Delightful Garden

Food tasted very bad. The ingredients were not fresh at all. I came here for the Tianjin pancake, and it was such a disappointment. Hardly any service either. The prices are high given that the food is of low quality. Will never come again.

Updated:This place is going downwards. I dined here tonight and discovered it's no longer run by the previous owner. The service & management style has obviously changed, unfortunately on the down side.The food still tastes good, but both my partner and I experienced digestive discomfort a few hours after eating here. Since Szechuanese food is often heavy spiced, I can't tell if their ingredients are fresh enough. However, I suspect their kitchen quality control is going down with new management.I probably won't come back.-------------------I was born in Chengdu, Szechuan and I can safe say that Szechuanese dim sum dishes here are authentic, like dandan noodles, honeyed garlic noodle, hot & sour noodles. However, other dishes here are among average in Chinatown.I talked to the Chef once and he is from Szechuan, too.The management of the restaurant need improvement, as they get swamped when there are too many customers.

So I ordered delivery food from this restaurant and I found a super moldy cauliflower in my food. So I contact the restaurant and ask for a refund just for this single dish I ordered. The other 3 dishes aren't very tasty either, but they are just simply not as tasty and nothing else goes wrong. Guess what they told me "we throw all our unhealthy ingredients, please PICK OUT the ingredients that seems not fresh and CONTINUE EATING" I don't know they said that to me because I ordered through delivery and can't give the rest of food back to them or they genuinely think cooked MOLD is edible. The delivery company felt super bad and refund me credits, but I feel bad for them because it's not even their responsibilities. Guys, open your eyes and run away from them, there are so many good Chinese restaurant around that provides better food and customer service. While this place needs a visit from the health department.

The restaurant is located in Chinatown, and closes at the arch. The food is very good, and the place is reasonable. We often buy at this restaurant.

North Philly Chinese To-Go level food at high end Chinatown prices. $12.95 for broccoli and chicken? $3.50 fpor a small Wonton? My bill was$19 bucks! That's a 6.95 lunch special or $9.95 dinner at best for the food I received.

3.5 starsThere's something very homey about eating at a family-run Chinatown restaurant that turns out simple yet tasty plates of authentic Szechuan food. The "small eats" or appetizer-style dishes shared family-style are my favorite part of this mouth-numbing cuisine! We started with the Chengdu-style cold bean noodles, and the soft, slippery noodles were a great conduit for the slightly spicy chili sauce. The dan dan noodles with minced pork were a bit of a miss--the wheat noodles seemed a bit overcooked, and the sauce was rather flavorless. Similarly, the mapo tofu with ground meat was surprisingly bland and the sauce was way too soupy. The smashed cucumbers in vinegar/soy garlic sauce were tasty and refreshing, but the highlight dish here (also the owner's favorite dish) was the beef, tripe, and tendon in chili oil (fuqi feipian). The thin, cold slices of brisket and offal were tossed with a delicious chili sauce and had a great lean texture! Nice!Overall, all the dishes here had very clean flavors and were surprisingly mild for something branded as Szechuan cuisine (I barely got any of the characteristic numbing spice). However, this also meant that nothing was overly salty, and the great value food and friendly service made this an authentic, homey experience!

If I can give a negative star to them, I would. Today my husband went to this restaurant ordered Tanjin Style Pancake for me, and the lady charged $7 for it. We know everything goes up. But double the original price is ridiculous. We went to their website and it is said $4.95. So what's going on right here? No wonder nobody comes and it is so empty there. We literally just got robbed. Stay away from this place. They will over charge you.

Ironically, our plan was to walk over to 3rd & Chestnut after taking care of a few things in Chinatown. The original destination was Han Dynasty in Old City so we could sample what was reputed to be among the best Szechuanese in Philly. But, as John Lennon so cuttingly observed, "Life's what happens while you're busy making other plans..." On our way down Arch we saw the sign for Szechuan Dim Sum Restaurant. We had been looking forward to a brisk after rain walk, but on seeing this convenient alternative, we wordlessly took each other's hand, made a hard right and jaywalked directly to their front door. Not much traffic on this Saturday afternoon, or we might have been less impulsive. We walked in to an almost empty house, with seven wood top tables and a mirrored wall. There were two servers, also acting as hosts. The young woman shepherded us to a table mid-shop, and dropped off two menus. She asked what we wished to drink, and brought a nice aromatic hot black tea moments later. The set up of fork, spoon and sticks was wrapped in a heavy paper nap with a rose printed on the right spot for the package to appear perfectly placed for casual elegance. Nice touch. The menu was bilingual so my companion had an easy time with descriptions and photo captions. She went quickly to the Spicy Crisp Intestine, and left the rest of the ordering to me. Up for the challenge, I opted for the Szechuan Style Spicy Chicken (basically, salt/pepper dry pot chicken), and Spicy Eggplant in Garlic Sauce. Wasn't in the mood for DanDan, Wonton, nor Mapo. They arrived in that sequence, with about 5 minutes between each delivery. All were very good to excellent. The Intestine was thin cut, lightly fried, and loaded with Red Chili, Scallions, Celery and Peanuts. Good heat, but not a conflagration, as I did not see any Szechuan Black Peppercorns in the mix; thus no anesthetic effect. It took you to the edge of the fire, burned your eyelashes, but did not throw you in. The Chicken dish was a variation of Salt/Pepper Dry Pot Style Chicken morsels, well dusted in a spicy ensemble, and flash fried twice so there was little oily residue. Tender meat with more Red Chili, Peanuts, Scallions, and a sprinkling of Sesame Seed on top. The heat quotient was perhaps a few degrees higher than the Intestines, with more spice during and after cooking. Very tasty, but perhaps the weakest link in our dinner chain. The biggest and best surprise was the Eggplant. It was sliced into lengths of a four/five inches, skinned, and somehow wok-ked to give a mild crispiness. How did they do that? It was a neat trick, and it was piled high on a deep dish that created an island surrounded by red, shining, heat vapored, sauce. The heart of the nightshade remained soft and contained a hint of sweetness. This combo tag team between the Red Chili flame and unexpected sugar underneath was delicious and fun. We thoroughly enjoyed this repast. If asked to compare with other hot houses in Ctown, it would fall somewhere just below Emei (across the street), on the same plane as Four Rivers and Spice C, and above Traditional Szechuan. It really reminded me of the old Chili Szechuan on Baltimore Avenue, before it moved to larger digs and lost its edge. Gotta say that this block of Arch Street has it going on!Han Dynasty will just have to wait.

I always keep ordering from the same places-- so I thought I would try a new place. I actually wanted to dislike this place- I assumed it would be mediocre at best given the drab decor, the surly manner of the person who gave me my take out order, and the length of time it took to get my food (30min from initial phone call). However, I was wrong. VERY wrong.The food was incredibly fresh, bordering on a fresh, homemade quality. I didn't get anything special, just the house special mei fun, the chicken chow fun, and the braised meatball dish. Just knowing they are doing the basics INCREDIBLY well has piqued my interest considerably. In fact, my gourmand 10yr old son has stated resolutely that this is the best he's ever had-- and he's right. Next time we are trying their specialty dishes. If their basic every day chinese food is amazing, I would hazard to guess their specialty food is out of this world. Go. You won't be sorry. I'm tipping next time I pick up-- the surly demeanor to the woman who gave me my food was a put off, but who cares. The food is superb.

On a business trip, tried a few high star restaurant in Chinatown. Quite disappointed. On the other hand, this restaurant is a pleasant surprise. Service is good, clean ambiance. If you want authentic Chinese food. Come here instead of EMei.