Bad experience. The food had a weird taste, especially some meats and tofu, which I suspect weren't very fresh. So I tried to eat vegetables, but it was even worse that i found dirts in vegetable and mushrooms, very disgusting, I couldn't finish my meal and left. read more

I've eaten here 4 times and every meal was perfectly satisfying. They don't make the spice level too high so everything is tasty, seasoned, and easy to eat. I never get tired of each bite. Even on my last bite i'm still trying to eat more dry hot pot. My go to is the beef dry hot pot and the string beans. read more

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This spot is pretty good if u are craving for Szechuan cuisine. I personally like the Dan dan noodle and fried chicken that I ordered, but the frog leg dry pot was very salty. They have a big menu, offering a variety of dishes including dimsum so it's perfect to share among a group of friends. read more

Bai Wei - Fried Chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Went there for lunch with my family. The restaurant is nice and clean, seats between tables are spacious. Our favorite dishes are steam eggplant sprinkled with salted egg yolk on top (1st time had it), thin slice of fish (chewy texture), and the pork intestines with mild spicy (I have tried this dish in many different places and it just had this weird taste, like not clean enough). Father in law loves their pan fried pork dumplings (三煎包). Forgot to take pictures of those delicious dishes...will definitely take them and share the next time we go back. read more

Sunday lunch. We had three starters: the cold beef, spring rolls and xlbs with crabmeat. No surprise that the xiao long bao were our favorite. No tongs were supplied but managed to eat five without a broth mishap. The cold beef was tender. The spring rolls were standard. For our main courses we had the clams (a special) and the three cups chicken. Both were good if not outstanding. Only one of the small clams failed to open and the sauce was savory. The chicken was nicely done. The oolong leaf tea was excellent. The host and servers were vey nice. Cash or venmo only -- credit cards not accepted. read more

I came here with my boyfriend bc I was craving soup dumplings and Bai Wei definitely exceeded expectations. Bai Wei was a recently opened restaurant when I visited and the restaurant itself was small but decorative with great artwork. My boyfriend and I got the pork and shrimp soup dumplings, along with the Beef Drunk Noodes -- very tasty although I wished it was a bit spicer! The best part about the restaurant is that they also accept Venmo as a method of payment! The only negative thing that I have to say is that the staff/wait staff blocked off a couple tables for the staff to eat in front of the restaurant. When a customer comes in, the wait staff would stop eating, sit them down at a table, and then return to their own table to eat. I completely understand that it was their lunch break, but maybe do this in the back where customers aren't observing? I don't know if this has since changed but that was the only issue I had. Needless to say, the food was excellent and I will be back for some more dumplings! read more

Amazingly high quality Chinese food. My friends and I visited here during Lunar New Year weekend, and it was a great choice. Loved the vegetarian dishes like eggplant and string beans. The beef soup had really good glass noodles which a great spice kick in the soup. The chicken was also quite spicy (make sure you don't accidentally eat the peppers if you have a low spice tolerance!!!) We also ordered the thousand year egg, which came with eggplant. It was fun to mash it-they give you a pestle to mix the ingredients of the egg, eggplant and sauce together. That was probably my favorite dish because it was so rich with flavor. It's the move to eat family style eating here because the portions are so large, and you can try out all the various dishes they offer. The menu is large so try not be too overwhelmed. OH AND THEY DO NOT TAKE CARD- cash, venmo, and wechat pay are available. read more

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One of the best Chinese restaurants in Philly! Must get is the tofu-shrimp, beef with cilantro, and egg plant. read more

