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Thread: Kung Fu Restaurants & Bars

  1. #181
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    Our newest exclusive web article

    Here's to your health! READ 4 Martial Arts Themed Bars Around the World to Visit by Monica Mizzi

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  2. #182
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    Chi Chop + Kung Fu Tea

    Chi Chop + Kung Fu Tea looks to succeed where others failed


    Ninja chicken and slush drinks are two of the featured items at Chi Chop and Kung Fu Tea in Riverview. ERIC VICIAN | Special to the Times
    By Eric Vician
    Times Correspondent
    Published: September 21, 2018

    RIVEVIEW – Amy Lin knows that her newest Chi Chop + Kung Fu Tea store is in a location where previous businesses have not lasted.

    The short-lived Tap’s Brewhouse & Deli and even shorter-lived Top Shelf Sports Bar and Grill tried to renovate a former bank footprint at 5914 Providence Road, Riverview over the past few years. She believes that her experience in property investment and in running four other Kung Fu Tea franchises will help her and her two business partners grow the brand throughout Florida. Lin, who moved from China to Clearwater when she was 18, opened Florida’s first Kung Fu Tea near the University of South Florida in 2014.

    Last month she brought the concept to the SouthShore area, with a few twists. In addition to serving classic teas (like green, oolong and black) using leaves that are fresh brewed for three hours, Kung Fu Tea also serves new mike teas, punch like honey lemonade and slush drinks like mocha. Lin brought only the most popular beverages from the more than 60 on the menu at the original Fowler Avenue store and she added a full food menu, the so called Chi Chop with hibachi, grilled and fried chicken entrees.

    "I’m interesting, so I tried to do everything,' Lin said about renovating everything from the menu to the dining room. "I think it looks better."

    The fast casual atmosphere allows patrons to place their order where the bar used to be for the last two businesses, and take a number to newly-designed seating areas where the food is delivered to them. Lin said she installed sunset blocking divider walls and spent a lot of time and money on the color scheme, tables, chairs and upgraded bench seating.

    "I spent a lot for the furniture so customers can relax and be more comfortable," she said. "So the customers can enjoy not just the food only."

    The new Japanese Hibachi fare starts at $9.95 for the chicken and increases for beef, shrimp and salmon options. Starters include fried calamari for $8.50 and a different fried experience with the Ninja chicken cutlet forr $8.50. Chi Chop takes an extra large, 12-ounce bone in chicken, flattens and deep fries it. If you like spice, ask for additional pepper powder.

    Lin has plans to open more Chi Chop and Kung Fu Tea locations in Largo, Sarasota and St. Petersburg. She said all her restaurants will feature three pillars of success that she feels are important for the customer: "fresh, clean and service."

    Visit facebook.com/cckftriverview/ to see what she is referring to or stop into her newest store – she thinks it will be around for a while.

    ''I think it’s a good location for me because of our products," Lin said. "I like this area."

    Caribbean cafe adds frozen meal offerings

    Perhaps you’ve picked up one of their sauces in a booth at a show or event all over Florida, or grabbed a meal earlier this year at Hey Mon’s Caribbean Café’s newest location at 213 Kingsway Road, Brandon, F. Well now you can take a meal home for later as the Caribbean/American restaurant recently announced it is offering frozen meals.

    Call your order in, drive to the side entrance and pick it up in approximately 10 minutes – hot or cold. Call (813) 502-5710. Also visit facebook.com/HeyMonsCafe/to see what event Hey Mon’s will attend next

    SHARE YOUR NEWS: If you have an item for Everybody’s Business, contact Eric Vician at ericvician@yahoo.com.
    Not sure I'd want to eat something called 'ninja chicken' (even when I used to eat chicken). Might be full of shuriken or something.
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  3. #183
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    Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry

    841 Larkin Street, SF

    I MUST check this out.

    Kozy Kar Owner Opens Kung Fu-Inspired Bar in Old Gangway Space
    It’s called Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry
    by Caleb Pershan Oct 10, 2018, 3:29pm PDT


    Sam Young

    It’s almost showtime at Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry, a new bar from Sam Young, owner of Boogie Nights-inspired Polk Street dive bar Kozy Kar. No, it’s not actually a laundromat: Just a bar with kitschy decor, including a working dry cleaning rack behind the bar, over which they’ll project kung fu classics. Starting tomorrow, October 11, Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry is open 6 p.m. to 2 a..m, from Thursday through Sunday, with more hours to come.

