Located between Harrison and Oxford streets, this tiny Chinese restaurant is extremely popular now that it is on the Ritz Carlton’s suggested Restaurants. (Also included on this list is Franklin Cafe, O Ya etc). Getting a table at peak dining times is near impossible. We’ve been by here several times and have left for the following reasons- the hostess seated people who came after we did since they had a larger group or the wait time was longer than we were told, i.e. we were told 45 minutes, but waited much longer than that. The service is slow and inconsistent, but the food is good.
Deliciously moist and crunchy on the bottom. The soy dipping sauce is perfectly tangy from the addition of vinegar.
Beef Chow fun dry style was another favorite dish made of long wide flat rice noodles with soy sauce, bean sprouts, green onions and beef.
On the way home we stopped and grabbed two desserts at Bao Bao Bakery to eat on the walk home.
Adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Soak the rice noodles in hot water for about 15 minutes or until they soften. Drain and set aside. To make the pad thai sauce,Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes to extract the juice. Squeeze the seeds and membrane of the tamarind pulp to get the juice.
Filter the tamarind juice for use and discard the residue. In a small sauce pan, heat up tamarind juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and paprika powder. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat when it’s done.
Heat up a wok and add oil. When the oil is very hot, add the minced garlic and do a few quick stirs. Add shrimp into the wok and stir until half-cooked and then add the fried tofu pieces, noodles and pad thai sauce into the wok and stir continuously. Push the noodles to one side and crack the eggs into the wok, break it up by stirring and wait for 10-15 seconds, and then stir in the noodles. Add bean sprouts and chives into the wok, stir for 1 minute, dish out, sprinkle some peanuts on top and serve with a wedge (or two wedges) of lime.
We served it with fried wonton wrapped shrimps and sticky-sweet chili glazed chicken wings.
You’ve gotta love a little hole in the wall backstreet kinda place. It keeps it real. Decor is simple and the waitstaff are friendly and quick to come around to take your order. There’s a small area in the front for outdoor dining. We opted for the indoors and air-conditioning since it was so humid.
Crispy chips and homemade salsa that was slightly runny but very fresh
My favorite thing to accompany any Mexican food I eat. This was a good version, not overly spiced and had a hint of tomatoes.
A flattened oval shape of fried goodness, need I say more?
I didn’t get to try this because it was promptly devoured even though I was promised a bite! However, I was assured it was “very good.”
This combo plate gave me a chance to try a few different things. The chille relleno was very good and not covered in grease. The green chile enchilada was dry inside unfortunately. The beans were oversalted for my taste and the rice was perfect.
This was the surprise winner of the night. The tongue meat was juicy, tender, and unusually springy. I could have eaten a few of these.
Who doesn’t like something that tastes like a light rice or almond milk flavored with cinnamon? I adore horchata and have been known to make it on occasion. It was better than my old standby’s actually! It was a toss up between this and an aguafresca or jugo especiale. Next time.
This small restaurant is located in the industrial part of Moody St. Note that parking is very tough and only available on the right side of the street. The small lot in the back of the restaurant is full and only seems to fit about 6-8 cars.
Tel: (781) 647-0166
