Kung Fu Restaurants & Bars

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Forum
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How did this one get by me for so long?

Kungfu Fast Food in China

Most of you probably don’t know, but I actually worked for McDonald’s Australia for 15 years in many different capacities from store operations to new business development.

As such, I still have a soft spot for QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants - or fast food joints if you prefer) and whenever I see or go into one I am judging the operation in terms of QSC (quality, service and cleanliness) and in terms of the business itself. I must admit that I also get excited when I discover a new brand.

Today was one of those days when I had my first encounter with Kungfu.

They are a modern QSR serving Chinese food, their point of differentiation was the fact that the food was healthy (steamed meats, soups and quick boiled vegetables), and they have Bruce Lee on everything!

Sabrina and I had lunch at the store in Hong Kong Plaza on Huahai Lu (its inside behind KFC). So here is my critique:

Service
The service was very quick and attentive, however it was very haphazard. We ordered and the cashier was very friendly and helped us with the menu, but when we ordered at one cash register he walked back to the middle of the counter and punched in the order. Then over the top of all the customers he yelled over to Sabrina the amount that was due. She then had to fight her way through the lining up customers to get to the register to pay. Not a nice experience.

The other problem was with the disclosure of what was in certain dishes (this is a common China problem). Sabrina doesn’t eat pork, so we ordered a beef and a chicken meal with an egg custard dish on the side. Once we got the egg custard dish, there was a funny grey meat in it. After quizzing the staff it turned out that it was pork. The food providers in this country need to get their act together and disclose the contents of some products. This is particularly crucial for the upcoming Olympics and World Expo 2010 as it will drive hundreds of thousands additional visits over the next 10 years, many of these people will be Jews, Muslims, Hindus etc with particular beliefs. It would be very easy to ruin someones experience in China with an innoculous egg custard.

On the positive side, the manager happily replaced the offending egg custard with another dish, so full points for service and customer care after the fact.

Food
The style of food would be described as modern casual Chinese. It consisted of steam rice with mushrooms, noodles, soup, beef with rice, soy milk etc. You can see more here.

The food quality was great. Everything was hot and fresh and tasted very good.

We had to wait for the beef noodle soup, but it was delivered quickly.

The boiled lettuce in strange brown sauce was ok - a bit more up Sabrina’s alley than mine.

The food was all served in branded melamine bowls with lids - even the spoons were melamine and had the Bruce Lee image. This kept the food hot and made the eating experience more like that of a traditional restaurant (ie cutlery and crockery) although the chopsticks and cups were disposable.

The prices were reasonable, 16 RMB for a meal with some steamed chicken & mushroom, rice and soy milk - and only 6RMB for a small bowl of beef noodle soup (and it wasn;t really that small).

Decor & Cleaniness
The decor was great. The colours, furniture and lighting was very modern, acctractive and comfortable. The store was absolutely spotless. There was not an uncleared table in the store when we entered, not a mark on the floor or the windows. What I could see of the kitchen was clean and tidy as well.

Branding
They have certainly positioned the name and imagery to capture the youth market. Huge Bruce Lee pitures abound and his iconic image appears on everything from the signs, cups, bowls to the tray mats (I wonder about the licensing of his image!?).

The Bruce Lee images made me think of them running birthday parties with a martial arts host instead of a clown. Might catch on!

The quality of the branding and the image they portrayed overall shows that a great deal of money and developmenbt time has gone into these stores.

Overall I rate it a good experience, good value for money in a very clean and enjoyable decor. I hope to see more of them soon.

Kungfu is owned by Global Fast Food Chains and is based in Guangzhou. They operate a total of 106 stores in China, 46 of them being in Dongguan (only 3 in Shanghai at the moment).

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Kung Fu Bing in NYC

OK, someone here from NYC has GOT to go to the grand opening of this place!

Mysterious New Chinese Fast Food Franchise: Kung Fu Bing
By Sarah DiGregorio in DiGregorio, Featured
Wednesday, Jul. 8 2009 @ 3:37PM

Despite appearances to the contrary, this soon-to-open fast food joint in Chinatown probably has nothing to do with the movie Kung Fu Panda. It calls itself KFB for short, a play for the easily confused KFC crowd. Kung Fu Bing seems to specialize in some sort of flaky bread, also called a Kung Fu Bing, which you can get plain, or wrapped around items like sausage, egg, and cheese. The menu also lists bubble tea and juices.