    The location is 841 Larkin Street, the former home of the Gangway, a salty gay dive bar that was the city’s oldest LGBT establishment before it closed in January. Young will leave the rainbow flag out front to signal that all are welcome, and preservationists have salvaged much of the Gangway decor and memorabilia.


    Sam Young

    “It’s all tongue-in-cheek,” Young says of his bar’s perhaps problematic theme and name, “it’s meant to be misleading.” Compared with Kozy Kar, which is “its own world of bizarreness,” Young suggests that his new bar is tame: At Kozy Kar, which has a second location in Santa Rosa, customers can drink in an empty jacuzzi or on a water bed.

    One similarity at Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre: A motorized spinning “bed” (or seating platform) in the back room, which is decorated with green lights and infinity mirrors that Young calls Tron-inspired

    As a business owner, Young appears to revel in line-toeing and controversy: Kozy Kar gloatingly advertises its negative press on Yelp, posting quotes like “this place is gross and weird” and “I would give it 0 stars if I could.” What kind of reviews Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry are likely to generate remains to be seen, but it’s more than possible that any customer complaints will be played for laughs.

    Beyond drinks — the bar sports a full liquor license, and Young says to expect standard spirits and cocktails — customers can eventually purchase snow cones (they’ve got a machine) and help themselves to popcorn. Add that to the old movie theater seating and red Chinese lanterns — then throw a lot of strong cocktails on top of that — and it’s basically Grauman’s Chinese Theater.


    Sam Young



    Sam Young
    I posted a precursor to this story last year on our OT: Laundry Fu thread.
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  4. #184
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    I'll be in SF in Nov...

    ...I'll check this out then.

    Search
    Young’s Kung Fu Laundromat opens in Tenderloin's old Gangway space



    Kung fu laundry The Gangway's old sign has been repainted to reflect the new bar's concept. | Photos: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline
    Fri. October 19, 2018, 10:21am
    Screen shot 2016 12 01 at 6.03.59 pm by Carrie Sisto
    @carries1981
    Neighborhoods
    Tenderloin
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    841 Larkin Street

    A new kung fu-themed bar has opened in the Tenderloin space that housed one of San Francisco’s most popular gay bars for more than a century.

    Kozy Kar owner Sam Young’s new concept for the space, “Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry,” features kung fu movie posters, several screens featuring kung fu movies, benches that change colors with flashing lights, infinity mirrors, and a rotating circular couch.


    The mirrored walls surrounding the rotating couch change colors with LED lights.


    While it does not include any laundromat facilities, liquor is stashed in a working dry cleaning rack over the bar.

    A dry cleaning rack displays liquor bottles above the bar and below one of the bar's several large movie screens.
    The bar opened its doors on October 11, just under under 15 months after Young took ownership of the location.


    The bar walls that aren't covered by mirrors are largely plastered with kung fu movie post.

    The location, 841 Larkin St., housed the nation’s oldest gay bar, the Gangway, until it poured its last drink in January.


    The Gangway prior to its January 2018 closure.

    Although Young was not interested in maintaining the Gangway at its current location, he did facilitate the removal of its key decor by preservationists, who are hoping to potentially recreate the atmosphere at a new location in the Tenderloin.

    You can already visit Young’s Kung Fu Action Theatre & Laundry on Thursdays through Sundays from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., but it may extend its hours in the future, according to Eater.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #185
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    Kung Fu Oriental Buffet

    Thu, 25 Oct 2018
    Everybody will be Kung Fu biting ... food
    Charlotte Booth
    charlotte.booth@newburynews.co.uk
    01635 886637



    HERE’S a sneak peek inside the new all-you-can-eat pan-Asian buffet restaurant that will be opening in Newbury's Kennet Shopping centre tomorrow (Friday).

    Kung Fu Oriental Buffet is located directly beneath Vue Cinema and opposite Nando’s, on the Market Street and Cheap Street junction.

    The 4,500 sq ft restaurant will offer cuisine from Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.



    Kung Fu trades from 23 other locations nationwide and in the last year has opened in Kingston, Worcester and Earl’s Court with further planned openings in Chelmsford and Leamington Spa.

    It is expected that the Newbury restaurant will create 17 part-time and full-time positions.



