Chinatown help

[philadining]

Biggest surprise of the night were snow pea leaves sauteed in garlic.  It was simple in preparation (not too much different than other sauteed greens you've had) but mind-blowingly good.  I need to find a source of pea shoots, and then I'm going to make them myself, every day of the week.

way.

Nan Zhou, was the first place in Philly I noticed that served these, and more recently, Sang Kee has them pretty regualrly. Both make them with LOTS of whole garlic, and you're right, they're amazing, usually my favorite thing on the table. I totally believe the seasonal thing, but I feel like I've been seeing them a lot, although they're sometimes not as amazingly sweet. I wonder if it's one of those deals like what happens with, say, strawberries, you can get them more and more often, but they're only really good at certain time of the year.

Incindentally, there is a secret gem for Korean BBQ off Roosevelt Blvd at the adams ave exit.  $12.50 bul ki all you can eat - all BBQ meats(raw beef short rib,marinated beef, pork chicken, gizzards, squid, fatty bacon and tripe, some kimchi and condiments - no dishes on the menu.  Great people - they know me well.  I have been going there for years since I was a poor medical resident.  Korea Garden is not authentic wood BBQ at your table - this place is and it's called Kuk Il.  You will smell for days of smoke - beware!  It would be a great cheap place for PA gulleteers to meet up one day.

Evan

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Real wood Korean barbeque! Nothing like it! The NY boards have been bemoaning that it seems like all the Manhattan places have switched to gas. Bulgoki and kabli over hot coals is SO much better than a gas burner, or those sad little table-top propane deals. Those are better than no bulgoki at all, but the kind of char you can get from coals makes it into a whole other thing...

I went to a a place in Manhattan's Koreatown a few years ago at, like, 3:30 in the morning and the fact that you could barbeque over coals in the middle of the night was almost enough to make me move to NY! In the morning, my friend's girlfriend was raging about how disgusting we were, coming in stinking of smoke and garlic, but as the rant continued, I realized that she was mostly mad that we didn't bring any back for her. And horrified that we had eaten two whole orders at that time of night, she knew this place required two orders to grill at the table...

Big thanks for the tip, I had no idea anyone was using wood around here. And count me in if momentum starts for an eGullet invasion!

[DTBarton]

Had dinner at Shiao Lan Kung with the mrbigjases. Holy mackerel, what a great dinner. The place was crowded enough on a Saturday at 7:30 that we had to wait a little while for dinner. No worries; it gave us time to read all the glowing reviews posted on the windows outside and decide what to order. Also to pick up some beer to supplement the bottle of Spy Valley riesling we'd brought along.

I'm taking from this post that SLK is BYOB?

[Andrew Fenton]

I'm taking from this post that SLK is BYOB?

SLK? BYOB.

OK?

[Andrew Fenton]

Andrew - aren't those snow pea leaves awesome!  Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available all times of the year.  I routinely get them in Cherry Hill at Hahn Ah Reum behind the Korea Garden restaurant on 70, about 10 minutes from Ben Fran. Bridge. I have also gotten them in chinatown markets.  It can be tough to ID veggies in the markets in Chinatown but the trick to these leaves are the little curly-cues that eminate from the stems.  That's them!

Nan Zhou, was the first place in Philly I noticed that served these, and more recently, Sang Kee has them pretty regualrly. Both make them  with LOTS of whole garlic, and you're right, they're amazing, usually my favorite thing on the table. I totally believe the seasonal thing, but I feel like I've been seeing them a lot, although they're sometimes not as amazingly sweet.  I wonder if it's one of those deals like what happens with, say, strawberries, you can get them more and more often, but they're only really good at certain time of the year. 

Evan, thanks for the Hahn Ah Rheum heads-up. I'm going to head over there this week (spring break road trip: woo hoo!) and we'll see what we find.

The leaves are on the regular menu (and at $10.50 or so are the most expensive of the vegetable dishes), so they must have them year round. It's easy to believe that they'd be best seasonally- early to mid spring, I'd guess? But these were pretty damn good.

[mrbigjas]

1. i can report that they do not have snow pea leaves at 1st oriental, because i looked for them today while i was down there.

