Pho 88 @ Lowell, MA Boston

nothing cures hangovers better than a huge hot bowl of pho.

right: NUOC DUA TUOI
Coconut Juice over Ice
left: CA PHE SUA DA HOAC DEN DA
Iced Coffee. Vietnamese Espresso-style Coffee served cold over ice with Sweetened Condensed Milk

NEM NUONG- Grilled Vietnamese spicy hamcake wrapped in a softened Rice Paper w/carrots and cucumbers.

41. BANH HOI THIT HEO, BO HOAC GA
Steamed Vermicelli (Banh Hoi) with marinated pork. A traditional Vietnamese style of eating where marinated sliced Pork, fresh Mint, ground Roasted Peanuts, fresh Green Leaf Lettuce and steamed Vermicelli are rolled by hand at the table into softened Rice Paper.

dip the rice paper in the water and wrap everything up by urself.

DAC BIET
most popular Beef (Bo) Noodle Soup combining rare Beef, well-done Brisket, Beef Flank, Tendon and Tripe.

the food wasnt the best but decent. kinda overpriced for the appetizers. viet food is usually cheap regardless.

Pho 88
Category: Vietnamese
1270 Westford St
Lowell, MA 01851
(978) 452-7300

http://www.pho88online.net/

Samgyetang 张师傅参鸡汤 Mr. Zhang’s Ginseng Chicken Soup @ WangJing Beijing, China

haiiii, i just got back from my china trip. i was there for a week visiting the fam and friends. i rarely eat chinese food here in the states cuz they are all not authentic and full of MSG. i was soooo stuffed with all kinds asian food while i was in beijing. i ate from the morning to night, countless meals and snacks everyday. there was not a moment that i felt hungry cuz i was constantly eating. it wasnt really a good feeling tho but my fam and friends just kept feeding me because it’s a way to show hospitality in china and i couldnt resist.

without further ado, lets see what i ate in beijing.

honestly, im not a big fan of korean food. even korean bbq, it doesnt get me excited. i crave soondubu (soft tofu stew) every now and then, but thats pretty much it. samgyetang is what i love the most outta all, but unfortunately i cannot find one decent samgyetang place in the states.

mr. zhang’s samgyetang is the bomb! it is located in wangjing where has a huge korean population.

mr. zhang’s doesnt offer any other dishes except for ginseng chicken soup ranging from $10 to $150.

the soups are made of 20+ herbs including ginseng. ginseng has a lot health benefits such as stimulating immune system, treating diabetes, preventing cancer, lowering cholesterol levels, etc.

i got there super early and the girls were cutting up daikon.

not only Samgyetang is extremely healthy for you, but also super super tasty. the chicken is really tender and tasty. its been cooked for hours in low heat so all the flavors of the herbs can get into the chicken. there is sticky rice inside the chicken which is also tasty.

the ginseng inside the chicken

this place is super popular. it fills up quickly around 11:30 during lunch time. highly recommended!! i have to come here at least once whenever im in beijing!

address: 朝阳区阜通西大街望京西园四区412号楼底商(近望京街) 公交/驾车
Phone: 010-64745062

Korean Garden Restaurant @ Allston/Brighton Boston, MA

found couple pix i took at korean garden a while back. my friend wanted to eat at korean garden and she didnt want korean bbq.

we got the haemul jungol – mixed seafood and veggie casserole. did not like it at all. very fishy. i like the seafood one at Suishaya in chinatown better. ive had the boodae jungol (a spicy casserole with ham, sausage, bacon, kimichi, bean curd and thick noodles) before. that one was better than the seafood one as i remembered.

seafood pancake – yum

their korean bbq and other stuff arent as bad, we just ordered the wrong stuff.

Category: Korean
122 Harvard Ave
(between Brighton Ave & Glenville Ave)
Boston, MA 02134
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
(617) 562-8989

http://www.koreangardenboston.com

Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe @ Chelmsford, MA Boston

ive been wanting to go to gene’s chinese flatbread cafe ever since last winer when they first opened, but they are 35 miles away from where i live. last night i finally decided to drive that 35 miles, thats 70 miles around trip!! guess what?! hands down best handmade noodles in boston!!!

gene’s chinese flatbread cafe specializes in shan xi food. they are known for their handmade noodles. menu is very simple, but everything looks ridiculously good.

羊肉泡馍 lamb stew is one of my all time fave dish. they dont have this anywhere in boston. this is mainly the reason that brought me here.
they give you two pieces of bread and you have to break them into lil pieces yourself.

then you give it back to them so they can add the lamb soup for you. this is not china good, but im satisfied. you gotta eat it with vinegar. a lot of vinegar.

hand pulled noodles. this was my fave overall. the noodles was super super super chewy. omggggg. perfectly seasoned with red peppers, oil, vinegar, and garlic. my breath still smells like garlic jejejejje. must try!!

handmade cold noodles. this was awesome too! chewy noodles with tasty sauce. perfect for summer! refreshing and tasty.

pork flatbread. maybe i was super full already, maybe i just dont like pork much. this was average. i might try the beef one next time.

lamb chuan er. this was fried. the owner said they grill them on weekend! man i really want to try !!!

oh man we were super stuffed. the owner was amazed by how much we ate. totally worth the 70 miles drive. i will come back again!

