Unbreaded

Buns Of Steal At Chifa

Chef Jose Garces’ Peruvian-Cantonese hybrid restaurant offers a Buns & Beers menu each weekday from 5PM – 7PM that is both satifying and a good value.  Small sandwiches are paired with draught beers and offered at a very attractive price.  For $25, you can get four beers and four buns, offering you a taste of the pork, chicken, duck or shrimp – or any combination of those.

The most popular bun is the pork belly, which is sous-vide for 10 hours, then grilled and coated in Chifa’s house-made hoisin sauce.  Served with shaved pickled carrots and a spicy mayo on a steamed white bun, the pork belly is currently paired with Flying Fish’s OktoberFish Ale.  Also served on the steamed white bun is the shrimp, which is tossed in a salt-bake crust, flash fried, and then tossed in chile mayo with avocado.  Elysian’s Immortal IPA is paired with the shrimp.

The grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and frisee is paired with Philadelphia Brewing Co’s Kenzinger Lager.  It is served on Chifa’s own pan de bono, which are made of 20% Yuca flour and 80% a mixture of manchego cheese and queso fresco.  The braised duck on a brioche bun is also sous-vide for 8 hours, then pulled apart and tossed with duck jus for a rich and meaty sandwich that pairs with Allagash white.

A great deal, and a perfect meal for those of us who have trouble choosing just one sandwich.

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Chifa
707 Chestnut Street – Philadelphia, PA 19106 (Google Map)