Sakura Mandarin

Food was good. Service fast. Environment was clean and friendly. We had scallion pancakes that were really good for an appetizer as well as multiple dumplings (both steamed and fried). For the entrée I had a spicy beef noodle bowl that was very good. The portions were decent size. I gave it four stars because I don’t have a lot to compare it to in the city so I don’t want to be misleading. We enjoyed the food and would definitely return. It was also kid friendly

After being spoiled on the best sushi in Chinatown from Yakitori Boy, and pretty dang good sushi from Fat Salmon, I was keeping an open mind to try Sakura Mandarin’s sushi. Online promised good reviews, and this place was named as having one of the best dumplings in Philly. So, boyfriend and I decided to give in a try. It’s always nice to find a new usual to have a good meal but sadly, Sakura missed the mark. It was a little after 7 and there were maybe 5 other groups and couples around us.
The interior of the restaurant is a cool shade of green that matches their reusable chopsticks. But it looks sort of run-​down and out of style. But that’s easy to overlook, as long as the food is banging. The menu, it’s huge. Like 4 front and back pages. It was also too much genres of food for one place. Chinese, phở, Taiwanese, dim sum, sushi, and Americanized Chinese, just everything a place has to offer. This isn’t a really great thing, Sakura is a Jack-​Of-​All-​Trades and a Master of None. If a place tries too many different dishes, the quality tends to suffer. And did it suffer.
I ordered two sushi rolls, the Dragon and Spicy Tuna. A lot of their rolls were pretty basic, nothing that was eye-​poppingly creative and I felt $ 10 per roll was a little pricey for what I was getting. Or so I thought. I asked how many pieces were per roll and the server told me 6. Boyfriend ordered beef lo mein and we also got the pork dumplings/​pot stickers as an app.
Lo mein came out first and within the first 10 minutes. It was more warm than cold, and didn’t really taste like anything. The beef had no flavor, nor did the noodles. So we waited, and maybe a little over 10 minutes later, my sushi arrived out from their… I’m just gonna call it a sad little sushi bar. I really should not have ordered sushi. When we had first come through the door I noticed the poor selection of fish, covered only in plastic wrap.
The sushi itself was presented beautifully and would have been extremely mouth-​watering if it were not room temperature. Everything, from the fish to the veggie to the tempura, was kind of squishy and soggy. I like my sushi crisp and a little on the colder side, and for a moment I had worry I would get sick from this vaguely gray-​looking fish. But, over 12 hours later and my stomach is still solid as rock. Sushi, I should have known, is not really a food to gamble with and unless it’s the star of the restaurant, is better off avoided.
Our pork dumplings took forever and once they arrived, we were pretty full but ate 4 out of the 6. Skin was a little chewy and on the heavy side, but otherwise it wasn’t a bad bite.
I’ve read other reviews commenting the service, and I’ll admit it is weird to have 2 or 3 servers staring at you while you eat. Otherwise, they did their job reasonably well.

I been coming here since I was pregnant with my son and he is now almost 6 years old. I even had a daughter after that and now she is 4 year old. They love their soup dumpling. Every Sunday they would ask me to take them here to eat. My family love almost everything they eat here.

I haven’t tried their other food but have been ordering sushi from here. The sushi rolls are good — for the price. I wouldn’t recommend getting the tempura eel roll because it tasted «cakey» it’s supposed to be idk… Crunchy? But no crunch whatsoever. So that was a big disappointment. I don’t know how their other tempura rolls would taste then…

Almost every time I’m in the city, me and my family come here. The atmosphere is clean and the food appeals to a more Americanized market while still providing authentic options. It is a little more pricey than some other Chinese food options in the city but the service and atmosphere is great. Overall, all the dishes I have tried there have been well flavored and authentic.
The soup dumplings are possibly some of the best in the city. They are a good size and brought hot to your table. We also love their stir-​fry bowl! It’s definitely pretty spicy and we always get the lowest heat option and my mouth is still burning. It is a bit pricier based on what add ons you get, but definitely one of the most unique features at the restaurant. They provide a checklist menu on the table that allows you to customize what you want and they also have a hot pot option. Their cold appetizers are also well-​prepared and highly recommended.
Sakura provides a very extensive menu and I have yet to try many of their dishes, but everything I’ve had so far has definitely left me coming back!
Don’t forget to check in for 10% off!

Quite possibly the best restaurant in Chinatown. The spicy stir fry bowl is highly recommended. For a Chinese place, the sushi is surprisingly good, fresh, and interesting. Lunch specials are top notch and a excellent value. Service is fast and attentive. They did a great job for our group of 15.

