Over this past weekend my stepdad Bruce, was nice enough to take me to Philly to get some errands done. Since we were in the Chinatown area, we decided to grab lunch there. He had been wanting to try a new restaurant that had opened (and was really excited since he saw pink sushi wrappers there) it was Chinese/ Japanese fusion. Though there were a lot of great dim sum places around, I couldn't say no, especially since he was treating! ^_^
Green walls, green chopsticks, green sign, green menu.... geez louis this owner likes the color green!
Soup Dumplings (Xiaolongbao)
Well lookey here, they serve soup dumplings! I opted for the pork and crab mix. The skin was ultra thin ( just the way it's supposed to be) and the flavors in the soup were fantastic, but with an almost sour after taste. The pork and crab mixture had the consistency of ground beef, and not as filled as say Joe's Shanghai in New York. Still, it was satisfying none the less.
Price: $5.95
Angry Dragon
Bruce and I both wanted to get something light (since we both knew we were going to be stuffing our faces with other goodies while walking around) so we decided to get some sushi as our main course. This was a shrimp tempura roll with papaya, spicy tuna in soynori, topped with spicy crab and a honey miso sauce. This was very satisfying, sweet, crunchy, salty, and most of all... FILLING! I was surprised at how nice the presentation looked, I guess whenever I think of Chinatown I think " dirt cheap ugly delicious food"
Price: $ 11.95
Amazing Tuna
We ordered one more house special sushi roll afterwards. This one was made out of white tuna tempura, spicy tuna, cucumber topped with peppered tuna and spicy mayo. More salty, and definitely spicy, the fish was fresh and again, the presentation was lovely.
Price: $11.95
Verdict: I guess the only thing I didn't like about this place was the price; how can a person justify spending 12+ dollars for 1 sushi roll when they are in the heart of Chinatown and could get 4 meals for the same price? Especially since you can find sushi just as good at a suburban "fusion" restaurant located in a strip mall. Other then that, the food was satisfying and pretty tasty...oh, and by the way, it is a BYOB, so maybe this would entice some of you out there?
Sakura Mandarin
1038 Race Street
Philadelhpia PA 19107
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