More photos and some food descriptions after the jump.

Normally we try to post stuff here that we’ve found ourselves. In this case my buddy Scott was the informant, and it turns out that Philly Weekly has a review from 2005 and, wouldn’t you just know it, those damn PhillyFoodGuys wrote the place up in March!. Well, it’s nice to be in good company.

Well, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones in the case of a place as fun as this one.

There is one drawback to Hardena, and it’s that the place is so far south. It’s three blocks west of Broad Street on Moore. Look for the sign in the picture below, cause that’s the only way you can find it! It looks like a closed cornerstore. The first time Scott and I got down there it actually *was* closed. It happened to be the one day a week when the place is closed. I think it’s Monday. So plan ahead!

The easiest way to get on in is to just go back to the counter and ask for a little bit of everything. You can see from the photos above that we went all-out for just the two of us. When we first walked in the place was empty. Scott was a bit taken aback because apparently it had been packed full his last trip. We spent a few minutes saying hello to Hari and his wife Ena. According to Scott Hari used to be the chef for the Indonesian embassy. We ordered away with no hesitation. Ena was very accomodating and filled the styrofoam plates to the brim. If not having to pay servers and bussers is what keeps the prices so low I have no problem! Sometimes I wish other places that had really really fantastic food were self-service. Enough with the teasing already! Here comes the food!

[flickr matt.ohara 72157602865982803]

Everybody talks about the satay, and with good reason. You get four skewers and a whole lot of a perfect peanut sauce. It’s not too sweet and it’s just thick enough to lay a nice smooth and crunchy covering over the skewer. Don’t forget that dark sauce with the jalapenos though. If you like spice like me you’ll want to spoon some of that on top as well. In the last section of the styrofoam plate is a selection of pickled veggies. A little of this after every piece of chicken makes for a very complex array of sweet, hot and tangy that just tickles the tastebuds.

Our next two plates were the mix-plates. Rijstaffel, I believe they’re called. I had beef rendang, some of the homemade tempeh, jackfruit and collard greens. The tempeh was interesting but a bit too bland for me. The jackfruit looks like meat or a fake meat, but tastes like a sweet and half-tart mix between the textures of pineapple and pudding. Fun! The beef rendang has a moderate kick to it and just falls apart in your mouth. The collard greens are right out of the Louisiana and taste like they’ve been cooked in some bacon fat! Worth going for them alone.

Perhaps Scott can comment and talk about his own dishes; I can’t remember everything he had!

The last dish was veggies with a peanut sauce and some garlic crisps. Very simple and straightforward, but a nice way to finish the meal. A peanut sauce salad! The garlic crisps I think are puffed rice or flour. I have no idea how they’re made but they’re fantastically potent (perhaps not the best way to finish the meal on second thought!).

As we finished up about twenty Indonesians came in and all of a sudden the place was jam-packed and jolly.  Our bellies were full and we were pretty jolly ourselves.  I hope my descriptions are enough to get you way down south to try this fantastic little place, and I hope I see you in there when you do!  I stil have to try the homemade sambal and the whole fish and the…everything else!

[flickr matt.ohara 72157601551768424]

Day One:
I had been chatting with my drink-slinging friend Katie at Chick’s Wine Bar about a Chinatown tour a few weeks back. She made me stick to my word, and thank goodness! She guided us to Four Rivers and Nan Zhou Hand-Drawn Noodles.

Four Rivers
936 Race St
215-629-8385

Crystal Wontons in Hot Oil
These were really nice. A white, soft, slippery cloud wrapped around a nice morsel of meat. I could have eaten a dozen of these easily. That is, if I wasn’t having the Sweet Ham afterwards.

House Special Sweet Ham
WOW. This is a big piece of meat. Check out the link above to see more opinions. It’s sweet and fatty, yes, but it also has a very delicate flavor and perfect tender quality that must come from a braising technique. Katie speculated that it’s braised in soy sauce, which would explain why it looked more like dark meat than pork normally does. This is a larger dish, meant to be shared and not for anybody on a diet. Definitely a standout for the week and something I’ll be going back for once I complete my tour.

I must return here for the Jellyfish with Thousand-Year Eggs…

Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House
927 Race Street
215-923-1550

That’s right, a hand-drawn noodle house. I came here once when I first visited Philly but haven’t been back since. WHY?! I HAVE NO IDEA! This place is spectacular. Not only are the noodles fresher than fresh (they’re made while you wait after all) but the gigantor bowls of soup are all of 4 or 5 dollars! This is a fantastic spot for lunch when in Center City! I’m going for lunch next week.

