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Why have I not been here sooner? In and around Chinatown for 30+ years, and I'm only starting to find this place now?! (Been here a few years ago, but I'm blocking that out right now.)
We had 3 dishes, I don't remember the English names for them.
One would be translated literally as Saliva Chicken (it's a cold chicken dish in red sauce) it was more sweet than spicy, but it had a decent amount of spice nonetheless.
We also had an eggplant dish, English name probably something like Eggplant with garlic sauce.
And we had a fish filet dish in red sauce.
All very good, more than spicy enough for those of you who like spicy.
Came here to eat with a group of friends and we selected some dishes to try.
The corn & chicken soup was pretty good, the group liked that for the texture (a little thick, not too salty), and the snow pea leaves in garlic were done well, although the dish was small. The beef with xo sauce was not that exciting, but the casserole w/fish (no idea what the fish was, mind you) was pretty tasty.
The menu is varied enough so as to be different and more authentic-feeling than many of the other restaurants, at least the part in English compared to other English menus.
Acceptably clean and service was a bit slow to replace the tea, but overall we left filled and happy.
I went in here a little while ago with a coworker for lunch. The place is located on one of the main strips in Chinatown. The decor is fairly standard. The place did look like it needed a new paint job.
I ordered hot and sour soup and shredded pork with vegetables. The hot and sour soup was the hottest I've ever have spice/hotness-wise. I couldn't finish it because it was making me sweat and hiccup so much. The shredded pork was very tasty and spicy without being overly so. The portion size was pretty good for a $6.50 lunch special.
Service was pretty decent, though I could have used more water refills due to the smokin hot and soup soup.
My only gripe about this place is that they don't tell you that they have a $20 minimum for charge/debit cards in the menu.They have a small sign posted on the cash register at the front(which of course we didn't notice until we left). My coworker was going to pay for both of us(13.50 before tip) and they wouldn't bend on the card rule even though it was our first time. Luckily I had enough cash.
Good food at a reasonable price. I'll be back at some point.
This place have the best 3 cup chicken in Philly but I didn't like they charge the rice
Here I had a solidly good meal of water-boiled fish, basil chicken and stir-fried string beans. It is nice to have a Szechuan alternative to Chung King Garden, and I enjoyed each of these dishes. The fish could have been spicier but was very well flavored, and string beans were really tasty, and the chicken was perhaps a touch too sweet but also delicious. The atmosphere is that of any other chinatown restaurant, so I could not add another star for environment, but I look forward to returning.
"Fresh" is not a word I use often when describing Chinese restaurants.... but Four Rivers is a sweet little restaurant in China Town with excellent service and fantastically fresh food.
Everyone in my family enjoyed what we ordered. The food tasted healthy and homemade, especially the fried rice. In past experiences, Chinese fried rice usually leaves you regretting your meal choice for hours afterward. Here, the made-from-scratch taste was light and never greasy, filled with scallions and other deliciousness. We also tried the wonton soup, spare ribs, beef with broccoli, and General Tso's Chicken (yes we are a very Americanized crowd). Everything was excellent and highly recommended (except the spare ribs were breaded with bones still inside, a little odd...) Overall the food was superb and the service was so fast, our starving appetites were satiated right away. The wait staff even stands up when you're about to leave so that they can wish you farewell. What a nice place!!
Four Rivers is a Chinese sichuan-based restaurant. If you order something on the menu that is spicy, trust me it'll be spicy like face sweating, flame-throwing breath spicy. Make sure you tell the waitress how spicy you want it. The food was amazing however except for the Crispy Fish in Hunan Sauce, which was decent because there wasn't much meat on it. The Eggplant with Garlic Sauce was good and tasty. The Spicy Beef Casserole was scorching hot because of its oily, spicy taste. My 3 friends and I were sweating our faces off and using plenty of napkins because of it being that spicy. I will be definitely returning to this restaurant because I am a fan of spicy chinese food. Although they have spicy food, they have plenty of other dishes that are not spicy and tasty. On average, each dish costed around $9 - $10.