Pretty good dim sum but nothing special. Got some crab and pork soup dumplings, which weren’t bad but kinda mushy and a bit weak in flavor.

I’ve past this restaurant so many times over the years but this is my first time dinning here. Came in on a busy Thursday night and was seated pretty quick. Ordered and the food came out quick. Service was prompt, as if they were trying to flip tables quickly. yet you had more than enough time to leisurely enjoy your meal.
The manager was great, he was really attentive and quick to make his rounds throughout the restaurant. For app, we ordered the soup dumplings, which were good but I think I prefer Dim Sum Garden more. We also got the fried soup dumplings, which were really delicious.
Tip!!!
Check in on Unilocal and you’ll get 10% off your total bill.

get the smoked duck! it is soooo good! cucumber dish is ok, sweeter than han’s (i prefer han’s level of spicy), still tasty though. the noodle bowl is ok as well. i’ll come back to try their other stuff.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Sakura. This is my family’s regular spot in Chinatown. Fast service and the food is pretty authentic. We love the spicy hot pots with seafood, they give you a great portion and the taste is awesome!!! Love the spicyness.
Their sushi bar is not the greatest, the regular rolls are fresh and taste good but nothing special.

My boyfriend and I would give this closer to 3.5 stars. Service and food wasn’t super amazing, but it was decent and at an affordable price. Service was a little pushy in the beginning, repeatedly asking if we were ready to order, but it was our first time there so it took us a little while. Overall the place was clean, staff was friendly, and food was good.
We ordered the following for only $ 25:
Wonton Soup — broth had a strong chive flavor to it, but was tasty
Hot & Sour Soup — wasn’t spicy or sour, but was good
Pan Fried Pork Dumplings — Delicious
Pan Fried Soup Dumplings — probably should’ve gotten the steamed ones, but these were still good
Drucken Udon Noodles — Very flavorful and loved the texture of the noodles

My expectations for this place were pretty low for a few reasons. For one, Sakura Mandarin? Already problematic. Are you Japanese or Chinese? (Still, I have learned in the past that you usually can’t judge Asian owned businesses by their names or their appearances…) And if you’re doing both, then what can I expect? The sushi counter also looked rather sad and neglected. And the place was pretty empty when we got there around 1:00 p.m. Also, Unilocal reviews were only so-​so.
My friend added this place to her list of must-​trys while in Philly because they supposedly had good soup dumplings, so we went in anyway.
I don’t eat meat, so I can’t speak to their soup dumplings. However, I was told that the skin was too thick, though the broths were decent. Tom N. enjoyed the super porky pork soup dumpling. My friend liked the crabby pork and crab soup dumplings.
I tried their cucumber salad with jellyfish head because it sounded different and also ordered vegetarian steamed dumplings. The green-​skinned dumplings weren’t bad, but they weren’t too memorable either. Like my friend said, they definitely prepare dumplings with a thicker skin here. I didn’t mind that, but I thought my meatless meal was only okay. The cucumber salad with jellyfish head had an interesting play on textures, but I wondered the whole time if some place could do it better than Sakura Mandarin. This salad didn’t seem all that fresh and wasn’t as well-​seasoned as I would have liked.
Overall, the soup dumplings are decent, but Tom N. said he wouldn’t make the trek to Philly just for Sakura’s rendition. Their authentic, shorter menu, as opposed to their longer more Americanized menu, has some interesting items listed, but the execution from what I could see was only average or slightly above average. Bottomline: There are better options in Philly’s Chinatown, but Sakura Mandarin will satisfy the craving if you don’t feel like waiting longer for other more popular businesses, like Dim Sum Garden.

This restaurant is very cool cause they have a variety of food… I ordered sushi and my boyfriend ordered spicy pot, both are good. Well actually compared to other sushi bars, their sushi is not that good but ok.
Staff are ok, probably because we went there late and there was only half an hour before they close so not really friendly.

I like to come here for their dry hot pot, other than that I don’t see a reason for coming here. I wish I give this place a higher rating however I find their food is mediocre for price you’re getting it at. Everything here can be found cheaper and better quality at other Chinatown restaurants.

