Chinese

Shaanxi Gourmet Natick

July 20, 2018 by Rich 13 Comments

I lost count trying to remember the amount of times I’ve visited Shaanxi Gourmet. This place has been a part of my driving route after shopping at the Natick Mall. There’s only one dish I come here for and it’s the Da Pan Ji, which literally translates to Large Plate Chicken. See pics to begin salivating.

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 4.5/5
Quality to price 4.5/5
Portion to price 5/5
Average = 4.67

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3/5
Promptness 3/5
Average = 3

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 3/5
Dining area 4/5
Kitchen area 4/5
Average = 3.67

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [3.04]+[0.6]+[0.55]
= 4.19

What else to know: Although not really a Shaanxi speciality and more of a Xinjiang one, of all the places I’ve tried in the Boston area Shaanxi Gourmet has the best Da Pan Ji making it a hidden treasure since it’s not even a highlight in their menu. I have yet to try their other dishes simply due to their Da Pan Ji literally being too large for me to get anything else. My GF and I always end up taking the rest home! For $21.95 + $3 for noodles, I can say it feeds about 3.5 people which makes it a steal of a deal. At this rate, I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to try their main draws of Roujiamo (Chinese burger) and Paomo (Lamb Soup w/ Pita Bread).

C Fruit Life Allston

July 18, 2018 by Rich 21 Comments

C Fruit Life. What could the C stand for? High Expectation Asian Father would not be happy, why not get an A in Fruit Life. Whatever the C is for, after trying their desserts I reckon the C’s got to stand for one of these, if not together: Cute Chinese Cafe.

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 3.5/5
Quality to price 4/5
Portion to price 3/5
Average = 3.5

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3/5
Promptness 3/5
Average = 3

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom n/a
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 5/5
Average = 5

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.28]+[0.6]+[0.75]
= 3.63

What else to know: Going through their menu, I was pleased by the sheer amount of items they had. This is your one stop shop for sweets. It didn’t stop at desserts though as they carried pizza of all things. These pizza’s reminded me of the personal sized ones at Pizza Hut, except these may be better for the different varieties. For today, I had the Fried Milk Curd and Coconut Mango Season. The Fried Milk Curd, I could probably go without and the Coconut Mango Season I could order again on a hot summer day. It was delicious and subtle in sweetness which is what I like. As for the Fried Milk Curd, I usually don’t order fried desserts so this was a total wild card for me but the picture was enticing enough (I wasn’t ready for the mayo on the side). If you’re not a fan of fried desserts, then you can skip this one otherwise this is a must order if you love fried desserts. Kitchen and dining areas are clean as a whistle. This review isn’t really over until I try their other products such as their beverages, snowdaes, and pochette to get a better grasp. What a good way to keep me coming.

Clay Pot Café Boston

June 12, 2018 by Rich 23 Comments

Clay Pot Rice, you are the ultimate of all comfort foods! You know when you run out of places to eat and you can’t make a decision where to go? Well Clay Pot Cafe is the place if you’re feeling indecisive… You’re welcome.

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 5/5
Quality to price 4/5
Portion to price 4/5
Average = 4.33

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3/5
Promptness 3/5
Average = 3

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom n/a
Dining area 3/5
Kitchen area 3/5
Average = 3

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.81]+[0.6]+[0.45]
= 3.86

What else to know: I haven’t tried everything on their menu because I didn’t need to. The Yellow Eel Claypot Rice is what stopped me from trying anything else. 3 days have passed and I’m still thinking about it (I generally, don’t even like eating eel). I just wish they gave more eel meat as these bowls tend to have a 1:3 ratio of eel to rice portions. Not to say the rice isn’t good, because it is delicious! The burnt rice is the best part. Wait a few minutes before digging in and the rice will reward your patience once it turns golden brown. Trust me 🙂

Koi Japanese Cuisine

June 11, 2018 by Rich 13 Comments

If you want to try something different, want to go somewhere “foreign”, and love spicy hot pot, I strongly recommend this place. It’s a small ma and pa type of restaurant. My GF and I have been going here for almost 2 years now!

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 5/5
Quality to price 4.5/5
Portion to price 2.5/5
Average = 4

Service (20%)
Friendliness 4/5
Promptness 4/5
Average = 4

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 3.5/5
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 4/5
Average = 4.17

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.6]+[0.8]+[0.63]
= 4.03

What else to know: Be ready. The prices here seems to be getting more expensive. After the price of the broth and a few items, it can easily become expensive so monitor your orders. Besides that, this is my favorite place to get hot pot. They have some things in their menu you just cannot find anywhere else in Boston. They also have a self-serve mini sauce bar (similar to Spring Shabu Shabu) that’s got to be taken advantage of. My go-to sauce mix is minced garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce, red vinegar, and a bunch of cilantro. You can also ignore the word “sushi” in their name because there’s nothing sushi about it. They actually removed their sushi menu because their customers only go there for one thing, Spicy Hot Pot!

