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My favorite place to lunch while shopping in the Reading Terminal Market is the counter at Sang Kee. Its piping hot bowls of wonton noodle soup with bok choy warms me up on cold days while a platter of steamed dumplings, spring roll and fried rice is my go-to lunch when the weather warms up.
I’ve been to Sang Kee Peking Duck in Chinatown and was delighted to find two more locations were added to the Sang Kee family.
Sang Kee Noodle House, which is located near Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, is providing students with tasty inexpensive meals. The atmosphere was boisterous on both my visits but I didn’t care. It was so good to see young people having fun. Sang Kee is keeping them away from goring on too much fast food.
The atmosphere is quite different at the Wynnewood-based Sang Kee Asian Bistro. I grew up there and it remains a place for families. The dining room is large and the counter, which runs along the open kitchen, is kitted out with small televisions and remote controls. Both locations have a liquor license and offer complimentary tea.
Prices run from $1.50 to $24. The average entrée is in the $11 to $15 range.
I enjoyed the hot and crispy spring filled with fresh chopped vegetables and the steamed dumplings, which were plump pillows filled with a choice of pork, chicken or vegetables, at both locations. The appropriate dipping sauces provided a bit of sweet or vinegar. Wonton soup is always made with homemade chicken broth. Sang Kee’s version was fashioned with feather-light dough so thin you could read a newspaper through them. The wonton were filled with a mix of minced pork and shrimp. I sometimes ask for extra scallions because I like my soup that way. Hot and sour soup is rich and thick with mushrooms and tofu, which I do not mind if it is swimming in a spicy broth. It adds flavor while the tofu adds texture.
A pan-seared lobster roll was prepared with fresh seafood. I asked the waiter if any “fake” seafood was included and he smiled, knowingly, with a “no, of course not.” Fried shrimp balls also are a tasty way to begin lunch or dinner. On one occasion at the Wynnewood location, I found them a bit too dry. The scallion pancakes at the Noodle House arrived cool and greasy. One that same visit, our server advised the house ran out of duck. Disappointment came over Edward and I because Sang Kee makes the best duck in the city. I often ask the owners at the Reading Terminal location to hack one up for me to bring home.
Luckily for Edward and I, Hong Kong roasted duck was available at the Wynnewood location. It rated a 10 out of 10.
“This duck is on the bone,” our waiter told us.
“That’s the way we like it,” Edward replied.
Our waiter set before us a magnificent platter of meaty, juicy, perfectly roasted duck that emitted a heavenly aroma. I adored the plum garlic sauce, a yin and yang of sweet and slightly pungent which enhanced our dinner.
Asian restaurants are, by nature, a safe haven for vegetarians. I noticed a chicken dish prepared with asparagus and asked our waiter if the chefs could stir-fry some for us.
Local asparagus are in season. These thick-and-plump beauties were bathed in the right touch of garlic sauce. You get a choice of white rice or brown rice. Brown rice it is. It has a distinctive nutty flavor and slightly crunchy texture that goes well with any dish.
Fortune cookies? Why not. Although they are an American invention, the dishes at Sang Kee Noodle House and Sang Kee Asian Bistro are authentically Asian, with a strong salute to Hong Kong.
Two-and-a-half tips of the toque to Sang Kee Noodle House and Sang Kee Asian Bistro. SPR
Sang Kee Noodle House
3549 Chestnut St.
215-387-8808
Sang Kee Asian Bistro
339 East Lancaster Ave.
610-658-0618
49998604
49998609
