TT Skewer

Delicious! Small shop with limited seating but delicious meat sticks. We grabbed lamb, beef and sausage and opted for the medium spice. Any hotter and the meat wouldn’t have been enjoyable but the spice wasn’t just hot but rather full of flavor. ⁵⁄₅

This place has the most delicious chicken gizzards!!! It’s a must try.
The place is tiny with only a few stools, but food is so good. The cashier is friendly too.

The seating arrangement at this hole in the wall skewer/​hot pot joint is barely functional with a total of 5 bar-​stools and an L-​shaped stainless steel dining counter. But the food, by jove blew our expectations and by far! Easily one of the most satisfying and memorable meals in Chinatown till date.
We understand that their business is mostly take out by nature but why wouldn’t one want to eat delectable skewers hot off the grill or slurp a piping hot bowl of goodness if it meant waiting for some twenty odd minutes in a relatively cramped area. Trust us, it’s worth it especially in cold weather. Such comfort factor! There were a few undergrad students from Drexel among the patrons for the night and we asked one of them about the fare and he replied that the food was very close to what one gets back home and is a great fix for a homesick palate. So there you have it folks! Your official seal of approval.
As far as our meal selection for the night went, we ended up ordering two skewers at first (a rib-​eye and a fish ball) and also a hot pot bowl to share between the two of us.
For the hot pot bowl, one has to choose a minimum of $ 7s worth in selections that go into the bowl. Each selection ranging from $ 0.50 to $ 2 in price. We went with lotus root, white radish, ribeye, fish ball, wood ear mushroom and egg noodles to add up to the $ 7.
One also gets to choose a spice level while ordering the skewer or the hot pot bowl. We went with the «Very Spicy» level for both. We did get warned by the staff that the spice level we chose would knock our socks off but we decided to stick to our guns since both of us are chilli heads (and yes they did not lie one bit about the heat). The «Very Spicy» level is roughly equivalent to mixing a few generous tablespoons of a #10 Habanero Hot Sauce into the soup base. So make your selections with this reference in mind. At the end of the day, you will not be disappointed with whatever spice level you go with because the hot pot base by itself is so delicious and fragrant.
Coming to the skewers, they were charcoal grilled to perfection. So smoky, tender and succulent. We observed the chef as he worked his routine. He would grill the meat for a bit, then take the skewers off to baste the protein with a marinade, place them back on the grill a little longer, sprinkle some spice powders and then plate them out. After we scarfed down the two skewers and the hot pot contents, we could not resist the temptation of ordering another skewer so we went with the chef’s special lamb skewer and that was our favorite grilled item for the night. Worth fighting a war over.
Highly recommend that you all try this gem of a restaurant on the outer perimeter of Philly’s Chinatown.

Wow, what a little gem. The best tasting lamb skewer I’ve ever had: juicy, flavorful, tendor, perfectly fatty (and that says a lot. It’s superior in comparison to everything I’ve had in Taiwan, SoCal, North Cal, NYC). Perfect with beer (they don’t sell).
Tip: takes a while so call in for what you want. ~20 minutes. Get Takeout (place is smaller than a hole-​in-​wall).

I just discovered this place recently and have been here three times already ever since. They are the closest to the orig flavors back home in china, and definitely make you homesick on this fall /​winter weather in Philly. I really hope this place do well and last forever.

Skewers are crispy a bit oily but thats the beauty of it
Love the hot pots and the idea of selecting each ingredient
Mix n match your way to a medium or mild spicy hot pot. I am not a fan of anything too spicy! kills the flavor
Lady there is friendly too
Could be my daily spot for dinner in the winter to come :)

I’m about to preach the good news of TT Skewer.
Have you ever craved kao yang rou? If you have ever been to china and have eaten at those food karts outside of grilled lamb kabobs you know that you don’t find that outside of China.
Let me holla at you for a sec. Let me be the first to tell you that you can’t beat the value in China based on prices and the amount of meat you can get. (only thing is that the meat might be a little sketchy)
This place, now this place is amazing. The meat is really thick and juicy. Actually better tasting than the one in NYC flushing I went to. Also you can get these to go. They are priced a little bit on the higher side but that is probably because the meat and quality are so good as well as I can’t see them getting a ton of business. They are not located in the heart of Chinatown but kinda right on the edge.
Lord almighty this place is good. COME HERE and SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESS. That way they can lower their prices and I can splurge even more. heh heh heh.

These skewers are legit. This is a small little place in Chinatown and is owned by a friendly married couple. Although the skewers take some time, they are well worth the wait. The lamb is so juicy, tender and well-​seasoned and when you eat it it falls right off the stick. Having one of these is not enough and you’ll definitely be back for more!
Note: If you bring a lot of people be aware that there is not much room inside so people will have to wait outside for their skewers.

