"All right. Everybody upstairs. Get dressed. We're going out to eat," Old Man Parker
declared in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story. After the Bumpus hounds devoured the family's Christmas turkey, the Parkers feasted on Peking duck, which Ralphie referred to as "Chinese turkey." Our family loves recreating this meal at Sang Kee Peking Duck House in Philadelphia's Chinatown. The Peking Duck Dinner for Four is the gift that keeps on giving, course after course. You'll start with the comforting wonton vegetable soup, followed by a whole Peking duck with your choice of mooshu pancakes or lotus leaf buns. The duck skin is perfectly crispy, separated from the tender meat by a rich, creamy layer. You'll enjoy sides of XO duck with string beans and mixed pork, as well as duck and pineapple fried rice. In addition to the main course, you'll also be served entree sized portions of chicken with eggplant in garlic sauce and honey-coated walnut shrimp. Each dish is absolutely incredible. You'll find yourself scraping the last remnants of sauces and meat off of the serving dish, so not to waste a single bite.
You can walk off some of your supper in the quarter mile between Sang Kee and Franklin Square. One of Philadelphia's five original squares, Franklin Square caters to fun for the entire family. During the holiday season, it is home to the Electrical Spectacle light show, which runs every half an hour from 5pm until closing. This year, you can also partake in iceless "street curling," Chilly Philly miniature golf, fire pits, and, the year-round Parx Liberty Carousel. Inside a heated tent, Ben's Sweets and Treats is offering up hot chocolate and cider, cocktails, DIY s'mores, cookie decorating kits, chocolate dipped pretzels, and caramel drizzled apple cider donut bites.
New York City gets all the credit for being a Christmas metropolis, but Philadelphia certainly shines during the holidays, if you just know where to look.
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