It's a decent option in Chinatown if you are looking for a "generalist" type fare as they serve Szechuan, Shanghai, Taiwan, and some Cantonese dishes. I would say that the quality is just okay. The variety is the draw here and they also offer a 10% Yelp check-in offer. The staff are fiendly but they seem very rushed as it was quite busy and there were only 2-3 waiters in the entire restaurant serving all the tables and taking takeout orders as well. Cash and Venmo only! A recap of the dishes: 1. Sweet osmanthus and sesame mochi dumpling soup: This was perfectly light, sweet, and refreshing with thin shreds of osmanthus and egg whites. The dumplings were fluffy and filled with sesame. They are smaller than normal but each was perfectly balanced bite of filling to shell. 2. Crabmeat and pork soup dumplings: These were kind of meh with a thick shell and barely any soup and filling. Maybe it was an off-day but I would suggest the other pan-fried options instead. 3. Pan Fried buns: These were better than the soup dumplings but the filling was pretty sparse and definitely could have been more generous in portion. 4. Pan fried dumplings: These were solid with a plump, juicy filling and nicely crispy pan fried shell. 5. Chive buns: Nice nd crispy with a flavorful egg and chive filling. The only thing that would have made them better would have been some vemicelli inside but pretty solid overall. 6. Stir-fried clams: Pretty flavorful clams albeit small ones. It's a bit on the salty side but still pretty solid. 7. Plum spare ribs: Fried sweet spareribs with sweet plums. Overall, a nice appetizer-sized option (the ribs are small). The meat is flavorful and pretty tender but the dish itself is not very filling so this is more of a starter vs an actual main entree. 8. Seafood tofu casserole: Mostly light silkn tofu with 3 prawns, some fishballs, and 3 pieces of surimi. This is very light but the seafood portion was tiny. The nice part is that it isn't oily at all but it's definitely not your traditional seafood hot pot. 9. Seafood udon: Stir fried udon with seafood in a traditional brown oyster-soy. This was pretty standard but it was branded as a Shanghai stir fried thick noodle and it resembled more of a Japanese stir-fried udon. It was just okay but a bit salty. 10. Marinated sliced roast beef: This was just okay. The beef was tender but slightly dry and didn't have that sweet and savaory marinade that is the hallmark of the 5-spice Shanghainese beef. 11. Seasonal stir-fried vegetables: This was light and refeshing and surprisngly one of the best dishes with sliced lotus, cauliflower, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, woodear, carrots, and asparagus. There was just a very slight coagulation of the corn starch thickener on some pieces but they were very busy tonight and likely understaffed in the kitchen so they were likely making this in a rush. read more

My friend and her boyfriend claim they visit here twice every weekend so I had to give it a try. Situated on the outskirts of philly chinatown, I completely missed this location the past times I visited Philly . We got the sizzling Japanese tofu with shrimp, beef in spicy chili sauce, and the chinese water spinach. Let's say I now see the reason why they like this place so much. First of all I have not yet found any other place that serves Japanese tofu in either Philly or DC, and it was one of my favorite childhood dish. Seeing the sizzling Japanese tofu on the menu already hyped me up, and I was definitely not disappointed by the taste of it either. It definitely brought back memories of when I had this in China. The beef in spicy chili sauce was perfectly within my spice tolerance range. The beef slices were really tender and easy to chew, and the flavor of the sauce really seeped in as well. I even enjoyed eating the bean sprouts on the bottom. Personally I do wish this dish was less salty, especially for this genre of Sichuan spice dish. The competition for authentic chinese food in Philly Chinatown is fierce, but I would still recommend giving it a try. It definitely checked all the checkmarks for a tasty Sichuan meal for me. read more

Bai Wei - Beef in Spicy Chili Sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The pan fried soup pork dumplings were raw. I had paid attention to reviews in the past mentioning them being raw and hoped this would have been improved so gave it a shot. when I cut in the middle I realized all of them were pink. read more

I really enjoyed bai wei! First things first, the interior of this restaurant is very clean and modern. The menu is a little pricier than what you usually see around Chinatown but for the atmosphere it's worth it! I got to try out the black truffle soup dumplings which were alright but cool to try. We also sampled the tangerine cheese cake and mango mousse cake. The mango cake was really great and unique but the tangerine cheesecake was not as great. I definitely think this place is worth checking out! read more

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Soaked wet beef dish Charged for a tiny sliver of rice? No Chinese restaurant are this greedy. Assume my tips and printed the bill with it. Rude! read more

Bai Wei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is a great lunch spot with quick service and tasty soup dumplings! Just one star short of five because the pork inside the pork soup dumplings were a tad bit undercooked. The crabmeat dumplings were excellent though. I don't know exactly what kind of sauce is given to use with the soup dumpling, but it has a nice citrus taste to it (reminded me a lot of Japanese ponzu). read more