A lengthy Internet search for the restaurant and/or the food called Kung Fu Bing yielded nothing except this–anyone read Serbian? LQQM – letters listed next to the name of the restaurant – seem to be an Internet news provider out of Beijing. A call to the franchise hotline got no answer, shunted to a strangely generic voicemail box.

The guy inside the shop said KFB should be open in a few days, at which point the exact nature of a Kung Fu Bing will be revealed.

Kung Fu Bing
Southeast corner of Eldridge and Division streets

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doug should go there and fill us in on it.

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I swear to God I have nothing to do with this

I know the author’s name is Gene, but when I use a nom de plume, it’s much less obvious.

Kung Fu Tacos Serves Up Budget Fusion in the FiDi
By Gene Miguel in Cheap Eats, Miguel
Tuesday, Aug. 25 2009 @ 11:41AM

“East meets South…of the border,” claims Kung Fu Tacos, a new lunchtime taco truck that couples Asian-inspired flavors with a Latin twist. Kung Fu Tacos offers a menu that features multiple variations, including a vegetarian option, all heaped in fresh-made La Palma tortillas. Kung Fu Tacos starts serving weekdays at around 11:15 a.m., from the corner of Sansome and Jackson in the Financial District. Follow them on Twitter for updates.

On a recent visit, we started with the Mu Shu Veggies taco ($2), which combined shiitake and cloud ear mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, and onions. The flavor was great, like eating a miniature vegetable stir-fry. The shiitakes in particular give the taco a slightly sweet flavor and nicely chewy texture.

The Wu Shu Char Siu ($3) featured traditional glazed BBQ pork topped with mango salsa and onions. The pork was salty and sweet, as it should be, but the mango salsa overpowered the flavor of the pork a bit. A squeeze of lime helped neutralize the mango’s sweetness.

The Nun Chuck Chicken ($2) brought grilled chicken marinated in garlic-ginger sauce, topped with onions, cilantro, carrots, and a spicy Asian salsa, apparently Sriracha mixed with ginger. Served in large chunks, the chicken was moist and flavorful. The spicy Asian salsa packs a lot of ginger, which – depending on whether or not you like ginger - is either good or bad. We liked it, since it added an unexpected layer of flavor.

Last up was the Asian Asada ($2), grilled strips of thin steak, topped with cilantro, onions, and that spicy Asian salsa. The steak was fairly dry and bland. What flavor it did have came from the Sriracha-ginger salsa, which stood out clearly from the unremarkable steak.

Unfortunately, Kung Fu Tacos had sold out of the Roast Duck taco ($3) by the time we got there (just before 12:30 p.m.), and by only three people ahead of us in line. No wonder, since the idea of naturally fatty duck topped with mango salsa and hoisin sauce sounded great.

Overall, aside from the Asian asada, the tacos were quite flavorful, and different enough from each other to warrant future visits (especially to try the duck). The only other gripe is the long lines – it took us about 30 minutes to order and get our tacos. But since Kung Fu Tacos has only been open a couple of weeks, we expect the lines to subside soon, once everyone has had a chance to check it out.

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Kung Fu Tacos sounds delish…and I don’t normally go for asian chicks!

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I thought there was another thread on this…

Will one of you NYC members check this place out and report on it for us here?

Tasty choices plentiful at Kung Fu kitchen
By SCOTT CHERRY
Published: 9/10/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 9/10/2009 4:51 AM

Judy Lin said her husband, Xiadi, went to a cooking school in China and has worked in Asian restaurants in the United States much of the past 10 years with an eye toward owning his own place.

He realized that dream after the couple moved to Tulsa from the New York City area and recently opened Kung Fu Kitchen near 21st Street and Memorial Drive.

“It was too cold in the winter and there were too many people up there,” said Judy Lin, who said she came to the U.S. from China about eight years ago when her father took a job in the States. “We also have a young son and thought this is a good place to raise a family.”