    Centre manager Mag Williams said: “We are truly delighted to welcome Kung Fu and its customers into the centre and are looking forward to the excitement this new letting will bring.



    “The restaurant will help complement our existing food and leisure operators – Vue, Nando’s, Subway, GBK, Pizza Express, Boswells and Caffè Nero.”
    Unfortunately my plans for November changed. I was going to be up in SF near Kung Fu Laundromat (see post above) on Nov 3rd, but now I have to hustle back to San Jose for my master Shi Decheng's seminar in San Jose so I have no time to check it out. Next time. Might have to make a special trip.
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  6. #186
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    RZA + Alamo Drafthouse introduce The Flying Guillotine | 360° Tour

    Gene Ching
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  7. #187
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    Kung Fu 12 Szechuan

    In search of Szechuan food? Clarksville has a new Chinese spot


    Kung pao chicken from Kung Fu 12 Szechuan in Clarksville. (HANDOUT)
    John-John Williams IV John-John Williams IV
    Howard Magazine

    David Hou, 55, a West Friendship resident, didn’t see any “good” Szechuan-style restaurants near his home, so he decided to open one.

    The former software engineer says he’ll rely on his experience as manager of a large restaurant in his native China to run Kung Fu 12 Szechuan, a 40-seat restaurant in Clarksville Commons that opened in October.

    He says customers will enjoy familiar dishes made daily with fresh ingredients such as kung pao chicken, shredded pork with garlic sauce and beef with peppers. “We don’t provide a lot of dishes,” he explains. “But all of those dishes are very popular.”

    Kung Fu 12 Szechuan is located at 12250 Clarksville Pike, Suite F, in Clarksville. 410-698-6676. kungfu12szechuan.com.
    Kung Fu 12 Szechuan

    The most unique and important spice in Szechuan Cuisine is the Szechuan pepper,or Szechuan Peppercorn.



    Szechuan pepper has an intense fragrant, citrus-like flavor and produces a "tingly-numbing" (麻; má) sensation in the mouth.

    About Szechuan/Sichuan Cuisine

    In all Szechuan cuisine, there is a common pepper used called the Szechuan Pepper. In this Szechuan pepper there is a flavor called “Má-La” (麻辣) that creates a unique spicy and numbing feeling. Szechuan pepper contains many different minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients that the body requires to properly function. Some of the most important components include potassium, vitamin A, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, and phosphorous. This is in addition to a wide variety of phytosterols, terpenes, and carotenes.



    Some health benefits of Szechuan Pepper include: stimulate circulation, reduce pain, improve immunity, aid in appetite, strengthen the bones, eliminate inflammation, prevent chronic diseases, protect the stomach, lower blood pressure.

    Chongqing noodles are referred to as Xiao Mian (小面) in Chinese, which means "little noodles" in English. The term "Chongqing noodles" originated from Chongqing. Xiao Mian noodles are typically prepared using wheat. There are two main types of xiao mian dishes: noodles with soup and noodles without soup. Chongqing noodle dishes are typically spicy because it is prepared using a variety of spices, seasonings, and sauces. Szechuan pepper is often used in the dish's preparation. Myriad meats and vegetables are also used in its preparation. Various garnishes and condiments, like spring onions and chili oil, are also used. At Kung Fu 12 Szechuan, our authentic, notable, and healthy Szechuan cuisine offers outstanding flavors to satisfy our customers.

    ​功夫十二 川料理,原汁原味川菜,重庆小面,经典,细腻,健康,功夫十二制作,牛肉面,重庆干馏面,宫保鸡丁,鱼香肉 丝,马里兰川菜,马里兰川料理,四川饮食,麻辣鲜香。


    Contact Us
    12250 Clarksville Pike, Suite F, Clarksville, MD 21029
    Phone: (410) 531-5800 (410) 698-6676
    E-mail: kungfu12szechuan@gmail.com
    This restaurant is spot on with the Ma La.
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  8. #188
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    Slightly OT

    Car slides into Taichi Bubble Tea after crash
    February 24, 2019 09:56 AM

    ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) - A car struck a building in College Town Saturday night following a two-vehicle crash.

    Police say a crash occurred just before 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Mt. Hope Avenue and Celebration Drive, causing one of the vehicles to hit Taichi Bubble Tea on Mt. Hope Avenue.

    The restaurant was open, but police say no customers were injured. One of the drivers was taken to URMC for treatment.

