Midtown Lunch

The two food related areas I tend to be most snobbish about are probably pickles and dim sum. Dim sum is a great time for a group meal; tons of variety on little plate served to you by ladies with varying degrees of English proficiency is much more exciting than just ordering something from a menu.  The Notorious MSG agrees. I remember always insisting on sitting by the aisle as a child so I could pick out the dishes I had to have.  

I was hesitant about dim sum in Philly, I have had the top notch goods in NY. Several months ago I tried the dim sum at Ocean City and was very disappointed. But when a few of my girls were in the mood for dim sum, I figured  I would give Ocean City another chance. 

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I’ve passed by Wong Wong a million times without thinking much about it. I needed a quick lunch in Chinatown and wanted to go somewhere I have never been before. Wong Wong advertised lunch specials, so I went in.

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Recently Zinc advertised their 2 course duck preparation for 2 and it sounds insane; seared duck breast carved table side followed by grilled legs and wings. This will set you back $85. Not exactly Midtown Lunch friendly. So I wanted to find an affordable version. At Sang Kee in Chinatown, 1/2 a duck, also served 2 ways (take that Zinc) is a mere $20. Leave it to  Sang Kee, to allow us to feel a little fancy and filled with duck for $10 a person.

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Today, Luncher Steph is reporting on some far-out options from Ho Sai Gai.

At the center of Philly Chinatown, hovering over the southwest corner of 10th and Race, looms the bright red signage for Ho Sai Gai. I’ve walked past Ho Sai Gai a hundred times, merely taking it for another “tourist-friendly” Chinese eatery. However, while roaming Race Street in search of my next lunch, a picture hanging in the restaurant window caught my eye. What I had construed as brilliantly green shumai, Ho Sai Gai captioned as “Avocado Puff.” Suffice it to say, I was intrigued and decided to find out what was in store for my taste buds.

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At Xiao Guan Garden, things are efficient: boom- you are seated, boom- your menus, tea, and peanuts are on your table, boom- they give you unnecessary forks. No nonsense is enjoyable every so often. When I realized other tables were getting a different menu I wondered what I was missing out on. But I will never know since the menu was all in Chinese characters. When the “white people” menu has frog on it, you can’t feel too bad about ordering from it. And  I managed to have a nice little meal regardless.

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Chinatown has a ton of bakeries selling similar delicious baked good and drinks, plus a few with specialties like Yummy Yummy with their waffles and New Harmony with their “pop” smoothies. Cube Cafe has both, along with a menu of food that is… Pan-Asian inspired? Really though, the photo menu on the counter covers food from Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, and China. Plus breakfast and dessert.

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Emei Szechuan Style Restaurant is a newish Szechuan Chinese restaurant that replaced Chung King Garden. Like its predecessor the menu has both Szechuan and American-Chinese type food. I tried a bunch of appetizers and their spiciest lunch special.

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