The ambiance is beautiful and the service is attentive. Plus, they offer service in Chinese! The dishes are delicious, especially the Boiled Pork Slices which are tender and refreshing. The Squirrel Fish is fresh and tasty, and the Preserved Egg with Eggplant and Chili is simply flavorful and mouth-watering. read more

we make a two hour drive just to come here. The food is great and it's always an amazing experience. read more

EMei - Dan Dan Noodles - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Good good, service and ambiance. All good. Dish is delicious. The fish is amazing! The beef is very soft!

The best authentic Chinese food in Chinatown however it's very pricey, but the food is definitely good!! Would be an occasional treat for me given the prices of the food. read more

EMei might be the best Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia, I am not alone in this thought. I was excited to visit and left thrilled to return. I got a friendly welcome and sat at the bar with no wait even on a busy Friday. The bartender was a joy and happy to talk to me about the Area since I just moved in. The place has a modern aesthetic with some lovely touches that ring in a love for their cuisine. Very clean and welcoming. The Chongqing Chicken is a must have unless your doctor said spicy food will harm you. It is delicious, perfectly cooked and complex. Be warned though, once you have it it will be hard not to order it every time. Pro tip: It also reheats well. The Stir-Fried Spicy Eggplant with Garlic Sauce: So yummy, the eggplant was so tender. It had a sweet tang to the delightful glaze that I normally wouldn't prefer, but it paid perfectly with the chicken. They have a lovely drink list, but this is the only place I found that has China's best Liquor Baiju. it has a robust funky flavor that makes my weak tummy able to eat more. Eat here as OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. PS: Don't forget to order White rice to go with, It's not automatic, but it is steamed to perfection. read more

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No thanks! When I came here on a Tuesday with a large group of 12 family members, it was packed in this restaurant. To be fair, it was the week of Christmas. We ordered a variety of dishes like boy choy, crispy fried chicken, mapo tofu, dry pot, chow fun, cumin beef, sweet and sour fried fish. Of everything we ate, only 2 dishes were acceptable: the fried fish and chow fun. The mapo tofu was so horribly gross; how can you mess up mapo tofu? We largely agreed that we all disliked that dish. I can't believe this is a popular restaurant in Chinatown, despite all of the way better, more authentic spots nearby. Then again, the demographic of the restaurant gave me a hint that this was going to be Americanized. I don't plan on coming back. read more

The Mapo Tofu is great with a good amount of heat to it. The side of rice is fairly small, but the main portion is huge. Service was quick, and at 3pm there was a small late lunch crowd. read more

If you know me on Yelp then you've probably dined on tantalizing spicy Sichuan cuisine with me at a spot like Han Dynasty and know how much I enjoy dining with a group at spots like it. So when a friend suggested getting a group together to meet in Chinatown for a meal at EMei it was something that didn't take me long to say hell yes to. And when I read about it being among Philly Mag's top 50 restaurants of 2024, and Yelp's top places to eat of 2023 list, I was even more sold on this decision! As soon as I walked in it didn't take long to understand why it was so well received as soon as I made note of perfect dining spots for all-size parties, a well-stocked bar that served Asian & US beers, wines, and tantalizing-sounding cocktails, exceptional service, and then some. They even had a robot that delivered takeout orders from the back to the front of the house! While having take-out food delivered to you by a robot is a perk, going with a group of four or more so you can share as much food as you can family style is definitely the way to go! And our group enjoyed the following: Dan Dan Noodles w/ Pork - not as good as the ones that you'd find at Han Dynasty or DanDan, but still a satisfyingly spicy dish! Cucumbers in Garlic Sauce - the perfect cold vegetable dish in a pungent sauce to counterbalance all the incoming heat with! Homemade Dumplings in Hot Chili Oil - perfect spicy pillows filled with pork. Beef & Vegetable Chow Fun Noodles - HUGE sauced noodles with shreds of beef and vegetables. So good! Hot & Spicy Flounder Filet Bowl - Flounder perfectly cooked in a double chili and peppercorn broth with napa cabbage, Chinese leeks, garlic, scallions, and cilantro! Stir-Fried Steak Slivers with Long Hot Peppers - Finely sauteed slivers of beef cooked with long hots to provide just the right tinge of spice. Smoked Pork Belly Slices with Chinese Leeks - perfectly cooked smoky fatty slivers of sweet pork belly cooked with leeks for just the right bit of succulent funk. With a great first impression like that, I'll definitely be back for more! read more

