Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant

This little place in Chinatown is definitely a haven for authentic Szechuan food. Places like Han Dynasty are delicious but after trying out some of the smaller places in Chinatown, I don’t know if I’ll be going back to now what seems like a softer and more western take on some seriously intense flavor when done right. Yes, it is spicy but it’s the kind of spice that adds a rich texture to the palate. It’s a small restaurant and very simple; certainly not one trying to propose a fancy ambiance or anything of the sort. The service is friendly and the main star is the food. I’ve had the hot and sour yam noodle soup, the wonton dumplings in garlic sauce and the mapo tofu. I have said that Emei has the best mapo tofu I have ever tasted but this place is a very very close second. The mapo tofu isn’t as soft and gelatinous which is its downfall but the flavor is delightful! Emei’s is more spicy and has a lot of minced pork. I know I’ll be alternating between both! The takeout portion is huge and they gave me a whole other meal-​sized portion of white rice when I asked for extra rice.
We were once there late at night and they did not rush us even though it was nearly closing time. In fact, the staff all sat at a table and ate their dinner together and it gave a very comfortable sense of neighborhood and community.
If you want to try Chinese food that’s different from the mainstream, delve right into Chinatown and try this place!

Normally I don’t give bad reviews, cz i don’t want to waste my time. But I was stuck in the rain. So I guess bad luck.
I was on my way back to NYC, and stopped by for the Liberty Bell. I saw this restaurant after parking and decided to give it a shot after my visit to the Bell. The food is just not authentic Szechuan cuisine, in short. It is understandable since I am at USA. Yet they make the food spicy and extremely salty, barely edible. The worst thing was that the ribs they served was stale. You could tell by the texture and the weird taste. They also charged me with 15% tips. I usually tip at that much. But they just printed it out and said to me «well we have included the tips». That is not the right way to run business. Plus the service was not worthy of 15%. With a whole day working on math projects, I did not want to argue with them, so I just paid and left and would never visit again.

Ironically, our plan was to walk over to 3^rd & Chestnut after taking care of a few things in Chinatown. The original destination was Han Dynasty in Old City so we could sample what was reputed to be among the best Szechuanese in Philly.
But, as John Lennon so cuttingly observed, «Life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans…» On our way down Arch we saw the sign for Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant. We had been looking forward to a brisk after rain walk, but on seeing this convenient alternative, we wordlessly took each other’s hand, made a hard right and jaywalked directly to their front door. Not much traffic on this Saturday afternoon, or we might have been less impulsive.
We walked in to an almost empty house, with seven wood top tables and a mirrored wall. There were two servers, also acting as hosts. The young woman shepherded us to a table mid-​shop, and dropped off two menus. She asked what we wished to drink, and brought a nice aromatic hot black tea moments later. The set up of fork, spoon and sticks was wrapped in a heavy paper nap with a rose printed on the right spot for the package to appear perfectly placed for casual elegance. Nice touch.
The menu was bilingual so my companion had an easy time with descriptions and photo captions. She went quickly to the Spicy Crisp Intestine, and left the rest of the ordering to me. Up for the challenge, I opted for the Szechuan Style Spicy Chicken (basically, salt/​pepper dry pot chicken), and Spicy Eggplant in Garlic Sauce. Wasn’t in the mood for DanDan, Wonton, nor Mapo.
They arrived in that sequence, with about 5 minutes between each delivery. All were very good to excellent. The Intestine was thin cut, lightly fried, and loaded with Red Chili, Scallions, Celery and Peanuts. Good heat, but not a conflagration, as I did not see any Szechuan Black Peppercorns in the mix; thus no anesthetic effect. It took you to the edge of the fire, burned your eyelashes, but did not throw you in.
The Chicken dish was a variation of Salt/​Pepper Dry Pot Style Chicken morsels, well dusted in a spicy ensemble, and flash fried twice so there was little oily residue. Tender meat with more Red Chili, Peanuts, Scallions, and a sprinkling of Sesame Seed on top. The heat quotient was perhaps a few degrees higher than the Intestines, with more spice during and after cooking. Very tasty, but perhaps the weakest link in our dinner chain.
The biggest and best surprise was the Eggplant. It was sliced into lengths of a four/​five inches, skinned, and somehow wok-​ked to give a mild crispiness. How did they do that? It was a neat trick, and it was piled high on a deep dish that created an island surrounded by red, shining, heat vapored, sauce. The heart of the nightshade remained soft and contained a hint of sweetness. This combo tag team between the Red Chili flame and unexpected sugar underneath was delicious and fun.
We thoroughly enjoyed this repast. If asked to compare with other hot houses in Ctown, it would fall somewhere just below Emei (across the street), on the same plane as Four Rivers and Spice C, and above Traditional Szechuan. It really reminded me of the old Chili Szechuan on Baltimore Avenue, before it moved to larger digs and lost its edge.
Gotta say that this block of Arch Street has it going on!
Han Dynasty will just have to wait.

