Red Lotus Kitchen & Bar is expected to open as early as the first week in April — with gold Chinese calligraphy on its walls, dim sum on its tables and silk lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Chef Buu "Billy" Ngo and partner Peter Kwong are opening the contemporary Asian-fusion restaurant at 2718 J St. following their success with Japanese restaurant Kru, a few blocks down the street. The restaurant initially was expected to open in December in the spot where G.V. Hurley's closed its doors in September. A liquor license transfer held up the opening of Red Lotus, Ngo said. Following a restaurant trend toward small plates of food or "tapas," the restaurant will focus on small dishes, prima

Midtown diners and residents who have been awaiting a new Asian-fusion restaurant will have to wait a bit longer. Red Lotus Kitchen & Bar — the newest addition to the 2700 block of J Street — isn't likely to open until January, said chef Buu "Billy" Ngo, who is partnering again with Peter Kwong after their Japanese restaurant Kru has become a success just a few blocks down the street. Kru opened in 2005. They plan to open their new restaurant at 2718 J St., where G.V. Hurley's closed its doors in September. Ngo and Kwong bought the business from Hurley's owners, who had conflicts with neighboring residents. The liquor license transfer is holding up the opening of Red Lotus, Ngo said Tues

A new face is expected to pop up on a controversial Midtown party block in the next few months. An Asian-fusion restaurant named Red Lotus Kitchen & Bar is in the works to take over 2718 J St., where G.V. Hurley's closed its doors last Sunday. Buu "Billy" Ngo and Peter Kwong — the owners of the successful Japanese restaurant Kru just a few blocks down J Street — plan to serve "a little of everything" in a contemporary Asian restaurant whose culinary base will be Chinese food. "It's my interpretation of Chinese, which incorporates everything," Ngo said. Ngo and Kwong have bought the business and will lease the space from G.V. Hurley's owners, a trio of Sacramento developers who own the