Best skewers I’ve had in Chinatown, hands down! It’s a hidden gem, tiny hole in the wall– so don’t judge them based on looks or size! I have to come to this place at least once a week otherwise my cravings get the best of me (so be warned about the potential of being addicted!)
They are owned by a young married couple that recently moved from Northern China to the USA. They bring an authentic bold N. China taste to their marinated meat skewers. Everything is seasoned to perfection! Just don’t come expecting to eat a huge meal unless you’re willing to pay $ 20+, it’s more of a snacks place.
MUST HAVE:
— lamb or prime rib skewer $ 2.75 (best seller)
— squid $ 5 (a whole one comes in a little box, best ever if you’re a grilled squid fan!)
BEWARE: their spicy level can be pretty intense, northern China has high tolerance to spicy-​ness so i recommend trying mild or not spicy if you can’t eat too spicy… Or you can challenge yourself to see if you can take the heat ;)

I stumbled upon this place earlier this year and have been floored time after time by everything it offers. This place is a serious hidden gem and a hole-​in-​wall type of eatery. Its specialties — skewers/​kabobs and hot pot bowls (aka ma la tang) — feature very authentic northern Chinese flavors — spicy, salty, with the right amount of pepper and cumin. Meat is tender and better than any other place in Chinatown. For those unfamiliar with their offerings, I recommend:
From the grill:
— lamb shoulder skewer
— rib eye beef skewer
— grilled squid skewer (whole squid)
— grilled chicken gizzard
Hotpot bowl (this is where they have the broth and you pick whatever you want to be included):
— beef tripe
— egg noodle
— bamboo shoots
— quail egg
— enoki mushroom
Cash only and cost does add up, but it’s well worth every penny.

Simply the best skewer place in Philly. Last time i went there, The chef is very nice and they pack & bag my order very carefully. The food is amazing too, try the squid, chicken wing and lamb

OMG the Chicken hearts are so delish!
but only not happy about they open too late in the afternoon.

lamb, chicken wings, squid are sooo good! Especially their lamb is incredible big and delicious. The meat is so juicy and tender. Even though the place is a little small, but their place is very clean and the people here is very attractive and friendly. Anyways, they do really BBQ and very northeast taste! Go grab it, you’ll be addicting with them! Because I already did!

Stumbled across this place and so glad I did. Had the lamb and beef skewers. Wow. The are fall-​off-​the-​skewer tender and so flavorful! At these reasonable prices, I’ll definitely be back.

My husband and I love XinJiang lamb skewers, and for years, we have been tracking to Flushing to get them when ever we can. TT skewer is now our new favorite, and I must say, better than many in NYC! Just a week ago, we were in NYC and decided to try the best rated XinJiang skewer, located under the Manhattan bridge. Though the skewer was delicious, we took a huge risk of getting sick from the filthy looking hole in the wall (or rather hole under the bridge)
TT skewer is nice and clean, and yet the food is just as delicious and patiently grilled to perfection. The friendly young couple is dedicated to bring you the best flavors from their hometown. That kind of dedication is what makes the place so good.

Before I found this place I used to settle for Solo, but this little gem definitely topped them. I usually order their beef, lamb, and fish tofu along with my hotpot bowls. All of the skewers are always perfectly cooked and juicy. Never disappointed.
Been here multiple times and could never resist leaving without at least $ 30-​$ 40 worth of goodies. Give it a try, you’ll enjoy it.

The best chinese BBQ in Philly！Especially the lamb and chicken wing. I want to give them 10 stars! :)

Literally located down the block me. Fast and friendly service… Food seasoned well. Reminds me of our nights after/​during karaōke in NY and we would snack on these in between our beers… Prices were decent. If you don’t plan on eating in, you can always call your order in and go pick it up… Very convenient!

A wonderful tasty surprise when I was visiting Phili Chinatown. I had lamb skewer, chicken wings, squid and pork sausage. Lamb was soooo soft and juicy. Wings were different than any grilled wings I had before. Tender, fully-​flavored but not greasy at all. My favorite is the squid. Genuine northeastern China style. I also tasted the hot pot bowl, the other main dish they had there. There were around 30 types of contains to choose from. The base soup is newly brewed using veal bones every other day. The taste is just just amazing. Strongly recommend it to anyone who want to try something «new, special and tasty» in Chinatown.

Back in February, I spent time filling my stomach with street skewers from different parts of China. Its an experience that we haven’t really replicated here in Philly. City government wouldn’t exactly allow nightly open markets of food prepared on outdoor equipment with questionable sanitation levels. Newcomer, TT Skewers, is trying to bring at least a bit of that to Philly.
Located on 9^th Street in a teeny tiny space with only counters for sitting, TT Skewers is run by a very friendly couple from Northern China, the Liaoning province to be precise.
The menu has skewers and hotpot. Use a pen to check off what you want your meal to look like.
Lamb skewers ($ 2.75 each), slow cooked for hours and topped with cumin seed, are the best seller here. The meat was very flavorful and soft enough that teeth were barely required. The pork and corn skewer was a sort of sweet mini hotdog. Chicken wings come with a similar blitz of spices. Heart and gizzard are on the menu if you care for a more organ-​y experience.
I almost left without trying the hotpot, hotpot not being a favorite of mine, but I figured I needed to try what made up the other half of the menu. Pick the spice level for the broth and then pick your add-​ins (with a $ 7 minimum and no charge for the broth). Inside our medium spicy broth, I picked sliced rib eye, egg noodles, bok choy, fried gluten (great at absorbing flavor), potato (sliced super thin), wood ear mushroom, and quail egg (a generous serving of 4 and nicely soft boiled, for an oozy surprise) for a grand total that was under $ 8. You can also have sesame sauce added, which we did (the beige sludge in the middle). I would replicate this exact order again. As opposed to a boring vessel to cook things, the hotpot broth packed a ton of flavor. In fact, Edward, the chef component of the couple, cooks beef bones for 12 hours and adds over 30 spices, including lots of fennel seed to give this broth the proper Northern China flavor. That sort of dedication is impressive. And it kept me slurping the broth, even though I thought I was full after finishing the skewers.