This place is clean and bright with good service on the day we went. The soup dumplings were terrific. The shrimp dumpling was pretty good (but the ground shrimp was mixed with krab-stick). We got chrysanthemum tea with are meal and it was fragrant and nice. The dumplings were served with a ginger black vinegar sauce and a sweet dark soy sauce. Note, the Chinese dumplings seem to be made in a modern Shanghai tradition, not a Hong Kong Cantonese tradition. read more

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Went with a large group--15+ and they accommodated without an issue (we called first, though). They have a back area so it was nice our group could have the whole area. The Soup Dumplings: In order of my ranking: 1. Steamed Crabmeat & Pork Soup Dumpling, 2. OG Steamed Pork Soup Dumpling 3. Skip the Black Truffle and Pork (you can't taste the difference and for some reason that disappointment makes me rank it lower than the OG pork soup dumpling. So save your $2. I would skip and maximize another item. Soft shell crab was a winner! Got multiple thanks from people who said, "wow I would have never thought of ordering this and it's so good, thank you." read more

Came across this place while staying in downtown and it was a great surprised. Diced Chicken with Hot Pepper was pretty good, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Seasoning on it was on point, a few places I've been to for the same dish makes it a little too salty. Another delicious menu item here is the Braised Pork Belly with Dried Beans. Pork belly was so tender, will melt in your mouth. Eating this over hot rice is amazing. read more

Bai Wei - Braised Pork Belly - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We really appreciated the service here, they were attentive, friendly, and helpful. The place was spacious enough we didn't feel like we were crammed in. The service was definitely 4 stars, and food more like 3.5 stars. We overall enjoyed and liked the food, my favourite being the spicy fried fish, but we all agreed the food here tends to be on a saltier side. I think even if they reduce 1/3 of the salt they will taste good (maybe better). We ordered chrysanthemum tea, which came in a large pot and that got guzzled down fast because of the high sodium contents. read more

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Food: Great! We ordered pan fried pork dumplings, dan dan noodles, diced chicken with hot pepper and pork wonton in chili sauce. All dishes were fabulous. highly recommend both dumplings! Service: very friendly & patient! Ambience: Clean, spacious, good music. read more

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I am a personal fan of Bai Wei, I've been there several times and also ordered through DoorDash and food is consistently good. The restaurant went over some renovations so the place is looking even better! Well done Bai Wei. Excellent choice. I personally recommend General Tso Tofu and chicken drunken noodles. read more

I take restaurant-ing seriously. Already in town, we planted ourselves on a park bench to read menus and reviews for what was an impromptu lunch. Our destination: Chinatown. It's easy to return to the place I like best, but I vowed to try as many restaurants as I could in the area. Bai Wei met my criteria. Rather than revert to typical wonton or hot and sour, we branched out with seafood tofu soup. Very mild with little flavor, barely enhanced with squirts of soy sauce. The seafood was primarily fake crab. A one-time deal for me. Then came two winning dishes: sesame chicken (cooked right, really tasty) and sauteed green vegetables. Based on my photo, the vegetables look like nothing special, right? Wrong! A variety of vegetables -- surprisingly, no bok choy -- served crisp with a light and delectable sauce that was practically invisible. Bai Wei doesn't accept credit cards. (There's an ATM by the entrance.) The menu has plenty of photos, making one's selection easier. The restaurant has more ambience than the hole-in-the-walls I typically gravitate to. And btw, if you want steamed rice, you have to order it. read more

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We were in Philly to see a Perfect Circle, Primus, and Puscifier at the Mann (incredible show), and needed to get some dinner. I gave a couple friends concert tickets for Christmas, and this friend wanted chinese. BaiWei was the first restaurant we saw, and they had a ramp (the front/main door has steps, but there's a side door with a ramp!). The restaurant was empty when we arrived, but filled up as we dined. It's decorated clean and modern, with a slight nod to Asia with some lighting and decor. Service was a bit slow, but everyone was super friendly and eager to please. We took the corner table and proceeded to eat some of the best Chinese food I have ever tasted in my life. They were out of the loofa dumplings, so we got the truffle ones. I didn't know you could eat loofa and now that I have been denied, it has been placed on my bucketlist. Apparently it tastes like a cross between a Cucumber and a zucchini. I was excited to try soup dumplings for the first time. I didn't do it right. The dumpling was way too large for me to put into my mouth whole. I was forced to cut into the dumpling, releasing all the soup... it was just a white woman fiasco and I am sure my difficulty is why the flavor of the truffle dumpling seemed lacking. But hey, now I know soup dumplings and I don't get along. I also got the Shredded duck with steam buns. INCREDIBLE. I'm a sucker for steam buns as it is, add duck and it's a trip to heaven. Jeremy had twice cooked pork which came with braised cabbage (it still had just a tad bit of crunch) that was on par, if not better than his all-time favorite double cooked pork at a restaurant in Timonium, MD. He also had the best EVER pork belly... big chunks of super succulent meat with a sticky glaze. If there was ever a perfect food... this dish hit all the high marks. Our friend got black pepper steak, which he loved. I appreciate that rice did NOT automatically come with our meals. It was offered, but why fill up on rice when there's so much amazing food on the table already? Our friend had the best day and hasn't stopped talking about our incredible meal. I love when that happens - when you get to have a top notch experience with someone who is equally impressed. My one regret was not bringing more money. There were loads of other dishes that I would have loved to have tried. Would absolutely recommend read more

