tour of philly

Philadelphia, PA

love fountain

I've been in Philly for about 3 months now. It has always been a love-hate relationship with Philly. The city is beautiful at night, and yeah, it basically stops there. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly (scroll down). Having moved cross-country from Oregon, it was hard adjusting to life on the East Coast. The mannerisms, rushed feel of the people who live here, the smell of piss enveloping the city, and the infestation of rats and cockroaches are just a few things I have yet to get used to. Apparently, my friends who have lived here all their life are oblivious to the things mentioned above. I'm not sure if I can ever evolve to their level, but eventually I'll adjust to the city life. Below are random photos taken around the city.

The good: 

Pretty, eh?

city 

suburbs

The ugly:

don't leave your bike! actually, don't leave anything behind

some sketch neighborhood

I have never seen so much poverty in the US before in my life. This has been an eye-opening experience because I never knew such a place existed. Having lived my entire life in Oregon's lush green and protective environment, I never had the chance to expose myself to what the other side of the US looked like. It was sad and disheartening seeing how people live here. Shackles, run-down houses, and a ton of empty lots in crime-infested neighborhoods. Heck, the dental school advises that we request a security guard to escort us from the school to the subway past 5 pm. During orientation, we were instructed to hide our cell phones when walking from the subway to school, watch our backs at all times, etc. It was scary at first being a girl living in the city and  commuting to and from school via the subway, but I have come to realize that this city isn't that bad. It's just about being smart about your surroundings at all times. Currently, I'm waiting until the day when I can proudly proclaim my love for this city, but I have not yet been able to do just that. We'll see how my opinion of this city changes four years later.

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The reason I am in Philly? Call me ignorant, stupid, oblivious, call it whatever you like. When I applied for dental school last year, I figured, with all the history Philly has to offer, this was going to be a safe and bustling city. Having wanted to live in a big city my whole life, I leaped at the opportunity to get out of Oregon and start dental school halfway across the country. So far, I really love going to school, but I hate the exams part (obvious much). I love lab, and I especially love the pre-clinic stuff. We started with wax-ups where we were given pegs and had to construct the missing tooth from the typodont from absolutely nothing. I never knew dental school meant learning all the grooves, cusps, and fissures of every single tooth and being able to differentiate a left lateral incisor from a right. It drove me crazy at first, but I can't believe how much I have learned in so little time. It has been an amazing experience, and I am so grateful to be doing something I enjoy. We just started doing composite resin and amalgam restorations in our patient (ie, a plastic head attached to our lab station).

my locker-- feels like high school all over again

my wax up kit

my first wax up!

meet Pierre! my first patient :) 

sunny philadelphia~!

City of Brotherly Love

It's been such a blessing starting life anew in Philadelphia. As much as I dislike school, studying, and mostly cramming everyday, I am very grateful to be where I am at today.

One of the many perks of being a dental student is eating as a comforting mechanism. What do I do after an exam that leaves me feeling raped of my sanity? Eat! And what do I crave? Fatty. Greasy. Deliciousness. I might have gained a few pounds since starting dental school, and by a few pounds, I mean I can't fit my leg through my skinny jeans anymore, but who cares. Food is just so comforting <3

Sang Kee Peking Duck House

Philadelphia, PA

I first came here for my interview in 2010, and now it seems like I frequent this place once a week now that I live in Philadelphia. Best duck place I've ever had in the US. We ordered the wonton soup, which was delicious and packed with a lot of meat. The ratio of meat to wonton sheet is perfect, and the broth was good too. We also got the peking duck, which is served in two courses. The first course consists of the peking duck with the wrap and hoisin sauce. This was good but I prefer the buns (not pictured) over the wrap. The second course is duck and snow peas stir fry with rice. 

pork and shrimp wonton shrimp

peking duck with wrap and hoisin/scallion sauce

peking duck in all its glory

duck and snow peas stir fry

This is the peking duck with the steamed buns that we got when we came back and ordered the 2 people meal. It came with wonton and vegetable soup, peking duck, fried rice, and stir fried snow peas and duck. The steamed buns are absolutely delicious!

We came back a couple weeks later and ordered half a roasted duck (Hong Kong style) and half a soy chicken. The duck was delicious (as always), but the chicken was very salty. The sauce was very salty and tasted like soy sauce straight out of the bottle. There was no other flavor but severe saltiness that ruined the taste of the chicken. 

(duck left; chicken right)

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Ting Wong

Philadelphia, PA

Next to Sang Kee, Ting Wong is another Philly restaurant I frequent often. Aside for yummy food, this place is notorious for their incredible pricing and generous portion. All the rice dishes are around $5-6, and the price of their other dishes are around the same ballpark as well. We ordered the congee (I did not have this so I cannot comment on the taste), but in terms of appeal, it looks good enough to eat. I had the wonton soup, which was good but not great. Sang Kee's soup was better because of the bigger portions of meat, whereas the size of the meat/shrimp in Ting Wong's soup paled in comparison. The duck, like the soup, was in the same boat. Good, but not delicious. The beef chow fun, however, was incredibly delicious. This was the first time I had chow fun, and I was sold. My next few visits post this wonderful experience consisted of nothing but beef chow fun.

chicken congee

wonton soup and peking duck in the back

peking duck

beef chow fun

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Penang

Philadelphia, PA

beautiful, ain't it?

What's more comforting than chicken and rice? No matter where I go, this is always a dish that is on my must eat list. It took me a while to find Penang. I have walked by it all the time since it is on the way to Ting Wong, but I never imagined that they sold Hainanese chicken and rice. This stuff is legit. Their chicken is incredibly tender and succulent, served at room temperature, and garnished with cilantro and cucumber. The only thing that could use some improvement is the sauce. They serve the chicken in soy sauce with sesame oil, and a helping of chili sauce. The only other complaint I have is with the chicken rice. The only flavor the rice had was a bit of chicken broth. It was lacking a lot of flavor and didn't have that fatty consistency I am used to. 

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El Balconcito

Philadelphia, PA

This was my first time eating Peruvian food. I ordered the Churrasco because that was what my friends ordered, and I figured if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me as well. Little did I know, Churrasco is this GIGANTIC serving of beef. This thing is so big, they don't even serve it on a plate. It is served on a tray! Apparently it was supposed to be shared between two people or so. Who cares! I finished it by the end of the meal, and all I can say was I had to be rolled outside of the door afterwards. Filling and delicious, what more can I ask for?