    There was no structural damage to the building, but the front windows will need to be boarded up.



    Police say no citations will be issued.

    WHECTV

    Updated: February 24, 2019 09:56 AM
    Created: February 23, 2019 10:46 PM
    THREADS
    Car-crash Kung Fu
    Kung Fu Restaurants & Bars
    Gene Ching
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  9. #189
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    Dragon Noodles Academy

    Kung fu theme packs a punch at Hong Kong-style Dragon Noodles Academy
    Red lanterns and golden dragons set the scene at this colourful restaurant, making dining here quite an experience
    Douglas Parkes
    Published: 10:30am, 10 Apr, 2019


    Dragon Noodles Academy’s decor is inspired by kung fu.

    FARE Traditional Cantonese with a modern twist.
    AMBIENCE Restaurant group Dining Workshop – the folks behind Yum Cha and its incredibly cutesy dim sum dishes – have a history of updating traditional Hong Kong cuisine. They have done a similar job with the decor here. The kung fu-inspired interior features voluminous red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a large golden dragon clinging to the wall near the entrance, while the corrugated iron above the bar area mimics the sort of tiling seen on traditional Chinese buildings. It is a little kitschy but other sharp design elements – the dark-green leather upholstery, the decorative tiling on the floor – help elevate it and stop it from feeling too cheesy.


    Crispy lobster puff at Dragon Noodles Academy. Photo: Tiffany Choi

    COST Very reasonable. Expect to pay about HK$400 per head if you are not drinking much.

    WHO TO BRING Friends for a casual gathering or visitors from out of town.

    TURN-ONS The crispy lobster puffs came gorgeously plated, set between the head and tail of a lobster. The pastry was deliciously sweet and stuffed with plenty of meat. The wok-fried diced Angus beef with black pepper was perfectly tender and well seasoned. It was bested only by the Iberico pork fillets, basically fancy char siu, served as nice thick slices of lean meat that have a delightful piquancy.

    TURN-OFFS The broth in our wonton in lobster soup with noodles was disappointingly bland.

    DRINKS There is a mix of wine, classic cocktails and original tipples like Erlang Shen’s Martini, a mix of Death’s Door gin-infused with goji berries and Mancino Bianco.

    Dragon Noodles Academy
    Shop No. G04, G/F, Man Yee Arcade, Man Yee Building, 68, Des Voeux Road, Central
    2561 6688
    This is exactly my sense of decor. Nothing like some weapons to bring good feng shui to your space.
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  10. #190
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    Casa Sensei

    This is really a video caption, not a restaurant review, but Kung Fu Shrimp was the nickname of one of my sihing, and I do like the name Casa Sensei.

    Digital Bite: Kung Fu Shrimp Lo Mein From Casa Sensei

    Casa Sensei located on the Himmarshee Canal on East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale has something for everyone including Kung Fu Shrimp Lo Mein which is today's Digital Bite
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  11. #191
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    Formosa Cafe (slightly OT)

    The Formosa Cafe Still Has Its Swagger — And A Room Devoted To Asian Actors In Hollywood
    BY ELINA SHATKIN IN FOOD ON AUGUST 9, 2019 10:30 AM


    The exterior of the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    The first thing you notice when you walk into the rehabbed Formosa Cafe is the wallpaper. It's fire engine red and flocked with velvet pagodas and curlicues. Like the rest of the joint, it's authentically inauthentic.

    "Over the two years of restoration, [the wallpaper] was one of the most important things to me," says Bobby Green, who oversaw the beloved bar and restaurant's revamp for 1933 Group.

    During the renovation, crews probably peeled back 10 different wallpapers. Three of them were felted and red, and all were different, but none of them were spectacular, according to Green.


    The flocked wallpaper at the revamped Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood, August 2019. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    He tapped designer Tina Charad, whose work you can see in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, and the two of them collaborated on a new design that incorporated elements from the old wallpapers and featured the Formosa's pagoda logo. Then he found a supplier on the East Coast and ordered yards and yards of the stuff.

    That's how most of the Formosa Cafe's latest iteration came to be. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something red.

    Just past the entryway, which is decorated with collages of news clippings compiled by former owner Lem Quon, you might notice a glass portal in the floor.


