I had to give Yummy a try...to see if it is better (i had doubts going in), same, or worse than my favorite noodle house (Nan Zhou Hand Drawn). It's between same to worse. It's not bad. Just not same or better. 1. Service- Actually...I prefer Nan Zhou. At least they refill water when I am there. The food comes out a lot quicker. We had two tables of 6 (because the only large table which can fit 6 was occupied by 4 people- go figure) and the dumplings came out quick (within 5 mins). Noodles must have come out about 5-7 mins later. Friendly service. 2. Decor- Much nicer and more tables. But I really prefer the hustle and bustle of Nan Zhou. I really don't need a chandlier when I am eating oh-so-delicious noodles. They do have a better viewing for the noodle making. Bigger kitchen view than Nan Zhou. 3. Soup- Doesn't compare. It tastes almost gamey. Not as rich and deep as Nan Zhou. Didn't like it at all. 4. Noodles- This is where I think Yummy is the similar (not better!) as Nan Zhou. Slightly softer (maybe my bowl sat too long in the kitchen?). Reminds me more of ramen noodles (which I love equally) than the elastic and chewy hand drawn version at Nan Zhou. It's definitely not the same. I tried two items: *Meatballs with hand drawn- don't like the meatballs. It's more like wontons but the wrapper/skin has a weird texture. *Noodle with Pork (ja jiang mien)- I LIKE this much more than Nan Zhou. It's not as greasy. Comes in a bowl. and the flavor is more like the traditional ja jiang mien. It has more fermented bean flavor than Nan Zhou. I agree with the other reviewers. You would think they would play on Nan's weakness by providing better decor (yummy wins but see my explanation above), better food (nan zhou wins by landslide), better service (tied although i like nan zhou more) and better everything. But Nan Zhou wins because the food trumps the decor and service. read more

The hand drawn noodles are my favorite! The pork spare ribs are super tender and I love the pickled veggies. They're also good with ordering (packing the noodles separately and giving you free pickles). Would definitely recommend. read more

Really delicious food. Able and helpful service. Not overly friendly but that's not necessary. Nice place to sit inside while you see the noodle makers work their magic. Again, reeallllly great food. read more

I came here because my friend recommended it to me. I had the ox tail noodle. WoooooW the ox tail was soft and comes off the bone easy. I usually don't drink the broth from other restaurant but the broth from here was very delicious and I drank the WHOLE thing. The service was very warm and friendly. To all my FB friends you have to try this place, Highly recommended. I Will definitely come again with the whole family. read more

Accident can be either good or bad. This one was actually a good accident. I meant to go to Nan Zhou noodle house. When you first walk in. You are greeted by one of the waiting staff. You get seated, you get a menu, and you get water of course. I ordered dumplings and the house special noodle soup. Theres really no presentation to playing dumplings so it looked standard. When I first ate the dumplings, it tasted pretty good. You can tell that this is freshly made dumplings. By the way it was made and tasted. The sauce was great too. The noodles itself was pretty good. Had a nice bite to it. Like med rare steak. Just right. I'm not an expert on their broth but I felt like it was missing that "wow factor". The meat was very tender and had a nice fat content. The service was pretty standard for an Asian restaurant. They take your order, they bring your food, and fuck off. Which I like. Overall rating 4/5 stars. read more

Spice C - Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The hand drawn noodles are delicious. i don't live in Philly, but when I'm in town I make it a point to eat at Spice C.