2. woo rae kwan out in upper darby has real wood grills at the tables, and a huge range of banchan.

3. one of the things that i'm kinda sorry we missed at SLK was the bitter melon and frog soup. that's gotta be interesting. next time, maybe.

[Capaneus]

Andrew - aren't those snow pea leaves awesome!  Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available all times of the year.  I routinely get them in Cherry Hill at Hahn Ah Reum behind the Korea Garden restaurant on 70, about 10 minutes from Ben Fran. Bridge. I have also gotten them in chinatown markets.  It can be tough to ID veggies in the markets in Chinatown but the trick to these leaves are the little curly-cues that eminate from the stems.  That's them!

Nan Zhou, was the first place in Philly I noticed that served these, and more recently, Sang Kee has them pretty regualrly. Both make them  with LOTS of whole garlic, and you're right, they're amazing, usually my favorite thing on the table. I totally believe the seasonal thing, but I feel like I've been seeing them a lot, although they're sometimes not as amazingly sweet.  I wonder if it's one of those deals like what happens with, say, strawberries, you can get them more and more often, but they're only really good at certain time of the year. 

Evan, thanks for the Hahn Ah Rheum heads-up. I'm going to head over there this week (spring break road trip: woo hoo!) and we'll see what we find.

The leaves are on the regular menu (and at $10.50 or so are the most expensive of the vegetable dishes), so they must have them year round. It's easy to believe that they'd be best seasonally- early to mid spring, I'd guess? But these were pretty damn good.

←

Yeah, they are definitely seasonal: late Winter to early Spring (*snow* peas, after all). They've been available in Chinatown for a long time (I first had them at Sang Kee in the early '90s), but only recently made the leap onto the Caucasian Menu. Until now, you had to ask, and even then often got the blank-stare brushoff.

I always wonder what other wonders are being kept from me for my own good.

[shacke]

Lakeside deli has great snow pea leaves. They call them "bean leaves". I will be having them tonight!

evan

Andrew - aren't those snow pea leaves awesome!  Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available all times of the year.  I routinely get them in Cherry Hill at Hahn Ah Reum behind the Korea Garden restaurant on 70, about 10 minutes from Ben Fran. Bridge. I have also gotten them in chinatown markets.  It can be tough to ID veggies in the markets in Chinatown but the trick to these leaves are the little curly-cues that eminate from the stems.  That's them!

Nan Zhou, was the first place in Philly I noticed that served these, and more recently, Sang Kee has them pretty regualrly. Both make them  with LOTS of whole garlic, and you're right, they're amazing, usually my favorite thing on the table. I totally believe the seasonal thing, but I feel like I've been seeing them a lot, although they're sometimes not as amazingly sweet.  I wonder if it's one of those deals like what happens with, say, strawberries, you can get them more and more often, but they're only really good at certain time of the year. 

Evan, thanks for the Hahn Ah Rheum heads-up. I'm going to head over there this week (spring break road trip: woo hoo!) and we'll see what we find.

The leaves are on the regular menu (and at $10.50 or so are the most expensive of the vegetable dishes), so they must have them year round. It's easy to believe that they'd be best seasonally- early to mid spring, I'd guess? But these were pretty damn good.

←

Yeah, they are definitely seasonal: late Winter to early Spring (*snow* peas, after all). They've been available in Chinatown for a long time (I first had them at Sang Kee in the early '90s), but only recently made the leap onto the Caucasian Menu. Until now, you had to ask, and even then often got the blank-stare brushoff.

I always wonder what other wonders are being kept from me for my own good.

←

[Greg Ling]

Biggest surprise of the night were snow pea leaves sauteed in garlic.  It was simple in preparation (not too much different than other sauteed greens you've had) but mind-blowingly good.  I need to find a source of pea shoots, and then I'm going to make them myself, every day of the week.

way.

Andrew - aren't those snow pea leaves awesome! Unfortunately they are seasonal and not available all times of the year. I routinely get them in Cherry Hill at Hahn Ah Reum behind the Korea Garden restaurant on 70, about 10 minutes from Ben Fran. Bridge. I have also gotten them in chinatown markets. It can be tough to ID veggies in the markets in Chinatown but the trick to these leaves are the little curly-cues that eminate from the stems. That's them!

