Ming River Sidewalk House

Had pig liver with rice and vegetables in a sweet sauce. Very good. I want to try the peanut noodles and the fish ball soup next time. Fuzhou food. Thank you.

A very homey and authentic Chinese restaurant! Trust me on this because I’ve been eating here since I was in Kindergarten(I’m a college student now!) If I were to count how many times I’ve been here it’ll definitely be way over 100 times. They’ve basically watched me grow up throughout the decade. It got to the point where the owners know my order the moment they see me(Large wonton bowl or small wonton bowl with peanut butter noodles). It does help if you can speak Chinese so you can communicate easily with the staff member, but the food here is definitely the one thing I come here for because it makes me feel at home. The food is so cheap here too! The most I’ve spent here was $14 because I ordered 3 different dishes.

One of the best hidden gems in Chinatown! This little restaurant is our go-to for authentic Fuzhounese comfort dishes at really great prices. 3 dishes for less than $10? #WorthIt (just make sure to bring cash) You can go in, grab a menu and seat yourself. Call the hostess over once you’re ready to order and chill. We always get the wonton soup with mini wontons and the peanut butter noodles (pictured). Other faves have been the oyster pancake which is a crowd fave and many people like the taro cake.

The menu prices are wrong. We ordered $3.5+3.5+2+11= 20 but total is 24. We gave her 27 and she didn't return change. This is expensive price for cheap food. Noodles and peanut butter cost $<1 to make but they charge $8. The lamb with rice, the lamb is cheap part of the animal. Chewy and not appetizing. Won't come here again.

came here since i was a kid to get peanut noodles -- always hits the spot everytime. lady also makes me fried eggs on request too. love this place

Best mini wonton soup in the whole Philly Chinatown. I'm a super fan of Chinese mini wonton soup. Whenever I go to Chinatown, I always have at least one bowl. From my experience, their wonton soup is the best in Chinatown and all the surrounding suburbs around Philly. Get your cash ready though. The only reason I didn’t give five stars is: they didn’t update the price on the menu. Everything costs a bit more than what’s listed on the menu.

My all time favor as a Fuzhou kid from overseas. I don’t care what other people said, they had been my homesick comfort for over few decades. They known for no full service but don’t mean they are rude also they don’t require tip too so why people requesting so much from hard working people , they are busy help so help yourselves. Food always consistent, quick on point that’s all you need for a casual food place in Chinatown , be thankful they not turn into those pre made meals restaurant and sell you craft made price, be grateful they are still here

Food is fine. But horrible experience, felt like i was scammed. Menu prices listed on the paper menu they provided would have added up to $36. When bill comes around, my party gets told the actual menu price has gone up and there was no indicator of this. Bill became 45 dollars instead. Examples given was the 3.50 peanut noodles were actually 8 dollars. Complete fraud.

Grabbed a couple of items to go on a Sunday morning as part of a quick Chinatown breakfast food tour with friends and service was quick and easy. The peanut noodles were a bit bland and the noodles were a little too overcooked for my taste, but the mini wonton soup was super flavorful and the wontons were delicious. Highly recommend those for anyone looking for a quick bite in the Philly Chinatown area!

Best mini wonton soup in the whole Philly Chinatown. I'm a super fan of Chinese mini wonton soup. Whenever I go to Chinatown, I always have at least one bowl. From my experience, their wonton soup is the best in Chinatown and all the surrounding suburbs around Philly. Get your cash ready though. The only reason I didn't give five stars is: they didn't update the price on the menu. Everything costs a bit more than what's listed on the menu.

We stopped by for a snack of oyster pancake while we were shopping in china town and this place did not disappoint! Oyster pancakes was made fresh and was pipping hot! Crunchy and hot with a good amount of filling inside and so affordable! We will definitely be back to try more of their menu and will stop by regularly for another one of their oyster pancakes!

Food: The food here is pretty solid if you stick with the fujianese staples. This time around I got the ding bian hu with seafood. It was really homey and they actually give a decent amount of seafood despite not being able to see much in my pics. It pairs well with one of their fried items. I opted for the foo chow pancakes. These were also really great. The batter was light and airy and had a good crunch. Tastes great with the vinegar. From the other times I've been here, the beef tripe noodle soup was good, and their peanut butter noodles, fried dumplings and the oyster omelets are musts for first timers. Service The service is what it is. It helps if you know some mandarin. They're cash only. Ambience: The interior is quaint. Good amount of seating.