Bai Wei - Veggie dumpling - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Bai Wei is not my cup of tea. We stepped in the restaurant and before anything else was said, some teenager abruptly said to us "cash and Venmo only". We already knew that from the paper sign scotch taped to the front door. Service was slow and seemed more interested in flirting with young female customers than serving food. When we sat down some guy came over to us and said "hello" unenthusiastically. He didn't say anything else. We said hi back and it was a little awkward until my girlfriend said we would like some water. We ordered dim sum and scallion pancakes that were recommended by the server. Dim sum is supposed to be ready to go when you order it but we waited like twenty minutes for it. They brought out what appeared to be Worcester sauce and ginger immediately but nothing else for a while. The food was just okay. The pancakes were pretty greasy and not very good. Dim sum was really hot but at least it wasn't bad. The menu was pretty expensive for what it was. Entrees priced around $16. If they were as good as everything else, definitely not worth the money. It got pretty crowded and loud so we paid and left. I wouldn't go back here unless I was really really hungry and there was nothing else open. read more

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great chinese dishes, authenticity is definitely there. service on the so-so side, as it took a while for us to get our check and also packaging for leftovers. water was not refilled a single time throughout our meal. read more

I wish we could do half a star because is it 3.5. The food was just okay. The best thing we ate was the Peking Pork. If everything had the attention and flavor that this pork dish had, this would have been 5 star rating. I would not make a special trip to eat here again. The restaurant is nice clean and comfortable. My dinner companions and I shared everything we ate. We all agreed the food wasn't bad but it wasnt spectacular. read more

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We went there on a Sunday at around 1:00 for lunch and it was super busy but for a party of two it was a 15 minute wait so that's not bad. The service was pretty slow but I'm guessing that because it was just so busy. The food was pretty decent. I really enjoyed the steamed dumplings and the scallion pancake. The chive pancake was good but not great. I have to say that anything that was fried was EXTREMELY greasy. Beware of that. Towards then end of our feast it became a bit much. The crispy fried fish was good too but I wouldn't order it again. read more

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The pan fried pork dumplings were unappetizing .They were not hot, they had yellow oil coming of the plate. Different coloring for each one. The pineapple green tea was to sugary and took 20 mins to get. Also here's a picture of the scallion. on pancake for most of the time we were here: At least it tasted pretty good. read more

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Bai Wei, previously Sakura popped up as one of the RESTAURANT WEEK options this winter. Bai Wei's restaurant week menu offered three courses plus dessert but we decided to order a la carte. The appetizers - pork soup dumplings, scallion pancakes, chicken in diced red pepper, the typical Chinese staples were decent, nothing out of the ordinary but the entrees truly sets them apart from other Chinatown haunts. With a terrific range of options, we got to experience a great range of Chinese food from Shanghai to Sichuan and more. The fish filet with peppercorn was one of the best fish dishes I've had in a while. The smelly pot with chicken and sichuan sauce scores high on presentation and taste. The dish has 'smelly' tofu, hence the name. You can choose to order this with less spicy sauces if you have a low tolerance for spice. The Japanese tofu and shrimp is another standout. The food is authentic, there are dozens of options, the portion sizes are huge and the experience in the end was very gratifying. The service was not quite at the same level but on this day, thus turned out to be a minor glitch in a hugely satisfying experience. read more

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Staff was very nice and attentive. I am rating two stars because of our Fried Dumplings and Fried Soup Dumplings we had for our dinner. Their skin was barely warm but the inside was warmer, thus i believe they had been sitting around and not freshly prepared? The dumpling was close to tasteless, and the Soup Dumplings was 'dumped' onto the serving plate in a disorganized mess! The steamed Soup Dumplings was good but not outstanding. The Scallion pan cakes lack flavor. The Fried herbs dumplings outstanding. Chicken Fried rice decent. Overall, editable to good food but not outstanding. read more

LOVE this place! One of my favorites for dumplings in the city. Pork soup dumplings are a must here. Casual, bright setting with lots of windows. read more

