New Han Dynasty opens in Old City

Han Chiang has big plans, evidenced most recently by the launch last night of Han Dynasty's new location at 123 Chestnut Street in Old City. Across the street from his original at 108 Chestnut, it's the biggest dining room yet for his mini Sichuan empire, which has seven locations, including one in University City and one in NYC, which just opened a month ago.

"I've never opened two new restaurants at the same time, it's really stressful," said Chiang, who also was being followed by a film crew that's hoping to sell a reality show based around Han Dynasty and its owner's exploits. ("Each episode's beginning will be really boring," Han predicted, "until I get drunk, and then it'll pick up.")

Chiang's next venture will likely be in Los Angeles, where he's back into talks with the Beverly Hills Hilton to open a Sichuan concept for the hotel. "It's probably not going to be a Han Dynasty," he says, "My middle name is Ming, so I was thinking of Ming Dynasty. It's going to be really expensive to open."

Back on Chestnut Street, staff continued to move dishes across from the old kitchen as the dining room filled up with both regulars and tourists who'd never visited before but were drawn in by the intriguing combination of a Victorian facade featuring an anime-style sign.

Not many renovations were needed to prepare the space, which most recently was Reserve steakhouse, but the staff did work together to paint over several of the panels, replacing Italian pastoral scenes with Asian-inflected designs. Several scrolls hanging across the middle of the room were brush painted by Chiang's father.

Han tapped another family member to help him with renovations on the culinary side. The new restaurant will feature a special late-night menu of Taiwanese street food, and Chaing brought his cousin Yi Shen over from Taiwan to help cook and get the flavors right.

"Sichuan food is all about the spice, but Taiwanese street food is very different," Han explains, "Instead of lots of ingredients mixed together fast over high heat, it's a lot of slow-cooked stuff, braised, roasted. It's tough, because if you spend six hours making the sticky rice, and then something goes wrong at the last minute, you have to toss the whole thing."

Chiang's favorite item on the new menu, which will be served daily from 10 p.m. - midnight, is the fried pork chop, and he is also really excited about the new pork and shrimp stuffed dumplings, which are oblong - almost like manicotti - and fried crispy on one side.

"These are so good, they don't even need sauce!" he exclaimed, after dropping off a plate of them and helping himself to the first drink of the night, a pint of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. The new space has a full bar, but Han is not a cocktail guy - "I like beer" - so drinks were designed by bar manager Marc Yanger.

"Everyone who works for me - my wok chefs, my bartenders, my managers - I learn from them, they teach me," Chiang says, "They're the key to any success I have, no doubt."

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You can find Han Dynasty at their new location, 123 Chestnut Street.