Helmed by Szechuan cuisine focused Chef YongCheng Zhao, who earned a “National Master Chef” title in China, EMei is one of Philadelphia’s most highly rated Chinese restaurants. The restaurant is named for Mount Emei, the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in Szechuan province, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The menu has over 100 entries, including some American-Chinese classics such as General Tso’s Chicken, Hunan Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Beef with Broccoli and, the becoming hard to find, Pork Egg Roll. The menu also includes much less commonly seen options, such as; Famous Sichuan Spicy Offal Stew, Stir-fried Spicy Pork Kidney ‘Blossoms’ with Pickled Chili Pepper Sauce, Sliced Jellyfish Head with Vinegar and Scallions, and Duck Blood Curd in Spicy Pickled Chili Sauce. Since its opening in 2011, EMei has earned the Chef’s Pick from Food & Wine, 50 Best Restaurants from Philadelphia Magazine for 2023 and 2024, and Philly’s Best Sichuan Restaurant from Craig LaBan & The Inquirer.
The Wednesday night I was there, the restaurant was jam packed with a serious bar scene in the front of the house. The stand-out dish of the night was the Chilled Spicy Noodles, which are vegan flour noodles with a sesame-peanut sauce seasoned with chili oil and vinegar. The sauce was heavier on the sesame flavors than the peanut and with enough vinegar to provide brightness, but only a mild heat from the chili oil. The stir-fried snow pea leaves with garlic, were perfectly cooked but I thought this dish needed more seasoning. Unfortunately, the salt and pepper dry fried shrimp also lacked enough salt.
The Dumplings. EMei’s menu includes dumplings in chili oil, pork wontons in broth, wontons in hot chili oil, pork wonton soup, veggie dumplings, and pork and cabbage dumplings, all of which appear to be house made. The veggie dumplings were very vegetable forward, but like the snow pea vines these dumplings needed some more salt. The in-person menu does not list the filling ingredients and we were told these dumplings were vegan, but the online menu lists egg as an ingredient. The ingredient list also includes carrots, mushroom, cabbage, onion, ginger, scallions, and garlic. The pork and cabbage dumplings have a robust, thick wrapper and are filled with a dense pork meat ball with nappa cabbage and scallions mixed in. These dumplings were very juicy and the first one I blithely bit into exploded juice across the table. The best approach to these dumplings is to bite a small hole in the wrapper and suck the juice out. These pork dumplings were very tasty and well-seasoned, but I found the soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce to be far too sweet.
The Location: EMei is in Philadelphia’s Chinatown on Arch Street between 9th and 10th streets. It is rumored that EMei is expanding its base and opening a location in South Philadelphia in the East Passyunk corridor.
