than a few good luck kitties, a string of mini red lanterns, a smallish flat-screen propped up by the corner entrance of the shop and a tiny string of green leafy vines, there isn't much in the way of decor, and that's completely fine.

    Not for the gluten-allergy afflicted by any means, the noodles, available in both stretched and thick ribbons, are hand-pulled by a pair of Chinese transplants, hailing from the Anhui province. Their daughter and son act as servers as needed. As a fan of short menus that focus on the best a restaurant has to offer instead of trying to satisfy eaters with several pages of items, I was definitely charmed by Kung Fu Noodle. There are 12 items on laminated sheets of Day-Glo paper—that's it—broken up into three categories. Choose between noodles, dumplings and buns, and ready your facehole for some comfort.

    I stopped in for my first try on a recent rainy Friday evening. As a fan of a little heat, I was intrigued when the server tried to actively talk me out of a bowl of handmade noodles with lamb, a dish that had been recommended by Quealy Watson of Southtown's Hot Joy. The usual warning chiles were nowhere in sight, so how hot could this actually be? I had made my choice, so I was sticking with it. What arrived was a fragrant bowl of dark crimson broth, bok choy halves and pieces of tender lamb. After my first spoonful, I vowed never to doubt the server again as the smoky heat from the chili powder, peppercorns and full-blown chili pieces hit the back of my throat with dead-on precision. I may or may not have fished them out of my piping hot bowl to avoid biting into one of the suckers.

    Otherwise, my larger order of pork and celery dumplings (the portions are out of control and definitely made for sharing) was plenty delicious. Clearly handmade and rustic, the beef dumplings had a simple charm about them. I happily dipped dumpling after dumpling into the tableside hot chili oil, because I can't seem to learn my lesson. My dinner partner's fried noodles with vegetable were equally solid (if I had one tiny criticism it would be the heavy-handed use of oil).

    The other thing Kung Fu's got going for it is that prices are almost ridiculously low. I left that night with another meal's worth of leftovers and nary a dent in my wallet.

    My second visit happened by chance, after I found myself in the area on a Sunday. I popped in hoping to get my chubby hands on the buns, which weren't available during my previous visit. Alas, the good luck kitty wasn't on my side that day, but I didn't leave empty handed. I made another few meals out of two orders of dumplings—a savory pork and chive order worth repeating, and an earthy pork and mushroom that wasn't necessarily a favorite.

    Although I traditionally only visit most eateries twice, a third stop was in order so I could sample the steamed buns, which are only available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (although that's not expressed on the menu). I was able to try the Chinese buns—the pork and cabbage variety has a longer prep time and wasn't available that evening—and they were definitely worth the wait. The buns, large and filled with a spicy mixture of veggies and lamb, made for a tasty dinner along with a bowl of the only noodles not made in-house, the sweet potato noodles with lean and perfectly seasoned beef in a light broth.

    All three visits were met with contemporary country music streamed from the joint's lone TV (that juxtaposed nicely with the pulling and slapping of noodles on kitchen counters in the back), and most tables were filled with Chinese students, regulars according to our server. There's really nothing quite like Kung Fu Noodle in the SA Asian scene, for better or worse. But you can leave with a warm, noodle-filled belly and that's always a good thing.
    Kung Fu Noodle

    6733 Bandera, (210) 451-5586
    Skinny: Don't go in expecting much more than a giant comforting bowl of hand-pulled noodles, oodles of dumplings and spicy steamed buns
    Best Bets: Pork and chive dumplings, sweet potato noodles with beef, handmade noodles with lamb, fried noodles with vegetables
    Hours: 11am-9pm daily
    Price: $1-$6.99
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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