Great Chinese food in Philadelphia. great attentive service, spicy, excellent food. try the Kung Power chicken, Shredded beef with long hot pepper and scallion pancakes. Extra delicious. we found our favorite place.

I was excited to try this place with my boyfriend one night, so we came around 11pm after work. Street parking in Chinatown is always a pain, but they’re located on a less busier street than other places which was less stressful to find parking.
When we arrived, we were met by a homeless (?) man in the restaurant asking us for cash so that he could grab a train home or something. He was pretty demanding too. Owners finally asked him to leave or they would call the cops. Very awkward for us lol. Anyway on to the food…
I ordered a beef noodle soup in hopes that it would taste like an authentic 牛肉麵 (Niu Rou Mien), but I was disappointed. The broth was really bland. No beefy flavor or anything. There were a few pieces of beef and Bok Choy (which were good) and the noodles. I definitely will not order this again. We’ll come back next time because my boyfriend liked his spicy pork belly dish a lot. It’s a small restaurant, but they should tidy up the windows on the walls because they are super dusty (like halfway up top).

I was pleasantly surprised by this little Chinatown establishment. I ordered the Sichuan style soft tofu with noodles in chili oil and my friend got the hot and sour soup with yam noodles. Not only were these dishes delicious with a perfect spice level, but the price cannot be beat. Service was great and the restaurant was clean. I will definitely be returning here.

I was born in Chengdu, Szechuan and dined here a few times. I can safely say that Szechuanese dim sum dishes here are authentic, like dandan noodles, honeyed garlic noodle, hot & sour xx noodles. However, other dishes here are among average in Chinatown.
I talked to the Chef once and he is from Szechuan, too.
The service and management of the restaurant need improvement.

For a full year, Szechuan Dim Sum Garden flew under our radar. The restaurant has an unassuming façade and is quite easy to miss when walking along Arch street. Secondly it wouldn’t show up among the top results in a search for Philly Chinatown restaurants due to fewer reviews. But after perusing a few that seemed favorable, we decided to try this place on our way back home from the airport.
We ordered the Wontons with Spicy sauce, Ma Po Tofu, Szechuan Style Spicy Chicken and Sliced Beef with Hot Green Pepper for dinner.
The Beef with Hot Green Pepper arrived at the table first and packed a good amount of heat from the long hots. While certainly not the best version that we’ve had till date, the dish was very likable.
Speaking of Ma Po Tofu, if you’ve never tried this sichuan staple, we suggest you give it a shot once. It wasn’t love at first bite but over the years we have acquired a taste and love this dish for the fiery heat from red peppers along with a cool mouth numbing sensation produced by sichuan peppercorns, the combination of which is termed málà and is so addictive. The version that they served here was without ground pork but the flavor (oh my!) could put the average «sichuan» place to shame. This restaurant my foodie friends is the real deal!
The Szechuan style spicy chicken was another winner here. Super crispy chicken buried in a mound of red peppers and sichuan spices dry fried. This dish sort of reminded us of Chonqing chicken but this was way better.
The Wontons with Spicy sauce arrived last and were the least of our favorites for the night. The sauce was a tad too sweet for our tastebuds but the dish was decent overall.
The menu here is pretty elaborate and we would love to come back and try the rest of it in the future. The décor and dining setup is functional and very basic. The service is pretty warm and we’ve sang a volume of praise for the food. If you are the type to go on a dining adventure and skip past the fake, mediocre or watered down versions of ethnic eats scattered throughout the city, this restaurant will meet your expectations.

A very good authentic Chinese/​Szechuan restaurant spotted in the old Chinatown in Philly.
This place is totally not disappointed for someone like who has tasted known Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles and New York.
Environment: very clean. Their napkin is of good quality compared to other Asian restaurants.
Food: their dim sum style dishes are the most popular. Additionally, Fresh fish in boiled hot chili sauce is a must try — the whole fish well marinated within the hot sauce and the ingredients include different kinds of mushrooms.
Service: those young waiters and waitresses are very friendly.
In a nutshell, if you are a big fun of spicy food, don’t miss out this place when you are in Philly!
Hope it helps!
xoxo, Q

Finally a good chinese resturant in Philly. we moved from NYC a couple years ago and have struggled to find any decent Chinese. .this place was it… love it!

