New Harmony: All you can eat vegan dim sum

When my friend Jeremy comes to town, we have a tradition of visiting Chinatown for all-you-can-eat vegan dim sum. Over the years the prices have gone up a bit (what used to be $10 is now $12) but we still pick-up a 6 pack and go have a great time. Bridget and Gus, we missed you this time!

The last time he was in town we went to Kingdom of Vegetarians, perhaps the most famous of all Philly vegetarian Chinatown joints. But in the last two years, the owners of Kingdom bought New Harmony, decided to focus just on that restaurant, and sold Kingdom to new owners. What to do? They were both new to us, so we decided to try New Harmony.

What you see above is some very lackluster hot and sour soup. Push it the side, and save your tummy room for something better.

Like these scallion pancakes. Yum! Hot and crispy, they could have used a few more scallions, but started the meal off on a nice foot.

Unlike many vegan dim-sum places, New Harmony lets you order from a menu, and keep ordering. This means that you can order all the things you love first, and if you still have room, try new things. I love steamed tofu skins, and these savory rolls came stuffed with shredded vegetables.

Fried Bean Curd was a bland disappointment floating in tepid sauce. I requested some chili oil, which helped.

These lightly fried vegetable dumplings were also a little so-so. More chili oil!

Filled with mushrooms and spinach and wrapped in a steamed spinach dough, these dumplings are some of my favorites.

But it’s hard to hold a candle to these dragon dumplings stuffed with peas, mushrooms, carrots, etc.

Hmm. I don’t even know if I ate one of these. Must not have been that interesting.

These turnips cakes are a sleeper hit! They taste like butter but with an almost doughy consistency.

Another winner! Like little egg crepes, stuffed with shredded vegetables and fried.

Eh. Pretty dull.

A bit hard and very crunchy, but alright dipped in sweet and sour sauce.

I love these little dessert sesame balls, as they remind of of Indonesian late-night street food. Hot little donuts!

We actually, somehow, did not stuff ourselves sick, and were able to walk out the door. While not all of the the dim sum were hits, I appreciated the clean, sunny restaurant and the really great service we received, as well as our ability to choose our favorites off the menu. Thanks New Harmony!