257 Littleton Rd
Chelmsford, MA 01824
(978) 256-6789
Hours:
Tue-Sun 11 am – 8 pm

Pho Hoa @ Malden, MA

a friend of mine and i went to pho hoa to get our pho fix the other night.

this is one of those nicer looking vietnamese pho places.

summer rolls were normal. the dipping sause was weird tho.

the pho was bad. noodle was super soggy and the soup was incredibly bland. they didnt put MSG or what?!

sadly this is the worst pho ive ever had. i really wanted to like this place since it is so close to home, but things did not work out between us. i dont think i would go back again

8 Pleasant St
Malden, MA 02148
(781) 321-9950

http://phohoamalden.com

Soup Dumplings Feast @ Jia Jia Tang Bao Shanghai, China THE BEST IN THE WORLD!

hey do you wanna know where has the best soup dumplings in the world?!

nanxiang bun shop in shanghai? Din Tai Fung? i hate to mention but joe’s shanghai? joe my ass (that place is straight up freaking garbage)!

NO!! none of these. and yes i have tried all of these and many more!!!

it’s JIA JIA TANG BAO in shanghai!!!!

this is place is absolutely amazing!!!!! beyond heaven, fireworks, orgasm!!!!!!!!! no words in dictionary can describe how good their soup dumplings are!!!!!!!

my friend lanlan took me to jia jia tang bao when i came to visit 2010 expo in shanghai. three of us (all girls) had a soup dumplings feast here. we came here two days straight!! if we stayed longer we would eat it everyday til the day we had to leave!!! thats how good this place is!

just look how much three girls ate:

their soup dumplings are made to order, so they all come out super nice and hot and fresh and steamy! they are super cheap! the cheapest ive ever had. one basket costs roughly 10-15 RMB which about $2 USD. amazing right? im not saying its good because it’s cheap. i would so pay for 5 times the price if i have to cuz they are super delish!

the skins are super thin yet they still can hold the meat and soup inside. none of the skins stick on the tray or break. they are not oily at all so when you suck the soup out of dumpling it tastes super fresh, delish, flavorful, bold!!!!

the pork and crab meat one: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! best ever!!!!!!!! orgasmatic!!!! my mouth is still watering right nao while i am thinking about this. (it’s been 2 yrs too!)
the crab flavor is so bold and strong! super heaven deliciousness!

they also have so many flavors. corn, crab, mushroom, or jus pure pork and a lot of more!

if you happened to be in shanghai, please stop by this place.

they have multiple locations; the one we went to was on tibet road.

Soup Dumplings @ Nanxiang Mantou Dian (Nanxiang Bun Shop) Shanghai, China

i went to shanghai two years ago to visit to expo. i also wanted to hunt the best soup dumplings in town.

i stole this from wikipedia.org: “Shanghai-style xiaolongbao originated in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai in the Jiading District. The inventor of xiaolongbao sold them in his first store in Nanxiang next to the town’s notable park, Guyi Garden.[citation needed] From there the xiaolongbao expanded into downtown Shanghai and outward.
Two specialist xiaolongbao restaurants are often regarded as the most authentic. One is Nanxiang Mantou Dian (Nanxiang Bun Shop), which derives from the original store in Nanxiang but is now located in the City God Temple precinct. It is famed for its crab-meat-filled buns. The other is Gulong Restaurant, at the original site next to Guyi Garden in Nanxiang.
Jia Jia Tan Bao next to the People’s Square makes many types and has a long queue waiting to order. Girls fold the dumplings in view from the restaurant.”

so the this is the cheng hua miao “Old Town God Temple area” where the nanxiang bun shop located. this is a tourist spot and none of the food is good seriously!!!

i got one of these:

super oily and wasnt freshly made. no good.
and we ordered some nanxiang soup dumplings. mehh ive had wayyyy better.

side to side comparison to the ones @ jia jia tang bao

jia jia tang bao has super thin skin while nanxiang has super thick skin. the skin is supposed be super thin while it can hold the juice and meat inside. thats why soup dumplings tend to break when you pick them up. soup dumplings from nanxiang are oily and jus not good at all.

read my review on jia jia tang bao – the best soup dumplings in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brunch @ Shangri-la Boston, Belmont, MA

pork belly and i came to shangri-la for lunch saturday. we were very excited abt it after reading good reviews about this place. the place was packed and we had to wait outside for about 30 mins.
man, i hate places that arent even that good and you have to wait in line for!
this is one of them!!
when i saw their menu, the stuff looked so americanized. a lot of rice plates and pork chop?!
ok so we went with the beef noodle and beef pancakes that other ppl raved about.

beef pancake. this was ok. the one from Chung Shin Yuan was wayyyyy better as i remembered.
they give a lot of meat. the ‘pancake’ is crispy, but lack of flavors i guess. and the shell was a lil bit hard.

the beef noodle soup was mehhh. the soup was good and flavorful but salty. they gave a lot of meat which was good. the meat’s tender. BUT how can you sell noodle soup without handmade noodle!!!! why would i eat noodle in a restaurant if it is the same cheap low-quality noodle that you can buy from any chinese super market?! the noodle was garbage. it’s ‘gua mian’! soggy and not chewy! any place in china that sells noodle has handmade noodles even the most ghetto places. who eats ‘gua mian’ nowadays. even my dad makes his own noodles!!!!
urggg

pork belly w/his beefu noodle soup

‘you tiao’ – im not too cray about this. pork belly likes them so he ordered one. ppl like to dip this in soy bean milk. i also hate chinese soy bean milk. the soy bean taste is too strong! dislike.

this place was average, but no way im gonna wait 30 mins outside for this jank.
don’t think i will return.

this place gets 3/5 pork belly

149 Belmont St
Belmont, MA 02478
(617) 489-1488

http://www.shangrilachinese.com/

BunnyandPorkBelly

life is always sweeter and yummier through a lens. https://www.facebook.com/BunnyandPorkBelly https://twitter.com/BunnyNPorkBelly

Tag Archives: soup