Tag Archives: NTN

Pho Countryside, Quincy

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Pho Countryside used to be the former Pho Yuen Dong. I’m glad this place was renovated October 2011 and has new ownership. The results are very pleasing and hopefully will help drive business. Service is pretty attentive but please note it can be somewhat rocky if the place is very busy. The menu is varied and has many classic Vietnamese dishes such as bo luc lac, goi cuon, bo bay mon and many others. The prices for a decent Vietnamese meal are fair and certainly will not put a hole in your pocket.

Goi cuon – grilled pork fresh summer roll with peanut sauce

These fresh rice paper salad rolls are one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. I typically get one as an appetizer but if you have the privilege of having a goi cuon party at home, don’t hesitate to have a lot of them for dinner. My favorite version has boiled or grilled shrimp in it but my dining companion that night is allergic so we went with grilled pork. The pork was freshly grilled and you could taste the sweet and savory marinade. Paired with the Hoisin peanut sauce, it’s always a winner for me. If you want to try making them at home, we have a good vegetarian goi cuon recipe on our site that you could easily sub the tofu for grilled pork.

Bo la lot- ground beef wrapped in betel leaves

Basically you take a lettuce leaf, layer on the vermicelli and vegetables along with a few bo la lot, then roll it up and dip it in nuoc mam cham if desired. When you bite into it, you’ll get a wonderfully herbacious, almost lemony taste from the betel leaves and slightly peppery aroma to the beef. The aroma is truly different and it also helps to seal in the beef’s moisture and juices while being grilled.

Bo luc lac- shaken beef with red rice

This is a very popular traditional Vietnamese steak and rice dish. The title for “shaking” beef or “luc lac” comes from the physical shaking of the wok or pan the beef is cooked in. Bo luc lac usually comes with a lime-salt-pepper sauce or a soy-chili sauce. This version came coated in a mild soy-chili sauce. The red rice here is just plain old regular white rice jazzed up with a bit of tomato paste to make it orangy-red colored. It’s a more traditional way to eat bo luc lac.

Bun thit nuong chai gio- vermicelli noodle bowl with grilled pork and spring roll

This is one of the most common and popular Vietnamese dishes around. There’s always many variations in a restaurant because there’s so many ways to serve vermicelli noodles with vegetables. The savory and slightly sweet lemongrass marinaded grilled pork, crunchy spring roll, fresh herbs, cucumbers, pickled carrots and daikon, crushed roasted peanuts, scallion oil and nuoc mam cham drenched vermicelli is always a standby comfort food for me. Somehow it always reminds me of my childhood and eating out with my parents.

Any time we’re going to do a little food shopping at Kam Man, we’ll definitely be visiting Pho Countryside to sample their Vietnamese cuisine, we’ve already got our eyes on the chicken or beef pho and the banh xeo.

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Grotto, Beacon Hill, Boston

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Grotto is an adorable romantic small Italian restaurant located in Beacon Hill. When you enter the divey basement restaurant all you see is a sweeping room of chic red. There is exposed brick walls and unique artwork from locals. They do a wonderful prixe fixe for $36 nightly. You get your choice of an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert off their regular menu per person. Service was prompt, polite and considerate. The portions were generous and we ended up taking half of our mains home.

Fontina cheese fondue, Beef tenderloin, Aged balsamic, Truffle oil, Portobello mushrooms $10

The Fontina cheese fondue with comes with some tender beef tenderloin, meaty Portobello mushrooms, aged balsamic vinegar and truffle oil. The cheese fondue had a nice rustic, creamy consistency. The portions are pretty generous the only thing I wish there was more of was beef! It seems like they give you more mushrooms than beef in the serving I got.

Crab ravioli, Asparagus, Almonds, Saffron (half portion as an appetizer) $10

There’s actually 4 ravioli in a half order, just to be clear. One of my dining companions snagged one before I could get a picture. The al dente pasta had creamy seafood filling, the asparagus and sweet tomatoes went well with the buttery saffron sauce.

House prepared ricotta cavatelle, Sausage, Peas, Mushrooms, Pancetta, Cream $10

The perfect balance of cream and pancetta combined with crumbles of sausage, sweet peas, toothsome mushrooms and lovely al dente pasta. This was a wonderfully satisfying starter.

