Chinese Food in Philly's Chinatown 🇨🇳

During my days in Philadelphia, I explored its Chinatown and compared it to Montreal's. Here are my thoughts: 1️⃣ Size: Philly's Chinatown is bigger than MTL's (which is basically just two blocks), but the Asian grocery stores here aren’t as good. 2️⃣ Variety: More options and diverse regional cuisines—even the small ads on the streets felt like home. 3️⃣ Desserts/Bakery: Disappointing. Tried two spots, both meh. MTL’s bakeries may not be amazing, but at least they’re reliably decent. 4️⃣ Prices: Aside from Emei (a bit pricier), most places were affordable. (No, I’m not mentally converting USD to CAD—it’s fine.) ——————— Places I Tried: 🥣 Heung Fa Chun Sweet House Recommended for tong sui (Chinese desserts). Tried taro and mung bean flavors—perfectly chilled for a hot day. 🍛 Penang Malaysian Cuisine First time trying Malaysian food—a mix of Indian and Cantonese influences. The char kway teow had great wok hei, and the Hainanese chicken was solid. 🍜 Xi’an Sizzling Woks Ducked in during a downpour. Finally tried lamb paomo (bread-in-soup), though I preferred just the broth. The Sichuan-style boiled beef was… interesting? Tasty, but not what I expected. 🌶 Emei Fancier vibe, solid Sichuan dishes—great for rice-plowing cravings. 🧋 CHICHA San Chen MTL just got one, so I tried it here to skip the lines. It’s… fine? If you’re not big on tea-forward milk tea, temper expectations. ——————— Glad I stayed nearby and tried new cuisines, but honestly—nothing beats Chinese food when you’re far from home. 🐮 #PhillyChinatown #Philadelphia #USA #ChineseFood #FoodieTravel #CityWalks #PhillyEats