These guys are in Berkeley. Maybe we'll invite them to the KFTC 20 YEARS street fair.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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More on KFH. I'd be even more impressed if they were were rocking Feiyues.
Owners of Kung Fu Hoagies Combine Their Two Passions: Martial Arts and Veggies
By Michael Alan Goldberg
Posted Jun. 13, 2012
[IMG]http://media.philadelphiaweekly.com/images/649*649/kungfuhoagies_01.jpg[/IMG]
Seitan worshippers: Steve Renzi (left) and Paul Davis operate Kung Fu Hoagies, a vegetarian/vegan food cart that serves up Vietnamese favorites.
“Yo, it’s the Wu-Tang hoagies!” a black kid on a bike says to his buddy as they roll through West Philly’s Clark Park on a recent Sunday morning. Off to the side is a distinctive orange-yellow food cart with a green smoke-breathing dragon painted on its side, big red umbrella and a pair of Chinese throwing knives dangling from either side of a specials board.
Paul Davis laughs as he stirs a pot of seitan “chicken” in sesame-peanut sauce. Next to him, partner Steve Renzi cuts and guts fresh hoagie rolls from Cacia’s Bakery in South Philly. “We’ve had a couple nicknames,” says the soft-spoken Davis. “Some people call us the ‘Tofu Dragon.’”
The actual name of the cart is Kung Fu Hoagies—a vegetarian/vegan venture that longtime pals and South Philly residents Davis, 31, and Renzi, 30, launched in mid-March. On weekends, the duo sets up at Clark Park; during the week, they’re typically at Passyunk Avenue and ****inson Street for the lunch rush. They use daily Facebook and Twitter updates to let their followers know where they’re gonna be, and after just three months, they’ve garnered steady lines of customers, glowing Yelp reviews and lots of buzz on the street about where to get a cheap, kickass vegetarian banh mi or noodle bowl.
And the kung fu thing isn’t just a gimmick. Five nights a week, Davis and Renzi take classes at Seven Mountains Kung Fu in Center City, where teacher Phuoc Phan instructs them in That Son Vo Dao, a Vietnamese martial art that originated in China. Davis has been studying it for years; Renzi got into it a year ago.
“It’s changed me so much as a person, and I don’t know if we’d be doing [Kung Fu Hoagies] without it and without our teacher,” says the gregarious Renzi, adding that Phan has advised the pair on everything from traditional Vietnamese recipes to the artwork that adorns the cart.
Davis, a talented visual artist, crafted the cart’s dragon and calligraphy. He’s pretty talented in the food department, too. A Pittsburgh native, Davis has worked in kitchens his entire adult life, including cooking here in Philly at Whole Foods and at Monk’s Cafe, as well as restaurants in Seattle and San Francisco. Meanwhile, West Chester native Renzi used to cook at Whole Foods and Downey’s on South Street, then became a social studies and special ed teacher at Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts for four years before resigning last year.
Last fall, the duo—both vegetarians— hatched the Kung Fu Hoagies idea, choosing a cart over a food truck because of both the lower initial investment (less than $10,000) and the fact that they both wanted to be out on the street interacting with customers.
“I guess a lot of people who know me kind of expected this,” Davis says of the venture. “Like, ‘Oh, it’s another one of Paul’s crazy ideas’ ... But because this brought together all the aspects of my life, I had confidence it would work.”
Initially, the plan was to serve vegetarian hot dogs, but that quickly changed to Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine since that was what the pair were eating all the time.
“It’s nice to be putting out healthy, tasty food,” says Davis. “I guess Philly can use that, and there aren’t any other food trucks or carts doing quite what we’re doing, but we’re not trying to force people to change. People seem to like it, and good food is good food, I guess.”
Davis and Renzi spent months perfecting recipes—a couple of banh mi varieties, a coconut-lemongrass “beef” curry over noodles, an orange-BBQ “beef” hoagie, side dishes like spicy cucumber, jicama or noodle salads, and more—and going through the process of getting permits to operate their cart on city sidewalks.
Since March, 15-to-18-hour workdays, seven days a week, have become the norm. They’re up before sunrise to get the rolls and head to a commissary in Upper Darby where they do much of the prep work—pressing and marinating tofu, chopping vegetables, frying noodles, pickling daikon and carrots, making sauces. Then it’s back to the South Philly garage where they store the cart, loading it up with food and drinks, hauling it to the day’s location, and setting up. At the end of the day, it’s thorough cleaning, then off to kung fu class. More hours are spent doing touch-ups and other maintenance on the cart, filling propane tanks, running errands and thinking up more recipes and future ideas for the business.
Both guys average about four to five hours of sleep a night. “It’s a grind, but it’s worth it,” says Renzi, acknowledging that the job doesn’t leave room for relationships or even really hanging out with friends—unless their friends drop by to visit them at the cart. Davis and Renzi have talked about a food truck or even a storefront someday, but for now it’s all about the cart.
“We chose this and we love everything about it,” says Davis. “I’m one of the lucky ones to really make work my life and life my work.”
