3200 West Allegheny Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19132
Philadelphia County
Phone: (215) 225-6270
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
by Lauren F. on Chinatowns secret treasure. So secret in fact that i forgot the name, couldn't find it on rateclubs, and have been waiting to find it somewhere on the Internet so i could review it. Today, I got tired of trying to find the listing myself, so i asked my friend who i was with. Don't know why i didn't do that from the beginning. OK. So, let me set the scene. Paul Clark wants to go on a Chinatown pub crawl. Paul Clark loves him some Chinatown. I only use his full name because he is not just Paul, and he always talks about himself in the third person. We come up with four bars, starting with the Buddha Bar of course. My roommates Carly, Ed and I all meet Paul Clark and head over to the first stop. Great time, yadda yadda as is the Buddha bar. LiPo is closed for some reason, we go to Red's, drink more, yadda yadda, and cruise on to our final destination, which oddly enough i cant remember what it originally was supposed to be. That's when we see it. The sign for L'Amour Night Club. Oooooh! Could this be a strip club? We are definitely all thinking it. That would make for a great end to the pub crawl! We see bright red puffy plastic on the doors to the entrance, in which you have to walk down stairs off the sidewalk just to reach them, the word L'Amour...why wouldn't it be a strip club? So, we decide to continue our adventure and walk in. OK.....Soooo not a strip club. Might have been at some point, I think I saw poles around, but I could be mistaken. The place is bright red and HUGE! Its this enormous space, with couches all over and tables in between, and bright red neon over the bar and on the walls, and to the left a big screen playing some sort of videos. What is that??? OMG! Its a karaoke bar! So we immediately go to the bar, grab some drinks, and find some spots on a couch across the table from the only other white folks in the place. Looking around for the stage, I couldn't find it. It was weird, but the microphones came to you! You sign up for a song, and they bring you the microphones, where you sing from your area!. No pressure, stay comfy. Here is where it gets interesting though. The only songs they have.....are Chinese pop, and American love songs. Obviously I'm not hip to the Chinese pop, but hell yes do i know love songs. So the four of us chose. Selections were slim...but we sang "Reunited" (and it feels so good!), and the four of us did an amazing rendition of "I've Had the Time of My Life". We shut this place down, laughed at what had just transpired, I got a phone number from one of the other dudes at our table, and we went on our way. Seriously, words can not capture this place for what it truly is. This night is permanently etched in my memories as one of my favorites ever. I don't know if another Chinatown pub crawl will compare. I must find it again....I must sing for the Chinese one more time...I must be reunited, so i can have the time of my life.
by Alejandrina Bobson on Great venue. My only qualm is if you get there late (which I inevitably do, coming from the South Bay on a weeknight especially), you'll be stuck on the extremity of the crowd and pushed into the well-lit side areas where shrieking from the bar is especially audible. For the driver, you will probably end up spending $10 on parking to come here. Not much street parking seems to be available.
