Kung Fu Kitchen: Hand-Pulled Noodles & Michelin-Recognized Dumplings Opens in New Haven

Leeanne Griffin June 02, 2025

Connecticut may not be home to an official Michelin Guide, but this new Chinese restaurant in New Haven has Bib Gourmand-approved hand-pulled noodles, soup dumplings and much more.

Kung Fu Kitchen recently celebrated its soft opening on Orange Street in the city’s Ninth Square neighborhood, marking the first Connecticut location of chef/owner Peter Song’s concept. Song opened the first Kung Fu in Manhattan to great fanfare a dozen years ago, adding additional city restaurants and outposts in Orlando and Boston.

Song, who was an actor in China, initially came to the United States to study film at NYU, he said. Eager to learn new skills to support himself financially, he took a job with a vendor at the Golden Mall food court in Flushing, Queens, where he learned the intricate process of making hand-pulled noodles. His boss took note of his industriousness, encouraging him to potentially pursue his own culinary path.

“He said, ‘I like you. If you learn the (noodles) very well, you can open a restaurant,’” Song said.

So he did, opening what was first called Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen in December 2013. Four months later, the restaurant earned its first New York Times review, where writer Ligaya Mishan described Song’s noodles as

“chewy, dense and so delicious that the soup they swim in seems almost superfluous” and noting the xiao long bao with “fantastically juicy, porky interiors.”

There’s another Kung Fu in Times Square, where Song said he was looking to capture the interest of tourists from around the world. Two years ago, Kung Fu’s noodles and dumplings made their debut in Orlando, again catering to a touristy crowd near Disney. A Brookline restaurant opened last summer in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood.

Song himself wasn’t familiar with New Haven, but his friend and business partner in the Elm City location, Sen Lin, encouraged him to consider the area. Lin co-owns a location of Oh!K-Dog, a Korean street food restaurant on College Street, and he saw the potential of the Kung Fu menu in the city known for its diverse restaurant scene and sizable student population.

The New Haven menu notes the specific menu items praised by Michelin’s Bib Gourmand guide, which lists spots known for

“good quality, good value cooking.” Its pork and shrimp wonton soup is “well worth the 20-minute wait,”

according to Michelin, which also highlights its crispy scallion pancake with sliced beef, pan-fried Peking duck buns and steamed buns with bok choy and mushroom.

Handmade dumplings - steamed or pan-fried - are stuffed with chicken, pork, shrimp or vegetables, while the signature hand-pulled noodles appear in soups and stir-fried dishes with assorted vegetables and proteins. Xiao long bao, or Chinese soup dumplings, are filled with rich broth and meats, accentuated with a vinegar-based dumpling sauce and chili oil.

The menu offers assorted vegetarian and vegan dishes, including appetizers of cucumber salad and edamame, and dumplings and steamed buns with vegetable fillings. Song said he wanted to offer healthier options, in part to accommodate the city’s student population.