Han Dynasty

On Saturday, the weather was absolutely dreadful and Ken and I were not in the mood to cook, so we were thinking we might be able to get a seat at Han Dynasty, the new Chinese restaurant from Philadelphia that opened recently on 3rd Avenue in the East Village. I called just to ask if we could put our names down over the phone and found out that the wait was going to be an hour and a half! When it was disgusting out! I couldn’t believe how long the wait was so we opted to just put in a take out order and pick it up since we live pretty close to the restaurant.

We started out with Dan dan noodles:

We also ordered the dry hot chicken, one of their specialties:

And pea shoots with garlic:

For takeout, I was shocked at how well the Dan dan noodles held up. The flavor was a little inconsistent because I don’t think I mixed the sauce well enough since it was stuck in a container while being transported, but it was spicy, had a little peanut taste, and was overall very enjoyable. The noodles were also very al dente, so it’s definitely something that can travel at least 10 blocks without being ruined.

The dry hot chicken was fried and served with a ton of hot peppers – spicy, but not spicy to the point that it wasn’t enjoyable. I think this dish could be better when served at the restaurant because the chicken is fried and supposed to be very crispy. The pea shoots were well prepared and not too salty.

I’d love to try the restaurant some day when the wait isn’t an hour and a half and try everything fresh from the kitchen – for our first experience of Han Dynasty, I’d say that it’s a really good option to add to our take out list!