{"id":146,"date":"2017-04-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/27\/red-alert-won-fun-chinese-restaurant-2fun-chinese-lounge\/"},"modified":"2021-01-27T19:33:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T19:33:56","slug":"red-alert-won-fun-chinese-restaurant-2fun-chinese-lounge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/27\/red-alert-won-fun-chinese-restaurant-2fun-chinese-lounge\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Alert: Won Fun Chinese Restaurant & 2Fun Chinese Lounge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PAGODA RED has some fascinating neighbors. We\u2019re fortunate to be in the city\u2019s most desirable area, where tech companies, cafes, bars and restaurants abound. Hunger (and thirst) is satisfied in any number of Michelin Star-winning ways around the West Loop. Our favorite recent discovery, \u00a0the concept known as\u00a0Won Fun Restaurant and 2Fun Chinese Lounge, is worthy of the buzz, and the perfect kick-off to our RED ALERT\u00a0series, which reveals inspiring people, places and things to know right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Design Chops<\/h2>\n

The 2Fun\/WonFun experience isn\u2019t\u00a0confined to a typical layout. The 60-seat restaurant is located downstairs, where the alluring glow of 280 red silk lanterns<\/a>, Chinese screens<\/a> and leather booths promise feels-like-a-movie-set fantasy without an ounce of high design pretension. Baker was inspired by the\u00a0film\u00a0Raise the Red Lantern.<\/i> The drenched-in-red aesthetic<\/a> isn\u2019t at odds with the original wood beams and industrial grit of the West Loop warehouse. Upstairs, one finds the 2Fun Chinese lounge, a\u00a0rollicking romp of cocktails, karaoke and a 60-foot dragon sourced from Hong Kong. While most of the design elements were contemporary finds (some scored\u00a0as close-by as Chinatown) there are\u00a0antique, gold Tibetan door knockers poised at the host stand.<\/p>\n

\"2fun-interiorpr\"<\/p>\n

Won Fun & 2Fun Chinese Restaurant & Lounge<\/p>\n

The Concept<\/h2>\n

Foodies earning points on Open Table are not used to finding Asian flavors on Randolph Street, which is precisely why Baker and chef Ben Ruiz, who spent several immersive weeks cooking, learning and eating their way through\u00a0Sichuan, went for it. \u201cWe\u00a0wanted to do something different for West Loop and at lower check price\u2014something not Italian\u00a0or French,\u201d says Baker. \u201cI decided\u00a0the next restaurant would be Sichuan-focused, and we\u2019d try to show people that Chinese food isn\u2019t just\u00a0egg rolls and sweet and sour pork.\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0Sichuan\u00a0peppercorn takes a starring role on the\u00a0menu. It\u2019s an ingredient with unfettered ka-pow in most dishes from the region, but often arrives with\u00a0subtlety. \u201cSichuan food is very rich in depth and complexity, mainly because it sat on the Silk Road and was such a big trading city,\u201d says Baker of the peppercorn\u2019s intriguing history. For the uninitiated, it\u00a0might seem intimidating.\u00a0\u201cWhat most Americans react to and think of with Sichuan food is spicy and numbing.\u00a0Those two things together are called\u00a0mala<\/i> in Chinese cuisine. Mala is\u00a0one of the seven essential flavors in Chinese food,\u201d he says. M\u00e1, the numbing Sichuan pepper and l\u00e0, the spicy chili pepper, are the defining flavors in Sichuan cooking.<\/p>\n

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\"austin-baker\"<\/p>\n

Owner Austin Baker<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Chef Dossier<\/h2>\n

Austin Baker, creator of low-lit Humboldt Park charmer Bar Marta, has cooked his way across the country, from the James Beard-winning kitchen of Frasca in Boulder, Co., to Eric Ripert\u2019s iconic fine dining experience Le Bernardin in New York. Baker was also the head chef for Amankora, the luxury resort in Bumthang, Bhutan. He spent two years at the resort creating dishes for five private lodges, cooking every meal for a global cadre of guests. Trading the city hustle for stunning and remote scenery, Baker went head-first into the cuisine and the culture. He and his team farmed and harvested all their ingredients. Some produce, like icicle radishes and heirloom tomatoes, were grown from seeds Baker brought to Bhutan. \u201cIt\u2019s a very young democracy and every valley speaks a different dialect of Dzongkha,\u201d he says. \u201cThe food is such a reflection of the region\u2014there are Tibetan, Nepalese and Indian influences.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"chef-ben-ruiz\"<\/p>\n

Chef Ben Ruiz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Get<\/h2>\n

For Baker, the menu is all about balance. He and Ruiz have turned out dishes with soul and authenticity without forgetting the West Loop\u2019s coordinates. In their exalted experimentation, peppercorns are ground, infused in oil, and sprinkled carefully with a gentle beckon to try something different.<\/p>\n

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Won Fun & 2Fun Chinese Restaurant & Lounge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Mouthwatering Rabbit is succulent meat served chilled with sesame peanut dressing\u00a0generously doused in chili oil; the Dry Chili Prawns deliver a delectable fried crunch (along with a set of tingling lips) and the classic Ma Po Tofu is not for lightweights\u2014the\u00a0\u00a0most mala dish in the mix, says Baker, earns a fiery designation on the menu. But it\u2019s not all hurts-so-good fare. Ruiz and Baker have paved this divine\u00a0trip with a host of flavorful comforts\u00a0like\u00a0foie gras fried rice, house-made dan dan noodles, fried chicken and the faithful gusto\u00a0of Peking Duck, which is meant to be shared with steamed buns and duck fried rice. Everything given just enough punk rock treatment to keep even the most seasoned diner wanting more. 905 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL, 312.877.5967\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Photography by\u00a0Neil Burger, courtesy of Joy Hospitality<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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