Kung Fu Kitchen offers a cafeteria-style lunch option 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Diners may choose three items among 12 choices to go with soup and fried rice for $5.45.

The selections are bourbon chicken, chicken with broccoli, sesame chicken, vegetable lo mein, beef with pepper steak, sweet-and-sour chicken, cheese wonton, egg roll, chicken with mushrooms, kung pao chicken, vegetable fried rice and butter shrimp.

“We get a lot of working people for the lunch special since they usually don’t have a lot of time to eat,” Lin said. “The rest of the time most of our customers come from the neighborhood.”

Diners also may choose from a 35-item lunch menu with prices ranging from $4.75 to $4.95.

We ordered two entrees off the vast dinner menu — the Happy Family ($10.95) and shrimp lo mein ($7.45) — and both were giant portions, enough for
a generous lunch the next day.

The Happy Family included a decidedly happy combination of shrimp, scallops, pork, chicken, beef, crab, mushrooms, green beans, water chestnuts, broccoli, green peppers and baby corn in a soy-based brown sauce.

The shrimp in the lo mein were much smaller than the jumbo-sized ones in the Happy Family, and they blended nicely with the long egg noodles and slightly garlicky sauce in this dish.

Both dishes came with a tasty fried rice that included bits of carrots, peas and onion. Steamed white rice also is available.

We also shared two standard veggie-filled egg rolls (99 cents each) and an order of cheese-and-crab wontons (six for $3.25). The wontons were huge and crispy with a good cheesy flavor.

A condiment table included soy sauce, spicy mustard, hot chili sauce and duck sauce for those who want to jazz up their dishes and fortune cookies for good luck.

The regular menu offers a wide range of appetizers, soups, fried rice, lo mein, mei fun, egg foo young, sweet-and-sour, chicken, beef, seafood, vegetable, combos, specials and family dinners — more than 100 items in all. Lin said the single most popular dish probably has been bourbon chicken.

The menu also offers two kids’ meals, chicken nuggets and sweet-and-sour chicken or pork, both with fried rice for $3.25 each.

The faux-finished gold walls hold a couple of pictures of desert scenes with cactus, holdovers from the former tenant, Taco Tico. One wall has an oversized hand fan decorated with a painting of a panda bear. Lin said most of the remodeling is found in the open kitchen.

The dining room has wood-slat booths and laminate tables that seat about 50. Lin said Kung Fu Kitchen, which opened in late July, receives a lot of carryout and call-in orders.

The restaurant accepts all major credit cards except American Express. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

KUNG FU KITCHEN
8720 E. 21st St.
828-7777

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[QUOTE=GeneChing;959361]Will one of you NYC members check this place out and report on it for us here?[/QUOTE]

This place is in Tulsa, OK, not NYC.

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There is a Kung Fu restaurant in Las Vegas as well. I don’t know if they are related to these as well.

9

Right you are, MK

My bad. I could have sworn there was another in NYC but I couldn’t get it to come up on a search. If I find it, I do the ol’ merge fu…

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Jackie Chan used to have a ramen and gyouza shop in Shibuya, Tokyo. I was gutted when it closed down, but only cos I lost the chopsticks with the pic of him on I’d nicked so I couldn’t get any more. Maybe it closed down cos the food was crap and the chopsticks kept going missing… :rolleyes:

What’s gyouza in Chinese? And what’s ramen? Always wondered.

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[QUOTE=GeneChing;959361]Will one of you NYC members check this place out and report on it for us here?[/QUOTE]

We went to one of these in Shanghai in 07 - its was great fun

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I went to the Bruce Lee eatery in 07 in Shanghai - great fun:)

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Watahhhh!

The Real Kungfu restaurant chain is 309 franchises strong!!!

Blogging: China Again by BSLG

China, once seen as offering unlimited growth potential for US fast food brands, is experiencing one of its few challenges in the current economy. Elsewhere in the world, same store sales have stayed strong as consumers trade down from casual dining to QSR for price reasons. But Western fast-food meals are increasingly seen by the Chinese as too expensive and unhealthful. KFC in particular met with early success in China in part because consumers viewed it as cleaner and offering more-hygienic foods. Recent ads and promotional materials there have stressed good value, high quality and healthful lifestyles.