Chinatown in Philly continues to spoil me with the amount of regional Chinese options that you can try and taste for yourself. Here at Ming River, you can try some great Fuzhou food famous in Southeast China across from Taiwan. The restaurant is a bit small and feels more like a cafeteria than anything. However, you don't come here for the ambiance but for the home-cooking style cuisine you can't get anywhere else. My dinner date with my old friend ended up here at her favorite restaurant in town. Prices are "cheap" on their extensive menu and she recommended that we try at least one stir-fry noodle and soup. We ordered two Oyster Pancakes ($1 each), Pig Liver Soup, and their Vermicelli Noodle Stir-Fry. I was immediately a huge fan of the soup and was happy that we ordered the tangy stew. Overall, our dinner was good and I was satisfied with the flavors and quantity. Quick note - After reading up on some review's about the cost and payment, it made me rethink our bill and the amount I ended up paying. We also did not receive an itemized receipt with prices and after paying, I realized that the numbers seemed higher than what I had thought. FYI- we ordered about $22 worth of food but were charged $27... is $5 for tax reasonable? Ask for the menu and receipt and avoid another issue here. Make sure to also have cash for this establishment.

The lady who onws this restaurant is greedy and terrible. She charged a dish of simple vegetable for 22 dollars. The price is twice higher than menu. Don't come.

This restaurant is not authentic southern taste, the owner is very unfriendly, and she even argues with customers when she places the wrong order. The real oyster pancake inside should be Chinese cabbage and some oysters, but they put a lot meat inside , also they change price but still using old menu, and charge without customer knowing , they cheat customers!!! DO NOT GO TO THEM!

The food is fair enough, but we ordered noodle and rice plus 2 sides, the bill ended up to 46 usd! When I checked the price with menu, the lady explain that price is not the current price and each dish already increased the unit price by 3-4 dollars. I don't appreciate the way they do business and will not come again. Shame on that.

Wonton soup has no taste at all . Authentic fuzhou wonton soup use bone broth . The peanut peanut sauce is too thin . It needs to be thicker

It is one of the few places to get a Fuzhou breakfast in Chinatown. The food was pretty good but I expected more flavor from the ding bing hu (almost like a porridge). The food came out quick and was very filling. Also it was all a great price.

MUST ASK FOR YOUR BILL! The lady would add up some additional charge to your total price! This is the only place I could find my hometown taste which is closest to where I live, yes, 3.5 hours driving without traffic. Whenever I come to PA, or pass PA, I would always stop by here. The price on the menu was good(if she didn't added some "additional charge" on your bill). The food was very tasty and it's transitional Fuzhou style food. This time I ordered several dish and was told the total was $26, I gave her $30 and told her to keep the charge. I never thought the bill was wrong until later I added up all the amount together when I was driving. I know I would still come back whenever I go to or pass PA. But I will definitely ask for bill or calculate it before I pay. Oh, do not expect any customer service. The lady has some attitudes, really impatient and get annoyed at whatever you ask her.

Hello yes I know I'm black lol, walking into this establishment all eyes were on me and my 7yo sdaughter... not a cruel evil feel just an awkward "are you sure you're in the right place" look.. after 10 long seconds an older woman asked did I need "help" i wasn't sure if this was strike 1 or 2 at this point. I asked for a menu and to be seated and she just pointed... (that was definitely a strike) the restaurant screamed Chinese store and that's exactly the prices I was looking for. I ordered chicken lomein for my daughter,(we both shared it... it was good the noodles seemed to literally soak up all the seasonings perfectly, at first glance you'd think they are dry) the fried pancake thing everyone else seemed to have(I thought it would be like a scallion pancake... not at all, that was awful) a duck soup (which I thought was a pho but they use a different type of noodle still good) and pork dumplings(juiciest dumplings I've ever had, fried just right) They only took cash so I went across the street to the gift shop... nothing was wrong with the bill it added up just right with 8% tax and I gave them a $5 tip... The second time I returned it was a lunch break I remembered it was cash only and only had their magnificent dumplings again can't beat it st $10! Still those awkward looks though.. this time the customer service was much better from the older woman.