Spicy Beef Tendon
This is an interesting preparation and not at all what we expected. It’s thinly shaved and covered in spicy red pepper flake. Kind of like an asian jerky. Scrumptiously spicy!

Seafood Soup with Fishballs, Clams and Shrimp
I’m not going to bother with adjectives here. It’s great, great soup. The guy grabs a big handful of dough and stretches it, smacks it down on the counter, twists it and repeats. While he’s doing this the other ingredients are simmering in the pot. When he finishes and tosses the fresh noodles in the broth they start cooking. They’re so fresh that it takes all of the 15 feet from the kitchen to your table for them to cook. Gah! Getting hungry…

Day Two:

Just me and Karen today. We didn’t have a guide so we decided to take some recommendations from eGullet.

Shiao Lan Kung
930 Race Street
928-0282

Crispy Dumplings
These much-heralded dumplings are in a crispy half-moon shape. I didn’t flip over these the way I thouht I would but admittedly I did not have the ginger-scallion sauce that you are supposed to get from David’s Mail Lai Wah across the street. You can buy the sauce for ¢25 and smuggle it in for use with these dumplings. There’s always next time.

Crispy Pork Intestines
These I got as a recommendation from my friend David. I did not like them. !!! Ah well, you can’t have a perfect record I suppose.

Szechuan Tasty House
902 Arch Street
215-925-2839

Golden Coins
Hoo boy. This was the killer of the day. Imagine this: japanese eggplant stuffed with pork and deep-fried in a tempura-like batter. What could possibly be wrong with that? And if the dish comes out piping-hot with a spicy dipping sauce you might as well just throw in the towel. You’ve lost. Szechuan Tasty House has won again. I don’t swear on this blog but God Damn. That Shit’s Tasty.

Day Three:
Today it was me and my buddy Patrick, David and Rachel, and some of their friends (Karen was working). We trusted David with this one and had a killer meal in a nearly empty restaurant. I’ll just highlight my favorites of the 6 or so dishes we had:

Chung King Garden
915 Arch Street
215-627-3792

Allium Dumplings
These were honestly my favorite dumplings of the week. There was a delicate flavor component that I can’t pin down. Make sure to eat them BEFORE something like:

Chung King Cold Noodles (Sichuan Pepper)
Ohmahgoodness! I love me some cold noodle dishes and I couldn’t stop eating these. The Sichuan Peppercorns just get your mouth tingling and make you want more and more. Very interesting mouthfeel.

Whole Fish in Black Bean Sauce
Boh! I’m so glad David went for this one! This fish just melts in the mouth. I’ve never had fish so tender. Then again I haven’t had a lot of steamed whole fish. The black bean sauce was a bit spicy but it more than anything just complemented the delicate fish. We brought a couple of beers to help wash down all the spicy! Who brought the spicy? Chung King Garden brought the spicy!

Number Eight
I’m only highlighting this one so I can recommend NOT getting it. Unless you like hot pots filled with intestines and kidney and other unidentifiable stuff. There is no english word for it. We tried it, like the gutsy foodies we are, but this one takes some Herculean Fortitude. And I was all out of Herculean Fortitude that night.

So where does the 0.5 in 5.5 restaurants come from? Rachel suggested that we retire to her favorite bubble tea house.

Lakeside Chinese Deli (phillyfoodguys)
207 North 9th Street
215-925-3288

Patrick and I both love almond, and to our mutual surprise, there was almond bubble tea. Delicious! Check the link above to see Phillyfoodguys’ review of the rest of their fare.

and finally:

David’s Mai Lai Wah
1001 Race Street
215-627-2610

I’ve got to go back here. I did get the sauce though (too late for the dumplings) and it’s as crazily good as described! Apparently they have some salt and pepper squid that I have to try…

So at the end of the first week of my Chinatown escapades I couldn’t be happier. This is not the Chinese food that we grow up with in America, this is the Chinese food that challenges your expectations and your palate. It’s amazingly affordable and there are many surprises as well. I’ll leave this first post with a game that was recently introduced to me: the fortune cookie game. I’m sure you can figure out how it works.

More info and pics after the jump!

I started this project with the goal of trying to find my favorite of the three shops. After a whole bunch of experimenting with different sandwiches in the different shops i came to the conclusion that they’re all pretty much the same price and quality. So I’m instead going to focus on the advantages that each has to offer.