Overall, health issues are not yet as prominent among Chinese consumers (though 2 years of melamine catastrophes have pushed awareness along at the speed of light). It’s the high relative cost of Western QSR dining that has run smack into the current economic downturn. In a recent survey by the marketing research firm Millward Brown found that 78% of Chinese consumers were feeling some effect from the global financial crisis. About half said they were likely to cut down on eating at Western fast-food restaurants. Yum Brands Inc., China’s largest restaurant chain with nearly 2,500 KFCs and 416 Pizza Huts, said same-store sales in the country were up just 1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with year-earlier growth of 17%.

In the U.S., Yum’s same-store sales rose 2% in the latest quarter. McDonald’s doesn’t report figures for China, where it has about 1,050 stores, but the head of their operations admitted things were “soft” at the end of last year. Joining other US retailers in China, including Wal-Mart, McDonald’s has cut prices on its “value meals” to $2.42, a saving of up to 1/3 on a double cheeseburger, medium-size fries (or cup of corn) and a Coke. Despite the softening, McDonald’s plans on opening 175 stores in the Chinese market, more than anywhere else. Other food and beverage retailers, including Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery, are planning expansion in China.

Eating out has been growing by double digits there in recent years. The China Cuisine Association estimates sales surged 24% last year to $225bn at the nation’s 4 million eating and drinking establishments. KFC, which opened its first store in China in 1987 and has spread into the rural parts of China, and its restaurants there are usually full. Few other foreign retailers in China have yet to enter such smaller markets inland, tending to focus instead on young consumers and the middle class in China’s urban centers. Such a strategy is being challenged by the alarming drop-off in overall growth in the coastal cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen as the country’s export juggernaut slows dramatically.

And the Chinese have been adept students of Western fast food success. Real Kungfu, a chain of 309 restaurants adorned with an image of Bruce Lee in its logo, has its own line “extra value meals” that includes rice, meat and vegetables, steamed egg, soybean milk and green-bean soup for about $2.58.

How long before Real Kungfu opens in the US?

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[QUOTE=Mr Punch;959400]

What’s gyouza in Chinese? And what’s ramen? Always wondered.[/QUOTE]

I think Gyouza is either jiaozi () or guotie (). It’s probably jiaozi but the way they make it in Japan is more similar to the latter (pan fried vs. steamed or boiled for jiaozi).

As for ramen, most of the time I see the characters , or lamian, on packages of ramen, regardless of where it is from. However, lamian in Chinese refers to hand pulled noodles. The packaged flashdried stuff we call (fangbian mian - convenient noodles), although I have heard other names for it as well. Hope that helps!

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KFC

as in Kwangtung Fried Chicken :smiley:

ah, memories of CTS and his fried chicken

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[QUOTE=Andy Miles;959494]You sit on benches and swords are on the wall.[/QUOTE]
yeah, I understand business wasn’t so hot with the way that they had it originally…

[QUOTE=lkfmdc;960090]ah, memories of CTS and his fried chicken[/QUOTE]
oh thanks - thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of memory repression therapy wasted! :mad::mad::mad:

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Now we’re cookin!

The link for KUNGFU below is worth a click. It’s in Chinese, but still interesting.

American Lorain Signs Contracts With Two Popular Chain Restaurants in China

JUNAN COUNTY, China, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ – American Lorain Corporation (NYSE AMEX: ALN) (“American Lorain” or the “Company”), an international processed foods company based in Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), today announced that it has started cooperating with KUNGFU Catering Management Co., Ltd. (“KUNGFU”) and CSC Catering Management Co., Ltd. (“CSC”).

Under the cooperation agreement with KUNGFU, American Lorain will distribute beef products, mixed vegetables, and frozen chestnut kernels for a total sales value of up to RMB 14.4 million (approximately $2.1 million) to be delivered throughout 2010. The Company has already begun supplying CSC with frozen vegetables and chestnuts and is currently in negotiations with CSC headquarters to determine the distribution of more products. The Company estimates that the increased cooperation with CSC may add approximately RMB 60.0 million (approximately $8.8 million) in revenue for fiscal year 2010.

