February 25, 2008
By: Ken Alan
kalan@aroundphilly.com
Four years ago I had the honor of interviewing famed Philadelphia/New York/Atlantic City ultra-restaurateur Stephen Starr. When I asked the man what he felt attributed to the amazing success of Buddakan, his wildly popular standout in Old City, Starr’s answer was slap-on-the-forehead succinct: “That’s easy. Everybody loves Chinese food.”
I guess this was a simple piece of rationale to zing at a journalist when you have lines snaking out your doors. Though as I ponder that statement, I pretty much agree with Mr. Mogul. I mean, who doesn’t love Chinese food?
Starr may have taken haute Asian fare to new levels in town when he opened Buddakan in 1998, yet here in the western suburbs the crowds have been spoiled for several decades by true visionaries from China including the prolific Margaret Kuo (empress of four fine area restaurants) and more recently, nationally acclaimed chef Susanna Foo; her Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor is a sleek reinvention of her Center City gastro-temple.
Also on this small yet impressive list of innovators is Michael Wei. Before he opened
Yangming in Bryn Mawr, Main Liners had few decent options when it came to haute Chinese fare. Seventeen years in and this sprawling operation has become an institution for unfussy fare that trickles into Continental realms while staying authentic amid an atmosphere of refined elegance.
Enter through the arching wood-framed doorway, past the Wall of Accolades – “America’s Top Tables” (Gourmet Magazine) “Award of Excellence” (Wine Spectator) and Yangming presents a setting of comfortable serenity. Not stoic statues and shrine-y, like Kuo’s Wayne stunner, nor is it a high-style kitchen on steroids like Foo’s place in Radnor, Wei’s lavish restaurant is plush with banquettes and many booths. Wood columns reach high up to the nine-foot ceiling. Earth tones equal tranquility.
Dinner is always a standout meal, though I tend to drop in when the need to power lunch a client comes my way. Few Main Line restaurants are as impressive as Yangming and I find the staff of seasoned veterans to be some of the best in this region.
The crowd there is varied. Suit and tie types are dining next to a trio of Haverford septuagenarians who are near the Ladies-who-Lunch crowd. They’re all here to enjoy a menu rooted in Chinese cookery while it offers dashes of Thai and even a few French flourishes as well.
I begin with two spring rolls, each studded with whole baby shrimp, tender pieces of chicken, and crunchy vegetables. My entrée of spicy, crispy orange beef has a zesty-hot orange peel sauce coating chunks of filet which are flanked by several florets of steamed broccoli. The sauce is nicely sniffles-inducing (I love hot foods) and the beef is flavorful yet a bit grainy.
Dinners provide several notable attractions at Yangming. I’ve had a wonderful Peking duck here before and I recall from notes taken early last year that a center cut tuna steak marinated in mirin syrup and wasabi oil was enjoyed as well, the sushi-grade fish being the only nod to Japan on the menu.
I like many aspects of this restaurant. It is priced easily enough where one can dine any day for lunch or dinner, yet haute enough for special celebrations. The place seats upwards of 450. It’s huge; so large in fact that up until this last visit, I hadn’t realized before that there’s another whole section and a private room toward the back area of the restaurant.
I have known though that there is a full upstairs banquet room, complete with a dance floor.
I’ve been there before for various events such as wine and cheese tastings and cooking demonstrations. Wei is a maven at marketing in-house functions, thus the constant invitations I’ll receive for a slew of monthly happenings there.
My only heads-up has to do with parking. The Haverford Avenue lot gets crowded and has no arrows to guide drivers, thus, it can be a willy-nilly, bumper car experience, especially when large parties depart. I suggest driving in via Conestoga Road (behind the restaurant) and snagging a spot in the smaller lot there.
Wei, like his few contemporaries, is quite profuse within the restaurant business. He also owns Mandarin Garden in Willow Grove, Szechuan East in Northeast Philly, Cin Cin in Chestnut Hill and he’s a partner at Berwyn’s Nectar with another powerhouse on the scene, James Morrison. Together, they’ve turned Nectar into “The Buddakan of the ‘Burbs,” as it has been hailed.
That statement may be true, yet Wei’s Yangming is one of the first and still one of the best in the realm of high-style dining in this region. And if you’re wondering why it’s still so popular after all these years, the answer’s pretty obvious: “Everybody loves Chinese food.”
