Do they make good chinese takeout around Brookline?
My wife and I moved to Coolidge Corner from California, where we had amazing Chinese takeout, and were completely disappointed with the options in Brookline. Lucky Wah is absolutely disgusting. Tried it on two different occasions and found the food either overcooked, blah, or inedible. We did find a place called Lucky House, a hole in the wall with great food, in Watertown. But, alas, Lucky House has closed its doors. I don't know if I was spoiled growing up with great Chinese food restaurants around San Francisco, but there has got to be a great spot for some takeout. I'm sure Chinatown would be a good place to start, but from Coolidge Corner it seems a little far to travel and I don't even know where to begin down there....Can anyone help?
Niccolo
Aug 14, 2007 09:50AM
have you tried Shanghai Gate (on Harvard just south of Commonwealth)?
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No, but it seems like more of a dine-in kind of place. I understand that the chef that runs it use d to work with Fugakyu....I'm looking for a place that serves good traditional Chinese takeout...(However, Shanghai Gate is on my list of places to try).
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Fugakyu is Japanese food...the chef at Shanghai Gate is CHinese and started with that restaurant (prior to that he was in China iirc)...i have relatives who take out/ get delivery from Shanghai Gate all the time...if by "traditional" you mean Cantonese food, then you may want to look elsewhere, such as New Trend Eatery on Brighton and Harvard
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Try it- you won't be sorry. The Lion's Head is to die for IMHO and we liked the shanghai noodles. Some of the dishes are on the hot side. We have only done take out and it was a breeze - no language problems ordering by phone and everything ready and waiting at pick up. I think they deliver too.
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They do deliver - I think that's a relatively recent development, but they have "We Deliver" signs up in both front windows now, along with the photo of the XLB.
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They deliver, I've had them do so (see recent mention of Shanghai soup and Lions head in 3 chowish experiences thread - that was from a largish delivery order). The only problem is that the delivery menu is the regular one and some of the more interesting things are on the specials board and cards.
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Do you like Szechuan style? If so, head down Harvard Ave towards Brookline Village and go to Sichuan Garden (Washington st.) ....some of the best Chinese in the city!
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If by "the city" you mean Brookline or by "Chinese" you mean "Sichuan," then yeah. I think there's much better Sichuan to be found in Framingham, Medford, Malden, Billerica, etc. And plenty of good HK/Taiwan/northeast food closer to Boston itself.
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If by "better Sichuan" you mean more complexity and depth of flavor than the simple application of chili sauce and some sichuan peppercorns, I'd recommend going to Sichuan Garden long before going to Chilli Garden in Medford. And I've gotten outstanding Sichuanese takeout from Sichuan Garden also. There's also at least one other poster on the board who would also dissent about the superiority of Sichuan Gourmet in Framingham.
Whether or not Sichuan Garden does decent generic Chinese-American takeout, I couldn't tell you. And I also do concede that it's possible that they'll do a better job of real deal Sichuanese for a frequent customer who speaks and reads (some) Mandarin Chinese, but I'm with Science Chick in thinking SG to be some of the best Sichuanese in the greater Boston area.
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By "takeout" do you mean American-Chinese food, or do you just mean any Chinese place that does good takeout service?
Worthwhile Chinese places in your vicinity (and they all do takeout) include Sichuan Garden in Brookline Village, New Trend (Cantonese) in Allston, Kantin (Cantonese) in the Super 88 Food Court in Allston. There's also Shanghai Gate at the Allston/Brookline border but it's a little bit more of a "nice restaurant" and I dunno about the takeout experience.
If you're looking specifically for a good-quality American-Chinese type food, you should probably go to Chef Chang's (down by the St. Mary's T stop). They also do a well-regarded Peking duck. Closer to Coolidge Corner itself is Chef Chow's.
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I've enjoyed Chef Chow's for quality American-Chinese food for several years, good to see it get a mention here on CH. Located on Harvard st just outside Coolidge Corner heading toward Brookline Village.
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At some point in the last for years, Chef Chow's became better than Chef Chang's for American Chinese classics. The Hunan Crispy beef is just a knockout dish.
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I wouldn't go to Chef Chang's. You'll be disappointed; it's mediocre.
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...aaaaand... your recommendation for a non-mediocre American-Chinese place near Coolidge Corner is...?
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King Fung Garden has a location on Boylston in Brookline. I've never been to the original location in Chinatown, so I can't compare, but I've gotten decent take-out from there a couple of times. Maybe other hounds can elaborate.
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I'm fairly ambivalent about the quality of the original location, but I thought that the Brookline location was pretty disappointing, at least in their first month of operation.
However, for the OP, this seems like a good recommendation. Very takeoutey.
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Ideally, I'm not really concerned about the look of the place or if I can dine-in. Hell, we loved the hole in the wall we used to drive to in Watertown. I really just want a good variety and flavor at a good price. Most of the Chinese that I have had out here in New England has been either too bland or too greasy....
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We enjoyed the Chow Mein, homemade noodles. Really chewy and toothsome, with a tasty sauce. Also enjoyed the mushi pancakes. They seemed homemade. If you enjoy Peking Duck, be sure to order it the day before. If you like Peking Duck, order a day in advance. It comes in three courses, a soup, a stir-fry, and the duck.
http://www.kingfunggarden.com/
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you might also consider Victoria (on Commonwealth by BU) for inexpensive Cantonese. If you want more Americanized food with some "spa diet" options you might consider Bernards in Chestnut Hill mall.
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I know some folks really like Victoria, including a close friend of mine, but I have *never* had a meal there that was better than just edible, and I always get an uncomfortable and unwelcoming vibe.