EMei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I came to EMei for a quick lunch with coworkers and it was great! We let our waiter know we had to be back at the office for a meeting soon and he was very accommodating. Even on a weekday, it was fairly busy, but not overwhelmingly so. The vibes were modern and the restaurant was very clean. For food, I ordered the Stir-Fried Spicy Eggplant with Garlic Sauce. It was absolutely delicious. My coworkers enjoyed their meals as well. I'd recommend sharing, especially if you're not too hungry, as the portions are pretty big. I'd recommend for anyone looking for a range of dishes! read more

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On Fridays and Saturdays make sure to have a reservation otherwise you can be stuck waiting for agessss for a table!! Sometimes if it's busy service can be quite slow and we can be forgotten :( which is what happened one night when we ordered fish with soy sauce, pea shoots, brown rice, and tofu with salted eggs. The pea shoots took foreverrrr to arrive and we were pretty much done eating all the other dishes before the waiter stopped by and apologized for the wait and said it was coming out soon. Then it took forever for the check. Anyway -- moral of the story is: don't show up on busy days because it's not as nice of an experience! OTHERWISE the food is pretty good! Which is why it's popular! My favorite dish is the fish with soy sauce and ginger. I know this is a sichuan restaurant but I like this non spicy dish more. I like too that they give brown rice. I would not recommend the tofu with salted eggs because it was quite bland and the eggs were not salty. Pea shoots are of course my favorite vegetable and are good. Otherwise a lot of typical sichuan dishes are quite corn starchy and thick, but that's pretty much the style of Americanized sichuan restaurants in Philly. read more

I ordered here for delivery on thanksgiving and it was wonderful! The Chongqing Spicy Chicken was especially delicious. I found that the spice level ratings were pretty accurate. I love spicy food so 3/3 was definitely spicy but I could still easily taste flavors. Green beans and crab were also really good. The amount of crab you get is a great value. read more

EMei - Stir-Fried Blue Crabs with Dried Chiles - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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This restaurant was so tasty. If not for being on the more pricey side, I would go all the time. This is one of the best Chinese food places I've ever tried. Each thing was something i wanted to pack home and eat later. I also highly recommend the mapo tofu. Service was fast and you order the food through your cellphone and it automatically gets sent to the kitchen. Ambiance was a typical Chinese style with wooden sculptures similar to ancient Chinese buildings. The place was kinda tiny so seating is limited if you don't make a reservation. read more

