Philadelphia has a small but vibrant Chinatown. While no one will mistake our Chinatown for San Francisco’s, the neighborhood has been undergoing a renaissance for the past decade as a younger generation moves in and replaces the older establishments with trendier options. We’ve got bubble tea cafes. We’ve got fancy desert places. We’ve got a swanky, speak easy cocktail bar. There’s even a Bonchon. There’s a new food court, albeit not quite like the food courts in Hong Kong or Queens. Heng Fa is a supermarket in the center of Chinatown and beyond supplying Chinese food goods they also have the best pork belly in the city. My wife and I try to combine a stop at a restaurant in this neighborhood when we pick up pork belly or my wife is catching a bus to Manhattan, so over the past few years I think we’ve eaten our way through the entire neighborhood.
Philadelphia does not have a high volume of Asian immigrants, so Chinatown has become a neighborhood for other cultures to open restaurants featuring their native cuisine. The neighborhood has the best Vietnamese, Malaysian (should say Chinese Malaysian that you’d find in Singapore or Penang), and Burmese food in the city.
Besides a few events and block parties throughout the year, there’s no major attraction in this neighborhood, although I would contend that Heng Fa is always worth a quick spin through, to bring people here beyond the food.
Philadelphia does not have a high volume of Asian immigrants, so Chinatown has become a neighborhood for other cultures to open restaurants featuring their native cuisine. The neighborhood has the best Vietnamese, Malaysian (should say Chinese Malaysian that you’d find in Singapore or Penang), and Burmese food in the city.
Besides a few events and block parties throughout the year, there’s no major attraction in this neighborhood, although I would contend that Heng Fa is always worth a quick spin through, to bring people here beyond the food.
RESTAURANTS
If you are looking for a local food critc's take on where to dine in Chinatown, check out this Craig Laban article. I've tried to eat at a few of the places listed but I have a few below that didn't make Laban's cut. I think the best part of Philadelphia's Chinatown is the range of options available - I'll get crazings for not necessarily a specific cuisine but rather a specific dish and there's always a restaurant in Chinatown that has that dish on its menu.
Yummy Yummy: I've complained several times on this site about bloggers who don't know anything about a destination but sometimes even the "experts" miss the obvious. Yummy Yummy's signature dish is an egg waffle, a waffle with bite size "balls" that can be broken off an be eaten individual. For my money, the best Asian desert. Yummy Yummy is not on Laban's list. Anthony Bourdain filmed three episodes in Hong Kong over multiple shows, the egg waffle never made an appearance. Which is criminal as this is a signature Hong Kong dish that somehow falls by the wayside because it's a desert.
Heng Fa Supermarket: as mentioned above the physical and cultural heart of Chinatown. Great spot to shop and people watch.
Chinatown Square: a much needed food hall.
Bar Ly: Sometimes you get hung up or put a qualifier on something - like saying "Bar Ly is a great Chinatown spors bar". No. Bar Ly is a great Philadelphia sports bar. Phenomenal place to watch a sporting event. Tons of beers. Tons of TVs. Good food.
Dim Sum Garden: I come here for one thing - Chinese dumplings.
Ting Wong: This is what a Hong Kong BBQ joint looks like. Meat hanging at the entrance. No frills.
Penang / Banana Leaf: The two Chinese Malay restaurants in the neighborhood. When you travel through Asia you will at some point pass through Penang which is home to a huge Chinese expat community and a cuisine that fuses Chinese and Malay. Penang is a little more high scale but Banana Leaf is a bit cheaper. Both are good.
Vietnam: Long-time standby for Vietnamese cuisine.
A La Mousse: You think of Chinatown and you think Chinese food but I will tell you this - A La Mousse is an incredibly Chinese desert shop, the exact sort of place that you'll find on many a block in Hong Kong. It's also one of the only coffee places in Chinatown and open late when you need some caffiene.
Nom Wah: Go to spot for the full dim sum suite.
Hop Sing Laundromat: Pretentious, not my sort of place, but cool Philly has a place like this.
If you are looking for a local food critc's take on where to dine in Chinatown, check out this Craig Laban article. I've tried to eat at a few of the places listed but I have a few below that didn't make Laban's cut. I think the best part of Philadelphia's Chinatown is the range of options available - I'll get crazings for not necessarily a specific cuisine but rather a specific dish and there's always a restaurant in Chinatown that has that dish on its menu.
Yummy Yummy: I've complained several times on this site about bloggers who don't know anything about a destination but sometimes even the "experts" miss the obvious. Yummy Yummy's signature dish is an egg waffle, a waffle with bite size "balls" that can be broken off an be eaten individual. For my money, the best Asian desert. Yummy Yummy is not on Laban's list. Anthony Bourdain filmed three episodes in Hong Kong over multiple shows, the egg waffle never made an appearance. Which is criminal as this is a signature Hong Kong dish that somehow falls by the wayside because it's a desert.
Heng Fa Supermarket: as mentioned above the physical and cultural heart of Chinatown. Great spot to shop and people watch.
Chinatown Square: a much needed food hall.
Bar Ly: Sometimes you get hung up or put a qualifier on something - like saying "Bar Ly is a great Chinatown spors bar". No. Bar Ly is a great Philadelphia sports bar. Phenomenal place to watch a sporting event. Tons of beers. Tons of TVs. Good food.
Dim Sum Garden: I come here for one thing - Chinese dumplings.
Ting Wong: This is what a Hong Kong BBQ joint looks like. Meat hanging at the entrance. No frills.
Penang / Banana Leaf: The two Chinese Malay restaurants in the neighborhood. When you travel through Asia you will at some point pass through Penang which is home to a huge Chinese expat community and a cuisine that fuses Chinese and Malay. Penang is a little more high scale but Banana Leaf is a bit cheaper. Both are good.
Vietnam: Long-time standby for Vietnamese cuisine.
A La Mousse: You think of Chinatown and you think Chinese food but I will tell you this - A La Mousse is an incredibly Chinese desert shop, the exact sort of place that you'll find on many a block in Hong Kong. It's also one of the only coffee places in Chinatown and open late when you need some caffiene.
Nom Wah: Go to spot for the full dim sum suite.
Hop Sing Laundromat: Pretentious, not my sort of place, but cool Philly has a place like this.