Philippe Awards

Philippe Restaurant Review:

Philippe is a chic, contemporary Chinese restaurant whose owner, namesake and executive chef is Philippe Chow, the former stove master at Mr. Chow. After sampling some signature cocktails like the signature Philipptini, a fruity concoction of lychee and pineapple, head through a side doorway to the lovely front dining room (ask to be seated in the back room under the vaulted skylight). The design is subtle, elegantly rustic---a hint of night sky, a wood-beam ceiling, and an extra-large vase of stylishly-situated twigs. By contrast, the menu is a rich mixture of Asian influences and traditional Chinese cuisine. Noodles and dumplings find favor on the menu and, though the jade dumplings could use some polishing, the crab meat soup dumplings are promising as is Mr. Cheng's Singapore Handmade Noodles (shrimp, scallions, bean sprouts and peppers in a curry sauce). Noodle aficionados should arrive before 8 p.m. to enjoy the nightly noodle-pulling show by noodle chef Wai Ming Cheng. If appetizers like the chicken satay with Chef Chow's famous cream sauce only sate some of your hunger pains, the specialties of the house, including the nine-seasons spicy prawns in a sweet-and-sour sauce or the drunken sea bass in white wine will squelch the rest.