Cin Cin’s Wonton Soup Wows

Over the last several weeks there has been plenty of Chinese news to talk about—the withdraw of the Chinese artifacts from the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology’s Secrets of the Silk Road Exhibition, and Chinese New Year, the year of the rabbit. Unfortunately, the food at Cin Cin won’t be making headlines—except perhaps the wonton soup.

With great expectations, I headed over to on a seriously chilly and snowy evening believing that a steaming bowl of noodle soup would surely wipe out my winter woes. Cin Cin translates to “delightful spring”—oh how I wish. Just last month one of owner David Wei’s other ventures, Yangming in Bryn Mawr, was recognized as the top Chinese restaurant in the United States by Chinese Restaurant News.

Furthermore, according to Cin Cin’s Web site, they have received a slew of “tops,” “best ofs,” and “award[s] of distinction”; noticeably missing are dates.  

The interior, low ceilings, oak panels and geometric Asian inspired windows and partitions show glimmers of potential but need to be refreshed as does the melon and teal palate. Nevertheless, my worn mauve chair was quite comfortable and I was ready to dig my chopsticks in; though settled for the provided western tools. 

The Chinese New Year menu was tempting but only available for parties of four or more and given that I was a party of two I stuck with selections available on their regular dinner menu and their winter menu additions.

Prior to cracking the menu, my guest had declared that he planned to order the typical dishes that he so loves at carts and corners across Philadelphia—crispy spring rolls, Wonton Soup and one of the American palette favs, General Tso’s Chicken. 

Clever, I thought.

My picks—barbecued spare ribs, and from the winter menu, striped Bass with a potato crust in a sake-mirin chili sauce. 

The highlight of the evening arrived first, the wonton soup. Also arriving with the soup and ahead of the spring rolls were the typical Chinese accoutrements—mustard and duck sauce—and these were some of the best I’ve tasted.

Back to the soup—the consommé base carried a lovely depth of flavor while maintaining a delicateness that would not overpower its contents. The contents, tiny shreds of not too dry (as often happens) pork, chiffonade of cabbage, scallion and three superstar wontons that gracefully slid about.

The crisp bite of the cabbage, clearly added at the end of preparation, contributed immensely as it provided a welcomed textural contrast with the silken savory filled pillows and surely helped this version to rise above those put forth from the carts. Of note, however, is that it did not arrive steaming.

Next up, the spring rolls were average at best. In contrast to the soup, the rolls were piping hot and dripping with oil. In fact, the oil was the predominant flavor so much that it completely overwhelmed the filling. Doused with generous spoonfuls of the aforementioned duck or mustard sauces, we enjoyed them as we liked the sauces so much and were in need of a vehicle.  

The spare ribs were good, not great. The meat was tender on the cusp of dry and the flavor of the barbecue marinade was on the too subtle end of the intensity spectrum. Ever so slightly sweet, ever so slightly smoky, ever so slightly spicy and in need of more sauce, we did not need the “Hot-Cold Towels” provided but used them anyway.

When our mains arrived, I perked up—visually speaking they were impressive. Taste-wise, they both fell flat with one memorable exception—the vegetables on the fish plate.

My medley of asparagus, snow peas, shiitake and fine ribbons of red bell pepper were exquisitely cooked and perfectly seasoned. Perhaps the first of our dishes to exhibit the “refined French flair” claimed on their Web site—I suspect there may have been a fair degree of butter involved. The shoestring potato crust on the bass was fried beautifully, but sadly at the expense of the fish which became overcooked and oil lodged.

The General Tso’s was fine, but not memorable and certainly not worth the $5 to $7 mark-up on cart or standard takeout prices.

Cin Cin’s dessert offerings were an eclectic mix—tiramisu, green tea ice cream, crème brulee, and lychees were among the selections. We decided to go all-in French and went for crème brulee. It was of the dense eggy custard variety and was flavorful and rich with a well rendered brulee. The tepid espresso sans crema was disappointing, but the chocolate dipped fortunate cookies erased that small stumble immediately.

Would I return for a second visit? Sure, but first I’d make the trip to Bryn Mawr to check out Cin Cin’s sister restaurant, Yangming. Additionally, with appetizer prices between $2.50 (for the nearly stellar wonton soup) and $8.95, and entrée prices between $8.95 and $21.95, I would first consider if the inflated prices are worth the subtle improvement over standard Chinese fare—if I had a hankering for wonton soup that’d be an easy ‘yes.’  Worth mentioning is that the service was friendly, efficient and unobtrusive—my water glass was never empty and I hardly noticed it being filled.