This place has become our favorite Szechuan restaurant. We have been here more than 5 times by now and we are literally eating our way through the entire menu… then we plan on starting it again. Hands down this is by far the most authentic of the Szechuan places in the City (better half is Chinese). And spiciest. So, if you are a complainer about hot food — just don’t bother to come here. So, if you like americanized Chinese food — just don’t bother to come here. There is a lot of dishes that we have not found on other menus in the US. Two thumbs up, and we will be back next weekend!

Great selection, very good fresh taste. I will go back. One of the few places that makes Kung Pao very similar to how I had it in China.

This place is wayyyyyy tooooooooo spicy for non szchuan people… although we already asked for light to medium spicy, the tofu fish turned out to be too spicy for us to finish… And we are pretty tolerant for spicy food lol
So be alert, it can be too spicy for you!
That’s why I am giving three star …

This is the real deal. Authentic. Makes Han Dynasty, which is tastier, look a bit more domesticated. My Chinese friend was the expert I brought to help me navigate the menu. We shared three plates, tofu, mouth-​watering chicken, and a soup with sweet potatoes noodles. I enjoyed it quite a bit and the Szechuan peppers (numb nuts) certainly challenged my palate. I’d like to go back and keep venturing, but I know that this place is legit for now.
A few weaknesses: presentation was lacking, and so was explanation. I needed my guide to help me through it. Not sure about the quality of ingredients either.

Great authentic Schezuan food! Very spicy which is something we love.
We love the spicy won ton and the house special soft tofu the most.
Hidden gem!

Food: 5 stars
Attitude: 1 star

There are so many Szechuan restaurant in Philly, but this one is really different and is my favorite one.
No American style Szechuan food, but authentic taste from China. I tried many kinds of dim sum that I’ve never seen or tried before, all of them are delicious. Although I’ve waited a long time for bamboo leaf wrap rice, it tasted really good. Another interesting dish is the new kind of hotpot with skewers, interesting and delicious.
I love spicy food, and this place is just what I expected it to be– VERY spicy! Though no fancy decorations, the food is fancy. I recommend everyone who loves spicy food to check it out!

Average. We walked in on a Saturday afternoon and sat on one of the few available tables. Service was pleasant, but slow. We ordered the house special soft tofu, the dumplings in chili sauce, dan-​dan noodles and the chili chicken. The order in which the food came was all wrong: first we got the chicken, then the tofu, then the dumplings. The dan-​dan noodles never came, and yet they tried to charge us for them.
True, the chicken was scrumptious and I would return for more. The tofu was ok, and the dumplings were passable.
But given the wait, the haphazard way in which the food was brought to us, and the mistake with the dan-​dan noodles, and the fact that e mei is across the street and has much better everything, I think I won’t be coming back. Sorry…

Seems like everyone and their mothers are opening Sichuan restaurants these days. I blame Handy Nasty for this, as it has brainwashed Philadelphia Americans into thinking Sichuan cuisine is the hallmark of authentic Chinese food (there are other areas of China too, y’all). And I assure you, many of these Sichuan restaurant owners are not Sichuanese.
The water boiled fish was the biggest disappointment. $ 35 for a pot of low quality, bone-​in fish pieces (fins, some scales, and gelatinous parts included) that has retained an overpowering fishy flavor. They charge you rice by the bowl, and the water cups are too small for how infrequently they are filled.
The Sichuan spicy chicken was admittedly more palatable, and the overall spice levels for all dishes were pleasing. Though will I be coming back? I’m not a fortune teller, but this place is across the street from E Mei (a clearly superior Sichuan restaurant) and adjacent to Xi’an Sizzling Woks (for bangin’ Xi’an food), so it’s pretty unlikely.

Don’t expect an Americanized menu over here, this crew is not afraid to dump a pile of peppers on you.
My favorite dish of the day was the wontons in garlic sauce ($ 5.95). The sweet, spicy, garlicy sauce covering the small pork wontons was a more complex version of the typical spicy sauce found at other Szechaun places (and also on the menu here).
Wanting something noodley, the Szechuan style cold noodles ($ 5.95) are like a sesame, peanut, liang pi noodle mash up. Next time I might pick the hand made noodles with garlic sauce, since it comes with the sauce I enjoyed so much on the wontons.
Szechaun style spicy chicken will be a crowd pleaser if your group is not afraid of hot peppers ($ 15.95). Crunchy, boneless chicken pieces are tossed with a lifetime supply of red chilies, plus scallion and peanuts. This is a dish that requires sharing and would also be improved with a side of beer.