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Such a delicious meal! I wanted to explore Chinatown and walked into Bai Wei on a whim. Can honestly say it's some of the best Chinese I've ever had. We ordered the pork soup dumplings, drunken noodles, and pan fried dumplings. All of them were very flavorful and the best part is everything tasted FRESH. Each dish was served very hot which is a huge plus for me. The service was nice and the ambiance was simple, no frills. I will 100% be returning! read more

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Good food with great service staff. It's not a fancy restaurant. We had two kinds of soup dumplings - pork and loofah, Dan Dan noodles, shredded duck with scallion, hot oil wontons. All were great, especially the hot oil wontons. read more

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I visited with two friends for Monday night dinner, and the food was absolutely delicious! Bai Wei offers an extensive menu of dishes from Sichuan- and Hunan-style recipes, so there's a meat or veggie dish that can please each member of a crowd. When I visited, they had a bonus menu where we got a free order of soup dumplings after purchasing $50 worth of food. Each main dish was flavorful and juicy. The beef was my personal favorite dish, but I was drawn to the cauliflower as well. My fish was also battered and fried well, and no food was dry or oily. I was sad that they didn't have water spinach at the time when I visited, but I'll certainly aim to order it next time I revisit (and it's definitely worth going again!). Just a note: Dishes don't come with rice automatically, so you'll need to ask for it which comes for $1 per bowl. You're able to pay for your meal via cash, Venmo, or card; the last option, however, comes with a 3% surcharge. read more

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This is a spot serving Chinese food at the end of a block of restaurants in Chinatown. Decent ambiance and picture menu, which is nice for people that are not familiar with Chinese food. We got the steamed pork soup dumpling, diced chicken with hot pepper, and drunken noodle with beef. The diced chicken with hot pepper had more breading than chicken. I would not get this again. The drunken noodle with beef was more like a beef chow fun with more vegetables (bell peppers) in it. I appreciated the additional veggies but the dish was not remarkable otherwise. Overall, the food was fine but I wouldn't go out of my way to come back. read more

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Food was very good, especially the Sizzling Japanese Tofu with shrimp. The silken tofu was fried to perfection. The Snow Pea Leaves with Shrimp & Scallop was also very good. The leaves were very fresh & crunchy. The service was fast & efficient & very helpful. The place was clean & attractively decorated. read more

My husband is gluten-free and there were so many options! Finally could have sesame chicken again. I'm a vegetarian and the dumplings were out of control, cucumber, salad, divine, and their soups are great.. I feel like I could go there for multiple nights in a row and never exhaust the menu options. I wanna try. read more

Serious food safety issue -- I found a long, sharp metal wire in the Snow Pea Leaves with Scallop soup. I had already eaten part of the dish before noticing it, and if swallowed, this could have caused serious injury. This is a major food safety hazard, not just a quality issue, and is very concerning. read more

Bai Wei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Came here after many years and the flavors hit the spot. The loofah soup dumplings were a surprise hit. read more

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best Chinese food I've had!! absolutely delicious. everything was cooked perfectly! The server was very gracious and helpful.

Bai Wei, formerly Sakura Mandarin, offers classic Sichuan, Hunan, and Shanghai-style fare in a classy, modern environment without the hassle of fine dining attire. The interior features pristine white walls, soft lighting, red Chinese lanterns, and black tablecloth tables. * Shanghai Stir-Fried Udon with Chicken $14.00 This was easily the best dish that we had on the entire trip. The noodles were thick and bouncy, the chicken was soft, lean, and tender, and the mushrooms and bok choy were incredibly fresh. Furthermore, unlike other Shanghainese restaurants, their noodles weren't too salty or oily. * Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings (6) $8.50 * Steamed Crabmeat and Pork Soup Dumplings (6) $9.50 The soup dumplings were decent, with thin skin and juicy pork filling. Between the two, I definitely recommend the pork-- you don't really taste the crab much anyway. **10% off your order if you check in on Yelp! read more

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Clean environment, cash only establishment. Many dishes are premade so they taste okay when it's hot but not very good when you order take away or if you have any leftovers. Great for group gathering since they have a private room, and the price is reasonable. This place is BYOB. read more