Incindentally, there is a secret gem for Korean BBQ off Roosevelt Blvd at the adams ave exit. $12.50 bul ki all you can eat - all BBQ meats(raw beef short rib,marinated beef, pork chicken, gizzards, squid, fatty bacon and tripe, some kimchi and condiments - no dishes on the menu. Great people - they know me well. I have been going there for years since I was a poor medical resident. Korea Garden is not authentic wood BBQ at your table - this place is and it's called Kuk Il. You will smell for days of smoke - beware! It would be a great cheap place for PA gulleteers to meet up one day.

Evan

←

That place is the best,there are alot of good places like that here because of the large korean prescence.Ypu shpould also check out the places at the end of fifth at cheltenham ave.

[philadining]

They've been available in Chinatown for a long time (I first had them at Sang Kee in the early '90s), but only recently made the leap onto the Caucasian Menu. Until now, you had to ask, and even then often got the blank-stare brushoff.

I always wonder what other wonders are being kept from me for my own good.

←

I've been eating them up in NY at Dim Sum Go Go for several years, but my buddy's wife was ordering them in Mandarin, and I never could get the pronunciation right to get them myself. That friend and I tried once on our own and just got blank looks from the waiter, and embarrassed eye-rolling from his Mandarin-speaking 4-year-old daughter. Of course, she wouldn't bail us out either.... The transliteration I see most often is "Dou Miao" but it's elided together, and has some tonal aspect that we were clearly butchering, god knows what horrifying or nonsensical thing we were saying to the poor waiter. It's something like "Dome-Yow" but not quite. Any native speakers want to help us?!?

[Greg Ling]

My mom makes me clean those snow pea leaves all the time half goes int the trash,which is alot of waste but they are good,if you ask for "dau miu" you can usually find them try across from imperial.Awhile back when I was cooking in this city I tried to get the amish farmers to sell them to us ,When I went to one of their farms I found out they were throwing them away and told them they could sell organic dau miu for 12 bucks a pound .

[Greg Ling]

Rhymes with Yo. Miu is like mew.

[KatieLoeb]

Ypu shpould also check out the places at the end of fifth at cheltenham ave.

There's a Hahn ah Reum at Cheltenham Avenue & Old York Road. If you go right onto 611 (Old York Road) off of North Broad Street, it's about a mile or so at the intersection of Cheltenham Avenue.

[stephenc]

[The transliteration I see most often is "Dou Miao" but it's elided together, and has some tonal aspect that we were clearly butchering, god knows what horrifying or nonsensical thing we were saying to the poor waiter.  It's something like "Dome-Yow" but not quite. Any native speakers want to help us?!?

←

It sounds like "Doe meow," with a quick and almost undetectiable "ow" at the end.

Tonally, say the "do" like you would, saying "Go!" to someone.

The "miao" has an upward curve to it. Tonally, it's similar to saying "huh?" in confusion. Do it quicker, but with the word "miao".

Edited March 7, 2005 by stephenc (log)

[stephenc]

1. i can report that they do not have snow pea leaves at 1st oriental, because i looked for them today while i was down there.

2. woo rae kwan out in upper darby has real wood grills at the tables, and a huge range of banchan.

3. one of the things that i'm kinda sorry we missed at SLK was the bitter melon and frog soup.  that's gotta be interesting.  next time, maybe.

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Hong Kong supermarket up on Rising Sun had them last time I was there, which was about a week ago.

[DTBarton]

I'm taking from this post that SLK is BYOB?

SLK? BYOB.

OK?

←

OK D'OH K!

Thanks

[chowfun]

I have to put my vote in for Tai Lake. They have excellent fresh seafood, Cantonese style.

[mrbigjas]

1. i can report that they do not have snow pea leaves at 1st oriental, because i looked for them today while i was down there.

Hong Kong supermarket up on Rising Sun had them last time I was there, which was about a week ago.

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fyi folks, i stopped in sue's produce on 18th today to get something green for lunch and they had big ol' clamshells of pea tendrils for $3. i'm sure it's significantly more expensive for less than you'd get at one of the asian supermarkets, but it's right there on my way to and from work, so i bought some. and you know what? they're so awesome raw. taste like super sweet baby peas.

