Kong

That such come-back highlights should be so hard to find, though, is an unexpected letdown from a chef with a good track record. I've been a fan of O'Halloran's French-centric BYOB, and this concept is a promising one. Priced right with nothing over $16 for the younger Northern Liberties crowd, it seems like a good fit for the former Sovalo space, which has been moodily Asianized with dangling birdcages, distressed walls scrawled with reproduced Kowloon graffiti, and a soundtrack that bops to Chinese gangsta rappers MC Hotdog and MC Jin.

And yet, even with O'Halloran on site, a night at Kong can feel off-kilter. For example, if the chef planned to visit the dining room, as he did numerous times throughout the evening, why would he dote on a single table of V.I.P.'s to the complete exclusion of the rest of the guests? It's a good thing our waitress, Julianna Lindgren, was so well-versed and such a charmer that we didn't feel left out. (Someone behind the bar, though, should be more careful to avoid the lime wedges with shriveled and dry brown skin.)

And there were still far too many dishes that tasted like experiments in progress.

The hot-and-sour shiitake soup was so thick, it could have been a gumbo. And while many of the expected flavors were there - the sour, the spice - they landed on my tongue at all the wrong times, pushed into a jumble by a cloying sweetness on the front, a powerfully earthy wave from mushrooms, a garish star anise punch, and finally, a bratty spice that refused to quiet when I went back for another spoonful.

And why is it so hard for Kong to properly cook greens? If the bok choy wasn't carelessly left raw (as it was repeatedly on my first visit), then it too often still harbored sandy grit, ultimately dimming a bowl of duck noodles in dark five-spice broth that was otherwise Kong's best "Big Bowl." O'Halloran's determination to use delicate butter lettuce, meanwhile, is a repeated bad choice. The lettuce simply wilted into flimsy wrappers beneath slabs of hot bacon. And the butter leaves were a total flop once braised in the oyster sauce shallots, turning as limp as lettuce scooped from the sink after washing the salad dishes.

Mastering the art of greens - an essential aspect of Chinese cooking - seems an elemental place for Kong to begin reestablishing its kitchen cred. A recently introduced dumpling menu, playing to its strength, is another good idea. Finally then, Kong may benefit from the wisdom of the authenticator, and be able to more successfully define its own interpretation of Hong Kong flavors for the streets of Philadelphia.

Next Sunday, restaurant critic Craig LaBan reviews Fond in South Philadelphia. Contact him at 215-854-2682 or claban@phillynews.com.