Bai Wei - Pork soup dumplings - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've been here twice now since they changed their name, and have been very satisfied with the quality of food I got. I tried out different soup dumplings each time (regular pork soup dumplings and pork soup dumplings with black truffled), and I was satisfied with the dumpling skin thickness, the amount/taste of the "soup", and also appreciate that they provided enough vinegar and ginger shreds to go with them. I didn't like how sometimes the dumplings would be stuck to each other and they end up rupturing before even getting off the rack. During my first visit, I tried out the lamb with cilantro (because I love cilantro), and it was so good I had to try the beef cilantro on my second visit, which also left me very satisfied. I think this place has a lot of interesting options on the menu which I am down to try in the future (might leave the famous stinky tofu dish to the last since I've never had a food like that before) read more

Not very spicy- but delicious! The cucumbers are crisp and fresh. The chili oil is slightly sweet with a bit of sesame flavor. read more

Bai Wei - Cucumber in Chili Oil - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great dumpling spot! Pork chili dumplings are spot on. Perfect spot for quick bite. Very good ambiance and service.

Bai Wei is the successor to Sakura Mandarin at the corner of 11th & Race in Chinatown, Philadelphia. Same ownership. Renovated and expanded dining room. Where the focus was formerly on excellent xiao long bao and other Shanghai delights, it has now expanded to include a strong taste of Szechuan and Hunan pepper and black bean hot dishes. I quite liked the old house, and returned late last week to see what the newly imagined kitchen held in store. From our exploration of the two dishes we ordered, it would appear Bai Wei (many tastes) has it going on. Their takes on crispy spicy chicken and cumin lamb dry pot were excellent. The chicken was loaded with red Szechuan peppers and small morsels of deep fried chicken. Enough to give our tongues a sincere capcesin workout and loosen our sinuses; stopping just short of bringing on tears. Completely addictive. The lamb, tender in a mix of chopped onion and more peppers and overwhelmed with a dusting of coarse cumin seed. Delicious. About as good as the best Szechuanese bowls I've found in the USA. The only downside was the continuing attempt by the staff at up selling our order. We were repeatedly asked about appetizers, drinks and rice - even after we declined multiple times. Sure, they want more money per customer, but it became excessive and annoying. But for that weird dynamic, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Just train your servers to accept the customer's wishes and you have a winner. read more

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Excellent fairly authentic Chinese, really excellent dishes and dim sum. A pretty nice atmosphere.

Been here many times when they were Sakura and then few times as Bai Wei. Seems like the food similar for the most part. The scallion pancake is usually buttery but wasn't today but still good. I like the texture of their scallion pancake, not too thick either. The pork soup dumplings are are good. The skin is a bit thicker than before but best in the area for now. Tried the spicy soup today for the first time, pretty good. Decor is light colored. Reminds me of a beach spot. Large painting of a an Asian couple having tea as the backdrop. Some booth seating. Only accepts cash, Alipay or Venmo. I actually like that they accept Venmo, wish other places did this too. ATM available in house. read more

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The food is decent here, I have been wanting to try this place out for a while now since I have always walked past it. I was told that the soup dumplings would take about 20 minutes to come out but it came out pretty quick! The service is good. The spicy beef noodle soup was not spicy at all which made me a little sad, but it was still good. Overall the experience was decent, nothing too special, maybe it's because I came in about 40 minutes before closing. But the interior is beautiful, it's clean and very modern looking, it is also very spacious inside. read more

Bai Wei - Beef noodle and soup dumplings - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Great dishes, food and services. Fist time visiting this restaurant and very I'm glad to be here!

