Dined in with a large group (~12) and was blown away by how good the food was!…read more My Chinese-speaking friend ordered everything, so I honestly did not know what was coming out. But some things we got: fish hot pot, twice cooked pork, sliced pork belly, chicken w/ pepper and scallion, beef fried rice. There were 3-4 other things but honestly I don't remember what they were. They were all so good! A note to the unfamiliar: a lot on the menu is spicy, although mostly numbing spice. If you're not aware or familiar, best to probably order one thing with spice, and stick to American dishes until you get up to speed. Service was prompt and friendly, and we were able to eat well as dishes came out in a staggered fashion. As for the restaurant, there's a lot of good seating available, with larger parties being able to be seated in the back in a slightly more private space.

93 out of 100 Xun Yu…read moreSi Kao was such a surprise-the food was all flavorful and large portions. The service was perfect (fast, no rush when taking time to order/hang out after, filled water often, brought check asap). We were also served complimentary side dishes and a dessert. Lastly, big ups to Xun Yu Si Kao on having a photo-forward menu, which was helpful for me to decide the dishes I wanted to order. --- Xun Yu Si Kao was such a pleasant dining experience because the interior was clean and quiet (classical music!). The service was awesome from start to finish. We were given the complimentary appetizers of edamame and spicy pickled white radish. I honestly really enjoyed these- each had a great depth of flavor, and free appetizers are always a pleasant surprise. The ranking, from what we ordered: 1. Eggplant and pork with garlic sauce- This dish was more like a meatball stuffed inside eggplant slices. Really tender pork along with a flavorful garlic sauce made this my favorite dish. 2. Braised pork with preserved vegetable in soy sauce- The fatty portions of the pork belly were excellent and tender however, I felt the meaty portions were a little tough and chewy for me. 3. Chicken soup with fish maw- This soup felt like I was searching for treasure. Every scoop, I surfaced something I wasn't expecting from the name (and there was less of the fish maw than I thought would be present). Still great value with its dried scallop, abalone, cordyceps flowers, dates, and goji berries. On a personal note, I wasn't a fan of the soup because of how many bones I ended up chewing on due to how the chicken was cut. We were given a complimentary jelly for dessert. It was a really awesome surprise and it was not too sweet. Some helpful notes for some people- (1) The menu is almost entirely spicy items, which might not be great for those with sensitive bellies & (2) I would confirm the contents of a dish if you have allergies or dietary restrictions before placing your order. Really awesome dining experience at Xun Yu Si Kao. Definitely deserves more love. I will be back next time to try the popular fish dish.

82/100 Nai Brother Chinese Sauerkraut Fish allows for lots…read moreof customization of the sauerkraut fish dishes. The spice is no joke! There is a surcharge for credit card usage. --- I've only had Chinese sauerkraut fish once before (and loved it), so I was excited to try one more time. I dined on a weekend for lunch with four people with no wait time. The menu is a little unintuitive since some of it is in Chinese. The front menu is where you: (1) Choose your soup base for your sauerkraut fish, and then (2) choose the specific fish on the right hand side (along with additional toppings). Default in the dishes as toppings are: Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, mung bean noodle, and dried bean curd skins in the soup. (3) Lastly, you can choose either a single portion or double portion for the fish. (There will be one rice bowl per portion.) We didn't try the dry pot, but the ordering is similar where you choose the base and then can add additional toppings. We ordered the popcorn chicken, beef skewers, fried chicken, and House Signature Chinese Sauerkraut Fish: 1. Popcorn chicken- Really tasty chicken which wasn't too dry and had good flavor. It seemed like a pretty good portion to share between four people as an appetizer. 2. Beef skewers- Very juicy and I enjoyed but a little expensive for the price. I would still order it again. 3. Chinese sauerkraut fish- Although the name of the restaurant, I wasn't in love with the fish. Four people shared it and we felt while the fish was good, the toppings were pretty skimpy. We each got maybe one noodle and tofu skin each, but had lots of bean sprouts. There was an OK amount of fish for two portions. The spice can be adjusted, but even mild was pretty spicy. 4. Fried Chicken- A bit polarizing. Definitely juicy but it wasn't like the typical fried chicken texture or flavor. It felt like it retained more of the yellowy fat of chicken. Lots of big pieces for the price though. Overall the service was just okay considering it wasn't very busy. They didn't really come check up on us. One server had a little bit of a 'tude, but the other server was kinder. Interior was clean and brightly decorated. There were maybe around eight tables of four chairs. There definitely a lot of regulars who come there. They have a surcharge for using credit card, so if you have cash it might save you a few bucks. We got free plum juice because we paid the cash price. Overall, we paid ~$55 for lunch for 4 people with tax and tip, which made the lunch very affordable.