Bánh mì, sometimes also referred to as a “Vietnamese hoagie“, is a Vietnamese submarine sandwich, made with a French-inspired baguette. It is made up of thinly sliced, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro, choice of barbecued pork, paté, chicken and other meats; there also exist vegetarian versions of this item with tofu taking the place of meat. The contrasting flavors and textures of the sandwich — as well as its relatively low cost — make it a popular dish.

Cafe Cuong is the first place I ever bought one. It’s just north of Christian Street on eightth. I tried some of my broken Vietnamese with the owners and they were highly amused. I might even say impressed. Unfortunately the only terms i know are ‘formal greeting,’ ‘fish sauce,’ ‘rice log’ and “ruoc,” which is a condiment made of shredded pork and chicken. ( I can’t find any info anywhere on the proper spelling or definition of “ruoc” and would love some help there). I like to go here because of the mom and pop atmosphere, the gelatinous desserts which the owner said were ‘not for americans’ (i got them anyway and liked them), and because they gave me a whole bunch of ruoc!

Café Nhuy is probably the one that is most known. It’s just around the corner from the Italian market on Christian (between 9th and 8th). It’s a little hole-in-the-wall but its appeal is the ease with which non-Vietnamese speakers can order. Pick a number, 1-6 and you’re out the door a few minutes later.

Café Huong Lan is farther south on 8th street almost to Washington. This place is nice because it has a bunch of tables inside and a real menu so you can try a few other Vietnamese dishes as well. Also at least one of the people that works there speaks some english.

On to the food!

Oh man are these things delicious. I eat way more of them than i should. But they’re inexpensive and relatively healthy so why not?

When we first tried them we got the one called simply “Vietnamese Hoagie.” There’s also cooked pork (meaning cold cut style), shredded pork (which i think is pickled as well), chicken (a bit sweet and citrusy), meatball (very soft, possibly containing paté), and vegetarian (the only one i haven’t tried yet). Some places will also have the Special Vietnamese Hoagie; that just means more meat.

The eponymous Vietnamese Hoagie contains a kind of cold cut that contains a huge amount of fat and i believe head cheese and other undistinguishable meats. If you’re the squeamish type or on any kind of diet you should steer away. For the most basic hoagie go for the chicken or the cooked pork. All hoagies containing meat will also have a paté spread on the crispity-crunchity baguette. This paté is absolutely delicious but looks kinda gross. In fact i think the meatballs in the meatball hoagie are comprised mostly of this pate because they’re soft and pinkish.

What I found:
Amazing contrast of flavor and texture in a completely new kind of sandwich. They’re inexpensive (around 3$ each) and if you buy 5 you get one free! Friendly non-english speaking shop owners happy to make this wonderful and odd little sandwich for you.

UPDATE: Kari, who lives in Hawaii tells me that there it is called Manapua and Benn, who just got back from Japan, tells me that it is known as Nikuman. Nice to have worldly friends.
(recipe)

The real fun came when I saw this though:

!!!

The Century Egg is something that I’ve heard of before and have been excited to try. This was the first time seeing it in a shop though, so I got all silly and excited.

From Wikipedia:

he century egg, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg, (Chinese: ??; pinyin: pídàn; literally “springy egg”, or, Chinese: ???; pinyin: s?nghu?dàn; literally “pine-patterned egg”) ; (Vietnamese: h?t v?t bách th?o) ; (???????????? khai-yiew-ma (in Thai)) is a Chinese delicacy made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. The yolk of the egg is concentrically variegated in pale and dark green colors while the egg white is dark brown and transparent, like cola. The yolk is creamy with a strong aroma and an almost cheese-like flavor. The egg white has a gelatinous texture similar to cooked egg white, but has very little taste. Some eggs have patterns near the surface of the egg white which are likened to pine branches.

Karen joined me by trying a curry turnover.

(Sorry for the poor quality of the cameraphone pics)

It wasn’t as clear or jelly-like as the pictures I’ve seen and it was sweeter than I’d imagined. This might be because of how it was baked or what it was baked in though. It tasted like a sweet and buttery plum-sugar concoction. The yolk part was more chewy and gelatinous than the white.

I’m still not really sure if it was a real Century Egg or a pastry version. The counter person told me her favorite was the Salted Egg though, so having both for some reason makes me think they’re the real deal.

We continued around Chinatown feeling happy and adventurous.

What we found:
New Harmony Bakery (google maps)
Total Cost of Date: $1.40 per person
Go for the steamed pork buns, go back for all the other pastries and the bubble tea, go crazy and try the preserved eggs! Very inexpensive. Friendly service.