Han Dynasty

I have heard so much about the Han Dynasty in Royersford and its outpost in Exton. The owner is a stickler for authenticity; he gets upset when people order the bastardized American Chinese food; its fiercely hot Sichuan cuisine; but more importantly, the food is really quite good. I wanted to visit the place. I have put it on the list but somehow I just never made it out that way. I even had made an attempt to go there with friends after one of our visits to the Sly Fox brew pub but the ½ price appetizers specials at the bar got us first. I still can’t believe we gave up Chinese food for chicken wings and fried mozzarellas.

Somehow, the eating god was on our side. Since I was too lame to trek out to Han, Han came to me. When I heard scuttlebugs that Han Dynasty owner Han Chiang was taking over the defunct Joe Poon restaurant in Old City, I started salivating. On a bitter cold windy winter night, after a brief stop at Eulogy for a pre-dinner beer, I finally stepped through the front door of Han Dynasty with a few intrepid dining buddies.

Since none of us know much about Sichuan cuisine, we asked Han to turn the heat up and surprise us (Well, we did tell him that our two lady diners were not as daring so just not to let them know if there’s anything “extraordinary” in the dish).

Dan Dan Noodles. Han came back to us with an aromatic bowl of noodles topped with a smart looking meat sauce. The fragrance of peanut, sesame, and meat permutated the air as he mixed the content in the bowl in front of us. The meat sauce was of the drier sort with distinct [bacon type] crispiness in the meat. There was a wealth of flavor coming from the bowl. A bit of heat, peanut, earthiness, sweetness, meatiness…; but unlike the last Dan Dan Noodles we had in Chinatown, this wasn’t swimming in grease.

Beef and Tripe in Chili Oil

This very traditional and popular Sichuan cold appetizer came drenched in flavors of herbs, sesame oil, mild sweetness, and lots of heat. The tripe was tender but the kitchen managed to maintain its slight chewy characteristic by not over-braising it to mush but yet able to get rid of that gamey organ taste. The beef was sliced paper thin. I particularly enjoyed the chopped peanuts and sesame sprinkled on top. They added texture and contrast to this winner.

Dumplings in Chili Oil

Learn something new every day: No chili oils are alike. In Sichuan cooking, there is a different chili oil concoction for every different dish. A sweeter, much less spicy, heavier dark soy sauce based sauce was used to marinate these al dente prepared dumplings. The dumplings were filled with little morsels of minced meat (pork, I think). The dough itself was a bit thick for my taste since I am used to the Cantonese style with a thinner yet more delicate skin. I did, however, enjoy these heartier pasta like dumplings although I would prefer the filling to be more, filling. A little more meat never hurts.

Stir-fried Peapod Leaves

The vegetable was not as soft as it could be and there was definitely too much salt in it. Regardless, it was a good diversion from the orgy of spices in our mouths, sort of like an intermezzo to cleanse the palates.

Fish in Dry Hotpot

Before this dish arrived at the table, one of my friends already proclaimed, ”Oh-no, my bald spot is sweating.” Fortunately, this dish was only “slightly” spicy even though the amount of red chili peppers was plenty evidenced in the pot. The grouper was tastefully seasoned. It was flaky, tender, and fell apart in my mouth. The fish was accompanied by plenty of crunchy and snappy bamboo shoots, carrots, green peppers, ginger, celery, and mushrooms. I have been known not to like fish since most kitchens overcook it but I did enjoy this concoction.

Pork Belly

More heat. The pork belly was steamed then stir-fried with hot peppers and scallions. The meat had the consistency of crispy bacon and braised meat with the crispiness on the outside and the tenderness within. There was a sweetness coming from within the heat generated from the peppers and spices. The fat in the belly also had made this dish delicious and extremely decadent.

Pork Belly in Garlic Sauce

Unlike the other pork belly dish, this one was served at room temperature with cucumber and bamboo shoots. The pork belly was sliced thin and very well prepared but the star of the dish was the sauce. It had heat, it had spice, and it carried lots of sweet garlic flavor. It was so addictive to me that I was spooning it on rice to soak up the maximum flavor.

Xiang Chong

Xiang Chong is the sweeter and more fragant version of the Lap Chong family of dried Chinese sausages. Unlike the Cantonese varities, xiang chang is plumper, less dried, and sweeeter. It is usually closely identified with Taiwanese food.

This dish was simpley steamed, sliced, and served. Eash bite rewarded me with a candy sweet taste in my mouth followed by tasty grease running through my teeth. Yes, it was juicy, it was flavorsome, it was not spicy, but it did pack lot of fat.

Bok Choy with Mushroom

A vegetable dish that made us feel less guilty about eating greasy Chinese food.

I love bok choy, especially the smaller Shanghainese varity but somehow this dish just wasn’t doing anyhting for me. It was a very pretty looking dish with the bok choy neatly arranged in a floral patten topped with Chinese black mushroom in the middle. The vegetables were cooked nicely but there was something missing. May be a bit more seasoning; may be some spice? My mouth could have been OD-ed from spicy food, but I just couldn’t taste anything from this dish. The sauce was bland.

Fish in Hot Sauce

Another dish with another different hot sauce. Large chunks of grouper swimming in a nicely spiced broth with a multi-dimensional depth of heat. The fish was well prepared and the sauce was scrumptious.

There are some definitely differences in the sauces, some subtle, some obvious. It’s like good red Bordeaux; they are alike but they are different. I asked Han what’s in this sauce. “Very involved in the making,” was his reply.

 

Triple Fried Pig Intestine with Green and Red Chili Peppers.


This was one of the most phenomenally splendid dishes we ever had. It’s crunchy. It’s slightly chewy. It’s tender. It had oomph. It had a sweet spicy salty taste from the seasoning plus the heat from the red and green chili pepper. It was just pure awesomeness!

The intestine was braised, then flash fried, taken out; flash fried, taken out; and flash fried again to attain its crispiness and to prevent it from getting too dried out from the frying. We totally enjoyed this dish as our lady diners were getting grossed out by it. Their lost, our gain.

 

Dumpling Soup.


We were going to go the Franklin Fountain for dessert after the spicy dishes, until Han dropped off small bowls of sweet dumpling soup in front of us.

There are as many different types of dumplings in Chinese food as the number of people in China. There are dumplings as dim sum, dumplings as snacks, dumplings as meal, dumplings as dessert…

Among the egg-drop in the sweet broth of this soup were little balls of dumpling made with sticky rice flours with a small dap of sweet bean paste in the middle. I have never found Chinese desserts to be too exciting for me and this soup did not disappoint. It was not overly sweet but it was not anything special besides looking a lot like a bowl of sweetened egg-drop soup. However, those little dumplings in the size of large malt ball candies were quite delightful on their own. The slightly chewy sticky rice flour dough with the sweet bean paste inside made a nice yet not over the top finish to an amazingly simulating meal.

We came to a conclusion at the end. Most of the dishes were lip numbing spicy but the heat did not linger. At the end of the meal, we remembered all the different spices that had passed through our mouth, but they were no longer burning our lips. The heat was simulating but not excruciating. It was like a tourist passing through a city instead of a mother-in-law staying over for a while.

In the sea of mediocre Chinese restaurants in the city, this one is a real standout.

P.S. We brought our own to Han Dynasty since it did not have a liquor license yet. Unless you are a hardcore Chinese who sips cognac with his meal, beer does go very well with spicy Chinese food. I prefer ale or lager on the sweeter side and would stay away from real hoppy or the darker varieties.