I’ve had many great experiences here.
The quality and portions are amazing for the price you pay. $ 15-​ish for an entire roasted pork shoulder, served with a side of flavorful vegetables?! Not only was it very tender, and flavorful, but I also had plenty to take home for the next few days.
And their soup dumplings are… dare I say… even better than the ones at Dim Sum Garden (my other fave). They are just as flavorful, with sturdier shells, without being too thick. Their sushi selection is also pretty eclectic.
I also highly recommend the spicy cucumber appetizer (huge portion!), their (spicy) hot pot selections, and their crispy noodle seafood stir fry. Their menu is pretty comprehensive, and I haven’t tried everything, but I can say that everything I have tried has been pretty solid. They even have a great selection of bubble tea to complement the meal.
It can get pretty crowded, but even so, I’ve never had any issues with service, and I’ve never had to wait long for food even with a larger party. They stay open later than most other Chinatown joints, which can be life-​saving should one forget to eat dinner at normal times.

I had a great dinner experience here before, so I was really disappointed by my dismal lunch experience. Price-​wise, the lunch specials seem like a great deal. I decided to try to chicken teriyaki bento lunch special. Big mistake. The miso soup was incredibly salty. I know by nature, miso soup tends to be salty but this was to the extent that it was not palatable. It did have a generous amount of tofu and seaweed, which restaurants will sometimes skimp on, but the seaweed had a rubbery texture, likely from only being partially cooked. The green salad was nothing to write home about, being mostly iceberg lettuce, but at least it was palatable. Then the bento box. It came with two small pieces of gyoza, four pieces of California rolls, rice, and chicken teriyaki on top of vegetables. The vegetables were clearly overcooked. They were slightly mushy and also slightly charred. There were 6 – 8 small slivers of chicken teriyaki, and the taste was just so-​so. Overall, even though I paid only $ 8 – 9 for this, I left dissatisfied.
Maybe the Chinese lunch specials are better and I’ll likely still come back for dinner, but no more Japanese lunch specials for me from here.

Sakura is the place that I go once a week or at least once every two weeks, and every time we order same dish, the Spicy Stir-​fry Bowl. This is a typical Chinese dish and very popular in China. When I was in China, I ate it twice a week.
I know some other restaurants have this dish as well, but I like Sakura cause its flavor is mostly close to the one I had in China. I highly recommend the Spicy Stir-​fry Bowl, once you try it, you will get addicted to it.

Fabulous. Think Dim Sum Garden. And it’s BYO!
Dined with a 10-​person group to celebrate a birthday and were seated toward the back in what looks like it could be a private room (with karaōke!) at a big, round table, which we later wished was equipped with a lazy susan, but we managed pretty well with the copious amount of food we ordered.
The dumplings were fabulous: folks very much enjoyed all the varieties of soup dumplings, and I loved the pan-​fried pork dumplings (as I’m not wild about soup dumplings… I know, I know, shocking!). The scallion pancakes were awesome (can you imagine some people had never had them before?!)! And the drunken noodles were lovely and spicy. Be sure to order the pea shoots, which aren’t on the menu, but are delicious!

I am a fan of their xiao long baos and Taiwanese beef noodle soup. While I wouldn’t say it’s the best in Chinatown, it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Service was fairly quick, and while the waiters were not particularly friendly, the food and upbeat atmosphere made up for it.
If you taking joy in pooping fire, you have to try their stir-​fry hot pot. It will be sure to make your bumhole cry for days, but boy is it good going down.

Hearing that Sakura Mandarin had soup dumplings aka XLB, I had to stop by to check them out. It’s a clean and sleek location, with bright colors throughout and plenty of seating. Your meal starts off with some hot tea — nothing wrong with that!
Spicy Cucumber [$ 4.50]
The spicy crisp cucumber at Han Dynasty is simply amazing. Sakura Mandarin’s iteration is decent, showcasing a thicker sauce which I didn’t enjoy as much, but at least the sweet and sour flavors were there.
Won Ton Soup
As part of the lunch special during the week, the GF and I receive soup with our meal. We went with the won ton soup, which had a nice clear broth, filled with scallions and fresh-​made pork won tons.
Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce [$ 5.95]
An incredible deal for lunch, there’s plenty of tender pork and crisp veggies on offer. The savory garlic sauce coated it all nicely.
Dan Dan Noodles [$ 5.95]
Everyone knows about Han Dynasty’s dan dan noodles. So naturally, in trying Sakura Mandarin’s version I had to restrain myself in comparing the two.
While there was more peanut than chili flavors in this dish, it wasn’t bad at all. The crispy bits of pork melded well with the sauce and the noodles were fresh.
Pork Soup Dumplings [$ 5.50]
And on to the pork soup dumplings. Compared to Dim Sum Garden, these XLB were more savory and had less of the subtle sweetness. The skin on the dumplings was also not as gossamer thin. Regardless, not bad though it’s better a few doors down.
So if you’re in a rush and can’t stand the wait of a weekend night at Dim Sum Garden, Sakura Mandarin has you covered for your XLB and Chinese food needs.