TAIWAN CAFE (Taiwanese)
I love this restaurant, I absolutely love it... my best friend and I have spent so many lunch hours at this place enjoying their lunch specials. My favorite dishes are below:
1. mustard green with edame & fresh bean curd
2. sauteed chinese watercress with garlic
3. home style braised eggplant with basil- I don't like the texture of the eggplant, but the dish is still really good
4. sauteed spinach with garlic
5. sauteed napa cabbage with silky bean curd- my sister and bff don't like this dish very much; my sister thinks the cabbage is really hard and feels waxy, but I think it's an interesting (in a good way!) flavor and texture
6. vegetarian steamed ravioli- be warned, these look like dumplings, but they don't taste like them. they have a light spinach filling which i absolutely love!
As for meat, my friends recommend the braised tilapia with soy & scallion!
After dozens of visits to this restaurant, I've only disliked one dish: sauteed chinese mushroom over green. Kinda tasted like feet. We're going to go to Taiwan Cafe this Friday, so I'm sure I'll have the remaining vegetarian dishes I haven't tried to include on this list!
SHAWARMA KING (Middle Eastern)
I've been here a few times and there are 2 meals I really like- the fool moudammas roll-up (i'm sure the dinner plate is great too) and the halloumi white cheese roll-up (the cheese is really light and tasty.) Also, this place has good falafel, if you like falafel. I'm not the biggest fan, but my falafel-loving friend gave me 2 thumbs up when he was eating it! I wouldn't recommend the shawarma king salad though, because it was somewhat bland and the veggies were limp.
For drinks, I recommend the lemonade which is made fresh with a hint of rose water and the gowava juice (guava juice??).
FIGS (Pizza)
I think I've tried every vegetarian pizza at this restaurant. I've also been to all 3 locations in MA, which are Charles Street near MGH, Charlestown, and Wellesley! As a general description, the upscale pizzas made at Figs, Todd English's restaurants, have a thin, crispy crust, and simple, fresh gourmet toppings. My favorite pizzas are, in order:
1. Bianco- the arugula is always very crisp and well-dressed; it's kind of a strange idea to put a "salad" on a pizza but it actually works really well
2. Golden Tomato- this pizza is especially good in the fall, because the tomatoes are at their peak
I wouldn't recommend the portobello pizza, because the mushroom puree tastes a bit bizarre, nor would my carnivorous friends recommend the fig & prosciutto pizza, which is sad since it has the signature ingredient!
CAFE MAMI (Japanese/Pan-Asian)
I can only eat 2 dishes here, but I LOOOOOOOVE the teriyaki don rice bowl. It just hits the spot. And I think any of my friends can vouch for the appeal of this restaurant- it just hits a spot for eeeeveryone! so good!
HELMAND (Afghan)
The cool thing about this place was that it pleasantly reminded me of Indian food, but with a nice twist, since the food included different vegetables and some different seasonings than my brown people use. I would definitely recommend the pumpkin kibby; it's at the top of my list for Helmand. But my favorite thing is, without a doubt, the "bread bowl" and chutney appetizer they serve before the meal. Yum!
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4 comments:
Taiwan Cafe is Taiwanese? What the...I ain't going there again! jk
Re: Cafe Mami, I can definitely say with conviction that you can't go wrong with any of the chicken dishes either! Re: Taiwan Cafe, you already know what I think... haha... home sweet home! :P
Taiwan Cafe's tilapia is amazing =) yay
The shawarma at the Shawarma King is indeed very good! And everything at Helmand is outstanding. I still need to hit the Taiwan Cafe one of these days, though there are so many other places in Chinatown I want to go to.
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