Foo's take on Chinese cuisine unique, delicious

Don't settle.

There are dozens of Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia, but few of them stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

Susanna Foo stands tall.

Raised in Inner Mongolia and Southeast Asia, Foo -- the founder of the eponymous restaurant at 1512 Walnut St. -- moved to the United States in 1967 and met Jacob Rosenthal, founder of the Culinary Institute. With his expertise, she augmented her knowledge of Asiatic spices with classical French techniques.

And the restaurant was born.

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of what has become recognized as one of the finest restaurants in Philadelphia.

The restaurant's decor is classically Asian, with dangling lanterns and painted mirrors providing both space and coziness in the dining room.

My companion and I started off with dishes that perfectly exemplified the twist on traditional Chinese cuisine -- ordering lobster dumplings with emulsified coconut lobster sauce and wild mushroom chicken dumplings with Chanterelle mushrooms, respectively.

The lobster, priced at $14, was exquisitely presented with the three dumplings stacked. The meat was ample and the sauce delicate. The $13 mushroom dumpling -- complemented well by the truffle sauce -- had a strong flavor and whetted our appetites for more.

And more we ate.

For a main course we ordered grilled baby rack of lamb with honey rosemary and soy marinade, priced at $31, and a whole Pinecone European bass with caramelized ginger sauce for $36. And, leaving little to the imagination, they served the entire bass. The caramelized ginger sauce proved the perfect accompaniment to the succulent fish.

The grilled rack of lamb -- while hardly a traditional Asiatic dish -- was a more conservative, though no less delicious, option. Four sufficiently sized lamb chops served on a bed of rice with green beans added for color proved a more than satisfying main course.

We finished off the fine meal with dessert. The tropical fruit sampler included three cups of refreshing sweetness and a pastry for $8. I had the banana chocolate tart, priced at $8.50. The tart was topped with a delicious caramelized crown that helped bring out the flavor of the unusual fruit choice in the tart itself.

The combination of flavors was as unique as the founder's background would imply -- and made the meal an experience that stood above any Chinese food in the city.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.