Maybe it is because we went on a Wednesday night (it was my birthday!), but the food just does not sound as good as all the other reviews.
I don't really care too much about the decor as long as the place is clean. So that did not affect the rating at all. It is rather out of date but it's China Town so no one should be surprised.
We had scallions pancake for appetizer. It was not greasy as others pointed out. But I couldn't taste that much scallions or anything else. The dipping sauce was good. It came out fresh and hot so it was enjoyable since it was a cold night.
We ordered the spicy seafood tofu casserole. That came piping hot and it was pretty yummy while it was warm. It is not that spicy but has enough of that oily, tangy, spicy sauce that goes well with rice. We got some stir fry snow pea leaves to go with that too! That pairing I thought was pretty yummy and we should've stopped there.
We also got the crispy duck. This is where I think coming in on a Wednesday night was a mistake. The duck was VERY dry and SALTY. The color came out a greyish brown. The skin & the meat had the same color. Sort of reminds me of the mummies.
Maybe it was left over from the day before? I guess not a lot of people order duck on week days?
The waiter and waitress were so nice and friendly. I didn't have the heart to tell them that we didn't like the duck. We managed to eat almost half of the dish but it still looked like a lot was left. They asked if we wanted to take it home and I said no, just the veggies. Is that maybe a nice hint?
I will probably try it one more time on a weekend. I saw the beef brisket and tendon stew and I really want to try that.
Sometimes you want a specific dish, and nothing else will do. That's what brought me to Four Rivers with my (vegetarian) lady friend.
She had recommended a number of veggie standbys in Chinatown, but I demanded Orange Chicken (with or without real chicken). The first place we found that had it on the menu was Four Rivers.
The alarming clinical feel of the dining room almost turned us right back out the door, but we figured that sometimes good things come in sanitary, stainless steel packages, and we sat down for our meal.
I was almost shocked at how well prepared the Orange Chicken was and my partner enjoyed her Homestyle Spicy Tofu a great deal also. I can't comment for authenticity, but both meals were delectable and without a lot of the excess oil that can be common in Chinese food.
As mentioned in other reviews, our server was polite and our food and check came quickly.
Final result:
2 stars for atmosphere ("i think i had my spleen removed here once...")
4 stars for food quality
Four Rivers is a good happy medium for me. It isn't too American, it isn't too authentic.
Their lo mien is my favorite in Chinatown, it isn't too greasy and the veggie isn't full of filler vegetables. The scallion pancakes are perfectly crisp. Eggplant in garlic sauce is actually spicy here, probably because when the server tries to warn me it is spicy I say something lame like, "ooooh yeaaah!" This dish also has TONS of garlic, so it probably isn't the best thing to order on a date. Sometimes if I've had a bad day I'll order sweet and sour chicken, which isn't too heavy but comes in the standard sauce.
I wish they delivered, because the dining room atmosphere leaves something to be desired. Like ambiance.
Four Rivers is a great Chinese restaurant. They have a massive menu and I get the feeling that almost anything that you order will be tasty.
The place is kind of looks like it's from the 80's, but that seems to be the common trend with Chinese restaurants.
3.5 stars. A good Chinese food place. I liked the fact that it carried a few more authentic dishes than your everyday Americanized beef and chicken dishes. Example: Jalapenos with peanuts and tiny anchovies. My grandfather from my mom's side used to make this -all the time- when I was growing up and it was refreshing to see something that can actually be found in someone's dinner table at a restaurant. Nice service, more attentive than your usual Chinatown restaurant. I'll be sure to check this place out again.
Four Rivers is a small place offering tasty cooking and quick service. We ordered two plates of their crystal wontons, which were slightly spicy, mostly tangy, and all delicious ($4/six wontons). Their pancake appetizers were good but their fried tofu blocks were a little dry. We shared a (not very) spicy seafood tofu casserole ($16) that was pretty soothing.
