South Philly Review

One of the nicest things about living in Logan Square is meeting visitors from around the world. While strolling the Parkway, I see people, maps in hand, who need directions or I strike up a conversation while waiting for the light to turn green.

Last week, I noticed a looking at the flags flapping in the breeze and he asked why the city flies them.

This is how I met Bjarke Noesgaard, a 30-year-old law student from Copenhagen. He told me he just completed a semester at Tulane as part of an exchange program. The out-of-towner arrived here a few days ago after spending three weeks in New York City.

We chatted in front of The Franklin for nearly an hour and made plans to have lunch.

Since I have not been to Chinatown since Christmas Day, I did some culinary sleuthing and discovered Sakura Mandarin, a BYOB that once housed Ong's, one of my favorite Vietnamese places, had morphed into a Japanese/Chinese restaurant a few months ago.

A smiling woman showed us to a roomy table and we discussed the large menu. The place has changed. The walls are green with white trim. The tables were covered with plastic over linen and a small tray of Asian condiments were included along with small green plates, plastic chopsticks and paper napkins.

I brought two bottles of Yards Pale Ale since I wanted to introduce my new friend to a brew from Philadelphia. He declared it delicious.

As in so many Asian restaurants, the menu is large and it takes a while to sift through the dishes on the page. A pot of hot tea arrived as we made our selections.

Shanghai won-ton soup ($5.95) sounded special, but was nothing more than the run-of-the-mill offering you would find in any Chinese takeout. The skins were thick and tough, nothing like the handmade, transparent dumplings found elsewhere. They were filled with minced pork but lacked flavor. The broth was OK and there were a few sliced scallions floating on top.

We saw patrons eating what appeared to be steamed dumplings, but we're told they were pork buns ($4.95). The bamboo steamer contained five, round, ersatz dumplings made with dough similar to the won ton. They were filled with pork and, as I took a bite, water gushed from it onto my plate. They were OK. Soy sauce did little to enhance their flavor.

Next up was beef and string beans ($7.95). Small, thin strands of meat were added to the wok with tender greens stir-fried in a light brown sauce. I did not care for the flavor -- or I should say lack thereof. Some garlic and onions or scallions would've added a bit of punch. I also wondered why someone forgot to serve us rice with the beef.

I wanted to try a dish from the Japanese menu. Since Bjarke does not like raw fish, we settled on the monster roll ($11.95) that featured shrimp tempura. You needed a microscope to find the crustacean. A tiny tail portion was dipped into batter and fried. Placed inside a sushi roll, which was made from rice, it was wrapped in nori and filled with thinly sliced cucumber and bits of shrimp. There were two of these rolls, along with a few that were a bit different but filled with the aforementioned ingredients. These were topped with mashed salmon, tiny domestic caviar and strands of something crunchy but tasty. A creamy wasabi, along with a slightly sweet sauce, were placed on the plate.

Service was OK. One server never changed the plates -- which were filled with pools of soy sauce and wok juices -- between our courses. Finally, a woman arrived with clean ones.

The best thing about lunch was the Yards Ale. Then again, I have a newfound friend. I told him he may find Edward and me on his doorstep in Copenhagen next fall.

One tip of the toque to Sakura Mandarin.

Sakura Mandarin
1038 Race St.
215-873-8338