These cooperation agreements are part of American Lorain’s strategy to strengthen domestic sales channels through shifting sales to agents and entering into new market places like large- to mid-sized restaurant chains. In 2008, the Company signed a distribution contract with Yum! Brands China Division to provide frozen, canned and bulk food products for its restaurants. The Company continues to distribute products under the contract.

“We are honored to cooperate with KUNGFU and CSC and believe we can provide these restaurant chains with a stable supply of high-quality food products and superior services, thus helping them eliminate food safety concerns and the need to establish stricter quality control standards,” said Mr. Si Chen, Chief Executive Officer of American Lorain. “In recent years, chain restaurants have grown in popularity in China for their convenience, consistent quality, and neatness. Cooperating with them should help us reach a broader consumer base domestically.”

About KUNGFU Catering Management Co., Ltd

KUNGFU Catering Management Co., Ltd was founded in 1994. As China’s first chain restaurant to achieve the Chinese Fast Food Standardization certificate, KUNGFU has adhered to international standards on quality, service and sanitation. Currently, KUNGFU operates 332 restaurants in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou and other major cities, and is becoming one of the leading Chinese fast food brands. For more information, please visit http://www.zkungfu.com .

About CSC Catering Management Co., Ltd.

CSC (“Country Style Cooking”) Catering Management Co., Ltd. was established in Chongqing in 1996 and operates based on a model by the American CSC International Management Corporation. CSC is the leading healthy fast food brand in the southwestern China and currently owns 70 restaurants in Chongqing. The chain plans to open more than 100 restaurants under its own control in municipalities and provincial capitals throughout China, expanding to Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an and other cities within the next three years. For more information, please visit http://www.csc100.com .

About American Lorain Corporation

American Lorain Corporation (“American Lorain” or the “Company”) is a Delaware corporation that develops, manufactures and sells various food products. The Company’s products include chestnut products; convenience foods products (including ready-to-cook foods, ready-to-eat foods, and meals-ready-to-eat); and frozen, canned and bulk foods products. The Company currently sells over 234 products to 26 provinces and administrative regions in China as well as to 42 foreign countries. The Company operates through its four direct and indirect subsidiaries and one leased factory located in China. For more information about American Lorain, please visit our website at http://www.americanlorain.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained herein that relate to the Company’s future performance, including statements with respect to forecasted revenues, margins, cash generation and capital expenditures are “forward-looking statements.” Such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated. Such statements are based on current expectations only, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to materially differ include: general business and economic conditions, particularly the current downturn in the worldwide economy; our ability to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials; our ability to manage our expansion strategy; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; government regulation; difficulties in new product development; changing consumer tastes in disparate markets worldwide and our ability to address those changes; our ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel; and other factors affecting our operations that are set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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The is just a Restaurant with the Name Kung Fu and some decorations.

I thought it was like the one in China I was told about from Yee Chi Wai.

It was a restaurant but also had a performance.

The Waiters were skilled in martial arts and you could order a demonstration from an actual Menu that listed various Hand, weapon and partner forms.

I’m not kidding.

Now if this was to open up here in the states then it would be pretty cool.

There was once a bar in NYC that was Martial Arts themed decorations andalways had some movie playing.

Once even the Palladium (showing my age ) had a Kung Fu Fighting Night complete with movies and demonstrations while the DJ had the dance floor packed.

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my brothers and I have the ideas long ago.

kung fu pictures on the wall, tai chi 24 postures, shaolin hong fist, tan tui 12 roads, shuai jiao ba zi— basic jian shu or dao shu, basic poles and spears postures

kung fu moves/styles names for the menu for the foods

but we give up, may be we just like to eat and not to think about kung fu anymore.

b/c we are not in a training hall anymore.

there are names for legends of water margins for the food names

such as wu song bao zi

lin chong (bao zi tou, leopard head) noodle

song jiang soup

–

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I heard of a place like this where I live ,it is called Kung Fu’od Chinese fast food!!!I havent seen it yet but am going to look.