Chinatown in Philly is great. It is small compared to most other Chinatowns in this country, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality. Located just north of Market Street between 8th and 12th streets, this Chinatown is one of Philly's true gems. Every couple of Sundays, a group of my friends and I go down to Chinatown. I started this tradition after returning from a semester in Shanghai. We pile into a cab, a car or a train, and head downtown to explore this Middle Kingdom enclave.
Dim sum is not for the squeamish. It is pure carnage. High velocity pork flying in every direction and piping hot tea being poured at incredible rates. The meal is fast and furious and by the time it's over we're never sure what we've eaten but we know we liked it. Waiters and waitresses push around carts containing all manner of exciting dishes, and the patrons select which they want. This is not your typical Le Ahn's Chinese food.
Dim sum is the Cantonese equivalent of brunch. The restaurants are noisy and usually have tables filled with large families enjoying this traditional weekend experience together. It is a multi-generational thing, as we see old Chinese women feeding their adorable grandchildren noodles and sweets.
Dim sum dishes should be small and fresh. There are four main categories of food: vegetable, meat, "Goddam freaky" and dessert. The vegetables are relatively simple. Broccoli, bok choy and spinach are run of the mill. Some of my personal favorites are shrimp-stuffed eggplant, fried turnip (which looks likes like a weird, brown, gelatinous square, but it's hella tasty) and bean curd stuffed with vegetables. Sticky rice comes wrapped in a big green leaf and contains a mixture of meats and vegetables. Sweet and filling, it will sit in the pit of your stomach for the rest of the day. The meat category is primarily filled with pork and shrimp. The most typical presentation is the dumpling. Small, flavorful and a bitch to eat with chopsticks, the dumplings are either fried or steamed. Two dishes to definitely keep an eye out for are shumai, which is a type of pork and shrimp dumpling, and sweet pork buns (which is also my nickname).
Dim sum is most stimulating when it gets "God damn freaky." To really enjoy dim sum, try whatever looks good. Depending on the authenticity of the restaurant, this can sometimes cause problems. Some places serve tripe, chicken feet, snails and thousand-year-old eggs, which are rotted, hard-boiled eggs that have been buried in the ground for a month and are said to bring longevity. Like I said before, dim sum is not for the squeamish. It will leave you stuffed and satisfied for hours until the MSG kicks in.
I usually have dessert at one of the fabulous and cheap bakeries around Chinatown. When choosing a pastry, keep in mind that anything with red bean or coconut will treat you right. Egg custards aren't too shabby, either.
The two best places in Chinatown with reasonably priced dim sum are Imperial Inn (146 N. 10th Street) and Joy Tsin Lao (around the corner on Race Street between 10th and 11th streets). Imperial Inn has the better food of the two, and there is hardly ever a wait to be seated. The service, however, is a little lacking. Joy Tsin Lao is incredibly crowded, but has excellent service, which is very important since an enjoyable dim sum experience is all about the timing of the carts. It also has a great fried dumpling cart--they cook the dumplings right at the table.
After I finish the full frontal pork attack, I like to wander the streets of Chinatown. There are great markets and stores where one can buy all sorts of Chinese delicacies. Trinkets like the ones I brought back from Shanghai are available here, marked up a little for sale: Buddhas, paintings and Hello Kitty merchandise. The markets are great for grocery shopping, too. Just recently, I picked up an assortment of frozen dumplings for a future dinner. The racks are also filled with exotic spices, random fresh vegetables and an assortment of delicious teas.
To cap off the experience, I usually pick up some treats at the bakery. Most pastries run 50 cents each and one is filling enough to ruin your appetite for a while, let alone half a dozen. My friends and I also like going to one of the teahouses for pearl milk tea. This chocolate or fruit-flavored drink is filled with tapioca balls that you drink through an extremely large straw. I find them repulsive, but 1.2 billion Chinese people can't necessarily be wrong.
After our Sunday dim sum adventures, we head back to campus feeling the dumplings fight it out in our stomachs. We then reminisce about Shanghai until we fall asleep.
There are plenty of quick and light meals to be had in Chinatown, but to really get an appreciation of this Philly treasure, you must eat to excess and stroll around taking in the sights, sounds, colors and smells.
