Kong — which, in this context, goes with Hong, not King — is one of the newest additions to the Northern Liberties foodscape.
This hip little spot at 702 N. Second St. was designed by photographer Dominic Episcopo. With a large exposed wall and reclaimed pine tables, it has a minimalist, open feel, though antique Chinese lanterns, a fish tank and whimsical touches — such as the light fixtures with bamboo birdcages for shades — give it a little warmth and pop. A large communal table divides the space with a bar on one side, dining room on the other.
The inspiration for Kong comes from the open-air dai pai dong food stalls in China that chef Michael O’Halloran and his wife/partner Sophia Lee visited during trips to see her family. “Kong will be a combination of Sophia’s Chinese heritage and my culinary influences,” said O’Halloran. “A dai pai dong offers a quick meal of freshly cooked local cuisine. The atmosphere is very social and the food is delicious.”
O’Halloran has worked in some of the top restaurants in the region, including a stint at Fork and as executive chef at The White Dog Cafe. In 2005, O’Halloran opened his debut restaurant, Bistro 7, which focuses on rustic French cuisine with local, sustainable ingredients.
Kong’s menu is broken down into several categories: small plates, dumplings, buns, big plates, noodle bowls and vegetables. Everything is made from scratch.
We started our meal with a choice from the dim-sum menu, stir-fried egg with crab, asparagus, shallots, lap cheong (a sweet pork sausage) and rice ($8). This was a colorful combination that packed a nice kick. Once I got over the initial jolt and mixed it up a bit, it settled down into a nice combination of tastes and textures.
Next up was a taste of the hot and sour shiitake soup ($7), which comes with a choice of pork belly or tofu. As my guest was a vegetarian, we opted for the tofu. The The rich broth was heavily flavored with fresh shiitake mushrooms and shallots (also with a mighty kick). My companion thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I.
Also from the dim-sum menu was the steamed butter lettuces with oyster sauce and crispy shallots ($5). The steamed lettuce was the consistency of a spinach, but smoother and richer with the oyster sauce. The idea of soft lettuce didn’t appeal to me at first, but I really enjoyed this dish, and it was a nice alternative to salad or greens.
I should mention the dishes at Kong are all reasonably priced, which allows you to try a variety. In that vein, we continued with the deep-fried asparagus ($5), another dish fit for my vegetarian friend, with asparagus that was tender inside and crunchy outside. A dollop of Hoisin sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds was provided for dipping.
The dry-fried long beans ($5) were next. Cooked with garlic, ginger and chilies, I had my water on standby before diving into this one, but it was actually one of the milder items on the menu (once I had dispatched the chilies to the side).
We then finally made our way one notch down the menu to the dumpling section. There were three choices of dumplings: Mongolian lamb with pine nuts and pickled eggplant, three-way pork and edamame ($7), which we opted for first. The edamame dumplings were light and refreshing, great for a summertime snack. Filled with a combination of beans, tofu and scallions, they were surprisingly filling as well. Being a meat-eater, I also tried the three-way pork ($9), a thick slab of Chinese bacon with honey-soy vinaigrette. This was a little fatty, but a house specialty and people around me relished it.
From the noodle section, I ordered the braised-beef brisket with roasted shiitakes ($16), homemade noodles swimming in a hearty broth with a large helping of brisket. Almost like mother used to make … but better.
Our last dish was from the rice section. My companion ordered the chili-poached tofu ($12). Nicely presented, this entrée came with black and long beans that were perfectly cooked and was a large-enough portion that she had to take it home.
For libations, Kong has a nice selection of beer from various Asian countries as well as Kong rice ale on tap. Not being much of a beer guy, except during football games, I asked our server to surprise us. He brought us a wonderful new concoction, a martini made with elder flower liquor, pear vodka, lemon and sugar ($9). They didn’t even have a name for it yet, so I might just have to suggest “The Q” since I was the first diner daring enough to try it.
Speaking of daring, we were sitting right across from the granite wall. One of my favorite little surprises at Kong (aside from the pandas in the bathroom) was the replica of street graffiti on the wall. The original artist was Tsang Tsou Choi, who claimed he’d done research and found that he was the true emperor. He spent a good portion of his life writing on walls, lamp posts, any surface he could find, and was arrested several times. Eventually he became somewhat of a celebrity, and it’s said that his work inspired everyone from fashion designers to artists to interior decorators.