Signage at Hunan Slurp Shop, 112 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, points to a month-long soft-opening phase that started yesterday. (Per Eater, reservations are required for this first week.)
The chef, Chao Wang, reportedly spent the past 25 years as an oil painter.
Here's a little preview via Eater:
Now, he’s opening a restaurant inspired by his hometown of Hengyang in the Hunan province of China.
Wang’s Hunan version of mifen (rice noodles) will not be as “aggressive” in its spicy-sour flavoring compared to Yunnan soup noodles, according to a statement, instead looking to the ingredients such as fish for umami or subtler flavors. Mifen variations on the menu include a bowl with bone marrow and a Tonkotsu-style broth and another stew with pig’s feet. Cold and hot small plates are also on the menu, like braised chicken feet tossed in spicy oil and stir-fried smoked pork and bean curd.
The restaurant's media outreach included Urban Daddy, who called the Slurp Shop "a modern space for modern Chinese made by a highly talented, highly homesick chef-slash-artist."
You can find the menu and photos of the food here.
The storefront was previously a Ricky's, which closed in April 2016.
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