Fujianese is one dialect that I don't understand and it's so frustrating because I have so many questions about the menu and dishes. We are hooked on their soup - ones w/ Chinese herbs w/ different kinds of meat. Here, we chose with pig feet and stomach. While it looked disappointing- it was rich and flavorful. Loved that two pieces of the pig feet were of the toes! Also had the stir fried rice noodle w/ pig intestines - again, looks blah but simple and delicious with Napa cabbage and eggs.

One of the worst restaurants I've been to. No water or tea was served before the meal and the food tasted weird. When I asked the owner why she was charging me more than the listed menu price, she said the menu was not updated. Never going there again. Plenty of better restaurants around so don't waste your time!

Don't you hate it when an unexpected surprise on your bill spoils an otherwise amazing meal?! That's exactly what happened when I came here this past weekend. I had been wanting to try Ming River for the longest time after my dad raved about how this was the best Fuzhou food he's had outside of China. Our group ordered a ton of items from the Fuzhou Specials section of the menu and thoroughly enjoyed everything. My absolute favorite was the guo bian hu, which I haven't had in years and totally brought me back to eating it growing up. I also really enjoyed the peanut butter noodles and meat dumpling soup. The flavors are delicate, simple, and homey, and it's exactly the type of food you want when your taste buds have been overwhelmed by the oilier and saltier foods other restaurants serve. And what's even better is that everything is super affordable. Nearly all the items from the Fuzhou Specials are under $5, which means you can try a little bit of everything without feeling guilty. So why 3 stars? Because we were completely overcharged and given the worst reason for it. When we asked for the bill, our server told us the amount without actually bringing a bill over, which isn't that unusual for such a small place. However, $38 was higher than expected so we asked for an itemized bill. The hand-written bill she gave us had no prices next to the items, so we then cross-checked everything we ordered against the menu prices and totaled it ourselves. The bill was in fact too high, and I waved her over again to tell her there must be a mistake. She proceeded to tell us in an annoyed and impatient tone that their prices recently went up and there was no mistake in the bill she gave us. SAY WHAT? First of all, why would you not tell us this when we spent 10 mins looking up the menu prices and adding up the bill in an attempt to double check the math? Secondly, how are YOU annoyed at US when we were clearly misinformed by YOUR menu? And finally, shouldn't any decent business honor their menu prices, especially if they gave no indication that prices have since changed? At that point, we were all so irritated we just paid and left as quickly as we could. Would I come back though? Probably, actually, because the food really was that good, and you really can't find this type of Chinese food easily here. Would just make sure to ask about prices upfront next time and know exactly what to expect on the service front.

Venturing out from our normal lunch spots, a friend and I decided we would just try out a random spot that we haven't been to before. Ordered the stewed oxtail, this wonton soup appetizer, and a pork dish - all of which were pretty disappointing. Maybe we should have yelped what to order ahead of time instead of guessing at what might be tasty. Everything we ordered was so so terrible. Oxtail was sad - just pieces of meat floating in flavorless broth (definitely not what I expected), wonton soup tasted like rice paper dipped in water w/ a hint of seasoning, and the pork dish just reminded me of the corner store sweet and sour pork. I wont fully dismiss this place, but for now I would consider it a definite fail.

This is the most authentic shop I've found in the US for their Fu Jian wonton soup. The wontons are suppose to be tiny with just a little bit of meat. Add some hot oil and it's perfect. The meat wonton soup and Guo Bian Hu are delicious as well.

Authentic Fujianese cuisine. Came here numerous times before. The food is good but can be a hit or a miss depending on what you order on the menu. The menu is huge. Lots of the things you may be surprised about in terms of weird eats. Also, lots of variety in terms of taste... The restaurant is very small and located around the middle of 10th street towards Race. Check the place out for yourself.

The best & most authentic wanton I've ever had in US! Even better than those authentic Chinese restaurants in California. The taste is very alike the wanton I had back in my hometown. The childhood memories all came after drinking the soup. Love it so much!

Super good fry rice (huge plate for $8), amazing fried dumplings (8 for $5). This is the place I always come to eat whenever I am in Philly!

Oily and alittle wet... Those are qualities I shouldn't look for in Beef Chow Fun. Shouldn't order something that no one ordered on the restaurant. Beef was tender. Didn't feel like a beef or pig internal soup today. However the Beef Chow Fun had great flavor! Next time I should order what everyone eats. Since the place isn't a Cantonese restaurant, I guess that's as bad as ordering a pizza in a Chinese restaurant.

