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Han Chiang to Set the East Village on Fire With an Outpost of Han Dynasty

Han Chiang giving hot pot a whole new meaning.
Han Chiang giving hot pot a whole new meaning. Photo: Philadining

He’s been celebrated in song, spoofed on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and featured on The Layover while stinking drunk with Anthony Bourdain, and now it looks like Han Chiang, the incendiary emperor behind Philadelphia’s popular chain of Han Dynasty restaurants, is bringing his firebrand Sichuan to New York. Surprisingly, he isn’t landing in midtown’s “Sichuan Belt,” but rather the East Village in the former home of Montien Thai at 90 Third Avenue, according to Eater. And he expects to be melting New Yorkers’ faces off as early as July of this year.

With a burst of red-hot chile oil and skull-tingling Sichuan peppercorns, Chiang’s trajectory began heading toward the stratosphere back in 2009 when he opened a location of his under-the-radar, suburban restaurant in Philly’s Old City neighborhood. With the promise of delivering authenticity and a spiciness that is in no way dialed back for western palettes, Handy Nasty — as it’s become known, because of its unfortunate handynasty.net url and matching Twitter handle — fast became a favorite among critics, the food blogerati, and mere mortals. Since opening there, he’s rapidly spun off four more, each of which have become just as popular for area heat-seekers. To get a sense of his demented sense of humor, check out what happens when Vetri vet Brad Spence catches up with him in an episode of Vice’s “Munchies.”

Han Dynasty Moving Into Reserve Steakhouse; Expanding to NYC’s East Village [Eater Philadelphia]
Earlier: There’s Hot, and Then There’s Han Dynasty Hot!

Han Chiang to Set the East Village on Fire With an Outpost of Han Dynasty