Philadelphians are well acquainted with the regional specialties of Southern China’s Guangzhou Province; its Cantonese cooking dominated Chinatown for a century before the more recent arrival of lip-numbing Szechuan spice and juicy Shanghai soup dumplings. The flavors of Northeast China are far less common, but Meet Harbin — a year-old restaurant named for the Heilongjiang Province’s largest city — is ready to make the introduction. Located in the cozy Sansom Street dining rooms once occupied by Su Xing House, a longtime destination for vegan Chinese, followed by a short-lived Szechuan kitchen, Meet Harbin’s broad menu is diligent about maintaining those clienteles. There’s plenty of veggie options and confident takes on Chengdu-style specialties, such as a stir fry of Chinese cauliflower with potato batons and crunchy lotus root rings that radiate a spicy snap worth a visit of its own.

But the real treasures here come from the Jiang family’s hometown of Harbin, a place so cold it’s known as the Ice City, and a hub on the Trans-Siberian railway that historically brought culinary influences (and residents) from Russia and farther west. Guo bao rou, or very tender slices of pork crisped inside a crunchy potato starch crust, is one of the region’s most famous dishes. It’s irresistible here, glossed in a clear and delicately balanced sweet-and-sour sauce. I was just as fascinated by the frequent use of sauerkraut across the menu, especially in pork dumplings with rustic, hand-crimped edges that I found to be absolutely delicious. There are many more Northeastern Chinese specialties I’ve yet to try here, including braised pork knuckles, pig ears in chili sauce, and smoked pork steamed buns. But considering its proximity to Rittenhouse Square, where quality Chinese options are relatively sparse beyond DanDan, I’ll surely be back soon enough. Meet Harbin, 1508 Sansom St., 215-564-2949, suxinghouserestaurant.com

— Craig LaBan

Scampi’s Liz Grothe is a genius. Or maybe she’s sick and twisted. I’m not sure what has to be going on in your head to dream up mozzarella stuffed soft shell crab parm.

We visited the Midwestern fancy-meets-Italian restaurant on a whim Wednesday for à la carte night and, boy, I’m so glad. Grothe immediately told us about her vision. “[This crab] was alive 30 minutes ago, then I stabbed it and stuffed it with mozzarella,” she said while placing the heavy plate in front of us.

Naturally, the crustacean laid atop a bed of spaghetti marinara. Odd but it works, coming off almost like a crabby, crispy mozzarella stick. I cannot imagine Scampi will serve this often. It seems labor intensive and hyper-seasonal. But it’s absolutely something you should resolve to try if you ever see it pop up on the restaurant’s Instagram stories. Scampi, 617 S. Third St., scampiphilly.com

— Emily Bloch

For their second eatery, “Skinny Joey” Merlino and sidekick Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. have set up a stand on Wildwood’s boardwalk between a Dairy Queen and a game where 10 bucks gets you three chances to win a stuffed animal by knocking down a soccer player. The overloaded cheesesteaks are the same you’ll find at the original on Broad Street near the South Philadelphia sports complex. But in Wildwood the sign out front, you’ll notice, ends with “& Pizza.”

What is a Shore shop without pizza? Two of Merlino and Perri Jr.’s business partners own pizzerias. The pizza recipe – thin-crusted, foldable, heavily baked, generously mozzarellaed – comes from Vito’s in Cherry Hill. The stromboli comes from the Pizza Shack at 15th and Oregon in South Philly. There are three kinds here: broccoli, steak, and pepperoni, all wrapped in a thin crust and well-seasoned with oregano, black pepper, and garlic. The cheese is a power move: While the steak is paired with American, they use provolone for the broccoli and pepperoni. The provolone gives it stretch and lovely tang. Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza, 2812 Boardwalk, Wildwood, N.J., 609-522-7010, theskinnyjoeyscheesesteaks.com/pages/wildwood-nj

— Michael Klein

It’s time to live my truth: I love chopped liver and would add it to every sandwich if I could, haters be damned. So what if it’s just ground chicken livers and always a pale gray-ish brown, like the color that prompts you to ask someone if they’re sick? It’s protein-rich and earthy, with a slightly sweet aftertaste that makes all the judgement from others worth it.

I finally got the chance to do some chopped liver-maxxing at Radin’s Delicatessen in Cherry Hill, deli magnate Russ Cowan’s excellent swan song of a business venture. My hack: adding a layer of liver to an overstuffed corned beef sandwich on rye bread. All of Radin’s sandwiches are dense — just piles of thinly-shaved meat packed inside bread to the point of nearly tipping over — but the chopped liver’s multi-dimensional flavors somehow made everything feel more manageable. Don’t knock it ‘ti you try it. Radin’s Delicatessen, 486 E. Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J., 856-509-5492, radinsdelicatessen.com

— Beatrice Forman