Zack said these noodles were the closest thing to any noodle he ate during his study abroad trip to Beijing in 2008. I believe him. Light on flavor (in a good way), you don't feel sick after eating them. The dumplings were A+ as well. Quick and easy spot for an inexpensive dinner in Chinatown (BYOB, too!). read more

This is my new go-to spot in Chinatown, it replaces Nahn Zhou because it is so much better quite honestly. Spice C is a somewhat small noodle house compared to some of the others but that is actually a good thing I think. It was very calm and quiet the entire time we were there which was nice and the service was quite good, a departure from the fast and hectic service of most noodle houses. We started off with the crab ragoon and the spring rolls, both were piping hot and awesome, the crab ragoon was definitely housemade, just so much fresher than what I am used to. The spring rolls were similarly fresh and awesome. For noodles we went with the shrimp soup with hand shaved noodles which was awesome, the shrimp were huge and actually flavorful. The other soup we got was the duck and wonton soup in the spice broth. The spicy broth is an extra $1.30 but hey you only live once right. The spicy broth was excellent there is no other way to describe it. The spice isn't a burn your lips off spice its a nice almost soothing slow burn. The duck was super flavorful and the wontons were just fantastic. The hand shaved noodles were of course exquisite I mean they are just my favorite thing ever just about. The 2 of us ordering all that and a few cokes, the tab came to $35 without till so a a little over $40 with tip. We will be heading back to Spice C soon, probably this week. read more

Spice C - Duck and wonton soup in spicy broth with hand shaved noodles, get this! - Chinese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I had the beef tendon hand drawn noodle soup, the broth was pretty flavorful (on the salty side) and noodles were not too bad. I also tried the dried hand drawn noodle with shrimp, pork, and chicken. This is my second time having hand drawn noodles and for some reason I was expecting something fantastic but I wasn't too impressed. I left the restaurant feeling like I needed to drink 3 bottles of water. read more

Consistently good noodles. The pictures on the menu will help, but reading past reviews will help even more. Several types of noodles to choose from with pros and cons for each on the back. Attentive service and a real noodle puller in the back. It's nice to see some things aren't outsourced to... well, China. Always good for a cold day, YLZHDNH has something for everyone. Definitely great for a quick bite in Chinatown. read more

Get either type of noodles, both are delicious! Get spicy if you can handle it (it is good, you will not regret it!). The broth is so flavorful! I decided to stick with the house special (I think it's got beef, tendon, and something else... brisket, maybe?). The side dishes and appetizers are just as great. Eggplant dish -- eggplant was sauteed just right. The service was decent. read more

The only redeeming quality about this restaurant, is that the noodles are hand-drawn. I mean, look at the title. The selection of food is decent, and portions are below average - but will fill most up, although if you're really hungry or almost really hungry, this place won't work for you. The service was meh, with waiters stopping by infrequently (the interior is very oblong in that there is only one path). Tipping is expected, obviously, but you additionally have to go to the cash register at the end of the restaurant to pay etc.. Strange. The decor was meh (faded car posters for the win), tables are relatively small. I like their other establishment across Chinatown more. read more

I love this place. I have gone again and again and again. It is so delicious and so cheap. Every time I go I am amazed how little I spend on such amazing food. The service is okay (not fantastic but not great), but the hand drawn noodles are amazing. I also went to Nan Zhou a lot before this place opened but I now only go here. I can't really tell the difference in the noodle soups between the two, but this location has the tub of pickled veggies where you can eat as many as you want. That is the only reason why I like this one better. read more

Quite a noodle treat. My family is from Guangzhou (Canton) and they like to get their noodle on, but are picky about their noodles. I liked it and they judged it to be quite good. My brother and I got a stir fried version and also a beef chow food disk and we thought it was good. The wife and daughter got the soup version and I know they liked it, because they went back their for lunch on Friday when I had to do something else. And being in Chinatown, they had a lot of choices. read more

Don't ever go there alone/without a group. I loved this restaurant, esp. the beef in their beef noodle soup, and I went there every time I was in China Town. But today I went there alone, and I was seated at the only open table. When I was ready to order, a group of 5 people arrived at the door. Then a waitress asked me to stand up and give my table to the 5 people group. Another waiter told me that I just needed to wait for a few minutes and there would be spot open up. I was shocked. I had never had such kind of experience in my life in any country. So l left directly. There are so many Chinese restaurants in China Town and I am sure there is at least one another good beef noodle soup place with customer service or at least some respect for its customer. Bottom line, never go there alone without preparing to give your seat to a larger group. read more