Came on Saturday night around 7 pm. I have to wait about half hour. So maybe next time, you need to do reservation first. I'm not so sure what did we order, because my friend who made all the order for us. And he is speakin Chinese which I'm fully not understand. However the food came great and looks appetizing. The pork with soy sauce was not bad but need more cook to make it tender. I love the fish soup with the veggie. Dumpling soups is good too. We will be back read more

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Be wary of the 5 star reviews written by accounts with zero friends. I am very disappointed at both the service and food here. My server did not bring us water until I asked again and then they only brought one glass for the entire table. The food here is pretty bad as it is now run by a pasty chef. Don't be fooled by the new fancy decor. The food is anything but fancy. They should have funneled the money into hiring better chefs. We ordered the beef pancake, chili chicken, and Shanghai udon with pork. The beef pancake was sliced beef on white bread. The chili chicken was chilled and served in a warm soup, very spicy but why the heck was the chicken ice cold? The Shanghai udon was overly sweet and salty. No good. This place is cash only. I won't be back. read more

This place reminds me of Trader Joe's. On the packaging of the tj toilet paper, there's a cartoon where a man says, "if you like the brisket you should try the toilet paper!" Well if you liked the toilet paper you should look no further. It is the blandest and most tasteless Chinese food we have ever had. We went because we wanted something flavorful, and came out with sinking feelings. To make things worse, the meal of two courses cost more than 50. To pile on top of that, it was cash only. Miss the old Sakura. It was not the tastiest but it offered good value. The updated interior is welcome, but does not make up for the quality of the food. The dishes looked nice, though read more

Bai Wei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Tldr; a mid-priced comprehensive Chinese restaurant with decent food. Cash only, which is a little annoying if you are with a large group. I have no complaints with this restaurant. The restaurant was recently renovated and has a modern interior with lots of white and dark wood finishes. You can get entrees starting from approx $11 and all the way to 30's (for seafood, hot pot, etc). Service was pleasant and efficient and speak both English and Chinese. I ordered the chili oil dumplings and they were delicious! I also recommend the mango dessert, just for the cute factor. read more

Bai Wei - 4/5, chili oil dumplings - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I ordered the pork soup dumplings and marinated duck to go. I live about a block away from the place and when I got home the food was just luke warm. I expected it to be more hot since I literally was waiting for the food at the rest. and went straight home. The marinated duck was way overpriced for what i got. There was only two decent pieces and the rest were scraps and bones. Would not go back. read more

Not pleased at all... my husband & I are Dim Sum hopping today. This is the three place we stopped at!! Second was not worth mentioning... the food is not good at this location. -although, my husband loved the wonton soup! I found the spring rolls bland with little favor. Same for the Pork Wonton in Chili Sauce. Staff is neither friendly nor unfriendly, I am just not comfortable here. read more

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If you haven't tried soup dumplings yet, I highly encourage a trip to Bai Wei - Sakura Mandarin Restaurant in Philadelphia's Chinatown. It's not too far off the main drag, & there is a friendly parking garage next door. (Counter clockwise from top left): chicken garlic wonton in chili sauce, pork & black truffle soup dumplings, crab & pork soup dumpling, cucumbers in chili sauce, pork & leek fried dumpling, standard pork soup dumpling; finally crab & cream cheese wonton (Rangoon). Steph knew it was legitimate: "Um, Papi, there's no forks?!" Chopsticks only! There was a small language barrier with some staff, but that did not hinder any ordering or any part of the experience. They bring out your order piecemeal, and I really like that with this type of dining. It lets you sample and enjoy one dish at a time, and it's guaranteed piping hot and fresh. Like most true Asian restaurants, they leave you alone unless you directly ask them for something. This place is highly recommended. It's very close to the Drexel University campus. They are cash only, but do accept Venmo. We enjoyed everything and had zero leftovers. #rushieeats #rushie2point0 read more

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Delicious ! Delicious ! Delicious ... Restaurant is new and modernized. I had the beef with cilantro and also the seafood fried rice. Establishment is BYOB. 0 complaints. Service was great. I was seated right away. We be revisiting. read more

Waiter was friendly, quick service, and checked in a few times. Food isn't that spicy, so if you can't tolerate it then nothing to worry about. One of the best authentic Chinese food places in Chinatown Philly. read more

This has become a take out staple for me. The scallion pancakes are a must. The crispy and spicy fish filet still show up at my house mostly crispy. It's got that nice numb at the end spice! The soup dumplings, while tasty, tend to travel less well. The beef and bean curd casserole was overly greasy but the flavors are amazing. Definitely give this place a try. read more