Midtown Lunch

The area around H-Mart in Upper Darby’s Terminal Square, including the H-Mart food court, is one of my favorite blocks for dining. With the presence of so many different types of cuisines next door to each other, it should be yours too. The problem though, is the high turnover rate. A favorite restaurant might be gone the next time you return.  But that only means an adventure awaits every time you visit. For your dining convenience, I present to you the current state of the block….

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While doing some Korean grocery shopping, I stumbled into Upper Darby’s latest restaurant- a Colombian spot called La Casa de las Empanadas. I love myself some empanadas, so that seemed like an appropriate casa for me to walk in to.

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Inka Wall, a Peruvian restaurant, is one of the newer occupants of the “HMart Plaza” in Upper Darby. We don’t have a ton of Peruvian food in Philadelphia,  that’s enough of a reason to make the trip west to the end of the Market/Frankford line.

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H-Mart and the restaurant plaza surrounding it is one of my favorite and most concentrated areas for ethnic dining. The turnover rate is the one negative- your favorite new spot could be gone in a few months, as was the case with El Sabroso and their awesome pupusas. Sa Bai Dee has been around for a few years, however, so they must be doing something right. The approachable  space and menu would appeal to a wide audience. The restaurant does Thai and Loatian food, though more of the menu seems to be straight Thai.

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I am officially obsessed with the Upper Darby Terminal Square area. It is such an unexpectedly diverse block. The pupusas from El Sabroso rocked my world last week. Next, I had to try the dumplings that were named Best of Philly 2012 by Philly Mag at Yang Yang Express next door to El Sabroso.

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There is not nearly enough Peruvian food around Philly. Not even close. There is such a dearth that I have to be willing to get outside my comfort zone of the city to find some. By the 69th St station in Upper Darby, El Sabroso sells the typical Peruvian rotisserie chicken,  “pollo a la brasa,” plus other Central American dishes. Check out the coy chicken and menu explanation, hints that a good meal is inevitable.

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I am always, always searching for great jajangmyeon, the Korean dish of fermented bean paste, zucchini, onions (and often pork), over fat noodles. There is something about it that makes me go through great lengths to get some. (Coincidentally, Meal Ticket just posted a recipe for the Chinese version, but I’d rather leave it to the pros) Previously, I could begrudgingly get my fix at Pastoral, weird service and all, but they’ve closed. So now I have to travel a little farther from home to seek it out. I found some at Nagwon Garden in West Philly.

But first, their banchan. I enjoyed the kimchee and potatoes, but I would advise to steer clear of the mushy looking cucumbers, they taste like a fish died in them.

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