Kim’s Oriental Food

If there’s a King’s Wok replacement in University City (heck in Philadelphia…) this is it. Order the oriental beef and it’ll be ready in 3 minutes. The food is piping hot and tastes very tender and fresh. This truck doesn’t come with a free beverage that most others market, but they make it up with their food. It’s like sub $ 5 for instant food, perfect for the starving college student or penny-​pincher. The portion size is gihugic… and conveniently located next to the Penn gym to undo your workouts. Not on the way home from work for me, or I would frequent on the regular.

I don’t know anywhere else that serves a meal of this size for under $ 5. I’m pretty sure everything they offer is less than $ 5, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting a skimpy portion. Kim’s may not be serving up the most amazing Chinese food, but you’ll get a decent lunch here. There menu is huge, so I’m sure you can find something you’ll like. And if you want a drink, they have Nantucket Nectar juices along with the standard Coke/​Pepsi products. If you’re a little broke and in need of a filling meal, you can’t go wrong with Kim’s.

The aroma from Kim’s food truck grabbed my nose and pulled me towards the ordering window. I had no idea what I wanted but the orange chicken stood out the most to me. The chicken is crispy yet tender, spicy, and somewhat of a citrus taste. This has to be the best Asian food truck in Univ. City; all others don’t compare.
1. Friendly service
2. Quick turn around for food
3. Reasonably priced

I would have to say that Kim’s Oriental is one of the better Asian food trucks around UC. Food is fast to come out and the service is incredibly friendly. They have a very big menu for being a food truck, and there are a ton of vegetarian options. Everything is also very reasonably priced ($ 5 and under), and the amount of food you get is really generous.
At first, I was confused as to what subgum meant but it’s Cantonese for combination so all the noodle and rice dishes labeled with «subgum» combines chicken, roasted pork, and shrimp. I ordered their subgum lo mein. I wasn’t disappointed in the food, but it wasn’t great. For food truck quality, I will say it’s one of the better quality Chinese meals. The lo mein dish wasn’t overly greasy, which was a nice change from the other Chinese food trucks around. I will definitely be back to try some of their other menu items. Don’t hesitate to come to this hidden place behind the gym for some quick food!

This Chinese food truck is pretty decent for its prices! You can get an entire to-​go plate full of an entrée of your choice for $ 4 — $ 5. It doesn’t get any cheaper than that.
They have both Chinese and Vietnamese options. My friends and I tried the subgum lo mein, subgum lemon grass on rice, and subgum lemon grass on rice noodle (yeah we def loved the way the subgum sounded). If you haven’t heard of it, subgum is a type of chinese option that contains a mixture of meats, seafood, and mixed vegetables.
Sadly, the rice noodle option was a disappointment. It was as if they didn’t cook the noodles all way and it tasted borderline raw. On a more pleasant note, the subgum rice option was a better choice between the two vietnamese choices we had. However, the lo mein was the best! Definitely going with the Chinese option from now on.
I think what makes this food truck worth coming back is their portions! It’s pretty generous, enough to eat half and save some for later.

Nothing I’ve had at Kim’s was very good, but they serve edible food.
Chow fun (rice noodle) with cubes of fried tofu and slivers of veggies (bean sprouts, napa cabbage, carrot, green pepper) was properly cooked and edible. However, it was bland & lacked any flavour. It didn’t have any «wok flavour» either. Without the 4 spoons of chili sauce I asked for, there would’ve been barely any taste at all. (The chili sauce was all right, but not the best style to accompany the dish. This was the fresh red chili pepper style.) $ 4.50
Green pepper and squid (and onions), served with white rice, was also properly cooked and edible, but bland. $ 5.00
Tofu eggplant was similarly bland and edible.
Kim’s is a place to buy food when you need it & can’t be bothered to go anywhere else. If you don’t expect tasty food, you’ll be fine.

Ginger Chicken! A bit pricey ($ 4) compared to Yuekee ($ 3.5).

