Staff Blog
Kingdom of Vegetarians sold; big changes at New Harmony Vegetarian
posted by James Saul
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| Photos | James Saul | |
The year of the ox is stampeding down the prairie, bringing winds of change to the vegan Chinese realm in Phlily. Ming Chu (pictured) who founded Kingdom of Vegetarians (129 N. 11th St.) a decade back and New Harmony Vegetarian (135 N. Ninth St.) in 2004, recently sold KoV to concentrate on making New Harmony the best place for vegans (and curious meat eaters) in Chinatown.
At KoV, nothing much has changed. The same takeout menu is taped to the front counter, those cheesy Mandarin pop songs play over the loudspeaker and the food magically appears via dumbwaiter. You’d never know that the place was under new management. The new owner was unavailable for comment, but according to waitress Fang Zhou, Kingdom is “the same space with the same food, [with] maybe a few new items after Chinese New Year.”
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| Photo | James Saul |
At New Harmony, there’s an upgraded menu featuring peanut beef, fried mushroom strips — and deep-fried cheesecake! Move over, molten lava — this cake (pictured) will blow your mind with its uber-gooey, chocolaty goodness. On Chinese New Year’s Day (Jan. 26), New Harmony is also opening a brand-new VIP room, good for groups of people looking to wile out on dim sum and karaoke. “Karaoke is good for the kids, it’s fun!” Chu tells us. Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. You’re damn right we’ll be there, with our best renditions of “Love Shack” and “Panama” at the ready.
To read more about the new New Harmony, check out this week’s print edition. Until then, we’ll be warming up our vocal cords.
[...] In vegetarian dining news, Kingdom of Vegetarians has been sold and there are big changes at New Harmony. [Meal Ticket] [...]
[...] not-quite Chinatown, not-quite NoLibs “Loft District” area of the city.- On Tuesday, James Saul teased his piece about the sale of Kingdom of Vegetarians and the upgrades at New Harmony. Here’s his full [...]