Credit cards are accepted. For our party of seven, they added a 15% tip which I found amusing, since places that add gratuity by default usually charge more.
I first ate here awhile back, and recently returned this past weekend. Enjoyed lunch yet again, and will return yet again!
I have a hard time understanding what people mean when they say that Four Rivers is the most authentic Chinese restaurant in town. Having eaten at nearly every Chinese restaurant in the tri-state area (call it an obsession), I find that it's all the same give or take some garlic.
Four Rivers, authentic or not, is definitely tasty and even feels a little less greasy than most. And they have quite a few dishes that are off the beaten path of Chinese cuisine, but I find that these are mostly the kinds of meals that will dissolve your tongue with spicy without offering any real or new flavor.
The "atmosphere" blends in with other restaurants of it's genre--there is no dining experience here. However, the staff is friendly and the food arrives quickly. There is even a bit of a wait on weekends and Sunday evenings!
The food is probably authentic, but who can tell? Either way, the food is good, but I wouldn't say it's worth a special trip.
This restaurant is rather unique. Most "authentic" Chinese restaurants in America specialize in Cantonese cuisine, probably because most Chinatowns were settled primarily by people from this region of China. This restaurant specializes in Szechuan food (hence the name--Szechuan translates to "Four Rivers"), and yet is far more authentic than most restaurants claiming to serve such food.
The atmosphere is not terribly exciting...the focus here is on the food, not the decor. I wouldn't quite call it a hole-in-the-wall but it isn't large. It's somewhat dark, not at all spiffy. But hey, that's not why you came here.
The food is very good. The flavors are very vibrant and they don't hold back on the ingredients that tend to put off picky westerners. Everything I've had here has been good. I would especially recommend ordering things here that you can't find on the menu at other restaurants: you will find a lot of them. Still, less adventurous customers will still find some things to eat.
I am always happy to go to this place.
This is great place to eat authentic Chinese food in Philadelphia Chinatown. You could call it a dive restaurant, only because it is not fancy.....just a single room to eat period. My best friend Joe and I use to eat their all of the time when I lived in Philly. We established a nice relationship with "Lady Boss" (owner) and her crew and always ordered off the Chinese menu......some recommendations:
- Salted shrimp is served whole head, etc.
- Spicy shredded pork or beef with hot peppers & tofu.
- Spicy whole fried fish.
- Sauteed spinach and garlic.
- Sauteed bok choy.
- "Shish-Sho-Tov"..."the Princess Tofu dish". (see picture)
Shish-Sho-Tov is not on the menu, and they only prepared it when we called ahead. If you are curious to try this hearty seafood-egg-tofu dish, call and order ahead about 15/20 mins before you arrive to the restaurant. Make sure you tell them Jack and Joe told you to try this dish. My wife made me bring this dish back to San Francisco every time I went back to Philadelphia.
Enjoy!
I ventured down to Four Rivers with my friend from Hong Kong this past weekend, and while he said it didn't compare to the food from back home, I thought it was quite enjoyable compared to most of the greasy westernized places we have here. Sure it wasn't out of this world, but it was a good first for "authentic" Chinese food. But, I believe there is better.
The restaurant itself is rather small. It's just one open room. I didn't mind it but I will say they could use a decorator. The staff is quite nice and food arrives quickly.
Would I go back? Sure if someone else wanted to try it...
best tipang i've had ever is here! it's this slowly braised pork loin that is so fatty and filled with juices on top of greens... there is a big portion and a little portion!
have also ordered bamboo shoots with pork also again haven't had the same taste of that dish anywhere else!
their drunken chicken here is great as well along with anything taiwanese related!
loveeeeeeeeeee
By far my favorite, 100% authentic Chinese restaurant!
