Yummy Yummy is always a go- to for me when I want some Chinatown snacks without committing to a whole sit down thing. I love when new menu items are added. And in my post-Passover carb frenzy, I was happy to see they now have a takoyaki (dough balls with octopus) grill.
Last week, Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant opened at 9th and Arch, taking over the Happy Restaurant space. Another newcomer attempts to make it in Chinatown. So new, that take out menus aren’t available yet. Don’t expect an Americanized menu over here, this crew is not afraid to dump a pile of peppers on you.
Shabu Shabu, the dining experience that required diners to dip raw food into broth until cooked to the desired temperature, is popular in other major cities but has not yet made it big in Philly. There are a handful of Chinatown restaurants who offer hot pot and shabu shabu on the menu, but month-old Simply Shabu, is the first to offer only this high heat meal.
I am a big pig and have eaten hundreds of exciting lunches this past year. I am both grossed out and proud of myself when looking back at all the damage. I wrangled up my favorites of 2013 to share.
January started the year off strong, with peirogi’s from Donna’s smokey bar, Caribbean platters from Little Delicious, tom yom beef jerky from Ratchada, and the gooey mac and cheese brisket sandwich from MeltKraft.
In February, the Uzbeki meal from Samarkand was pretty legendary.
Taco truck, Taco El Rodeo was a pleasant surprise in April.
Pennsylvania 6 did the fancy business lunch right for me in May. Less fancy, but still satisfying: Poi Dog cart’s fried chicken and Campo’s monster of a meat sandwich called “The Stockyard”. Plus, this month brought the opening of Sizzling Woks (called Xi’an Famous Foods then), which meant slippery, spicy liang pi noodles in my mouth.
In June, I was obsessing over the lamb tacos at Border Springs Farm.
The meatball sandwich at Corner Foodery and the beef sandwich at Pura Vida were stand outs. Slightly more upscale, I loved the grilled pastrami and mac and cheese at Twisted Tail.
The meaty torta from American Sardine Bar and meaty burrito bowl from Animo provided tasty protein in August.
September is beautiful in Philly. Perfect for a picnic provided by Talula’s Daily. I was also overjoyed to find pupusas at Tamalex. I also ate a large amount of pork from Freddy and Tony’s.
The sandwiches at El Soto and cheesy tacos from Quetzally satiated Mexican cravings for October. I was also in love with the bread from High Street and much of the Cambodian snacks at Kavei Express.
Rounding out the year; in the past 2 months I was impressed by the dim sum at Wokano, the Godfather sandwich from Cosmis, and the soup dumplings from I-Green.
I think its time for a salad. Please keep your fingers crossed that I fit in to my New Year’s Eve dress tonight. So- What were your favorite lunches this year?
Posted at 12:37 pm, December 31st, 2013 under American, Cambodian, Carribean, Center City, Chinatown, Chinese, dim sum, dumplings, event, mac & cheese, Mexican, noodles, North East, pork, Puerto Rican, Reading Terminal, sandwiches, sit-down, South Philly, tacos.
I-Green opened in the summer of 2012 and has managed to stay open despite its confusing identity. While it used to only serve vegetarian food, that is no longer the case. Is it a froyo joint? A generic Chinese food restaurant? Where to get bubble tea? A sushi spot? A place to get a cheesesteak? A place for vegetarian mock meat? It is all of those things, yes, but those things are irrelevant. Because in the kitchen (located in the back, behind the whole froyo set up), you can score some fresh dim sum all day. At $6, I-Green’s lunch combo is almost tempting, but the basic choices are not thrilling. Instead, bring a friend, and share some plates from the dim sum section.
In May I noticed that a new restaurant opened in Chinatown serving a very unique style of Chinese cuisine from the Xi’an. I noted that the name of the restaurant “Xi’an Famous Food” made me think they were related to the popular Xi’an Famous Food locations in New York City, however on my visit I was told there was no relation. Soon after, the original Famous Food contacted the Philly restaurant and asked them to change their name to avoid an infringement suit. The change has happened and the new name is Xi’an Sizzling Woks. Since that first visit, the 10 item hand printed menu has expanded to a vast noodley menu that I had to explore.
My mouth dropped open while passing through Philly’s Chinatown on the bus coming home from NYC this weekend when I saw a sign for a new restaurant- Xi’an Famous Food.
The bad news first, Xi’an occupies 902 Arch Street, meaning Szechuan Tasty House, one of the better restaurants in Chinatown, is no longer.
The good news- Xi’an food, cuisine from one of the oldest cities in China, is amazing and unique. I was first exposed to it in 2009 in my favorite dingy food court basement, Flushing’s Golden Mall, at NY’s now famous Xi’an Famous Foods. In the past few years the public has caught on, demanding for more access to the slippery noodles and cumin lamb burgers and resulting in 4 more outposts around the boroughs. Most recently, the original Midtown Lunch was lucky enough to get a Xi’an within its boundaries.
As for Philly, Happy Noodle Bar made some attempts at Xi’an food, but it wasn’t quite right.
So, I had to resort to repeatedly transporting noodles over state lines. Until now.