    Bugsy Siegel's safe, in the floor near the entrance of the Formosa Cafe. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    It's in Bugsy Siegel's booth. During the 1940s, the gangster "ran a lot of his operations out of here," Green says. "The ownership at the time must have turned a blind eye to it or maybe was getting a slight kickback. Who knows? This is where he would sit."

    People who owed the mobster money could show up at night and drop it through a slot, into the safe. Siegel could return the next day, when no one was around, and retrieve the cash. That way, he never had to be involved in a direct exchange.


    The main bar area in the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    In the 1990s, when Vince Jung, Quon's grandson, took over the Formosa, the safe hadn't been opened since Siegel's murder in 1947. Jung hired a safecracker — the son of the guy who had installed the safe for Siegel — to find out if the box held anything valuable.

    In grand Geraldo-opening-Al-Capone's-vault tradition, it held nothing. But it inspired Green to showcase the safe. He removed the door, put a light inside, had a brass plaque made at a nearby trophy store and installed a glass door on top.


    Inside the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood, in 2019. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    Green was lucky that Jung had stored many of the Formosa's decorations and ephemera after stepping away from the joint. By then, the Formosa's owners had fought off multiple attempts to destroy or redevelop the building, but the venue had fallen on hard times. Its seedy glamour wasn't all that seedy — or all that glamorous. The drinks were bad. The food was terrible (not that people ever came here to eat). The vibe was dull.

    The group that took over in 2015 made it worse. They revamped the restaurant, "replacing its red and black interior, lined with numerous celebrity portraits, with gray walls and a loathed mural." In the process, they stripped it of the charm that filmmaker John Waters and regulars loved.

    The attempts to transform the Formosa into a high-end cocktail bar did not go well. "This place is so beloved by multiple generations of Angelenos," Green says. "There was backlash immediately." In late 2016 or early 2017, the Formosa shuttered with little warning.


    Bobby Green, one of the principals of 1933 Group, oversaw an expensive two-year revamp of the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    When the 1933 Group stepped in, Green reached out to Jung, who had stored most of the Formosa's decorations rather than chucking them. "He had a lot of old photographs and there was still a lot of originality here," Green says. Jung ended up advising on the renovations.

    The Formosa still had its original red leather booths, its main bar and its famous trolley car, dating back to 1902. It also had a back patio and an upstairs patio, which had been added in the 2000s, when smoking bans went into effect.


    The train car inside the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood, in 2019, after the bar's $2 million revamp. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    Prior to this overhaul, which reportedly cost $2.4 million, you had to step outside the Formosa and walk around the back to access the smoking patio. That space had always been disconnected from the rest of the venue. To link it to the main bar, Green tore down a wall, which had the added benefit of showing off the vintage Red Line trolley car. It also gave him a new room to work with. But what to do with the new backroom?

    "I wanted to find a way to incorporate old Chinese Hollywood into the space," says Green. He had a representative from the 1933 Group reached out to filmmaker and author Arthur Dong to ask if he had photos of Chinese actresses they could use.
    continued next post
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    Continued from previous post


    The backroom of the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    "My initial response was, 'Do I have photos of Nancy Kwan and Lisa Lu?," Dong says. "I have over 2,000 pieces of film ephemera that cover Chinese-Americans in Hollywood."

    Dong had written the book Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 and made the 2007 documentary Hollywood Chinese. He was in the midst of writing his latest book, Hollywood Chinese: the Chinese-American Feature Films, which comes out Oct. 17 from Angel City Press. It was a fortuitous connection. Dong had been collecting movie memorabilia since the 1960s, when he was a kid. But he didn't jump on board the project right away.

    "I knew the history of the Formosa and I had a good time there," Dong says, "but I knew what it could also represent, which is a misappropriation of Chinese culture. After meeting Bobby, I felt they wanted to do it right. They had a particular Western lens, but they really wanted to honor this history."


    What used to be the bar at Yee Mee Loo, a famous Chinatown bar that closed after the Northridge earthquake, is now in the back room of the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    Dong had curated exhibitions in libraries and museums but never a bar. He had to rethink how an exhibition could work in a space where people would be drinking and eating, not coming for an educational experience. "I didn't want it to inspire anybody to say, 'Hey, what a great idea for a costume. I can put on yellow face and start slanting my eyes up and mimicking Chinese people and parodying them in a racist way," he says.

    Dong started by pulling headshots from his personal collection, which includes approximately 2,000 pieces of ephemera. He wanted to showcase Asian American actors who had worked in Hollywood from the early 1910s to about 1970.

