Next stop on this block of many restaurants is No. 1 Chinese. As with most American Chinese places, I wasn't expecting anything too radical. I think the best verdict one can give to most american Chinese restaurants is a binary one - good or bad. So, lets see which way the thumb rises shall we?
The inside of No. 1 Chinese is similar to the other Chinese restaurants we've been too on South Street - clean with a few tables and the menu (with pictures) on the wall. In addition to that menu they also had this train station type menu which was easier to read and looked cooler. Yes, I am clearly easily pleased.
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| NEXT ON PLATFORM A1, THE EXPRESS TO FRIED SCALLOPS! ALL ABOARD! |
I like ordering things that are not common menu items or things I've never seen before. I had apparently never heard of lemon chicken, so that is what I went for. So as we waited for our food, I tried to imagine what my dish would look like. This is what I was expecting...
Okay, so maybe my imagination or my paint skills need a little upgrading. Maybe both. The gist of it is that I was expecting some chicken in a sauce with lemon slices on it - something light and healthy looking. Well, this is what it really looked like.
So, deep fried chicken was a little far from my expectations. To say I was disappointed....would be a stretch of the truth. Look at all that fried chicken...
I was a little wary of the yellow coloured syrup that comes with it but I'm an all or nothing kind of gal (am I?), so bottoms up it was.
The chicken still looked appetizing and it also tasted very good. The batter was fluffy yet crispy and the yellow syrup was a lightly flavoured lemony concoction to drown the chicken in. Surprisingly this also tasted good re-heated the next day - less crispy but still delicious.
Upon leaving No. 1 Chinese, I noticed that they had a photo of the lemon chicken up on their wall...
I'd argue that also doesn't look like the real thing and I'm very glad I didn't see it before ordering because I probably wouldn't have ordered it.
So all in all, based on the one dish I had, this place was good - a definite thumbs up.
No. 1 Chinese
639 South Street
Philadelphia PA 19147
215-574-9639
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