Apple stuffed duck breast, Crispy leg, prosciutto, Dried cherries, Parmesan potatoes, Black truffle, Madeira $21

The proscuitto-wrapped stuffed duck breast was tender and cooked perfectly, the crispy leg with cherries delicious and the cheesy potatoes was creamy with lots of Parmesan and truffles. This dish was interesting because each of the 3 items in the dish were great on their own, but if you combined a bite of each all together, it wasn’t so great. There was nothing to tie each of the items to each other in terms of flavors.

House cut tagliatelle pasta, San Marzano tomatoes, Lamb, Pork, Beef

This was delicious. I’m a huge fan of well executed bolognese, especially the kind with multiple types of meat. The bolognese sauce was rich without being overpowering and robust with flavor.  Everything about it was perfect. My dining companion cleaned his plate with the bread.

Butter poached lobster, linguine, spicy tomato sauce $21

This was very tasty. I wish there was more lobster however, not half a tail and 1 claw. The spiciness of the tomato sauce was pleasant and went well with the buttery sweet lobster and al dente linguine.

Pannacotta $9 (foreground), chocolate cake $9 (background)

A blend of velvety custard and smooth gelatin, one of my all time favorites, Panna Cotta. Grotto’s lemon version is bright and refreshing with a decadent balsamic raspberry sauce and a crispy pizzelle cookie. The lemon flavor was very pronounced in some bites however.

Melting chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream It is a VERY dense chocolate cake, that was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Not my favorite dessert sheerly because molten chocolate lava cake is everywhere these days.

Banana bread pudding, caramel sauce, caramel ice cream and spice nuts $9

This was my favorite dessert of the night. The rich sweet yet slightly bitter caramel ice cream melted into the banana bread pudding so it soaked in the ice cream. It was heaven on a plate.

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Navy Yard Bistro, Charlestown

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The Navy Yard Bistro is a charming local restaurant and bar to frequent during the off-season. During the summer and boating season, the restaurant is constantly busy and we prefer being able to hear our dining companions, so we tend to go earlier in the evening so we can snag one of the few outdoor tables. Located in Charlestown’s historical Navy Yard, it’s a few blocks away from the Constitution right behind Tedeschi’s.

We came here to celebrate a dear one’s birthday dinner and they more than pleased with the casual, friendly service, low-key decor, and warm, romantic, dim lighting, as well as the menu and wine list which seemed to have something for everyone. We really adore the friendly neighborhood atmosphere at the Bistro.

The complimentary bread basket was simple- a chewy housemade bread and great honey butter. This may sound picky, but I prefer my bread to be warmed or toasted as well as have a crusty exterior and soft interior. At the Bistro, the bread is served at room temperature and it is the dense chewy type. The crust is too chewy at first bite but the middle is just the right softness. The honey butter is the star of this duo however. It’s sweet, slightly salty and creamy. Slathering it on the fair bread made it much better. You could easily make it at home by whipping together good honey with room temperature butter if you want to recreate it.

Steamed P.E.I Mussels $10- steamed mussels with leeks, garlic, white wine, lemon and shaved almonds

Per our waitress, this was a popular item on the menu. She was absolutely correct. Tender mussels swimming in a white wine butter sauce with some toasted thinly-sliced garlic-rubbed bread. My dining companion saved his piece of bread to sop up the delectable sauce after we demolished the mussels.

14 oz New York Sirloin $28- potato Gruyère gratin, sautéed winter greens, creamy green peppercorn brandy sauce

This was a classic rendition of a well-made medium rare New York sirloin that didn’t necessarily need to have a sauce on top. However, adding the velvety creamy green peppercorn brandy sauce put the steak over the top in taste and gave it a little something special. The sautéed winter greens turned out to be sautéed kale. I happen to love kale, they’re tough but are great to eat as a side or even make into kale chips.

Cod stuffed crab special $28- line caught cod with crab and seafood stuffing, asparagus, white wine and cream reduction

The birthday boy wanted seafood as his main and chose the special. The cod was perfectly flaky and the crab stuffing had visible chunks of crab. The sauce was quite rich and I could clearly taste the cream, butter and white wine.  He enjoyed it thoroughly and finished everything on his plate, however stole bites of steak when he could. I think he would have been even more please if there was a surf ‘n’ turf special so he could have the best of both worlds.