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Whenever the hankering for good Chinese food strikes, I'll drive the 2.5 hours to the Philadelphia Chinatown, since it's not quite as far as NYC, but still has many quality options. Took a recent day trip to Philly with other like minded "foodie friends," and the first stop was a place that had been book marked for a while, EMei. Since opening in 2011, EMei has garnered many accolades including "Best of Philadelphia" awards and Yelp favorites. But when a place has such high universal praise and a current 4.5 star rating on Yelp...is it really that good? In a word, "Yes" - believe the hype! Apparently, the place is usually packed, but since we arrived shortly after the restaurant opened, we were able to get a prime spot towards the back and away from the door. Very modern decor with engineered laminate flooring, darker hard wood furniture, contrasted with stark white walls. A piping "kettle" of tea was delivered in a decorative metal pot. The server indicated that this design was similar to the tea pots from the specific region of China where EMei's cuisine hails from. Since there were a few of us, we ordered three dishes for the table to dine "family style." A definite must, is the restaurant's signature Chongqing Spicy Chicken. Crispy, boneless pieces of chicken are tossed in a super hot wok, in a zesty combination of fiery dried chiles, peppercorns, and smoky crushed red pepper, topped with sesame seeds and chopped wok-fried scallions. Sichuan cuisine is renowned for the "mala flavor" where your mouth will tingle from the spice, but the heat will not overpower the chef's flavor profile. There are places in the DC area that also make this dish, but honestly, this was one of the BEST versions I've eaten. Boiled Sea Bass in Sichuan Chili Broth was also a table favorite. Whole, butterflied sea bass is gently boiled in a chili pepper and mildly mouth numbing peppercorn infused broth along with tender-crisp pieces of napa cabbage and bean sprouts. The fish was tender and had a subtle flavor which perfectly absorbed all of the spicy sauce. Perhaps my favorite dish was the minced Pork with Pickled Long Beans and Chiles. This was something my mom prepared a lot when I was a kid and again, it's not a "fancy" dish, but when done right, it's delicious! Chopped and tender-crisp pickled long beans are stir-fried with crispy, browned pieces of minced pork. The sourness of the pickled long beans combined with the spiciness and saltiness of the pork, are terrific with some white rice. The menu at EMei is ginormous, so there will definitely be an option for most people to try. While there are many great restaurants in the Philly Chinatown, I highly recommend stopping in here for some authentic Sichuan cuisine. read more

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We came on a Sunday evening, clearly a very popular place. The food was excellent for the most part, and tasted authentic with similar flavor profiles to my visits to Chengdu and other cities in the past. The spicy lamb cumin dish was one of the best versions of that dish I have had, and the fried green beans are a winner. Cons included a very loud place which they can't control. The service was not great, no consistent waiter with people dropping off dishes in no order while running somewhere else. We ordered a vegetable dish that was never delivered to our table, with adjacent tables getting the same thing earlier than us. We ultimately cancelled it as there was no sense it would happen, at least we did not get charged for it. In the same vein we had to ask 3 times over 20 minutes to have them get us one bowl of white rice. Things were clearly rushed, the moment we asked for the Bell somebody came over to take away all of the dishes in a rushed manner. read more

"holy brrsh" The best restaurant in Chinatown. Absolutely stunning dishes everywhere and not even expensive. The layout and space of the restaurant can be wonky but wear a blindfold and enjoy. Recommend the chongqing spicy chicken and chilled sesame noodles. Enjoy the hot tea and iced water. read more

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We came on a Saturday night and we were a party of 4 and we waited about 30 mins before getting seated (no reservation). The restaurant was very busy and the waiting area is quite small and crowded. The service was a bit chaotic which is understandable since they were very busy. They did seem to rush us out a bit, we had multiple servers checking if we wanted the check or if we had paid. We got the Twice-Cooked Pork Belly which was amazing! That dish along with the Chongqing Spicy White Fish were the highlights of our dinner. The Chongqing Spicy Chicken was alright and we got pea shoots for vegetables but they weren't that fresh and were a bit fibrous. Come Again? I wouldn't be opposed, but I probably would opt for somewhere else. there are so many other good chinese places in the area that it's hard to justify going somewhere so crowded and popular. Some dishes were a hit and others were a miss. read more

EMei - Chongqing Spicy White Fish - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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good ice cream， good food , good meat, good vegetables, good soap, good everything , nice sichuan food read more

EMei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This Szechuan cuisine restaurant hit the spot! My friends and I were craving spicy food and the hot and spicy bowl was AMAZING! It had tongue numbing spice that was not too overwhelming. Mix it with rice for a milder taste. The second best dish was the seafood soup as a mild warm soup to balance out the spices on the table. All 4 dishes were perfect size for leftovers for the next day too. We only had to wait for 25 minutes without a reservation on a busy Friday night at 7:30pm. We will be back! read more

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After earning that #1 Yelp spot in 2023, I finally got around to trying this restaurant in Chinatown. First a disclaimer: you have to be ok with at least moderate heat spicy to be able to enjoy some the best dishes. Overall, I was very happy with this Szechuan meal. It is best to go with a group (I went with 4 other people) to be able to try several different dishes. They will bring you a big bowl of white rice for a few dollars to share. My favorite dishes were the dumplings in hot chili oil, Dan Dan noodles and bok choy with pork belly. The Chongqing Spicy Chicken was very good, however also thought it was a bit dry (could use a side sauce!). Would definitely recommend coming here for a casual group meal. The price was reasonable, and the place is generally few frills. read more

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The foods are so delicious and authentic!!! I will definitely come back for more and order for a carry out!

