Zhi Wei Guan: Magic Kingdom of Dough

(New rule: we know we are supposed to be reporting on eating in the Lehigh Valley, but the occasional side trip to Philly counts too, since it's sooo close!)

Last weekend husband and I went down to Philly and headed straight for Chinatown. If there's anything lacking in the Lehigh Valley, it's definitely authentic Chinese food...you can only eat so much of the take-out stuff. A quick search online led us to the Philadining blog, which introduced us to a few joints in the area. How did we choose? Um...proximity, since our stomachs were growling like crazy. And Zhi Wei Guan's "Magic Kingdom of Dough" sign was the first thing spotted and so, we trekked on in. Plus I'm a sucker for cute signs.

The small space was relatively quiet, with only two other tables seated. Looking around, it was a pleasant surprise to see that some actual effort had been put in the decor - colorful rice paper umbrellas dangled from the ceilings, lamps in the shape of little ships sailed across the walls. Soothing classical music played in the background. The dim sum menu was relatively small, but had our top favorites...shumai, shrimp dumplings, and steamed pork buns. Zhi Wei Guan is known for their pork juicy buns (or xiao long bao). Lots of noodle dishes featuring fresh, handmade noodles. For the adventurous (or just bored), you could also order bright orange carrot noodles, or bright green spinach ones.

Since this was a late lunch/snack, we settled on an order of classic pork juicy buns ($6.00 for 8 pieces), homemade shu mai ($5.00 for 4 pieces), and noodles with stewed herbed duck. I really wanted the deep fried buns served with condensed milk (Mmm) but decided I should save room for dinner. After we ordered, we watched as the kitchen staff churned out batch after batch of the petite pork buns, fingers moving deftly to shape the tiny folds in each one. Buns as fresh as you can get!! I started salivating.

First to arrive were the stewed herb duck noodles, a deliciously rich and fragrant dish...the noodles had just the right bite to them; firm but not too chewy. The duck was well-seasoned - sweet and scented with five spice (maybe some star anise, too). The bone-in pieces of duck were a little fussy, but nonetheless tasty. The little bit of bok choy made us feel better about the meat and carb meal we were about to devour.

Next up, our steaming hot pork juicy buns arrived with a little dish of slivered ginger in vinegar. Us greedy eaters both immediately proceeded to burn our tongues despite the warnings on the menu. These little buns were fantastic - good dough-to-pork ratio with lots of soup inside. To properly enjoy the bun, one must put the whole bun on a spoon, dribble some vinegar and ginger on, and then slurp and suck the soup out as you bite the bun in half. Mmm. I could eat these all day, but unfortunately we only got four each.

The shu mai arrived at some point while we were slurping our pork buns. Now we could understand why it cost $5 bucks for 4 pieces, these ones were huge! Also homemade, the shu mai were filled with tender, juicy chopped pork and shrimp. And when we asked for some chili sauce, we got this spicy homemade one...it tasted a little toasty-smoky, if that's possible. Also delicious!

Zhi Wei Guan will definitely be somewhere we revisit, and next time we'll branch out and try some of the other dishes on the menu - it's a positive sign when you like everything you've ordered. What's also great is that they don't try to do every possible Chinese dish out there. There's something to be said for sticking with what you do best.

Zhi Wei Guan
925 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 629-3848

Breakfast at Billy's Downtown Diner

We had our first diner-style breakfast in Bethlehem today. A 20-ish minute wait alongside a mingling of college kids, young families, a biker couple and a pair of older ladies boded well, we felt - if this mix were happy to stand and wait in one another's company, Billy's must be doing something right. A fast turn-around to compensate for the limited seating ensured that the steady stream of breakfasters and brunchers, overlooked by a smiling photo of Bill Clinton, were served just before hunger-induced fatigue set in. The menu, a mix of breakfast and lunch items, went over-and-above standard diner fare, with an extensive selection of omelettes, pancakes, sandwiches and salads. Notably lacking was a standard breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast), although we suspect one could be prepared at the diner's request.

The lead-with-a-noun (with optional adjective) approach to starting a sentence, typical of restaurant reviews, was temporarily abandoned when our food arrived - at this point we had more important things to think about. C had ordered stuffed french toast with fruit and whipped cream, the former of which came piled with a plentiful supply of the latter. As if she were afraid they would escape, C used her fork to spear as many strawberries and blueberries as could be managed in one mouthful and commented that they were delicious for the time of year. With his mouth full of hammy, cheesy, bacony omelette, P mumbled that the meat was also unusually delicious for the time of year.

For those with a fetish for detail: the french toast was prepared with two squares of texas toast, sandwiching a tasty melange of cream cheese and berries. Whipped cream, fresh strawberries and blueberries provided the base of the topping, to which could be added generic syrup from plastic creamer-like containers...perfectly fine for diner eating, but certainly not up to maple syrup standards.



The Pano's omelette consisted of three eggs, smoked bacon, ham and cheddar, was topped with sour cream (delicious) and was served with home fries and toast. C, who has a horror of overly symmetrical fries, thought they wonderful and helped herself to a sizable helping, but P found them, though yummy, a little soft and messy for his liking.

Coffee was plentiful; certainly not Starbucks, but who needs it? In these economic times we'd much rather spend our limited money on tasty food at local places like Billy's.

Billy's Downtown Diner
610-867-0105
10 E. Broad St. Bethlehem, PA 18018

Our Very First Post

Welcome to the Insatiable Stomach!

The Insatiable Stomach is a restaurant and food blog kept by a husband and wife team who are new to the Lehigh Valley and looking for yummy eats. We love food. And eating out. And cooking and drinking. When budget allows for it, we like to splurge on fancy meals. We also like to read about good food and where to find it...

The idea for the Insatiable Stomach was born one cold and boring winter night when two hungry people were sitting around, having a conversation like this:

"What do you want to eat tonight?"
"I dunno. What do you want to eat?"
"I dunno, but we have no groceries. Let's go out!"
"Ok, sure. Where?"
"I dunno. We need to find out where people eat around here. Isn't there a LV restaurant blog?"

Since we couldn't find such a blog, we are taking matters into our own hands...

Ok, some simple guidelines:

1) We are amateur reviewers. As with any review, this blog represents our personal opinions only. Don't get in a tizzy if you happen to disagree with us. We'd like your comments anyway!

2) We'll do our best to provide accurate information about the food, location, etc. But we're not going to do things like interview the staff and cooks. If you notice anything incorrect, please let us know.

3) This is a blog for everyone interested in food, so we welcome your comments and suggestions - hopefully this will become a resource for us all!