[SG-]

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[Diann]

Made it to Lakeside last night! Stuffed myself silly (with three friends) and had leftovers for $12 each. Ordered shrimp dumplings (har gow), pork dumplings (siu mai), panfried pork dumplings, those wide rice noodle things wrapped around shrimp served with soy sauce (he fun?), steamed rice in lotus leaves (came with big chunks of chinese sausage and various other meats, yum), congee with chicken and ginger, chinese broccoli in oyster sauce, chicken feet (dyed cancerous red...mildly frightening -- the color, not the chicken feet themselves ), steamed BBQ pork buns (cha siu bao), sesame balls with lotus seed paste, panfried noodles with beef, and I think a couple of other dishes I can't remember now. Oh! and of course the do miao/pea sprouts that inspired me to go to Lakeside (my friends picked it over Shiao Lan Kung) in the first place.

Friends missed seeing the food come around on carts, but I figure the food is fresher the way Lakeside serves it. EVERYTHING was good, especially the har gow (very thin translucent wrappers and lots of fresh shrimp, not filler) and cha siu bao (the BBQ pork inside was moist and chewy). Service was friendly, too. I did miss my chrysanthemum tea, though (Lakeside serves "generic Chinese restaurant tea").

Question about the pea tendrils, by the way: does anyone know what I'm talking about when I say I think there's a difference between the large shoots/tendrils and the small ones? I remember my parents always asking if a restaurant had the small ones, and I think those are the ones folks on this thread (me included) obsess over. They actually look like what you'd imagine pea shoots to look like, vs. what I was served last night (which was still good!) -- these were more like large leaves, not tendrils...

Need to stop by Sue's again to check this out. Or, I bet lots of places in Chinatown carry them.

[mrbigjas]

Question about the pea tendrils, by the way: does anyone know what I'm talking about when I say I think there's a difference between the large shoots/tendrils and the small ones? I remember my parents always asking if a restaurant had the small ones, and I think those are the ones folks on this thread (me included) obsess over. They actually look like what you'd imagine pea shoots to look like, vs. what I was served last night (which was still good!) -- these were more like large leaves, not tendrils...

Need to stop by Sue's again to check this out. Or, I bet lots of places in Chinatown carry them.

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funny you should mention this, diann--as of today, i do! at iovine's in the terminal today they had snow pea shoots, which were much smaller (and the leaves slightly darker green) than the pea tendrils i got at sue's the other day. those had bigger, slightly paler leaves and thicker stems. the tendrils from sue's reminded me much more (in looks at least) of the ones i got at shiao lan kung. i didn't buy the little snow pea shoots today at iovine's, so i can't tell you the difference for sure.

[ellencho]

In asian markets I've seen two forms of pea shoots sold. The first one is the pea leaf shoots and those usually have some sort of little tendril attached and the actual stem that the leaves are attached to are hollow. THese are my personal favorites. The only problem with these are that sometimes I get lazy and don't bother to check to see if there are any older or thicker leaves on them and after they're cooked I'll get a couple bites with some extra chewy vine in them.

The second form is the pea shoot. It's smaller, has a thinner white stem, and has two small green leaves attached at the same node. I guess it's more like a pea sprout.

In Chinatown, if you go down tenth from Arch, towards Race, make a left at the corner, the first little market you run into, (forgive me I don't know the name) should have pea shoots for under 3 bucks a lb. They also have REALLY cheap watercress. Like 50 cents a bunch cheap. Scallions are 35 cents a bunch. The lady that owns the store is really nice. This place is very recognizable, their produce display spills out onto the street.

Edited March 19, 2005 by ellencho (log)

[saluki]

This is almost embarrassing to admit, but I've lived in Philadelphia for almost four years and I've been to Chinatown less than ten times. It's not like I live far away ("the UC" -- I like that )...it's not like I don't get into Center City (I somehow find time to dine out at least once a week, and mostly on the other side of the Schuykill, too)...it's not like I don't love food...AND, I grew up eating Chinese food. RAAAR. So I've resolved to change this.

These places are on my to-go list already:

- Lakeside Chinese Deli

- Rangoon (not Chinese, but whatever)

- Ba Le (see above)

- Soup Train (that's in Chinatown, right?)