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My friend and I came to Bai Wei for dinner. Despite the restaurant being half occupied with patrons, the service was quite fast. We were promptly seated, and service remained fast during our visit. The food is likewise pretty good, with many menu items being dim sum items. I had a hot and sour soup along with some dumplings. The dumplings were moist and flavorful, while the hot and sour soup was savory and filling. Nevertheless, the food here seems to be on the greasy side, especially with the dishes my friend ordered. Overall, Bai Wei serves decent food paired with good service. It's a good place to eat at, but I wouldn't go out of my way to dine here. read more

Bai Wei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Classic Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. The soup dumplings are solid, the chicken lo mein is classic and deserving of the "most popular take out dish," the trio dish of chicken, beef, and shrimp, and mapo tofu is classic. For around $70 this is well worth it to easily feed a family of four! Cheers! read more

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If you want some expensive but authentic Chinese cuisine, make your way here. They serve dim sum like items such as scallion pancake and soup dumplings. Generally pretty well made. My favorite dishes include: chili oil cucumber (kinda expensive), pork dumplings, assorted mushroom plate, Japanese sizzling tofu. They have an interesting list of drinks like cheese foam ice tea. Highly recommended for a first date. The ambience isn't too loud and it's very simple, wouldn't be too long of a wait. Great for parties smaller than 6. Overall they're on the expensive end, you be surprised by the bill and you wonder what did you order for all this! Still it's Shanghai flair if you haven't had it yet it's a must try! read more

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Bai Wei was such a wonderful experience! The staff were incredibly warm and friendly, and the food was full of flavor and beautifully prepared. I could have eaten their rice for dessert--it was that good! The warm tea was perfectly comforting and rounded out the meal. An absolute must-eat if you're in Chinatown, Philly! I'll definitely be back. read more

Bai Wei - Beef with Cilantro, side white rice and Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings and Long Jing tea. - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Very solid Chinese restaurant. The ambience had a homely feel to it. the service was quick and efficient. The food was very tasty. I had the ma po tofu and crispy and spicy fish. Both dishes were quite vibrant and bursting with flavor. The fish also had a great crisp to it, even with it being in a to-go container. I would definitely order from here again when I'm in Philadelphia. read more

Bai Wei - Crispy and spicy fish, and ma po tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Went back tonight with a table of 9. Plenty of room on a Saturday night, nice round tables for groups, BYO, and they take Venmo. Gotta love it. In addition to the dishes I mentioned last time (all still really good), I'll add these were particularly delicious: - clams with crispy beans - beef in spicy chili sauce - eggplant with egg and pork My kids also went nuts for the shrimp shumai. read more

I really enjoyed eating here! I found the service to be painfully slow but the food made up for it. The cucumber in chili oil was so delicious I could have ate myself sick with it. The spring rolls were perfectly crispy and flavorful. The dumplings were good, I prefer pan fried and these had a good crust on one side but super soft and chewy on the other. The pork filling was pretty good. I wasn't offered a refill on my water until after I asked for the check. They also don't accept card here so come prepared with cash or Venmo! read more

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Cash only, but the food was fresh and I really had no complaints except on the scallion pancakes, they were very greasy. read more

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Good food in a pretty spacious and clean restaurant! We were pleasantly surprised by the good amount of spacing between the tables when we entered. We got soup dumplings (6 per order) and crispy and spicy fish fillet plus a side of rice. The soup dumplings were solid! The skin was average in thickness, and I was happy with it--it was not too thick, but strong enough that the dumplings all stayed intact / didn't stick to the steamer paper or rip. I appreciated the good amount of soup and the broth flavor. The filling was not dry or fatty and hit the spot! I also really liked the crispy and spicy fish fillet. It was similar to the preparation of fish and chips but had a good amount of spices and salt. I really liked the little pieces of onion, green pepper, and sweet-tasting garlic. One thing to note is it isn't actually hot-spicy, it's just flavorful-spicy. Overall very satisfying meal in a nice environment! Be sure to use the Yelp check-in for 10% off your order! Also, they only accept cash, venmo, and Alipay. read more

Bai Wei - Crispy and Spicy Fish Fillet - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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It's been awhile since I dined at Bai Wei, but finally returned and had dinner the other night. Ordered some new and old things. Steamed shrimp and vegetable dumpling, Sesame chicken, and Drunken noodle with shrimp. Everything tasted great and hit the spot. Sesame chicken does not come with rice. This place is byo band cash/Venmo only! read more

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Bai Wei has nice aroma and atmosphere as you come inside and sit down at the table. Staff quick to. One over and assist with ordering your meal. There is large variety of classic dishes. They have very good dumpling mix of steamed and fried, it was a very tasty mix! Crumbled pork, noodle, cucumber dish, and other all tasty. Was good value and also there is lunch special. Thanks read more

