Xun Yu Si Kao 寻鱼私烤 — Restaurant in Philadelphia

My experience here tonight was nothing short of amazing. The unique style of decor gives this restaurant a vintage and warm atmosphere which just absolutely fits the style of food served here.

Xun Yu Si Kao serves very classic, traditional Szechuan style dishes. Lots of people seem to get intimidated by the sheer variety of the menu here however, the willing and knowledgeable waiters here are can easily answer any questions one has.

The food here is terrific. I was recommended to try the grilled fish and it did not disappoint. As someone who isn't a big fan of spice, the waiter recommended the garlic and diced pepper flavors, which are not too spicy and are more on the savory and sweeter side. I ended up choosing diced peppers as the flavor and the striped bass fish. The fish tasted absolutely phenomenal, not too spicy with some sweetness hitting just the right spots to my liking. Other dishes I ordered include, the cumin pig and the house special fried rice to go along with it. The pig was grilled to perfection, crispy and savory. The house special fried was also cooked really well, it was very well seasoned and the soft texture paired really well with the grilled fish.

Everything about this restaurant is just 10/10. The service was great. Th atmosphere and the food blew me away! This restaurant is now a go-to for me and I highly recommend anyone and everyone visiting Philly Chinatown for the first time to...

Wow, this place was a pleasant surprise. We were going to go to Chubby Cattle but because the line was soo long, we decided to come here, and we were definitely satisfied!

Food: So this place focuses on big fish pots. Essentially, pick a fish, then add whatever ingredients you want and a sauce, and it comes out in a very lavish plate/bowl. The also had a ton of normal/side dishes you can order as well. We decided to do the pork belly appetizer and mapo tofu, which were both really, really good. The fish looked amazing and tasted good. We decided to have the Hot sauce since they recommended it, which is basically Szechuan. Really tasty! Because it's a pot and you can add whatever you want, it can come out pricey. They do not have a bar, so I suspect you can BYO.

Environment: Service was good! Open space and the servers can easily see you if you wave them down. We didn't have a solo server; I think any server can take care of any table.

Rating: 7.5/10 Pros: Fish was tasty, lots of different items, the pork belly appetizer Cons:...

Went with a large group.

Mapo tofu - Ok

Stuffed eggplant - Good

Fried honey rice cakes - Very nice. Sweet and pillowy. Nice contrast to much of the other food

Grilled pig feet with cumin - As a friend of mine said it was like eating "pork flavored gummy bears." They gave us plastic gloves to eat them. They were ok but if I went again I'd try one of their other different rich, robust dishes

Smashed eggplant with preserved egg - Good. Very interesting.

Cold chicken with spicy sour sauce - Good

Pork belly and cucumbers with dipping sauce - Great presentation but flavor was a little underwhelming

Cold noodles with sour chili sauce - Excellent. Light, refreshing side dish with big sour and spicy flavor. Was my favorite dish on an all day Chinatown restaurant crawl.

Grass jelly - A light, mildly sweet and grassy dessert on the house

Great spot with a long, diverse menu. Definitely want to return and try different items.

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