We got the eggplants and garlic pea pod leaves from EMei, which were delicious and tasted just right. Slightly on the pricey side though! read more

EMei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Two of my colleagues and I decided to try this place for dinner. I started off with the cucumber garlic appetizer. The cucumbers were cut lengthwise and had a light garlic flavor and not too overbearing. I enjoyed them. Next I ordered the Chongqing Spicy Chicken. The portion was very large. The chicken was crispy. The spice was hot as advertised. This dish is better shared with others than to eat on its own. I found after you continue to eat this dish the crunchiness, texture, and spices of the chicken starts to irritate/scratch the upper part of your mouth. It's a good dish but in a small quantity with other softer textured food. A negative thing that did happen was my colleague ordered a Coors Light bottled beer to drink and he thought the beer tasted bad. He read the date of the beer on the bottle and it read brewed in year 2018! They did exchange out the bottle beer for a Modelo free of charge and the date was checked and it was ok. Small things like that make you question their attention to detail. read more

EMei - Spicy Chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

First time visiting and we were pleasantly surprised! The space looks small from the outside but that's definitely not the case! The food was simply amazing! There are so many options to try so we'll definitely be going back!!! The service was also great! read more

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I had to run an errand at The Gallery (can we still call it that lol) and the closest parking spot I found was right in front of Emei. After returning back to our car we decided we were hungry and then made a plan to head in for lunch. We were greeted w tea a few minutes after sitting down and that tea was wonderful. I might have drunk the whole pot myself lol. It was def the best part of the meal. My boyfriend ordered the stirfried blue crabs w dried chilis. I was expecting that to be crab in a stir fry but it was not at all what I expected. It was a bunch of hard shell pieces in a lot of seasoning in a bowl. I would not be interested in eating this bc it was so messy and I like to eat hardshells in the summer outside. But he said the seasoning was great. I didn't try it bc I'm not so good w super duper spicy anything. lol. They gave him plastic gloves to crack the crabs w but did not give him wipes after. I ordered the stir fried shrimp w veggies in spicy garlic sauce after talking to our server to see if he could tone the spice down a bit - which luckily he said he could do. So I was good to go with the order. It was good but it was not good enough to want to order it again. The sauce was a bit weird but the veggies were cooked to perfection. There was a strange moment while we were eating where our server came by mid meal and put down our check and said he would take it when we were ready. And my boyfriend was busy eating crabs w gloves on his hands etc. We clearly were not ready and he should not have presented the check to us at that point. read more

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Delicious. My friend and I order the pickled mushrooms and the scallion pancakes for an appetizer. The scallion pancake was hot and you could tell by the crunchy outside and beautiful soft inside it was handmade. The pickled wood ear mushrooms were in a vinegary szechuan brine and the mushrooms were addictive. Our tongues were tingling from the Szechuan oil. . I got the home style tofu at a level one. The dish had a huge amount of tofu with bell peppers and mushrooms. The sauce was, I don't know exactly how to explain it, a bit spicy and incredibly flavorful. My friend got a curry noodle dish with shrimp and chicken and was a huge amount. I'll go back any time I was some great Szechuan food read more

Have been a few times but guess I never reviewed them. Great menu with all the options you ask for. Dishes are packed with flavor, and the spices are great. The chongqing spiced meat dishes are amazing, one of my favorites. Noodles and other small dishes good as well. Great spot and always busy, so may be a wait for a table seat. read more