Workin' It is a new column by Staff Writer Michael Alan Goldberg, who spotlights a different working professional each week.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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sounds tasty, except for the word 'bumger'. that name just isn't appealing.27 June 2012 | Last updated at 01:06AM
Hit cuisine a ‘kungfu’ kick
By NOR AIN MOHAMED RADHI|PETALING JAYA|streets@nstp.com.my 0 comments
FINE MIX:Singapore-based restaurant’s famed Asian and Western delights are now available here, in Paradigm Mall
hit
Splashed with orange and red, KungFu Paradise is hard to miss.
LOOKING for Asian and Western delights under one roof? Head to the newly-opened KungFu Paradise restaurant to give your taste buds a kick.
Located on the second floor of Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya, KungFu Paradise offers an extensive selection of Asian and Western delights including toast, salads, dim sum, burgers, noodles and of course, its famous baked rice.
The restaurant first made a name for itself in its home country of Singapore, but Malaysians can now enjoy its famous The Duo Master -- chicken chop and fish fillet topped with mozzarella cheese, chicken chop baked rice as well as mushroom baked rice.
The restaurant also offers Hong Kong-style toast such as KungFu bun toast -- with salted butter and condensed milk -- and KungFu French toast -- with chicken floss and condensed milk.
For noodles, KungFu Paradise offers the dry and soup varieties accompanied by chicken chipolata, grilled Aussie sirloin or fish cutlet.
Another must-have dish is the KungFu "bumger", a creation made of succulent grilled chicken thigh with a touch of kung pao sauce.
The open concept restaurant with splashes of orange and red is also perfect for coffee fans, who will perk up at the first sip of the KungFu Stylo coffee, made from a blend of arabica and robusta beans.
Paradise (F&B) Malaysia Sdn Bhd, chief executive officer Elyna Tan said the restaurant, which can seat up to 170 at one time is a sweet place to chill out and relax with friends and family.
"KungFu Paradise is a cafe with a kick, serving unique Hong Kong and Western-style dishes that excite the palate.
"And all the delights are delivered with the speed of a skilled KungFu master so diners do not have to wait long for their meals." she said.
Tan said the opening of KungFu Paradise complemented KungFu Baked Rice, which was recently opened in KLCC and offers the baked rice signature dish.
"Until Dec 30, we are having a promotion for CIMB card holders, who will get a 10 per cent discount on their total bill at KungFu Paradise."
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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Guess what just opened in Fremont, CA (home of KFTC headquarters)!
Kung Fu Kitchen
Haven't tried it yet... I will soon and will report back.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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Dude, no way! I wish I didn't work in Sunnyvale.....I would totally suggest that place for lunch.
Maybe I can bargain for a really long lunch break...
A new shop in Sydney Chinatown seems to have it all sussed...
Guangzhou Pak Mei Kung Fu School, Sydney Australia,
Sifu Leung, Yuk Seng
Established 1989, Glebe Australia
hand pulled noodle is da best.
shou la men.
ra men is japanese for la men.
lan zhou is home of huge moslem community.
lan zhou shou la men.
drooling big time.
kungfu or not.
great.
yummy, need to by some lanzhou lamian before they close.
stop stealin my words. his lineage steals our form, you steal my words!!!!!That's not how my Shifu taught the form, your lineage is fake...
THIEVES....THIEVES........FOR SHAME! you've been watching too much of the panda.
Hung Sing Boyz, we gottit on lock down
when he's around quick to ground and pound a clown
Bruh we thought you knew better
when it comes to head huntin, ain't no one can do it better
This place looks far more Kung Fu-ey than our place in Fremont, which just looks like a trendy (for Fremont) Chinese place. I don't think they are connected.
Marvin's new resto offers 'affordable Chinese' food
ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 09/18/2012 5:33 PM | Updated as of 09/18/2012 5:50 PM
MANILA, Philippines -- Inspired by a Chinese restaurant in the United States, actor-entrepreneur Marvin Agustin recently opened the flagship branch of his latest business venture, Kung Fu Kitchen.
The facade of Kung Fu Kitchen's first branch at SM City Manila. Photo by Nimfa Chua for ABS-CBNnews.com
In partnership with restaurateurs Raymund Magdaluyo and Glecy Lopez-Go, Agustin held the grand opening of the first Kung Fu Kitchen restaurant at the SM City Manila on Sunday.
According to the actor, his newest restaurant takes inspiration from the US restaurant chain Panda Express, which is known for its fast casual service and American Chinese cuisine.
"Favorite namin 'yung Panda Express sa America eh, affordable Chinese, medyo ganun 'yung influence niya," Agustin told reporters on the sidelines of the press-attended opening of Kung Fu Kitchen.
"Ito 'yung una naming flagship na Kung Fu Kitchen," added Agustin, who manages over 20 restaurants in the country, including branches of Sumo Sam, John & Yoko, Oyster Boy and Marciano's.
Although more popularly known as an actor, and half of the "Marvin-Jolina" love team in the '90s, Agustin's culinary interest goes a long way back.
Before starring in a number of TV and film projects, he worked as a waiter for a restaurant in Alabang, before being promoted as part of its marketing team.
Following his success as an actor, Agustin graduated from the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management.
"Kung Fu Kitchen is our baby," Magdaluyo said. "It's basically quality Chinese food, [but] very, very affordable. And we're so excited that you'll see several Kung Fu Kitchen [branches] being rolled into the provinces, the other cities."
According to Agustin, Kung Fu Kitchen's specialty, a "soup-based dimsum," will also be brought to Cebu through his partnership with Lopez-Go.
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart