Chinatown in Phila, PA

Philadelphia has a small, but vibrant Chinatown, and is only a few blocks long by a few blocks wide. The grocery stores and restaurants are top notch, cheap and satifying.

Sang Kee Peking Duck House
238 N. 9th St
Phila, PA
215-925-7532

As I was walking through Philadelphia's Chinatown (9th and Race streets), I stuck my head into a friendly Chinese bakery to ask where there is good duck in this town. The shop owner told me that Sang Kee is the best, and Joe's Duck House used to be the best, but the new owners changed Joe's and they do not even serve duck anymore! Note to self, "Do not got to Joe's Duck House because there is no duck there dispite the name of the restaurant." Sang Kee is located in the very back Northeast corner of Chinatown, a bit off the beaten path, and only locals in the know seem to go there. So we went to Sang Kee, CASH ONLY business, and ordered my 2 favorite Chinese dishes, Chow Fun (Chung Fun - wide rice noodles) with beef, onions, peppers and black bean sauce. The sauce was made the traditional way with dried fermented gingered black beans, and the dish was cooked in peanut oil to the smoke point. Scrumptious, and this dish could hold up to any NYC and Hong Kong noodle house any day!
The duck from Sang Kee was hanging in the window, and it too was prepared well, and as well as you can get in NYC and Hong Kong. Philadelphia's Sang Kee is delicious, and judging by how packed the place was from 8-10pm, other Philadelphians think so too.