It’s a bit tricky to find but it’s next to Penn’s Pottruck gym on the window side with the treadmills I never thought this would be my first food cart would leave a positive impression. This place has solid food that is also wallet-​friendly, even though it is cash only (probably like other food trucks). I think the most expensive thing meal there may be only $ 5, and that’s squid. I have never had it, but that sounds like a rockin’ deal to me. I got the chicken Singapore noodles with just egg. It normally comes with other veggies such as carrots, peppers, onions, and cabbage but I like my noodles simple and easy to eat. It was a good amount of curry flavor (unlike may other places I have been to). I didn’t even have to add extra McCormick’s curry powder to it! I also tried the lemongrass beef. This one was good, had it been beef broccoli. I couldn’t really taste any lemongrass. It was still decent.
The service is also really friendly. It’s uncommon to find friendly and polite foreigners in my opinion. They tend to be brusque and lack basic etiquette (that you will commonly see in Chinatown) but the people here are very gentle and pleasant. They have earned my support.

Kim’s changed ownership this past summer, and a few things have changed. The food is still great, and the new owner actually seems to give larger portions of meat! However, previous portions were usually enough for me. A few prices have gone up.
The service is mostly what bothers me. I’ll go to Kim’s one week and then I’ll go again the same time next week, and it’s not there. Maybe it was too cold or rainy? Also, the new ownership serves everyone out of order. I was waiting with some people for 10 minutes, while other people would come up after us and get their food in 1 – 5 minutes. Apparently if you’re in a rush, you should order Oriental Beef because they seem to have that already made.

Kim’s. Always solid, always delicious, always satisfying, and ALWAYS worth the judging looks of all the people beating their bodies and making it their slaves in the Pottruck first floor gym.
When I crave Americanized Chinese food like General Tso’s and Sesame Chicken, I know that Kim’s will consistently hit the spot at a price point that is just unbeatable. My go-​to dishes at this truck are the Eggplant Chicken and Sesame Chicken. When I’m feeling something more comforting akin to a stew my mama might make, I go for the Ginger Chicken. The service is so fast that even when you’re standing among the hordes of Sansom international students who come here for their motherland fare, your wait is still around 5 minutes.
Note: Food is best consumed after, not before, your Pottruck work-​out.

Friendly seller! Tasty and authentic home-​made Chinese cuisine! (I tried the Lo Mein, Sesame Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken.)
I personally think the dishes in this Chinese food truck are even more authentic than the dishes in some other Chinese restaurants which around the university city. The food is so inexpensive and in large portion size!

Got the ginger chicken here for 5 bucks, delicious, authentic, and very large portion sizes.

Intro:
These folks have been feeding me through rough and tough times. They are open late (to 8:00 PM) every day of the week except on Saturday when they get some well deserved rest.
Basics:
1. There are three pre-​prepared dishes: Ginger Chicken, Niunan Beef Rice, and Black Bean Spare Rib. All dishes are good with my favorite being Ginger Chicken. The best thing is that they will have it ready for your in about 45 secs because it’s already made. Good if you’re in a rush!
2. Portions are pretty damn big. I eat a lot and a meal here will go a long way (for approximately $ 5).
3. I recommend the Eggplant Subgum and the Lemongrass Chicken. Both very good dishes with a lot of flavor.
Conclusion:
Definitely a place I can count of getting a nice hot meal for cheap and quick.

Why is this only 3.5 stars? This should be 4+ for sure. This is by far the best Chinese food truck around the Penn campus. (I mean c’mon, you can’t compare this to real Chinese restaurants…) AND it’s FAST and RELIABLE (thanks for being there for me through rain and snow, and at night!) For that alone, it deserves 4 stars from me.
If you are time crunched, get one of these 3: oriental beef, pork ribs, or ginger chicken. These are all pre-​made, so it’s ready almost immediately. Don’t forget to add a marinated egg! (sure a little tough /​overcooked, but hey, can’t really complain…)
If you have more time, then my favorite customized combo is eggplant with chicken in black bean sauce. (oh, and yes, I like to add a marinated egg to this one too :))

This is by far one of my favorite food trucks. It’s conveniently located right at the heart of campus, next to the Pottruck Gym. I recommend ordering the Sesame Chicken, Orange Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken or General Tso’s Chicken. There are four main reasons why I order at Kim’s 1) all meals are delicious with tender chicken, scrumptious sauces and crisp vegetables, 2) the meal is affordable with each dish costing around $ 5 3) The portions are very generous and 4) the food is served quickly.
So, if you are looking for a quick, delicious and fulfilling meal make sure to stop at Kim’s Oriental food truck.

