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