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Not to mention how utterly filthy it is! I'm all for a cheap twin lobster, but I lost my appetite in the middle of the meal when I started looking around and seeing the appalling surroundings.
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i agree on the vibe *and* the food, but maybe the OP will find some takeout there to his liking...
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If I were to pick a single restaurant in Allston to give the "I don't know how this place is still open" award to, it would be Victoria.
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That place is awful and disgusting in every way. Give me peking ravioli at Lucky Wah any day over Victoria Seafood.
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Second Bernard's if you're shopping in the Mall. Americanized luncheon specials but not the steam table food many others serve at lunch. I love the vegetable fried rice and am not offended by a knife and fork on my place mat
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I love the responses on this board! Reaffirms my faith in Boston hounds...
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King Fung is the only way to go for Chinese in Brookline. Get the honsue beef.
They also make an awesome scallion pancake.
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I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Golden Temple, on Beacon St. If you are looking for moderately decent Chinese American food, it might fit the bill.
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It's a shame Chinatown Seafood closed. It was a pretty good Chinatown/Hong Kong style place right in the heart of Coolidge Corner.
for now, I'd recommend calling up Chef Chow's for an order of Hunan Crispy Beef.
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New Trend Seafood at the corner of Brighton Ave and Linden is a good option, as Luther pointed out. My guess is that you are referring to southern and eastern food - Limster would know the names of the cuisines but I think in terms of areas - not the northern, inland and western stuff. Chef Chang's is capable of turning out very good food - in a banquet setting - but I admit to avoiding it for regular dining.
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Is New Trend a good option? BarmyFotheringayPhipps and I ate there once, a couple of months ago. We ordered things I would have thought they'd do well, like salt & pepper squid and a simple dish of Chinese broccoli, and got an AWFUL meal. The S&P squid was flatly inedible - it tasted as though it had been fried in week-old oil - and the dish of sauteed squid that the manager replaced it with was better prepared but utterly bland, as was the broccoli (which was also the size if small saplings, making it challenging to eat.) Our third item was a tofu dish, but the menu description didn't mention that the tofu was stuffed with shrimp, which BFP can't eat. All in all we were bitterly disappointed, especially after having waited eagerly for months as the space was s l o w l y renovated. They seem to do a bustling business without us - every time I pass it it's packed full - but I don't know what we did wrong to have such a lousy time there.
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I like Green Tea in Newton. They have some good authentic Chinese dishes and dim sum on weekends.
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I've had a few small things there and it's been fine. If that was right around opening, maybe that was the reason.
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its all about what you like to eat. there isn't one chinese restaurant in Brookline that covers all bases. Sizchuan Garden is clearly the best for spicy: their rabbit appetizer is on my all time favorite list, they make very good salt and pepper shrimp, but you have to work with them to calibrate the heat (they really are interested in how hot you like it and will work to get it to you). Golden Temple has the best ribs hands down: Golden Temple special spareribs. Chef Chang has the best Peking Duck. I'm not a huge fan of chinese takeout here: it always seems less good than when it arrives hot at the table. The college crowd seems to favor Dragon Star in Washington Square for takeout but I don't know whether its good or just cheap and plentiful.
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It's the price. One of my daughters and her friends get food there. Stuff like crab rangoon and chicken lo mein.
My guess was that if they lived near SF they would likely be more interested in non-Sichuan.
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Well, to be fair, it's also about liking that kind of food. When I have a craving for crab rangoon and big fried egg rolls, I really do think Dragon Star is among the best places to get them around here (Golden Temple and Chef Chow's are both HORRIBLE for this stuff...the crab rangoon have been floppy and bland, and I think both places do more of a spring roll than the egg rolls of my childhood. I haven't tried Chef Chang's.) So no, I wouldn't mention it as a place to get "good Chinese take out," but I have no qualms about recommending it when someone wants good old Chinese-American appetizer things.
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As a suggestion, Kantin has crispier, smaller and tastier crab rangoon. I had them with my daughter today.
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And don't forget Quan's Kitchen, if you'ere in that nabe....
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I've never been a crab rangoon fan - sticky, bland wallpaper paste filling most places. But was lazy and ordered one of the lunch plates at Shangahai Gate, where that was an option with it and was amazed at how good it was. Enough to convert me. So if you're a fan and looking for good ones, do try them there.
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Check out The Golden Temple it is only down the street from you!! The best chinese food around! I promose you will love it!!
Frankie Imbergamo
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One word, Nope. Having lived in both the Sf bay area and Boston, Nope nope nope, Nothing compares to the tasty deliciousness and affordable prices of chinese take out in Sf area period in any way shape or form here. Sorry, better to buy a cookbook translated into English and get a wok (can find nice ones at the restaurant supply store in the center of chinatown) and figure out how to cook the recipes on your own. It's also a fun way to pass time as you acclimate to the brrrrisk bostton brrrrrwinters. Good luck! P.S. you can try Quan's kitchen in Brighton on Comm Ave near BU, that's pretty good, or for Vietmanese, V Majestic in Allston (rock city), the Super 88 food court in Brighton is alright too. but it's a little different if you're expecting some yummmmy ole dungenous crab like from that place in the Sunset or salmon w/ black bean sauce to die for like i had once somewhere around Potrero. Ahhh, yummmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
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Salmon? Are you serious?
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Except that V. Majestic is no more.
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Not that Potluck Cafe or China Gourmet is the epitome of Fuzhou cooking or anything, but I don't recall coming across that cuisine in SF. If you're thinking about Thanh Long in Sunset, I believe it's a Vietnamese place. if it's Eliza's in Potrero Hill where you had that salmon, it's Californianized Chinese, which is only to be had in CA.
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