One Pot Malden

May 23, 2018 by Rich 40 Comments

We ended up here because we couldn’t find any parking in Chinatown. Should we have known better than to try finding parking on a Sunday? No, because days like that wouldn’t have allowed us to find hidden restaurants like this 🙂

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 4/5
Quality to price 3.5/5
Portion to price 4/5
Average = 3.83

Service (20%)
Friendliness 5/5
Promptness 5/5
Average = 5

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 4/5
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 4/5
Average = 4.33

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.49]+[1]+[0.65]
= 3.24

What else to know: Once again, I entrusted our hand dandy Yelp app to guide us to a nice restaurant for lunch. We ended up here and I was pleasantly surprised. This place is like Hello Kitty cute. A lot of effort was put into constructing this place. Nice decorations and pretty much new (this place opened a couple of months ago). Immediately we were greeted by what appears to be the owner who was very nice and accommodating. My GF and I got a 3 course meal because we were simply starving after making the trip here from our failed Chinatown voyage lol. The food was good. With so much more on their menu, I know I’ve only scratched the surface. I will have to come back to try other dishes and will update accordingly. Good luck to the business, you guys will do well!

Tim Ho Wan NYC

May 18, 2018 by Rich 12 Comments

There’s Tim Ho Wan, and a mile below are the rest. I’ll make it easy for my readers, Tim Ho Wan is the best dim sum restaurant I’ve ever been to. Keep reading if you want to know more.

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 5/5
Quality to price 5/5
Portion to price 4/5
Average = 4.67

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3.5/5
Promptness 4/5
Average = 3.75

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 4/5
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 5/5
Average = 4.67

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [3.04]+[0.75]+[0.7]
= 4.49

What else to know: Prior to coming here, I was a little skeptical considering my last experience was a huge disappointment at another Michelin acclaimed dim sum place (cough cough Din Tai Fung). To be frank, I was expecting watered down Americanized dim sum and to my surprise, when I saw chicken feet I was immediately calmed knowing this place may have not lost its roots. There, I ordered pretty much a quarter of the menu because I just didn’t know when the next time I’ll be able to make a visit. Looking back, I wish I had ordered everything because there was not one item I didn’t like. This is the king of all dim sum places, coming here on an empty stomach is mandatory. You will thank me later.

Xiang Yu China Bistro

May 7, 2018 by Rich 16 Comments

What used be Takusan Sushi is now Xiang Yu China Bistro. After my first visit, I will say I was pleasantly surprised. This place brings it! Food here is simply delicious!

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 4/5
Quality to price 4/5
Portion to price 4/5
Average = 4

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3.5/5
Promptness 3.5/5
Average = 3.5

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 4/5
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 5/5
Average = 4.67

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.6]+[0.7]+[0.7]
= 4

What else to know: I happened to be at Trader Joe’s and suddenly craved for something spicy. I go on my Yelp and Xiang Yu China Bistro with 5 stars pops up. That immediately caught my eye and after trying a couple of dishes I have no regrets. With so many Hunan and Sichuan restaurants popping up everywhere, this place was refreshing. For once the food was actually spicy. You see, I’ve built a tolerance over the years and my lips do not get numb anymore from Sichuan peppercorns. After a few bites, it was quite satisfying (for a spicy food lover) having the need to gasp for air. To my surprise, there was only one waiter that day. With over 10 tables to himself, he brought the food out pretty fast. Kudos to that man 🙂 Although he was fast, understandably we had to wait for some time for water. Trust me, you will need it!

Steamed Soup Dumplings
Spicy Beef Hot Pot
Chicken in Chili Oil
Spicy Pork Kidney

Pot Bar

April 24, 2018 by Rich 41 Comments

This placed was once a Hookah Bar, then it became a “Pot” Bar… I thought to myself, “Wow, this is a Boston first.”

Food: See pic (65%)
Taste to price 4/5
Quality to price 3/5
Portion to price 3.5/5
Average = 3.5

Service (20%)
Friendliness 3.5/5
Promptness 2/5
Average = 2.75

Cleanliness (15%)
Bathroom 5/5
Dining area 5/5
Kitchen area 5/5
Average = 5

Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)]
= [2.28]+[0.55]+[0.75]
= 3.58

What else to know: I was sort of right on the first pot bar thing but wrong on so many levels of my imagination :$ This place is a Hot Pot Full Service Restaurant. Something was lost in translation from Chinese to English.

I actually came here on their soft opening back in March so I will have to come back for another review. I’m sure they’ve streamlined their processes and changed menu items since then. This place is a little bit of a different twist to your typical hot pot. Instead of throwing the veggies and meat yourself into your pot, they bring the pot to you already mixed. In otherwords, DIY hot pot became DIFM hot pot. I ordered the House Special Hot Pot which took quite some time to arrive. I will give them the benefit of doubt and label this a soft opening hiccup. As for the soup, it was pretty tasty considering I’m a fan of mala flavored foods but I did notice the price. At $12.95 with the selected veggies and meat, it was a little steep factoring in the portion and time of the day as I came in during lunch hours. Could a lunch menu be in development 🙂 ? I think it would help them a lot. I conclude by wishing this place best of luck and I look forward to my second visit. Good luck guys.

House Special
Fried Fermented Tofu

Chinese

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