    "Chinese characters on screen have been played by people of other ethnic groups, including Japanese and Korean actors," Dong says. "I wanted to include their participation as well. You didn't need to be ethnically Chinese or of Chinese descent to be a part of the installation that I was designing. What was important was that you were portraying a Chinese character, like James Shigeta, who played a key role in Flower Drum Song."

    Dong ultimately selected 61 photos and arranged them in chronological order along the upper beam of the Formosa's backroom.


    The back room of the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. After a $2 million revamp, the back room now connects to the interior of the rest of the venue. (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    He also created several themed boards highlighting specific topics, like Chinese Westerns, and movies such as The Good Earth. Each one has an informational card filled with details and lore.

    The 1937 film, based on the book by Pearl S. Buck, follows a pair of Chinese farmers through good and bad times. "It was one of the first Hollywood epics to try to be sensitive to the portrayal of Chinese characters," Dong says. It also starred two white actors, in yellowface.

    "I wanted to acknowledge that this happened," Dong says, "but what is not often talked about are the 75 or so supporting actors and speaking roles that were played by Asian American actors, or the thousands of Chinese actors and extras who were recruited from L.A.'s Chinatown for the bigger scenes." He decided to highlight the Chinese American and Asian American actors who participated in the film.


    Three cocktails at the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood. From left to right: a Singapore Sling, a Mai Tai and a Yee Mee Loo (aka the Tidy Bowl). (Elina Shatkin/LAist)

    Green, for his part, expanded the backroom's small service bar by adding a coveted piece of local history — an ornate, carved countertop and bar that had once been a fixture at Yee Mee Loo, a popular restaurant and bar in Chinatown. The piece is "known as the Kwan Yin bar, after the Chinese goddess of compassion," according to the L.A. Times.

    Located at the corner of Spring and Ord streets, Yee Mee Loo closed in 1989. The bartender, Richard, "went on to work at the Good Luck Bar, which was sort of a semi-classy recreation of Yee Mee Loo," writes Eating L.A. (Good Luck Bar closed earlier this year.)

    Claudia Low, who had overseen Yee Mee Loo for five decades, kept the backdrop and moved it to Cinnabar in Glendale. When that place closed, in 2005, she moved it to her living room. Green reached out to Low and she liked his pitch. He acquired the large piece and installed it behind the bar in the Formosa's backroom.


    Food from the new menu at the Formosa Cafe, summer 2019. (Maxim Shapovalov)

    Research revealed that the bar was actually a prop that had come from the set of The Good Earth. "During that movie," Green says, "[the production team] went to China and brought over tons of antiques to use in the movie." One of them was this piece, which became a shrine where characters in the film went to pray. After filming wrapped, the shrine ended up at Yee Mee Loo where it became their bar. Now, it's at the Formosa.

    "It's such an amazing intertangle of Chinese history, American history and Hollywood," Green says, "all mixed up into this crazy cocktail."
    This doesn't have a 'martial arts' name like the rest of the restaurants on this list, but I'd love to try it sometime. Looks cool. Anyone here ever been?
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  13. #193
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    Kung Fu Tea & TKK

    So many Kung Fu Tea joints make the news feeds that I don't bother to post them all on our Kung Fu Restaurants & Bars thread, but this one also has fried chicken so I can double post it on our Kentucky Fried Thread and y'all know how much I love these double posts. It's literally two for the price of one.

    A Taiwanese Fried Chicken Chain Arrives in Quincy
    It’s TKK Fried Chicken’s second American location
    by Terrence B. Doyle Aug 23, 2019, 8:30am EDT


    Quincy has a new spot for fried chicken (the New York City location is pictured here) Robert Sietsema/Eater

    Taiwanese fried chicken chain TKK Fried Chicken celebrates the grand opening of its Quincy location (1 Beale St.) today, August 23, and throughout the weekend. It’s the second United States location for TKK, which operates 66 locations in Taiwan and two locations in Shanghai. Its other U.S. location is in New York City’s Flatiron District.

    The brand new Quincy location, which once housed a Papa Gino’s, is a combined TKK Fried Chicken and Kung Fu Tea shop, a bubble tea chain that already has about a dozen Boston-area locations.

    TKK Fried Chicken has its roots in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, where it opened its first shop in 1974. The Quincy location isn’t the only American expansion in the works, per the TKK website — shops are apparently also planned for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and Richardson, Texas.