I was pleasantly surprised by this restaurant when I visited Philly. Being a native from Fuzhou, I am always on a treasure hunt for authentic Fuzhou-nese food when I travel to a different city in the U.S.. Fuzhou food back in Boston is a joke compared to this one. I had the best fish balls (they area all hand made in the store!) and oyster pancake since I left home, and dare I say much better than some of the places back in Fuzhou. I am in love! :)

Good place to enjoy a typical Fujianese style dish! Neither expensive nor delicate, which is typical side street dish way!

We stumbled across this place and had a chance to look at the menu posted on the window. The selection of aromatic pig parts intrigued me and made a note to try it next time we are in Chinatown. A week later, here we are. After the first taste of our order, my girlfriend deemed this place to be like a true Chinese family dinner, quoting that it "tastes like something my mom and dad would make." That comment alone made me believe this place was authentic and boy did it taste authentic. We ordered the aromatic combination which included pig ears, stomach, and other throwaway parts that I adore. They were served cold and marinated in a tangy soy-sauce based liquid and was really tasty. We finished our lunch with the pig feet and stomach noodle soup with thin noodles. I was surprised about how thin the noodles were, but the texture was delightful. The broth was clear, really light, and clean. Don't expect something super flavorful like pho (Viet noodle soup), but do expect something healthier. That's the real charm of Ming River Sidewalk House, a good family style meal. For a place that barely has one review, it definitely needs some more recognition. It is true that they barely speak and Chinese, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying one of Chinatown's more humble and delicious spots.

DISCLAIMER: When in Chinatown, it would be a pretty good idea to bring a Chinese friend, or at the very least, somebody who understands how to read Chinese. Not doing so could be considered foolish. That being said, I'm evaluating this restaurant on those merits, it being a Chinese eatery in a Chinatown. The food? Unquestionably Chinese. If you're used to takeout and Americanized food, expect something different. You might not hate it, but at the same time, you shouldn't expect it to taste like Americanized Chinese. It would be sorta like eating at Taco Bell all your life only to realize on your trip to a Mexican restaurant in Mexico that they don't really do tacos and burritos. That being said, the quality of the food is well worth what you pay for, and very delicious. The service is actually pretty darn good too, albeit a different type of service than most would be accustomed to. Don't let the staff that speaks in sometimes broken English fool you: They understand English well enough to take your order if you use plain language. From then on out, they'll concentrate solely on getting food out to you as quickly as possible, without regard for the order that the food comes out in or whether or not you run out of water. If you run out, don't expect them to refill it for you without you having to ask. This also means that sometimes your entree may arrive before your appetizer. Because of this, I've gotta dock them half a star. Decor is plain, but clean. Because of some of the disclaimers in the first two paragraphs, and also because even though their food was great, but failed to blow me away, I sadly have to round down this place to four stars. I really wanted to give this place five stars, because it doesn't deserve the current rating it has. I hope they can change up a few things so that can change my review to five stars the next time I stop by!

The only place marked for "Pure Fujianese Food" in Philadelphia since Ming River is one of the major rivers running through the Province of Fujian. Ming River will deliver a strange meal experience because everything is so unorthodox if your past experiences of Chinese food are limited. Personally, I visit Ming River whenever I have no idea on what to eat because I know I'll never be too off with Ming River. Aside from the platters and the appetizers, you'll get to choose the "meat/seafood" you want with your stir-fry. For example: Clam with stir-fry noodles, or shrimp with stir-fry rice cakes. If you don't specify the special "meat/seafood", you'll get the basic which is pork slices with your food. Recommendations: 1. Fried Rice (Great deal with several different choices to choose from) 2. Stir-fry Vermicelli (Authentic stir-fry rice noodles) 3. Fried Taro Cakes (These go very well with salt and pepper) 4. Vermicelli Soup 5. Fried Dumplings (These are handmade dumplings that are pan-fried at your order, and the fillings are tasty!) Above-Pars: 1. Aromatic Parts (Order this if you can eat crunchy pig ears) 2. Pork Ribs with Rice (Fried pork ribs and taro over rice, with a special sweet soy sauce) 3. Fried Noodles Sub-Pars: 1. Stir-fry Rice Cake (Too watery, making the rice cakes too soft) 2. Clam and Egg over Rice Platter (Flavor-less) Ming River makes some food Asian moms would make, no big varieties and most of the stir-fries will taste similar if you come here often. But mixing the way you order here, you "might" find something good and worth you paying $5 for. To conclude, a great place to get a meal under $10. Not a good place if you don't know any Chinese though.