- Nan Zhou

Now I need advice re: actual Chinese restaurants. I love duck/wonton places like Sang Kee, and I've been to Joy Tsin Lau/Empress Garden/Ocean (Harbor?), etc.; I need to go back and explore their menus. But I'm trying to find homestyle Cantonese/Shanghai food -- does it exist here? I'm thinking winter melon soup and other slow cooked soups -- don't know what to call it in English, sorry; steamed whole fish; Shanghai "lion's heads" (I can't spell, but here's an attempt: shr tz tou); soup dumplings (I'm almost positive that soup dumplings aren't in Phila anymore)...and then homestyle dishes. I bet brushing up on my Chinese reading skills would be helpful for this. Regardless. Any ideas?

And what about general suggestions for Chinese food? Where do you go, and what do you get? Doesn't have to be in Chinatown, but I don't want Joseph Poon/Susanna Foo, either. Thanks!

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Your list looks good.  The only one I haven't been to is Nan Zhou, but all the others are solid.  You might add Shiao Lan Kung to the list, as well as Lee How Fook.  It's been my experience that you have to know what to order.  Places will have their specialties, and those specialties will be really really good.  But if you order, I dunno, General Tso's Chicken or whatever, it'll be exactly the same as every other order of mediocre General Tso's that you've ever had. 

I don't know whether there are any Shanghainese restaurants in Philadelphia.  There used to be New Joe Shanghai, but they've closed.  You can get soup dumplings, however, at Pagoda (next to the Ritz East).  They're not the best soup dumplings evah; but even a halfway decent soup dumpling is better than just about anything else.  Probably they're available elsewhere, too: I feel like the soup dumpling has gotten a lot of press over the last few years.  Sang Kee might have them, since they're associated with Pagoda (but Pagoda has a more ethnically diverse menu, so I don't know).

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I think New Joe Shanghai may have reopened in langhorne as Chinatown Cafe. It is on Maple avenue in langhorne.

Someone on chowhound was raving about the food particularly the soup dumplings.

I think the people were New York transplants who couldn't say enough nice things about the restaurant. I also remember a small blurb in the inquirer months ago about its opening.

Has anyone been there? . I heard something about a Shanghai Joe being mentioned. Does anyone know anything about the food or the place? Also, is there a nearby landmark as I pass the area often and haven't seen it?

[herbacidal]

I think New Joe Shanghai may have reopened in langhorne as  Chinatown Cafe.  It is on Maple avenue in langhorne.

Someone on chowhound was raving about the food particularly the soup dumplings. 

I think the people were New York transplants who couldn't say enough nice things about  the restaurant.    I also remember a small blurb in the inquirer months ago about its opening. 

Has anyone been there?  . I heard something about a Shanghai Joe being mentioned. Does anyone know anything about the food or the place?  Also, is there a nearby landmark as I pass the area often and haven't seen it?

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I doubt there's anyone from Shanghai involved with Chinatown Cafe, but I suppose it's possible. The proprietor is Cary Chin, who was running Joe's Peking Duck House in Chinatown for a few years, around 2002.

That said, I have no clue where it really is relative to its area.

[saluki]

I doubt there's anyone from Shanghai involved with Chinatown Cafe, but I suppose it's possible. The proprietor is Cary Chin, who was running Joe's Peking Duck House in Chinatown for a few years, around 2002.

That said, I have no clue where it really is relative to its area.

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[Capaneus]

Question about the pea tendrils, by the way: does anyone know what I'm talking about when I say I think there's a difference between the large shoots/tendrils and the small ones? I remember my parents always asking if a restaurant had the small ones, and I think those are the ones folks on this thread (me included) obsess over. They actually look like what you'd imagine pea shoots to look like, vs. what I was served last night (which was still good!) -- these were more like large leaves, not tendrils...

Need to stop by Sue's again to check this out. Or, I bet lots of places in Chinatown carry them.

←

In English terminology, you're talking about sprouts versus leaves, I think. I *have* found that the leaves themselves often come in different sizes, and I like the smaller ones best; the sprouts aren't especially leaf-like, though, sort of little off-white stems with a yellow-green tip.