Hong Kong and Peking Duck meet in Philly's Chinatown

Plus: What to order at one of Brooklyn's oldest diners, and 4 other restaurant recs from NY, NJ and Philly

Hey y’all - Rob Martinez here. I had to travel to the UK this week, so I’m having Jacob Does Philly start off the newsletter. I’m dying to eat at this spot!

Rec 1 - Philly’s 2nd-oldest Chinese restaurant can not be stopped

This past December, seemingly overnight, an excessive amount of steam rose from a sidewalk at the northern edge of Philadelphia’s Chinatown. It kept rising for days, seeping into Sang Kee Peking Duck House’s basement and damaging their electrical panel.

The city eventually fixed the issue—likely a leak in city-run below-sidewalk steam pipes—but in the four days Sang Kee was closed, the city rallied. The closure headlined local news and the storefront was packed in the weeks following their reopening.

That response was not random. It’s befitting of a community institution.

Owner Henry Chow’s father came to Philadelphia in the late 1970’s. Originally from the Guangdong Province of China, he spent a year in a refugee camp fleeing political persecution, before landing in Hong Kong. A former electrical engineer’s apprentice, his father encouraged him to learn a trade before immigrating to the US. This is how he took up roasting ducks.

In 1980, after spending a few years working in other Chinatown restaurants, Henry’s father opened Sang Kee - focused on Hong Kong Style Roast Ducks (featuring a sweeter glazed marinade) and Beijing Style Peking Ducks (with a crispier skin, and served with hoisin, steamed crepes, and spring onions).

As Henry told me, in China these would rarely be served at the same spot. But it just made sense here. Henry’s mother came over soon after, and they ran the restaurant together. A neighborhood institution was born.

Today it stands as the second oldest still-operating restaurant in Chinatown.

They’ve since added other items to the menu - my go-to wonton soup and some sichuan dishes. But real ones know, get the duck hanging in the window. - Jacob Does Philly

.📍 Sang Kee Peking Duck House
238 N 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

'Jacob Does Philly' is a Philadelphia transplant and food nerd who loves exploring his new community.

Rec 2 - The most fun eating experience in NYC right now

The best sit-down restaurant experience that you haven’t been to has no storefront, no waiters, and no water refills.

At Bosom Buddies, what there is, however, is Adrian single-handedly handling orders for every customer; one man grilling a near-unlimited choice of skewers over hot charcoal, completely at zen; rickety tables and plastic stools; and, in my opinion, the most fun eating experience in New York City right now.

Bosom Buddies isn’t doing anything new, throughout all the Chinese enclaves in New York City, (Chinatown, Sunset Park, LIC, Elmhurst, and Flushing) exists the quintessential skewer cart: bits of meat on wooden skewers, grilled over charcoal with the essential chili-cumin spice blend sprinkled over top.

What makes Bosom Buddies special is the symbiotic relationship it has developed with the community. Especially in the summer, as people want to spend their time outside, the space around the skewer cart on Broadway has developed into its own third place. People pull out the store-provided tables and chairs, bring snacks and drinks from other stores, and settle in for a night of feasting. The charred lamb and beef skewers go perfectly with beer from the convenience store across the street, and on weekends you’ll even see bottles of soju bought from the liquor store, sloppily half-hidden inside paper bags. You hear not just Chinese being spoken but also Korean, Bengali, Nepali, Thai, Indonesian, and Burmese. You see families with children nibbling on grilled meat while groups of friends smoke cigarettes into the early hours of the morning. Is it legal? Who cares?

The menu is long, and starting at two dollars a skewer, you won’t break the bank trying everything your heart desires. Beef and lamb are the classic options, but other favorites of mine include enoki mushrooms, grilled with a sweet paste brushed on; beef tendon skewers, savory and gelatinous, which I think pair perfectly with the beef skewer (take a bite of each for the ideal mouthfeel); and chicken gizzard, sweet and crunchy with no organ funk. There are squid skewers, either chopped up or just the tentacles, full of smoky flavor, and grilled garlic eggplant: Chinese eggplant butterflied and topped with a sweet garlic blend, so soft it pulls apart like noodles. Seafood might not be your first thought, but their char-grilled oysters and scallops, served on the shell and topped with cooked vermicelli rice noodles and the same garlic blend will have you reconsider all your preconceptions. Adrian might come over with some slices of complimentary watermelon that he cuts himself when he’s not inundated with orders from the never ending line.

Bring some friends, take a seat, get some beer, grab some snacks, order everything your heart desires. You’ll have a tough time getting up. - Naq Zamal

📍 Bosom Buddies
82-62 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens

Naq is a Bangladeshi-American Queens Native and member of Jhal NYC, a social entrepreneurship project looking to empower Bangladeshi immigrants through street food.

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