Porcini Crusted Halibut $26- wild mushroom medley, Yukon Gold potatoes and celery root puree, black truffle vinaigrette

This entrée was also quite delicious and well prepared by the kitchen. The halibut was a tad underdone, which is exactly how I prefer my fish cooked, allowing it to still be flaky, tender and juicy. The root vegetable puree was proclaimed “scrumptious” and our dining companion actually dipped their side of green beans into it while eating. The only thing I didn’t really notice were the bits of porcini in the halibut’s crust. Other than that, this was a great entrée.

The waitress told us about neighborhood specials on Sunday and Monday nights. We’ll definitely have to return to check it out and immerse ourselves in the cozy local atmosphere.

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Hei La Moon, Chinatown, Boston Revisited (Dinner)

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Located on the other artery of the surface road in Chinatown, we came back to Hei La Moon with our parents to share the special 10 course banquet menu for a much delayed family dinner. This special 10 course set price dinner is generally available only on the Chinese written menu for 8 or more people and geared towards Chinese tastes. Please note there are 2 menus at Hei La Moon. One in English and one in Chinese, the latter which has more authentic dishes. Chinese set menus are a great way to experience a wide variety of dishes when you have quite a few people to feed. There are usually several different banquet dinner options at various prices with the more expensive menus featuring more exotic items such as abalone, shark fin, or sea cucumber in their dishes.

Assorted Cold Appetizer Platter

It is customary to start off the meal with assorted cold appetizers. At Hei La Moon the “liangcai” consisted of chilled jellyfish in sesame oil,  dry preserved five spice beef tendons, braised drunken chicken, and roast pork. They are all delicious but my personal favorite is the chilled jellyfish in sesame oil. For as long as I can remember, ever since we were little girls, my mother would call them rubber bands. For years, I literally thought we were eating boiled and chilled rubber bands. I always ate extra because I thought it was super cool I was eating rubber. I guess it was a case of the stranger the food is, the more likely I would like it and eat it… actually, that concept pretty much holds a lot of truth in it. I still do that today.

Seafood Bird’s Nest

The nest of yellow noodles were freshly fried and still piping hot along with the pan-fried squid, white fish, scallops, and shrimp. The crispy noodles and sauce drenched seafood went well together.

Shark Fin Soup

A classic savory Chinese banquet staple that actually had more egg drop that reconstituted shredded shark fin in this version. The shark fin itself doesn’t taste like much but it has a stringy chewy texture. There were small chunks of fish as well. It’s a nice hot soup that I have grown to enjoy over the years at many weddings as the Chinese believe it can boost sexual potency, enhance your skin, increase your energy, prevent heart disease and lower cholesterol.

Walnut Mayo Shrimp with Pineapple

This is another classic Chinese set menu dish. These jumbo shrimp and walnuts glazed in mayo-honey sauce are always stellar. They are basically fried cornstarch-dusted shrimp that are tossed in a creamy condensed milk with honey sauce then served with candied walnuts. It’s customary for us to try to grab a bite of shrimp, walnut and pineapple all at once so that you can really get the juxtaposition of crisp shrimp, nuts and sweet fruit.

Whole Fried Flounder

This fried flounder was done well. The skin was very crisp and the interior meat was tender and flaky. Not a tiny bit overcooked. I love having whole fish because then you get to pick the choicest bits.

Twin Lobsters Pan-Fried with Ginger and Scallion

This is one of my favorite lobster preparations because you don’t just get the claws and the tail, but also the soft body parts as well. The lobster is poached in oil then cooked with copious amounts of fresh ginger and scallion. Some people add wine as well.

Stir-fried Chinese Greens with Mushrooms

This time around the greens and mushrooms were coating in too much gelatinous sauce. Once you scraped off the excess sauce, the vegetables were delicious. The greens still had some snap and the giant mushroom caps were very meaty.

Longevity Noodles

These “ee-fu” or “yi mein,” made from wheat flour, are eaten at celebratory dinners to promote symbolize a long life. I like Hei La Moon’s version very much because the noodles are tender and the assorted vegetables are not overcooked but retain some of their snap.