Great Fuzhou style restaurant. My Fuzhou friend brought me here many years ago and I still stop by mainly to have their peanut noodles and noodle soups. According to them this is pretty authentic although there is a more authentic Fuzhou restaurant that's very hole in the wall... In any case, the food here is great and the service is just okay. I will continue to come back! FYI- it's cash only!

The food may worth 2 stars. but the owner is rude and decides to give himself a good tip. I know quite a few people from Fujian and I do understand what I ordered. This side walk house won't survival anywhere in Fujian. The "Guobian" is really disappointing.

Be careful. Items are overcharged when you pay the bill even they seem pretty cheap on the menu. But guess what. That's not the worst part of the small restaurant. I went with my boyfriend and apparently everyone working there was offended when their restaurant was visited by a black guy. A man who worked there snatched the menu that I was reading away and put it just right behind me without giving me a reason. Very funny. And another woman brought the menu back to the table we were at later. Weirdest behavior ever. Food was decent. But worst customer service ever. Will not come back again. And will not recommend this place to anyone else.

Great Fuzhounese (Eastern Fujian) specialties at inexpensive prices. I got a Fuzhou oyster pancake ($1), meat dumpling soup ($4), and fried taro cake ($1). the dumplings in the dumpling soup were Fuzhounese-style yanpi (燕皮) skin, and had a unique texture. I definitely would have ordered more things, but I came after visiting Reading Terminal Market, so I wasn't at maximum appetite- hopefully I'll be back soon.

I was actually disappointed though I don't know if I could blame the restaurant entirely. As it happens, I've walked past this place not a few times, most often after procuring groceries and finding myself somehow lost again in territories that I should have already known. So, never really happening upon the right time to stop in, I've sort of built this place up in my own mind. Having grown up in Taiwan and then Southern California, I'm always on the hunt for that authentic hole-in-the-wall experience when it comes to Chinese food (and "ethnic" food in general, though I fancy myself more of an adequate judge when it comes to Chinese/Taiwanese food), so I kept making that mental note to come to this place. When a boring Saturday noon actually presented the opportunity, we made our way in. We ordered the marinated pork tongue, yang zhou fried rice, and mutton noodle soup. The menu selection was limited, which was a good sign, since it usually means they know what they're good at. There were no 3 pages of snow bubble iced tea and whatnot to distract people from the quality of the food with. All the signs were a-go and I was excited to get my food. As it turns out, the fried rice was mediocre, the pork tongue was sub-par in flavor and texture, and the noodle were fine, though they sat in a broth that was a little Chinese herb-y (if you've been forced to take Chinese medicine of any kind, you know what I'm taking about) for me, and reminded me unpleasantly of things that are not, food. In addition, the mutton pieces were few and small. The pieces that were present did not have great texture, even the fatty skin were not melt in your mouth and actually quite chewy. I feel like because I am so stubborn I would probably come back and try something completely different to see if I'll hit on that great item that keeps them in business in their competitive surrounding. I guess we'll have to see.

Sometimes I just eat things out of nostalgia. On this day, I was craving some Fuzhouese food and this was the perfect solution. Would recommend the bian rou (wontons) and the guo bian hu (rice noodle soup) with some seafood. The ban mian (noodle with peanut sauce) was just OK. Overall, cheap and decent. It would be a little difficult to communicate here if you didn't speak Mandarin or Fukienese, but should be fine if you don't have any specific requests. Just look at their Chinese/English menu and take a risk. Go get yourself some soup!

Authentic home cooked meal. I used to come here during college whenever I get home sick. Nowadays, I come here to reminisce the summer days I spend in China.

Get the pork dumplings and the noodles in peanut sauce called ban mien. These are tasty snacks in Fujian. Then get a full dinner at your preferred spot. For lunch I like their fish fillet with rice which has a light sweet and sour flavor. Please note that Fujianese food emphasizes light broths so don't expect spicy or too salty. They have aromatic meats or pig parts served cold which go well with beer.

Your classic great hole-in-the-wall find. Fuzhou dumplings, oyster pancake and oyster-tofu soup all done very well and authentically. Highly recommended!