Hai Street Kitchen

32 South 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 964.9465
Website

After many recommendations from a handful of my Center City cube-monkey friends, it was about time I gave this place a try. Known for their enormous sushi-style burritos, it was the perfect healthy meal to grab before getting on a flight to Chicago where I saw far too many hot dogs in my near future.

Simple fresh flavors: items definitely not available in terminal C at PHL.

Everything is prepared to order and there's a selection of house recommendations, but you can also build your own from the expansive selection of Japanese-inspired burrito fillings. I felt like I was at a fancier Chipotle fusion eatery.

The oversize rolls carried pretty well, considering they went from 18th & Market via Septa to the airport, through security, etc. Let's say it was just shy of an hour in transit before the unveiling...

I was short on time and full of hunger, so I couldn't waste any time selecting my own combination of ingredients, so I went with two of the house specialties. First up was the Hai Satay with grilled chicken, spicy peanut sauce, romaine, cucumber, carrot and pickled jicama. It was supposed to come with grilled zucchini, but I totally squashed that. Get it?

AND asked for extra peanut sauce. It was exceedingly fresh, full of flavor and easy to eat without making a mess, which is a recurring problem for me. Especially when I request extra sauce for nearly everything on the planet.

Second up was the Chili Citrus Pork with salsa verde, romaine, carrot, red cabbage and pickled red onion. I was thrown by the salsa verde, so I asked them to skip it and add the gochujang and spicy mayo instead. They were much obliged and catered to my every substitution. They even threw in the extra sides of ginger miso dressing and the spicy mayo at no extra cost. I'm pretty sure the salsa verde would be unwelcome in this combo, so if you do try it that way, let me know how it goes.

The pork was perfectly tender with not one chewy bit. The ingredients melded together so well and maybe it was the time they had to set, but no matter, when I'm craving a big fat burrito I won't mind subbing in the healthier version of a mega seaweed roll every once in a while. Maybe every 4th.

Tasty Place

Asia Supermarket
143 North 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 592-8990

If you have never been inside of an Asian Supermarket, it is definitely an experience. This particular underground market is not to be trifled with during the summer, due to the insane smells that can emanate, but you are doing yourself a terrible disservice if you enjoy Chinatown eating, and you have never been to Tasty Place.

To be sure, you are not going here for atmosphere.

You will, however, be going here for Beef Ho Fun Sate, which comes out with tender, delicious pieces of beef, long, tender broad noodles, and an addictive sauce. Add some hot chili oil and a splash of vinegar for the ultimate in comfort noodles. Not to mention at about $6, you could split this dish and likely be quite satiated. Obviously, that did not apply in my case.

In addition to the Ho Fun, I got an order of the recommended ginger scallion noodles. These were just okay. They weren't bad, but they couldn't stand up to my go-to ginger scallion noodles. I would definitely skip these in the future.

There were ginger matchsticks, but they just lacked the pop I was looking for.

Perhaps my favorite part of the meal was the salt baked chicken wings.

These beauties are marinated in ginger, salt baked(?) then presumably coated in cornstarch and flash fried. The result is tender, savory meat, with a shatteringly crisp crust. Delicious.

They are also served with scallions and sliced long hot peppers. The care taken with the preparation in the food here is apparent.

I would have to say this is already one of my favorite places in Chinatown – it is surely the best Chinese food I have had in the area. Give it a try. It cost $18.50 for everything you see here, and it was definitely well worth it.