Came on 5/15/26 for my grad school graduation dinner with my family. UPenn 2025! Delicious pickled…read morefish soup and dry pot with fish and beef. Very authentic taste almost no msg. Loved it! No wait for a table and quick service. Clean place. Price was fair. Only concern is parking is hard. We finally found a street spot after looking almost 20 min.

Wonderful all around and the food was excellent! Highly recommend to anyone looking for good food…read moreand wonderful ambience for a date night!

Great food and service. Genuine. Comes with some fun performance too for some dishes.read more

Very good service in a well themed and spacious location. The selection of meats was vast and…read moredelicious. Great for solos and groups

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! From the moment we walked in, everything was…read moreoutstanding. The staff was incredibly friendly, attentive, and made us feel welcome the entire time. The music created the perfect atmosphere, making it a fun and relaxing place to enjoy a meal. The food was absolutely phenomenal--fresh, flavorful, and worth every bite. Every dish exceeded expectations, and you can tell they take pride in what they serve. If you haven't been here yet, you're seriously missing out. This is easily one of the best dining experiences I've had, and I'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommend to anyone looking for amazing food, great service, and an awesome vibe!

I went to Tai Lake Restaurant and ordered the half Peking duck. Right away, it came out with bao…read morebuns instead of the traditional thin pancakes. That completely changes the dish. Bao buns are thick, filling, and you hit a wall after a couple bites. If I had known that, I would not have ordered it. That should absolutely be communicated upfront. The duck itself was mediocre at best. Greasy, fatty, nothing special. I'd honestly give it a 6 out of 10 and that might even be generous. Servers were fine, attentive enough, no complaints there. My bill came to $34.55 and I still tipped 20% because I'm not petty about service when people do their job. Where this place really lost me was the manager. It wasn't even 5:30 PM. No dinner rush. The restaurant had multiple empty tables. I was sitting at a two person table by myself, literally just waiting for my Uber that was 7 minutes away. The manager comes over and tells me to go wait outside. I said no. It was cold, I had bags with me, and I had just paid and finished eating. There was zero reason to rush me out like that. He doubled down and insisted he needed the table. And I'm going to be real, that was just bad hospitality. I work in hospitality. You do not treat a paying customer like they are in the way, especially when the restaurant is clearly not even busy. It wasn't about table turnover, it was just rude, unnecessary, and honestly condescending. Acting like I was inconveniencing him for sitting there quietly after paying my bill was wild. That interaction completely soured the experience. Food was mid. Service from the staff was fine. But the management attitude is exactly why I would not come back and would not recommend it to anyone expecting basic respect with their meal.

Best of the best for Cantonese food! Every dish here I've tried is good! I keep going back because…read morethis is the best Cantonese food spot in Chinatown! Cooked oysters here are definitely delicious and a show stopper! All their dishes here are good and their service here is great as well please just go and eat here!

Attended our reservation for Gabriella's Vietnam while visiting Philly, and I'm really glad we did…read more The service was friendly and attentive without ever feeling over the top. Everything we ordered was delicious, but the steak was definitely the standout. It was super tender, and the green sauce that came with it was so good that I wanted to put it on everything. The clams were also perfectly cooked. Fresh, flavorful, and not overdone. Overall, it was a great meal. Would recommend!