Bai Wei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I think the soup dumplings here are much better than Dim Sum Garden! Definitely an underrated spot! The service is quick and the restaurant seems clean. read more

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Came here a couple weeks ago with a party of 8. There is a lot of seating for a late lunch. Service was slow for the amount of customers in the restaurant, but there was only ~2 waiters/waitresses. Regarding the food, it is on the pricier end of Chinese food, but the taste did not disappoint. The truffle fried rice was one of the most flavorful fried rices that I have had in a while. It doesn't look as pretty as their menu advertised it but it was plenty of food. Would definitely recommend trying it! They also give quite a lot of meat in their noodle soups. I got it during a gloomy/rainy day and it hit the spot... The sesame chicken was like a version of orange chicken with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The crust was thin, so you really get to taste the chicken. They accept CASH or VENMO only!!! read more

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Food was good, service is there, not too busy and was a nice lunch spot. Salt was lacking but maybe it's our taste buds that are just fried. read more

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My friends and I visited Philly for a weekend and were scouting some good eats in the heart of Chinatown. We were craving Taiwanese dishes for brunch and decided to try Bai Wei, recommended by another friend. When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted and promptly seated. This was on a Saturday morning around 11am. The restaurant gets plenty of sunlight which I love and has a lot of seating available. We browsed the menu and finally decided on some steamed pork soup dumplings, fried pork soup dumplings, and Taiwanese beef noodle soup. When we started eating, I was taken back by how good everything tasted. It definitely hit all the right cravings we were looking for and we were really enjoying our time. The service was good and our servers checked to make sure we had enough water or if we wanted anything else like dessert. Overall, we had a great experience at Bai Wei and hope to visit again and try something new for next time! read more

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Bai Wei (Chinatown, Philadelphia) Second time coming to Bai Wei but first time eating family style!! Some of a dishes were a bit saltier for my liking but overall good and quality was amazing. Definitely a place to come back to if I want traditional chinese dishes. read more

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Accepts cash. Please note that at the time, they did not accept credit card. Not sure if this will change in the future. Located inside Chinatown, I came here one weekend with family and decided to give this place a try. We ordered several dishes and the food here was really good. Very authentic. Decent place to take friends and family if you are in the area. Just be sure to remember to bring cash with you. Also, if you enjoy soup dumplings, they do offer it here. If you have tried various soup dumplings, you KNOW when you tasted a delicious soup dumpling. And I can admit that the soup dumplings here are worth the trip. read more

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You need to try every item on the menu because it's so delicious. My favorite is the salt and pepper crab, mixed vegetables and scallion pancakes. The mural on the wall makes the customers feel as if they're in China, very cozy and welcoming vibe. The servers are always attentive and very patient with some of my vegan friends' requests. Highly recommend this place! read more

Bai Wei - Salt and Peppered Soft Shell Crab - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We've passed Bai Wei/Sakura hundreds of times and never wanted to check it out. This last weekend though, we decided to give it a shot. Sadly, our preconceived notions of the restaurant was confirmed. Subpar food at high prices. We ordered the marinated duck, the House Special Spicy bowl and the mushroom dry pot. The food was bland and the portions were on the smaller side for the prices they were charging. I was also annoyed that there were no variety in the mushroom dry pot. There was only one type of mushrooms stir fried, and not the quality kind. On top of that, you have to pay for rice?!?!? Never have I eaten in a restaurant in Chinatown where I have to pay for rice. Rice is FREE when you buy dinner from a restaurant! Do yourself a favor and skip this place. There are plenty of better options not far from Bai Wei. read more

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I love nearly everything on their menu... and by this point I've nearly had everything on the menu! I usually visit with a friend or two, but finally attended with a small crowd this weekend. After another excellent experience, I wanted to get a review in. Bai Wei offers a selection of Szechuan and Dim Sum. While the dumpling and dim sum selection is limited, what they have is amazing. Of course I'm going to tell you to get the crab and pork soup dumplings! On the Szechuan side, you have all sorts of dry pot, stir fry, and pepper based dishes. My top recommendation is the Lamb (or Beef) Cilantro. It was a hit for our group of six this weekend. A dish I was surprised I loved so much was their assorted mushrooms. The cumin dry pot is tasty and not as spicy as I suspected it would be and the eggplant is another solid order, especially for vegetarians. Service is polite and quick. Since Bai Wei is also a BYO, they won't rush you out as you relax to finish whatever it is that we brought. Worth noting, they only accept cash or venmo! read more

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This place is cash only but has an ATM. Service is hit or miss. Recommended dishes: Truffle soup dumplings Truffle fried rice Braised pork belly Taiwanese Noodles Dishes to skip: Pan fried dumplings read more

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