This is a fantastic food truck. It’s conveniently located next to the Pottruck Gym. I most commonly order Sesame Chicken, Ginger Chicken, or General Tso’s Chicken. The main reason I order these dishes is because a) they are yummy (fresh veggies and tender chicken), b) big portions for only around $ 5, and c) they are ready right away.
(Useful tip: The meals listed on the orange sign are already slow cooked, so they’re ready to be served just minutes after you order, and particularly convenient for those who want their lunch ASAP.) You can order more complicated things, and they will prepare them fresh while you wait, but I usually want my food quick.
This is the BEST Chinese Food Truck on campus!

the first time I went to Kim’s I was pleasantly surprised. That was a year ago. Since then I’ve been back several times and it’s just literally worse and worse. Today I had such a bad meal that I felt compelled to write a review on Unilocal.I ordered the chicken broccoli and tofu. The entire thing was deep fried. Yes, the broccoli was just thrown into the deep fryer and my meal had a 2 cm deep slick of oil that settled at the bottom of the styrofoam container. Who deep-​fries broccoli in order to cook it? That’s the lazy way out and it tasted gross, like a mouthful of oil leaking out of the broccoli inside my mouth. The tofu was deep fried too, which has been mentioned before. This was also true of the last item I ordered which was eggplant– deep fried and a ridiculous slick of oil resulting. It just taste bad. Even the RICE became covered in oil because the amount of oil.
Honestly. That will be the last time I go to Kim’s. Much better is Yue Kee who actually uses a wok, like I would expect an asian vendor to use. And their broccoli chicken is not just broccoli and chicken, it comes with some other vegetables too including water chestnuts, carrots, bamboo. And if you really want to stay away from deep fried junk, then go to Tang’s– who par-​boils the broccoli nicely.

Dear Ms. Kim (?)
Thank you for getting me the 15 lbs that I avoided freshmen year during my sophomore year after I got off the awful Penn dining plan. But honestly, this was just simply a testimony to how amazing your food is and just how speedily it’s prepared! Sure everything is probably super unhealthy, but that’s why you’re parked right in front of Pottruck! Every time I run on the 1^st treadmills, I’m literally visioning running towards your food truck!
On a more serious note, this is BY FAR my favorite food truck on campus. Forget Yue Kee, Tang’s, Le Anh, The Real Le Anh (still don’t know which one is real), King Wok, etc. This place is just amazing.
Finally, on a side note, I have yet to know why this place is called «Kim’s.» For the longest time I thought it was Korean and avoided this place since Koreana is so close by… Someone please explain! Is the awesome lady Ms. Kim?
—
What I recommend:
(1) Oriental Beef (Nu nan fan)
(2) Sesame Chicken (Zhi ma ji)
(3) Ginger Chicken (Jiang ji)
(4) General Tso’s Chicken (Zuo ji)
Additional goodies:
(1) I always ask for the tea-​boiled egg; it’s delicious! I grew up eating ones prepared by my mom, and this always reminds me of home sweet home. It’s definitely a specialty that I’ve only seen here!
(2) Ask for chopstick and a fork… hehe. I eat rice with fork (the darn grains of rice just gets too challenging), but eat everything else with the chopstick!
(3) If you like noodles, just ask! It’s a 50cent surchage, but well worth it than eating plain, white rice.
(4) If you’re in a rush, ask for Ginger Chicken or Oriental Beef; they’ll literally have it prepared before you get your cash out!

Kim’s is the real deal. Quality Chinese food from a food truck. The food is always hot, fresh, and delicious.
Kim’s menu is enormous and you will never run out of new things to try. I especially like the Chicken & Eggplant, the eggplant is tender and sauce is savory but not too salty like Chinese food tends to be. Boneless Ribs are tasty as well — tender strips of pork in a red sauce over rice and shredded cabbage. If you are looking for a sweet/​savory combo, try the Chili Chicken, it’s fried and tossed in a sweet chili sauce. Try their Oriental Beef or Ginger Chicken slow-​cook specials if you are in a hurry, both are excellent. Kim’s truly has something for everyone. Portion sizes are generous, too, so you won’t leave hungry.
If you’re looking to reward yourself after a workout at Pottruck, Kim’s is the place to go!

Adjacent to Pottruck Gym.
Get the ginger chicken.
You have to ask for chopsticks if you want them.
Open later than most foodtrucks.
They speak Mandarin.