    TKK Fried Chicken specializes in — you guessed it — fried chicken, offering diners a choice between tenders, wings, breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and fried chicken sandwiches. Sides include mashed potatoes, coleslaw, curly fries, crunchy cheese curds, and shi****o peppers. Unlike the location in New York, the Quincy location doesn’t have a liquor license.

    The chicken comes in three different styles — original, crispy mild, and crispy hot. After a visit to the New York outpost, Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema wrote, “For god’s sake, get the crispy spicy!” He also noted that TKK has a “very good biscuit” and a “really, really good” kwa kwa bao, “an invention that’s become a signature of the chain.” The kwa kwa bao is a ball of sticky rice packed with mushrooms that is sealed in chicken skin and then fried.

    TKK joins a whole host of other chicken-focused restaurants opening in the Boston area in the coming months (or recently opened). The folks behind Watertown’s Branch Line just opened Shy Bird, which focusses on rotisserie chicken but also features an excellent fried chicken sandwich on its menu, in Cambridge’s Kendall Square; the Oyster Club at the Heritage owner and longtime Greater Boston chef Chris Parsons is opening a pressure-fried chicken spot called Lily P’s in Cambridge later this year; the Moody’s Delicatessen team is on the verge of opening Pollo Club, which will serve fried chicken and vegan food, in the Waltham space once occupied by their taqueria El Rincon De Moody’s; and a team with members associated with Sportello, Charleys Philly Steaks, and Eventide Fenway will open a Nashville hot fried chicken restaurant called Hot Chix sometime in 2020. (Hot Chix is currently popping up around town with some frequency; keep an eye out for upcoming events at Bow Market’s Create Gallery & Cocktail Lounge and beyond.)

    Head to Quincy today and see how TKK’s fried chicken sandwich stacks up to the others in the ongoing fried chicken sandwich wars.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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    RIP Kung Fu Buffet in Pflugerville

    Kung Fu Buffet closes in Pflugerville



    By Kelsey Thompson | 6:05 am Sept. 4, 2019 CDT

    Kung Fu Buffet in Pflugerville has closed, the restaurant’s owner confirmed in a July 27 Facebook post. Kung Fu, located at 15424 FM 1825, Pflugerville, was a Chinese restaurant and buffet. The business’s owner now runs Blu Ocean Poke & Ice Cream at 9070 Research Boulevard, Ste. 104, Austin, according to his online post.
    I'm sure all the Kung Fu Fighting was a public nuisance.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #195
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    Hanzo Izakaya in Old Montreal

    Martial Arts-inspired Japanese bar a cozy option in the Old Port

    Hanzo Izakaya is a cozy Old Port pub filled with nods to the art of karate and a particular scene from the Tarantino film Kill Bill.

    Angela MacKenzie, Reporter
    @AMacKenzieCTV
    Daniel J. Rowe, Digital reporter
    @DanielJRowe77
    Published Sunday, September 29, 2019 1:25PM EDT
    Last Updated Monday, September 30, 2019 8:34AM EDT

    Those looking to duck indoors and check out a pub with some authentic Okinawan flair should consider Hanzo Izakaya in Old Montreal.

    Japanese izakayas are like a neighbourhood pub where people can gather, eat, drink and have a night out.

    Hanzo is filled with nods to martial arts and was inspired by a particular scene from a memorable movie.

    "The concept here is basically an izakaya that's based on Crazy 88 scene from Kill Bill," said manager Yuri Koshiyama-Chia.



    The goal is to provide casual but tasty options that are all medium-sized portions meant to be shared among friends.

    "It's simple food. It's good food, and it's comfort food at the same time, so it's not something too complicated either," said co-owner Yossi Ohana "DJ Yo-C."

    Items on the menu include yellowfin tuna sashimi, shiso chiffonade and torched salmon with roe onions and soy sauce.

    DJ Yo-C regularly tours with Sugar Sammy and knows what it takes to make a crowd happy.

    "The feeling that anyone can come in, and whether you have a suit or whether you're in joggers, whatever it is, you just come in, and have a good time and enjoy yourself," he said.

    "I love how you can be who you are," said Koshiyama-Chia. "You don't need to be anybody to come dine at an izakaya. If you had a long day or just want to celebrate, it's made for everyone. Everyone is welcome."
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    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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