After working as a server in Philadelphia for many years, Guo ‘Sunni’ Tang was done. “As a server, you work 12 hours a day and don’t make much money,” she explained. “I want to make more money to improve life for my parents.”

Driven by a goal of supporting her aging parents and the desire to provide a wider selection of food for the University of the Sciences student population and the area surrounding it, Tang decided to open a dumpling and bubble tea spot. Curry Bird, a new Cantonese and Thai takeout restaurant, is at 4604 Woodland Ave. (where New China Gourmet used to be), adjacent to Noah’s Pizza.

The shop had its soft opening on Saturday, where chicken curry and veggie dumplings samples were given away to neighbors at no charge. News spread via word of mouth.

The interior has been completely redesigned with wooden panels and wooden floors. Another thing you’ll notice is that there are no servers, but just a takeout restaurant with minimal seating.  Continue Reading

The intersection of 40th and Chestnut Streets has seen some restaurant changes as of late, with Dim Sum House and Ekta opening a couple of months ago. Now, a brightly colored Xi’an Sizzling Woks BYOB has found a sprightly colored yellow, blue and red home on the southwest corner of the intersection where Saigon Cuisine used to be.

Craig LaBan described the flagship location in an Inquirer review back in 2013 as “this isn’t your dad’s old Cantonese chow mein joint. It isn’t his Hong Kong duck house, either. Or even your cool-kid friend’s latest Sichuan obsession.”

With adventurous menu items such as Chinese hamburger with minced pork, pita bread soaked in beef and lamb soup in addition to lamb kabob skewers, the restaurant puts on a fresh spin on Chinese cuisine. The menu also offers some interesting specials such as Smoked Tea Duck and a house noodle casserole.  Continue Reading

Photos from Dim Sum House’s Facebook page.

Maybe you’ve been there: you want dim sum but you don’t feel like getting on the trolley or the El all the way to Chinatown to go to Dim Sum Garden. Not to worry, Dim Sum House has arrived in University City with a heavy Cantonese lean thanks to restaurateurs Jane Guo and Jackson Fu.

According to captain server Khoa Nguyen, Guo is related to the owners of Dim Sum Garden but she has no shared business interests. “The owner of Dim Sum house is the wife of the owner of this place. We didn’t take any of their servers or chefs or anything like that,” said Nguyen.

Guo also owns Szechuan-style Chinese restaurant Jane G’s in the Rittenhouse Square area.

When you walk into Dim Sum House, the decor is a little upscale and the bar is set up to look trendy. I know what you’re thinking, this must be pricey. Well, it’s not. The cheapest thing on the menu was in the neighborhood of $5 while the most expensive entree was $15, save for a few chef’s specialty items like Peking Duck, which go for as much as $25. The offerings also go beyond just dim sum, including more common entrees like Szechuan Beef.  Continue Reading

The two sisters behind LuLu Bang, who recently appeared on ABC’s reality TV show “Shark Tank,” have just opened a new pop-up restaurant in West Philly. Jorrae and Kelly Beard, the owners of LuLu Bang Sauces and Marinades, opened Lulu Bang Burgers & Wangs on Jan. 2 at The Common Table at 310 S. 48th St.. The restaurant is part of the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE) incubator program.

The pop-up restaurant will operate at this location until March 31; LuLu Bang is an active member of the CCE and will have the organization’s support during their launch phase. While temporarily using space at The Common Table, the program will continue to seek a permanent location for LuLu Bang’s future restaurant and will launch a kick starter campaign for 60 days.  Continue Reading

New Hamilton Court streetscape rendering.

In August 2016, the Post Brothers, the real estate company that has acquired a number of residential properties in University City in the past year, revealed their plans and renderings for the renovation of the historic Hamilton Court apartment complex at 39th and Chestnut Streets. Currently, the company is in the process of making upgrades to Hamilton Court, which was one of Philadelphia’s first apartment buildings when it was built in 1901. The renovations include the conversion of vacant ground-floor space into modern commercial retail spaces, which will be occupied by five dining establishments.

On Wednesday, the developers revealed the restaurants that signed leases for those spaces. Here they are:

• Steve’s Prince of Steaks, one of Philadelphia’s most famous cheesesteak restaurant chains, has signed a lease for 2,277 square feet.  Continue Reading

The property at 4301-4303 Baltimore from an archive photo taken in 1912, when a butcher shop was located where Clarkville is now. Crews work to install the trolley tracks on Baltimore Avenue. (City of Philadelphia, Department of Records).

The days of cheap slices and cold 40s at the corner of 43rd and Baltimore are long gone. At the Spruce Hill zoning committee meeting last night, the owners of 4303 Baltimore Avenue (the row home adjacent to Clarkville and across from Clark Park) threw out a couple of names of restaurants interested in moving into the first floor restaurant space they have proposed.

They include:

• Koreana – A Korean street food place with a current location at 3801 Chestnut St..
• Ant’s Pants – Café/brunch. Current location at 2212 South St.
• Southeast Bistro – Southeast Asian meets Cajun. Current location near 19th and South.
• House – A more traditional lunch/brunch place in Media.
• Same Same – A Vietnamese street food restaurant with a location in Northern Liberties.  Continue Reading