One of Chinatown’s newest spots specializes in Cantonese steamed rice rolls

When done well, cheung fun, or Cantonese steamed rice rolls, are made to order and don’t need fillings or toppings to be delicious. Wrapped around beef and Chinese savory crullers, (youtiao), they’re a popular item at dim sum. But the best cheung fun is typically found at vendors dedicated to the silken, slippery, wide noodles, who specialize in perfecting the cheung fun’s crepe-like layers.

Susie Ruan and her husband Jackie opened Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun, a cheung fun-dedicated storefront at 50 N 10th St. at the end of January. They relocated from Lewisburg, where they owned and operated a restaurant by the same name in Chinese (but spelled Heng Ji in English). They served standard Chinese-American classics there, like broccoli beef with rice, salt and pepper shrimp, and orange chicken, as well as hot pot.

They closed their Lewisburg location at the end of December and relocated to Philadelphia to devote themselves to the art of the steamed rice roll. “We just love making cheung fun!” said Susie, who is originally from Guangdong.

And the Ruans’ are indeed excellent and made fresh to order. Unlike the cheung fun found at most dim sum spots, these are not wrapped around a meat or youtiao filling. Tucked between the gossamer-thin, wide noodle‘s delicate wrinkles are unctuous bits of beef or sliced char siu pork.

Soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and chili oil, found on its counter, are available (and encouraged) as condiments.

Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun also serves hearty beef bone broths, skewers of fish balls, and enormous bowls of thin but hearty congee, topped with slivers of fresh ginger. It joins Yin Ji Rice Roll in Chinatown, which opened a year ago, as a cheung fun-focused establishment.

Hen Ji Hou Wei Xuan Cheung Fun, 50 N10th St, 267-888-3233. Open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Counter seating and takeout only.