Couple of my friends highly recommended this noodle place to me and ever since that it becomes my favorite noodle place in the city of Philadelphia. The place is clean,the price is reasonable, and the service is great. I will definitely recommend this place to my other friends who haven't try this place. BTW my favorite dishes are the spicy beef with shaved noodle soup with extra side of fried egg and the dumplings read more

I have never had hand drawn noodles before, so I came with little experience. After reading review after review on Yelp (I researched all of the restaurants in Chinatown), I finally decided to give it a go - some said that it was better than the Nan Zhou hand drawn noodle house, and others said the opposite. I came with my boyfriend, who is a self-named foodie, for dinner yesterday. He appreciates all kinds of foods and has been to Nan Zhou hand drawn noodle house, so I figured that coming here with him would give me a good idea of which one would be better. I ordered the House special in Szechuan broth medium spicy and he ordered the lamb in Szechuan broth very spicy. Given that we both ordered the same broth, I thought that it would taste the same - not so! The house special broth has a nice balance of spices but a fuller flavor than the lamb Szechuan broth, which tasted much lighter like it was watered down a little bit. And though he asked for the broth in very spicy, it wasn't that spicy (We have been to places where a 3/5 would cause tongue/throat/lip burning syndrome and a constant need for ice water, and I do not have a high spice-tolerance). The spicy broth is definitely worth the extra $1.50! According to my boyfriend's experience at Nan Zhou, there is only one kind of "clean broth" so all of the broths taste the same. In addition, it was much lighter and less tasty. He did not compare the quality of the noodles (they had a nice mouth feel imo), but we noticed that many of the other restaurant patrons were not Asian. Apparently most of the patrons at Nan Zhou are Asian. Take that last comment as you will. I'm just saying that, as a lover of noodles in soup and as an Asian, I did enjoy my experience. There was a nice arrangement of meats in the house special - beef, brisket, and tendon. I'm usually a little wary of ordering tendon in restaurants because it has to be cooked enough to achieve that perfect level of tenderness that I absolutely love. I have to say, the meats were done very well! They were the perfect level of lean, very tender and tasty. I tried the pickled greens available on the table and threw a bunch into my broth (because according to many other reviewers, they are delicious) and almost choked on the vinegar when I put several into my mouth. I was expecting more of a sweet and sour, but I could barely detect any sweetness - it is still something refreshing to consume alongside a tasty bowl of noodles. Next time, I plan to order the beef tendon with noodles in Szechuan soup - hopefully the broth is equally tasty. The lamb noodle soup was much more skimpy when it came to the meats. I'm not a huge fan of animal fat, especially when consumed in bulk, but I saw that many of the small pieces of lamb were skin portions and 80% fat. In my opinion, it wasn't really worth it and definitely not good for your arteries. I'm hoping that they usually serve more lamb meat vs. fat in the average bowl, but I would probably not order it if I came again. That said, the meat was very tender and tasty. My boyfriend kept eyeing my bowl and said several times that he "should've ordered the house special instead." (Usually it's the other way around) We also ordered the fried fish tofu to start ($7.95). It came out on a skewers, a total of 6 pieces, and lightly drizzled with what tasted like bbq sauce. The exterior was just barely crispy, and the inside was soft and warm with the expected fish taste and aroma. I have had fish tofu on many occasions (my family probably only has hot pot for dinner in the winter months), and it tasted as expected. It was good, but I didn't think that it was worth the high price point for the labor involved and the quantity given. In hindsight, I probably would've ordered the chicken wings or calamari since the prices were very similar. Conclusion: Good food, if you make the right choices, Szechuan broth for sure, the staff speak very limited English, and service was relatively quick (we received water almost immediately). And of course, CASH ONLY. read more