Best thing we had was the shaken beef - the meat was v juicy and tender + the green sauce they…read morepaired it with was so tangy and bright it completely elevated the dish. I do wish the portion size was bigger for a $30 entree on the chef's menu though. Prawn and mango salad was also delicious and refreshing although not suuuper unique in its flavor. Unfortunately, the chicken hot pot wasn't what i expected - was hoping for more of a spicier broth with flavorful chicken. Overall, it was decent and the broth did taste good, just wasn't as bold as i'd like it to be. Giving it a 4 (because i can't rate it a 3.5 on yelp) and because i do think this restaurant has a lot going for them and i'd be interested in trying their menu items, too.

I was surprised to get this quality of food past midnight, we went to this location on a Saturday…read moreafter clubbing, got some noodles and salt and pepper wings, and some stir fried dishes. The black pepper beef was actually my favorite, it was so tender and flavorful.

One of the highlights of our annual holiday party is ending up at Ken's to round out the evening…read more The duck is always a highlight and the accompanying buns are perfect little pillows. The coconut shrimp is also a go to and never disappoints. I've yet to try something I didn't like.

Not one to go for spicy food anymore, let alone Szechuan food, but I came with a large group of…read morefriends today for a weekday dinner. We had a lot of orders, but the food came out in a rolling fashion after a slightly longer than expected wait. Spice rating was more than I was expecting, but that's coming from a bit of a lightweight. Portion size was very good for the price, and flavors were delicious and on point! There are also options for soup and non-spicy that some of my friends got that looked good! Good options for any people in your party that are not super spice tolerant... then again why are you bringing them to a restaurant that has "Spicy" in the name? There's good seating for mid sized to large groups like ours (12+), and we were able to be accommodated very well. They split up all of checks at the end too, which was nice though we would've been fine paying altogether. Good option for Szechuan dry pot in Chinatown! Don't think I personally will be back as I'm not that down for spicy, but a good option for any folks who are looking for it!

I''ll admit I was a little surprised by this place's rating when I first looked it up. There were…read morequite a few one-star reviews mentioning slow service, salty food, and long wait times. After visiting, I can honestly see where some of those comments are coming from, but I also think there's a bit more context. I ordered takeout and got the fried octopus and green onion pancake. Right away, the staff member at the front made a great impression. I asked whether he preferred the chicken or squid, and instead of giving a generic answer, he gave me his honest opinion. Small thing, but I appreciated it. He also automatically selected "no tip" when turning the payment screen around since it was a takeout order, which spared me the usual awkward tipping screen moment. Genuinely nice guy. As for the wait time, there was a group ahead of me whose food still wasn't ready by the time my relatively small order came out. From what I observed, they may simply be understaffed in the kitchen. The employee working the front seemed to be helping cook as well, and I could literally smell fryer oil on him when he came back out. My guess is that they're trying to cover multiple roles at once. If that's the case, the slower service makes a lot more sense. The upside is that the food definitely tastes made to order. Everything came out fresh, hot, and well prepared. The meat was incredibly well marinated. Honestly, it barely needed any dipping sauce because the flavor was already built into the food. I can understand why some people might find it a little salty if they prefer lighter seasoning, but personally I thought it was flavorful rather than overwhelming. The fried octopus was my favorite. It reminded me of Taiwanese night market snacks with a crispy golden coating that stayed crunchy while the octopus inside remained tender and chewy. There was a nice savory seasoning throughout, and every piece had a satisfying crunch. The green onion pancake was solid. Flaky layers, crisp edges, and plenty of scallion flavor. Nothing particularly unique compared to other versions I've had, but it was well executed and exactly what I was expecting. The long wait has both pros and cons. On one hand, if you're starving and in a rush, it could definitely be frustrating. On the other hand, I had spent the day walking around the city and it was absolutely pouring outside, so having a seat indoors while I waited was actually kind of nice. They have chairs near the front specifically for takeout customers, which I appreciated. Also, I finally got to see the robot cat waiter. Completely unnecessary? Yes. Adorable? Also yes. The restaurant felt a little dim, although I'm not sure if that was the actual lighting or just the gloomy weather outside affecting the atmosphere. Either way, the food left a positive impression. Based on the quality of the ingredients and the fact that everything tasted freshly prepared, I'd absolutely be willing to come back and try a full hot pot meal next time. Overall, not perfect, but definitely better than its rating had me expecting. Fresh ingredients, flavorful food, friendly service, and worth a visit if you don't mind a bit of a wait.