It was nowhere near a lake -- and nowhere near a deli, for that matter. Lakeside Chinese Deli, doling out dumplings on Ninth near Race for 19 years, has closed. A sign on the door posted over the weekend mentions retirement and charitably points customers to Imperial Inn. I'm trying to track down owner Brenda Leung.
Despite the shabby looks, Inquirer critic Craig LaBan awarded it two bells back in 2001.
When one door closes, another opens. I'm hearing about the comeback of a long-closed Chinatown favorite. Stay tuned.
Photo by Michael S. Wirtz / The Philadelphia Inquirer
Comments (6)
Real pride in the food and the service. Will be sadly missed.
Posted by Anonymous | January 8, 2008 8:11 AM
Posted on January 8, 2008 08:11
OH NO!!!!!!!!!!! They had the BEST dim sum in the city -- all made to order, no steam carts. Nice people, too. We will miss them!
Posted by lakeside fan | January 8, 2008 10:58 AM
Posted on January 8, 2008 10:58
I just did take-out there the last weekend before it closed. No indication that it was closing. Made a large dim sum order, and it was better than ever. A real loss.
Posted by RIP | January 8, 2008 2:36 PM
Posted on January 8, 2008 14:36
I'm going to miss Brenda and the shrimp dumplin's, baby bok choy, soft shell crabs, boo hoo...Happy Retirement Brenda and gang, you deserve it!
Posted by shrimpdumplin | January 8, 2008 4:38 PM
Posted on January 8, 2008 16:38
I am heartbroken over this news. I celebrated many birthdays there (I swear that it was never more than $14 per person no matter how much we ordered) and loved the barbecued pork buns and crispy pan fried noodle with chicken almost as much as my pets. And the staff/owners were super accommodating. I tried it in the first place because of Craig LaBan's review -- a clue also to how different a kind of food critic he was than we had previously in Philly, too.
Sheh-sheh, Lakeside Chinese Deli!
Posted by Allison | January 9, 2008 12:16 AM
Posted on January 9, 2008 00:16
What a shame. Many fond dim sum memories from college there.
Posted by Ryan | January 9, 2008 6:21 PM
Posted on January 9, 2008 18:21