Chef tempts tastebuds with Chinese and Black fusion menu

A Black chef has opened a Chinese restaurant in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Kurt Evans, 40, who was born and raised in the neighborhood, is a Black American who built his reputation cooking what he calls Black American Chinese food. His restaurant, Black Dragon, opened in 2024 in the space of a former Chinese takeout, serving dishes that blend American Chinese staples with flavors rooted in Black culinary traditions.

Evans says Chinese food and Black neighborhoods have long gone "hand in hand," a relationship shaped not only by taste, but by history.

Inside the small takeout restaurant, backlit menu boards hang above the counter, each panel filled with oversized photographs of familiar dishes. At both ends, red Chinese characters read "May wealth flow in" and "May business prosper." On the counter sits a black dragon sculpture accented with gold, alongside a gold-colored good-luck coin bank. Inside, three or four staff members move briskly behind the counter, flames leaping from woks as they cook.

The space was originally a mom-and-pop Chinese takeout restaurant, and when Evans took it over, he chose not to make major changes. Instead, he wanted to preserve the look and decor of a traditional Chinese takeout spot.

Along one wall, wallpaper features vintage photographs of children holding signs that read, "Power to the people. Black power to Black people. Yellow power to Yellow people." Nearby, a large orange neon sign glows with the slogan, "Food is our common ground."

"Food is somewhere where different cultures, ethnicities can come and get together and be as one, and there's no separation. That's our common ground," said Kyle Moore, who co-owns the store with Evans.

For Evans, that idea is not abstract, but deeply personal. "Food is the common ground where it gets us together, and that's where it brings us to a common place, and then from there we can build on," he said, explaining his desire to show solidarity with other marginalized communities.

Drawing on his firsthand experience, Evans said that "a lot of the Chinese stores may have been a lot of Black Americans' first cultural experience," a connection he traces to history and discriminatory policies.

"When the first wave of Chinese Americans came here, they weren't able to open up businesses in white neighborhoods," he said. However, they were able to purchase a building in a low income neighborhood and set up a business, have their family live above, work in the building and be able to be in the community that way, he explained.

While no single law explicitly barred Chinese Americans from opening restaurants in white neighborhoods, a web of exclusionary policies and practices effectively limited where they could operate. Beginning with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese immigrants were denied citizenship and political power, making them vulnerable to discrimination at the local level.

State and municipal "alien land laws" restricted property ownership and long-term leases for immigrants deemed ineligible for citizenship, while racially restrictive covenants and discriminatory zoning and licensing practices shut Chinese business owners out of many white commercial districts.

"Outside of forming Chinatown and the city, the next available place would be in a low income urban neighborhood," Evans said, a dynamic that led to many Chinese restaurants opening in Black neighborhoods, where rents were cheaper and exclusion was less rigid. "It was such an easy connection, drawing the lines between dishes and certain things."

Evans' first encounter with Chinese food came in the 1990s, when a teacher brought General Tso's chicken to school. His family had designated days for Chinese food, but General Tso's chicken "was always something that stuck with him when he thought about Chinese food."

"The price is ridiculously low, but it was quick, fast and hot … Those things were good for the community, being able to get a meal if you are on income restrictions."

That early familiarity later shaped his career path. Starting out as a hospital cook, Evans was assigned to the Asian food station, where the techniques and flavors immediately intrigued him. He went on to run small businesses of his own and work in other kitchens, cooking everything from pizza and burgers to fried wings and cheesesteaks. He said the idea for Black Dragon had been brewing for nearly nine years before he finally opened the restaurant in 2024, taking over the former Chinese takeout space.

At Black Dragon, diners find inventive combinations that move fluidly between Chinese takeout classics and soul food traditions. The menu includes egg rolls filled with collard greens, Philly cheesesteak or jerk chicken, alongside lo mein made with soul food staples like oxtail or Southern favorites such as gumbo, as well as more traditional Chinese-style versions with chicken or salmon. Fried rice is a must-have, and American Chinese standbys like chicken broccoli and beef broccoli remain central. For those willing to go bolder, the menu also ventures into dessert territory with items like peach cobbler wontons and sweet potato donuts.

What was once intended to be a neighborhood restaurant has become a tourist destination. Drawn by the rare combination of Chinese and soul food, as well as the buzz generated online, visitors now travel from far beyond West Philadelphia.

"People come from all over. We're used to getting people from Brooklyn down here. We've had people flying from Atlanta, like literally, we had people specifically fly here for this and this was a part of their trip … I'm always in shock," Evans said.

As Black Dragon's reputation grew beyond the neighborhood, Evans began drawing attention far outside West Philadelphia. One of the most standout moments of Evans' career came when former vice-president Kamala Harris was campaigning in Philadelphia and her team hired him to cater the event. Evans prepared a range of dishes with "an Asian flare," including fried chicken, fried rice, collard green fried rice and collard green egg rolls. He said Harris found his dishes "very interesting."

"I wanted to honor everything by drawing lines that were similar, so I didn't have to go outside the boxes. So, egg roll, you know, it usually is formed with cabbage. So, collard greens and cabbage aren't really that far. They're related, but it's something that's culturally relevant for Black people," Evans said. "I wanted to make sure that the cultural relevance of the food wasn't too far off from the ingredient that was actually using the original process."

Across the street from Black Dragon, Stepheneecee Williams, who works at a nearby pharmacy, is a regular customer.

"I think that Chinese restaurants are a staple in the Black community. It's something that is almost like a comfort food that we came to know. So for him to go in and then decide to just kind of take over a former Chinese store people already knew, that it was here to bring just a little more flare, a little more fusion. I think it's great," she said. "It was a former Chinese store, but you come in and you get a little more understanding, you get a little of our culture as well … We do live side by side."

Evans also pointed to the decline of second-generation Chinese immigrants working in restaurants as a natural progression across generations.

"The cycle was meant for our family to come in, be able to get education, opportunities, and now it's completed. It's like a butterfly."

For Evans, that cycle continues through his own work. He hires formerly incarcerated individuals and creates opportunities for young people as a way of giving back to the community.

That work now extends beyond the restaurant. Evans has secured a book deal and is set to turn in his final manuscript by the end of this month. Blending memoir and food writing, the book traces the founding of Black Dragon and includes recipes for some of his best-selling fusion dishes alongside previously unpublished recipes.

Williams said she often stops in after work for her favorite: chicken and broccoli, a meal she grew up eating.

"You give back to your community, standing in solidarity for each other, because at this time, it is what's needed. So to get a little good meal along with that is great," she added.