Happy New Year! I hope you all had the perfect Eve, followed by the best Day you could have had in the 15 degree weather Philadelphia provided us with. My plans of an Eagles tailgate and spending the entire day at the Mummers Parade were quickly shattered, but I still was v lucky to spend my days surrounded by my best buddies and so many carbohydrates.
As we embrace 2018 and I continue into my 6th year blogging about my little Philadelphia life, I thought I’d share five posts that I, truthfully, am really proud of. There are posts that just poured out onto the page, and others I spent a whole lot of time on. Posts that have sentiments that mean a lot to me, and others that are about pizza. Whether you’re new to Her Philly or have been reading all along, check out why these five posts mean so much to me, and let me know which speaks to you the most.
Due to my longstanding love affair with bubble tea, a shop was one of my requirements for a stop on Al’s tour. Tea-Do has so many options to choose from, ranging from tea with milk and tapioca bubbles to fruity tea with aloe and lychee jellies. If you’ve never had bubble tea, you drink it with a huge straw which sucks up the little “bubbles” in your drink. It’s basically amazing.
Each tea comes with a plastic seal over the top, and you have to stick the pointy end of your straw through to get to the drink. That was probably the most stressful part of the day. 😉
With bubble tea in hand, we moved on to this humongous bazaar, filled with everything from toys to books to jewelry & more. I didn’t look much at the prices of the the items, but there was definitely a plethora of goodies to choose from.
After some shopping, it was finally lunch time! We hurried in the crowded restaurant for some dim sum, which is basically small sized portions of food served in steamer baskets or on small plates. Al explained that dim sum is to the Chinese as tea time is to the British. 
Our only restriction was no duck (my request), and Al quickly ordered for us off of the wizzing trays filled with food. We tried lots of different things, but I loved the shrimp dumplings & fried rice the best. 
Lunch for four of us, including tea & dessert, and until we were literally stuffed, ended up being $27. If that’s not a gem in this city, I don’t know what is.
Our last stop was a quick visit to the fortune cookie factory! You can go in & see the cookies being made (so cool!) and pick up a bag of “X-Rated” cookies to take home with you. They also do custom cookies for events & weddings.
I hope this blog inspires you to break out of your comfort zone and explore a new neighborhood or two. Thanks again to Al for being a great tour guide, and my friends Kelly & Colleen for braving the chilly temps with us! If this type of neighborhood tour is something you’re interested in seeing more of, let me know in the comments & I will find a new Philly hood to explore next!
We met up with Al at the most iconic spot in Chinatown, the arch. This structure was the first authentic Chinese gate built outside of China in 1984. Those four letters on the gate read, conveniently, “Philadelphia Chinatown.” If you’d like to take a photo with the gate, I recommend doing it from farther up 10th Street & getting the other side – traffic seems to always be moving on this side.
After learning all about the gate, we headed down the street for our first taste of some Chinese treats. This pastry shop had so many options to choose from, it was so hard to decide. If you’re craving coffee, now’s the time to grab a cup – coffee is only sold in bakeries, not restaurants, around here.
I opted for this little 90 cent red bean sesame ball. I happen to love red bean, but even my friend Colleen, who thought she was eating chocolate, enjoyed it. 😉
Next, we swung over to a new local consignment shop and one of Chinatown’s only retail stores. The boutique does not sell plus size or maternity clothes, but the store was beautiful and, according to Al, a very welcomed addition to the area.
I was possibly the most excited for our stop in this Asian supermarket. If you’re looking for wall-to-wall rice, ramen & tea, plus some other colorful goodies at a great price, you’ve found your happy place.
This tea caught my eye – maybe I’ll be back for some luck in my love life in the form of tea.