I discovered Four Rivers by accident three and a half years back --- wandering with friends in Chinatown after not finding enough seating in Penang. We ran into a group of Chinese students from our b-school who recommended that we give it a try. Fortune favors the brave and we've had amazing food ever since.
Walking into the restaurant, nothing really catches the eye. Functional decor, average ambience, high noise levels, waiters bustling around (audibly). Nothing special.
You look at the menu and while the cuisine is Szechuan (spicy), it doesn't really reach out and grab your attention --- unless you are fluent in Chinese (some of the English translations are amusing --- referring to intestines of in-laws!). It has a dejavu feel to it.
But, wait... something caught my ere --- Szechuan chicken (spicy and tingly). Hmmm, if this is an 'authentic' restaurant, what the hell do they mean by "Szechuan chicken?" (For those who don't get this: think of an item in an Indian restaurant that says "Indian curry") And why is it additionally noted as "spicy and tingly"? None of the people on the table understood what the Chinese name meant, in terms of a dish familiar to them. We were fortunate that we had the manager waiting on our table. She took a look at our group --- fairly United Nations, realized that some of us could understand Chinese, and made the judgment call to be blunt. She replied, "Lots of people come into the restaurant not knowing what to expect from "authentic Szechuan" food. We also have no idea as to how much spice they can handle. This dish helps us understand that. People look at the name and want to try the dish. We look at their reaction, and then adjust the spice level for their later dishes up or down." She smiled. We were howling on the table with laughter. That decided it for us --- we put our menus aside and let her recommend what she liked. And to present the spice level, as she deemed fit for the particular dish. That is an art, as some restaurants in an effort to stand out just kill the individual flavor of the dish by going to any extreme --- boringly mild or 'kill your taste buds' hot.
We have loved whatever has since been recommended --- vegetarian or otherwise. But, by now I have my favorites: Cumin beef, string beans, shredded potato with Chinese green pepper, Spicy Chengdu chicken, Kung Pao chicken (to balance the spice level), seafood hot pot, Crispy whole fish with Hunan sauce.
Four Rivers is the best value for money authentic Chinese food you can get. It is a delight to discover an ethnic restaurant that sticks close to its roots and doesn't serve a toned down version to broaden its appeal.
So I don't know what the hubbub is with this place. Last night, my friend and I tried some "authentic" Chinese food. I ordered yu shiang ro shi, (pork strips in garlic sauce), salt baked squid, and some green vegetables. To be honest, everything was subpar though edible. Perhaps I didn't order the right szechuan dishes, but these plates were pretty deplorable for any "authentic" Chinese restaurant. 2.5 stars for this one.
I had been craving some good chinese food for a few days now, and Four Rivers was on my list of places to try. We entered the sparsely decorated dining area and were greeted by a slightly awkward server who took our order. We received our food in no time, and were hardly finished with our soup when appetizer and main dishes arrived all at once-yikes!. Hot and sour soup was good and spicy- scallion pancakes were delicious- not greasy and you could actually taste that they were made with scallions. We ordered vegetable lo mein which was tasty- the vegetables were crunchy and fresh, light, delicious with a nutty flavor..mmmm. The Szechuan tofu was good and spicy tho my boyfriend found it a bit too salty....I really enjoyed the Szechuan flavor. Overall my experience here was positive and my appetite for chinese food satisfied. I'm glad I tried this place, but will probably explore more options before visiting again.
Four Rivers is absolute bliss. Never before have I had Chinese food this authentic. Plus the wait staff are so nice, and amazingly fluent with descriptions of food. Totally affordable, and oh so delish! I recommend the Chef's Noodles or the Chicken and Corn Soup.
Great place, minus one for decor/size/confusing menu. The food is really authentic and delicious.
One of the only places in Philly to get good Schezuan cuisine. We tried the spicy beef, spicy string-beans, and the shrimp. All very well prepared. If you're in Philly and want spicy Chinese, this is the place to go.
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Burmese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
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