EMei - Chongqing Spicy Chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great food at EMei. The spicy bowl with chili oil was really spicy, but delicious. Get extra rice! Also recommend the green beans. read more

First time here even though I grew up coming into Chinatown. I chose E-Mei because I needed a place that I could make a reservation and a place that would take credit cards. Most restaurants in Chinatown are cash only and do not take reservations and I knew that I was going to be taking some clients out to lunch on a weekend, which is the busiest time in Chinatown! A Yelp and Open Table search led me to E-Mei and I was able to easily make a reservation on OpenTable. I asked family that lives locally if they've been there and heard good things about it. When we got to the restaurant there was a line out the door as it's a small shop with few tables but luckily my reservation got us right in the door. Menus are via QR code and they have lots of options with a spiciness rating so you know what you're getting into. Everything tasted great and the staff was gerund friendly and attentive. read more

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Absolutely fantastic!! My favorite meal during a work trip to Philly. Chinatown is right next to reading terminal market and it's bustling! I could eat noodles at a different place every day for weeks there. We got the Singapore rice noodles, mungbean noodles, Dan Dan noodles, pork and cabbage dumplings, and egg drop soup. Everything was fantastic. The noddles were all hand made and the dumplings were absolute perfection. After being at a conference all day, it was so nice to sit down and eat this. The restaurant was pretty loud but it doesn't both me. read more

EMei - Singapore Rice Noodles with Chicken and Shrimp Homemade Pork & Cabbage Dumplings Dan Dan Noodle Chilled Sesame Noodles - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I had a truly terrible experience here. Our waiter messed up our order 4 times and only brought out half the food we ordered. When we asked about a shrimp dish that we had ordered (an hour ago) he told us, "Oh, the kitchen can't make that but I will put in another shrimp dish at no charge." Someone then brought out both shrimp dishes (this is now 45 minutes after we'd finished the rest of our food). The waiter then came over and told us he wasn't sure what happened but asked if we wanted to keep the dishes. We said sure and ate them (they were both terrible). We were then charged for BOTH dishes even though he specifically told us we wouldn't be charged for either. We asked for a manager and he refused to let us speak to one. Terrible service, terrible shrimp, highly recommend going elsewhere. read more

Best hot n sour soup I've ever tried Vegetables stir fried crisp and fresh Shrimp (shells on) was also great read more

Fantastic food! The sichuan spices were perfectly numbing and enhanced the flavor really well! The fish and chicken were delicious as was the mapu tofu. Staff were super nice and accommodating and the restaurant itself had a dark atmosphere with tons of seating. read more

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A clean and newer/more modern restaurant in Chinatown! Ordered the fish fillet in hot & spicy pot for a friend and myself. It was enough to fill us up due to the noodles in it. Even though it was a super hot day, this hot soup still hit the spot. Was complemented by the strong AC! Next time will try more dishes for sure! This place is worth a visit! read more

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Food: the chongqing spicy chicken was my favorite! But everything was delicious! We had the mapo tofu, dumplings, chow fun, and many more and everything was flavorful. This is probably one of the schezuan restaurant that I really like! Service: food came out quickly, and service was very attentive. There's private rooms which is great, and the place has a really good ambiance! read more

Amazing food, amazing ambiance! Love it! Food was very wholesome and I would definitely recommend the fried dumplings.

It's absolutely amazing love the potato slivers they really hit different. I will definitely coming back again

Have only been to the restaurant once but I order delivery very often. I've never been disappointed! My fav dish is Chongqing tofu and the spices are unbelievable! Also their veggie fried rice is to die for! read more

Absolutely amazing food!! Big portions so you can share. Service was great and a lovely ambiance! Can't wait to go back!

Super yummy food I had the chongqing spicy white fish with rice + the general tso chicken.

Food was delicious! I went with my boss for lunch and ordered a few different items. We like spicy so we tried dishes that had some spice to them. Steamed dumplings were so good. The salt and pepper tofu was amazing! They may be closing the original site or just adding another location ( the old marras site ). read more