Fried Rice

Typically made to use up extra rice, Hei La Moon’s fried rice is quite delicious because I can see there’s more than just a lot of greasy rice like at other restaurants. There’s peas, corn, ham, mushroom, bacon, roast pork, scallions, and garlic, along with some soy sauce. It’s flavorful and hearty.

Whole Roast Chicken with Shrimp Chips

This is a simple dish that my mother would make us as children that we still love. It is just roast chicken with sesame oil and dipped soy sauce. At Hei La Moon they dress it up a bit by serving it with shrimp chips, but it is a really good rendition. The chicken is chock full of flavor and meat. Who can resist that crisp skin?

Taro, Sweet Potato and Tapioca Soup

This dessert soup is served hot or cold depending on the season. The bits of taro, sweet potato and tapioca give the achingly sweet soup some texture.
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Hei La Moon, Chinatown, Boston (Dim Sum)

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Hei La Moon serves dim sum until 3 pm on weekends. You definitely get an authentic dim sum experience- complete with the big round tables, waitresses pushing carts around, and loads Chinese people. Always remember that if the place is completely packed with Chinese people, odds are that the food is decent to pretty darn good. The restaurant is decorated with your typical Cantonese Chinese decorations- brightly colored or gold. Once seated, you will receive a sheet of paper that the waitresses stamp every time they give you food off of the cart. Prices are reasonable. I love being able to pick out my food from carts being wheeled around. Or, if it’s too busy, having to chase down the cart to get the food you want or even share your table with strangers. There is parking in a garage right above the building. There is also a Chinese supermarket, C-Mart, attached to the same building in case you need anything.

Having had Chinese food in NYC, Atlanta, San Francisco and LA, my sister and I both still agree that Boston is not yet up to par as these cities when it comes to Chinese food in general. However, I think the food at Hei La Moon is still quite good, and it’s probably one of the best dim sum places in Boston.

We came here for a late dim sum with friends. We tried:

Har gau

This is one of my favorite items to order at dim sum. They are always a solid winner for me. The shrimp dumplings are also fairly plump. Very soft smooth outside with lots of shrimp with water chestnut and ginger on the inside.

Siu mai

Probably some of the most pork-filled dumplings I have found in a dim sum restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown. My favorite version of this dish is made at Hei La Moon and I think they do a great job.

Har cheun fun

This shrimp rice noodle roll is always best when it’s fresh and hot from the kitchen otherwise it has a tendency to get gummy if they didn’t make it well. It doesn’t have as much shrimp as the har gau do, but the texture of the rice noodle and the flavor of the sweet soy sauce is good.

Wu gok

The fried taro dumplings are pretty good. These were made very well and we got them hot. In one bite you will get the crispy fried outside which melts into the creamy slightly sweet taro inside and then the savory minced pork meat center.

Turnip cake in XO sauce

Also known as “lo bak go,” these mashed turnip cakes are cooked right in front of you on the cart. They have a slight crispy outside, and a nice warm tender inside. It’s not too oily, which is good. The dark XO sauce on the side just makes the turnip cake even better.

Char siu bao

I always get the roasted pork bun. The bun itself is fluffy yet dense and the chopped roast pork is plentiful with a good meaty flavor. It’s a great choice if you didn’t order enough and want to fill up space in your stomach.

Phoenix claws

This classic dim sum dish of chicken feet always creeps out my dining companions. I’m not sure which one is stranger looking, the chicken feet or the tripe? What do you think? Either way, these chicken feet have plenty to gnaw on and are deliciously fall-off-the-bone tender.

Chinese crueller wrapped in rice noodle with scallion oil

I’ll admit this isn’t my favorite dim sum dish to eat. I like the crueller alone to dip into congee, or rice porridge but once you wrap it in thin rice noodles, you lose me. I then have no interest in eating it but my sister does like them a lot because it’s a cross between fried dough and rice noodles.

Sticky red bean cake

These sticky mochi cakes are pan-seared. The oooey-gooey mochi wrapped around the smooth red bean paste is very filling but satisfying way to end your dim sum experience.

If you’ve never had dim sum before, I would highly recommend trying Hei La Moon.

Hei la Moon on Urbanspoon