It had been a while since my last visit to Yummy Yummy, the tiny snack shop in Chinatown. I was happy to find that they had made some additions to their menu in every category: dim sum, waffle, pudding, tea- the main groups of the food pyramid…
I was in the mood for something spicy, so I headed to Szechuan Tasty House, a small Szechuan restaurant which offers both familiar Chinese dishes and some more exciting ones. The regular menu has countless dishes under $10 and a Monday- Saturday $6 lunch special that includes an entree, rice, and soup.
As is customary at Philly Lunch, every Tuesday we turn over the site to a different lunch’er for his or her recommendations for the best lunch in Philadelphia. This week it’s Hayley who is pho really serious about noodles.
Name: Hayley
Age: 28
Occupation: Attorney/Founder of Pho Real Asian Food Club http://phorealclub.wordpress.com & twitter: @PhoRealClub
Where in Philly do you Work?: Market East/Chinatown.
Favorite Kind of Food: Tough question – I have so many! I love Asian food, especially Vietnamese, Korean and Thai. My last meal on earth would be a big bowl of pho with extra Sriracha sauce. I even started an Asian food club so that I could take group trips to restaurants and try more dishes. My other favorite would have to be Italian; I’ve never met a plate of seafood pasta that I didn’t like. A toasted pumpernickel bagel with lox, cream cheese, and cucumbers is pretty high up on the list, as are pickles, hummus and fresh fruit from the farmers market. Last but certainly not least is grilled cheese, the ultimate comfort food (especially my dad’s version on an inside out bagel!)
Least Favorite Kind of Food: Olives, all kinds. Yuck.
Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Philly: work right next to the Reading Terminal Market and Chinatown, so I have a bunch of options for quick, inexpensive lunches.
I frequent Pho Cali (1000 Arch Street) the most often. They have awesome summer rolls, and will make you tofu pho when you’re in the mood for a lighter meal.
I also really like the eggplant in garlic sauce at Szechuan Tasty House (902 Arch Street). Service is fast here, and they’ll substitute brown rice for white without an extra charge or a hassle.
The beef noodle soup at Nanzhou Hand Drawn Noodle House (927 Race Street) is like pho’s rustic cousin, and the noodles are amazing!
For group lunches, Rangoon (112 N. 9th Street) is a great option because they have large tables and a huge menu. My favorites are the jungle tofu (green curry) and the spicy rice sticks.
As for the Reading Terminal Market my top three stops are Sang Kee, for soup with dumplings and bok choy (ask for #8), Little Thai Market for pad thai (don’t be intimidated by the line – it’s long, but it moves fast) and Beck’s Cajun Café for their daily soups (especially pumpkin bisque in the fall). For dessert, I’ll usually swing by the Fair Food Farmstand for some produce, but sometimes I get sucked in by the vanilla cupcake display at Termini Brothers Bakery.
Also, I have to mention Seo Ra Bol (5734 N. Old 2nd St), because I think they make the best Korean food in Philadelphia. During the summer of 2007, I worked for a law firm in North Philly, and I would go there almost every day for their bulgogi and sushi bento boxes. And for anyone who works in Olde City, try the beef and scallions lunch special at Han Dynasty (108 Chestnut Street) – you won’t be disappointed.
Posted at 9:17 am, August 10th, 2010 under Chinatown, PROFILE: Philly Lunch'er.
Like McCormick’s, Tazia offers both a late night (10pm-12) and early bird happy hour (3:30pm-6:30), meaning you need to get your tush over here to take advantage of this late lunch option. Drink specials include $3 beers and carafes of sake. A long list of $3 small plate “tapatizers” are the main draw. I’ll look over the fact that the word “tapatizer” kinda weirds me out, because the pickins sound pretty good.
$1 skewers and $1 selections from the raw bar can supplement your apps.
The regular menu also has a lot of inexpensive and interesting combinations, but ordering (or better yet, sharing) several “tapatizers” allows you to try so much more.
Posted at 9:29 am, July 15th, 2010 under Chinatown.
I love Dim Sum Garden, I really do. I love that their dishes are cheap and tasty. I love that they have a big menu and that they are always adding things. So it was about time I checked out some of their new menu items.
High above the other awnings, the Four Rivers sign proudly looks down upon Race St, signaling its greatness to all those who look up. Four Rivers is legitimate Szechuan food. For dinner, I have enjoyed their extensive menu of soups, various pork preparations (do yourself a favor and order the house sweet ham), seafood (including the beautiful things they do with squid), and so much more, ranging from mild to fiery. But I hadn’t yet visited for lunch. The menu is a lot smaller during lunch and a lot of the fun stuff isn’t on there, but there are enough to please most lunchers. The pork in black bean sauce and double sauteed pork sounded good to me, but I have been thinking about the lack of super spicy lunches, and decided to test the fires of the Four Rivers mapo tofu (called ma bao on their menu)- spicy Szechuan tofu.
I have passed by Hong Bo Buffet countless times, always noting it as a place I should probably try, but never going in because I was always on my way to eat somewhere else. Not for the faint of heart, Hong Bo is a Chinese steam table. The kind where you point to the food items you want and they get piled on a big styrofoam plate for you. $6 lets you point 4 times.