I like Yummy Lan Zhou more than Nan Zhou on Race Street. The Noodle with salty port sauce was absolutely delicious. Also tried the stiry fried noodles with eggs and veggies, that was actually awesome! I have been there twice so far and both times were very good. I'd recommend this place. read more

the shaved egg noodles will remind you of German schnitzel. The broth was good but could have been a bit more rich and dark to match my ox tail meat. Portions are very generous. Service was fast. Prices are very cheap. Soups are under $7. The dumplings were decent. read more

So Yelp said this place accepts credit cards. I just got done eating and they said it's cash only. If it weren't for my friend who had a bank card on him, I would've been SOL. read more

This was the first noodle house we have been to and it was delicious. Since our first visit was have been back many times. Perfect for a quick inexpensive meal of soup. We had the roasted duck with hand shaved noodles and ox tail soup with hand drawn noodles. Everything was very tasty and filling. The pickled cabbage on the tables is a plus while you are waiting for your soup. read more

Hands down, my favorite Chinese noodle place in Philly. The price is right, and the food's always great. Highly recommend it if you're in the neighborhood. read more

I do love noodles and these noodles have great textures and taste. If you sit close to the kitchen you can actually see them being freshly made. If you like spicy, you can make everything Szechwan spicy. read more

I don't even know where to start. Very few places in my culinary lifetime have exceeded my expectations . This is one of them. The hand pulled noodles, fried rice and sesame chicken were hands down the best I've ever had. A little hem in the heart of Chinatown. I would eat here 365 days a year if I lived in Philly. read more

Couldn't even eat my whole bowl because they hook you up. More than happy to eat those leftovers. It doesn't get any cheaper or more tasty.

I have eaten here probably 30 times for the same noodle dish. I like it a lot and it is cheap ($5.40 including tax). The last time I was there two nights ago, the waiter asked me if it was my first time there, even though I have conversed with him 10 times. I guess for a white guy, we all look alike. read more

Great noodle house. Fried pork dumplings were also incredible. Definitely will be back.

Came here for the first time yesterday, to satisfy what was originally a hankering for ramen and I'm glad my boyfriend knew of this place and changed my mind. After Yakitori Boy, Spice C might be my second favorite place to eat in Chinatown. And there's a lot of competition, because Chinatown is such a hotspot of so many wonderful foods, if I moved to this part of the city I would eat noodles and duck and sushi every meal of every day of the week. Anyway, onto Spice C. It has a modest, small dining area and while it looks bland compared to the newer, fancier places populating Chinatown, give your eyes a rest and let your nose do the work for you. Because Spice C smells like Heaven. If Heaven were a noodle place. Which, it might be. I ordered the hand-drawn noodles with jumbo shrimp, szechuan style, medium heat. My boyfriend got the house special, which I think is different cuts of beef. The soup came out amazingly fast, and my first bite had me seeing stars. Because it was spicy. And I'm just a poor little white girl with White People Taste Buds. Seriously, I think I have a good grip on spice but the medium Szechuan surprised me. Did not stop me from demolishing that entire dang bowl of every last noodle, however. And this was a big bowl of soup! The noodles were perfect, and there was a lot going on in that bowl. Mushroom root, and bok choy floating around in the broth. The shrimp were large, but I only got 4 or 5. Not the worst amount. I could have eaten 13 or 15 because they were that good, firm but tasty. We also split an order of spring rolls. Crunchy, flaky, stuffed with chicken and shrimp. I also could have eaten a plateload of those things. Keep doing your thing, Spice C. I'll definitely be back for more delicious soup on these cold winter nights. Be here when its 90 degrees in summer, too. Next time however, I'll probably take the waitress' skeptical look to heart when I asked for medium heat. I'll probably punk out and do mild next time. read more

The food was cooked fresh and tasted great. Note it's cash only so make sure you have cash!

It was our first time at this restaurant. I would say the food quality was Great but the staff was hit or miss. For instance we felt rushed out by the way the waitress attempted to supposedly help us put away our food in a to go container. It was done very hastily and abrasively making our ultimate experience fairly unpleasant. However we liked the fact that the noodles were hand drawn and homemade. Will we be back for another round? We are not sure at this point. read more

order: all hand drawn soups: beef brisket noodle soup, noodle with pork soy sauce

I would have originally give this place at least 4 stars because of their good food, fast service, and affordable pricing. But after checking my bank statement this morning, looks like I paid more than I asked for. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS & A TOTAL RIP OFF! I ordered the hand-drawn duck noodles soup. The duck was a bit salty but balanced well with the broth & noodles. I didn't have to add additional ingredients since the flavor was right. My husband ordered the hand-drawn house special noodle soup. He said it was good. My daughters ordered & shared the stir fried house hand-drawn noodles. The proportion was great for their price. My girls enjoyed it. Afterwards, the bill came and everything added up to approximately $25. I thought that it was a great price for four full bellies. I put $20.00 on my Credit Card and paid $10.00 Cash for the remaining balance of the bill as well as 18% for tip. As I checked my statement this morning, they charged $29.00 on my CREDIT CARD! This is straight up BS! After I take care of this matter with their manager, I'M NEVER GOING BACK THERE! read more

Go with the bomb spicy! It's the only thing I get here and I crave it every time I stop by Philly. The ingredients taste authentic, they have the tendons, tripe, beef stomach, and even the pickled cabbage on the side. It's also enough for two people. read more

Visited here for first time with family. Service was prompt and we ate Beef Tendon House Special Soup with Stir Fried Noodles and Chicken and Shrimp Stir Fried Noodles. Food was yummy but less portion for Noodles. I had to ask for water refills. Clean Restaurant and Restrooms. Cash ONLY. They have ATM. read more

Everything was so yummy. I order the Hot Pot Seafood bowl , Szechaun Chicken and crab Rangoon. Yes! I'm such a greedy little girl .LOL!!

I consider myself quite spoiled and/or fortunate to be able to say that I live in a city where there are two hand drawn noodle houses to choose from. And I feel like more of a true Philadelphian, or like less of a transplant, in being able to confidently say I have a favorite- it's Lan Zhou. The most important thing about a noodle house is that it have delicious noodles and noodle soups. The hand shaved lamb noodle soup I had here was so simple, but so hearty, and the noodles were absolutely perfect. The picked vegetables they provide added a nice crunch/tang, but I think this might be the first time I ate almost the entire bowl of a noodle soup. I was painfully, but happily, full afterwards. Winner winner. read more

Delicious, flavorful broth. Terrific Chinese comfort food.

Awesome place! Came here for the hand drawn noodles in szechuan sauce. It is is SLIGHTLY more pricey but it is amazing and authentic. Noodles could be a little more al dente but the flavor is amazing! read more

Went there a few times. Noodles are yummy. The last time I was there I found a hair in my bowl. Which I know isn't mine since I have blue hair. Told the waitress and everyone acted like I planted the hair. One of the waiter took my bowl and walked away saying "the bowl is half way eaten". The manager came out and told me he can give me 50% off my bowl since the bowl I ordered was big. Horrible customer service but then again it's Chinatown so I can't expect much. Won't be going there again. read more

I've been going to this place for noodles since before it was renamed to Spice C (for those of you who don't know, it used to be called Lanzhou Hand-Drawn Noodles, but I think they changed it because it was constantly mixed up with Nanzhou Hand-Drawn Noodles, which is just down the street). If you want authentic Chinese hand-drawn noodles or shaven noodles either in soup or stir-fried, this is your place. My dad, who was born and raised in China, and I are a huge fan of the food here - the soup noodles always hit the spot, especially during winter! My only criticism is that the staff can be kind of pushy and abrupt, but hey, that's kind of to be expected in Chinatown. At least service is speedy - I've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for my food! I'd highly recommend Spice C, especially to those friends who are a little anxious about delving in to the strange, exotic land that is Philly's Chinatown (haha) - this is a great place to start. read more

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