I have not had delicious Chinese food in a year...

[joypirate]

Hello my beautiful chow brothers and sisters...

In the 4 years my office was 2 blocks from Chinatown I pretty much sucked the place clean of Chow Fun, Banh Mi, what have you. But that was many moons ago. I now lack access to good Asian food (which isn't to say zero access, I suppose). So my question to you is this:

What are the must-try dishes that have come up in Chinatown in the last 3-4 years I should try? Mrs. Joypirate is in town for a shower/bachelorette party and I plan to make the most of my time on my own.

Also, email me off line if anyone wants to hang out Saturday. joypirate hot mail.

[joypirate]

In order to better facilitate later-in-the-day beer drinking and baseball watching, I called an audible and went to Jo Jo Taipei in Allston.

Excellent recommendation all.

Had the following:

Ma Po Tofu: Very well done. Didn't really notice any ground pork though. I don't think it suffered but my experience led me to believe that the absence of ground pork makes it Family Doufo/Dofu? Not sure, and not important ultimately. Excellent spice though I could've taken a bit more heat.

Scallion Pancake w/Roast Beef: Whoa. Very tasty, and much larger than I thought it'd be. Dear Arby's, one taste of this and you'll shudder your dooors out of shame. THAT'S what roast beef is supposed to taste like.

Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings): Haven't had these in many years and I was very happy with them. Temperature was good too as soup dumpling have historically been implicated in many a mouth-scorching. These were perfectly sized for maximal burst-whole-thing-in-yo-mowf goodness. Dough wasn't too thick (with soup dumplings I've sometimes seen the apprehensive dumpling maker shore it up too much).

Pork w/bamboo shoots: definitely one of those dishes that looks like it was super simple to make but probably took hours getting the tofu strips just perfect and finding natural (baby?) bamboo shoots of the perfect length/thickness to keep them to a vaguely identical julienne as the pork strips. I was hesitant at first thinking of crappy canned bamboo shoots (La Choy!) but was won over.

Oh, and the dim sum-like brunch menu made me crave some Nye Wong Bao (steamed egg custard bun), and stopped by the Super 88 food court for a very well-made version from the dim sum place there (#26 on the menu).

Thanks to the hounds for the rec's, and thanks for the invites/emails, I'll catch you all soon I'm sure.

[lipoff]

I would also recommend Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown, especially their scallion pancake, preserved egg with tofu, beef and tomato stir-fried with egg, and three-cup chicken.

[StriperGuy]

Jo Jo Taipei in Allston pretty much blows Taiwan Cafe out of the water for Taiwanese food. TC is fine, but once you've done JJT even my beloved Shangri-La which I rank between the two, might be edged out by JJT.

[galleygirl]

I gottah say, go to Jo Jo Taipei, Joypirate!

[Zatan]

I had laid off TC for some time because of a less than great experience a couple of yeas ago, but recently went back, and some of their dishes really kick it.

The abovementioned tofu with preserved egg is one of the most delicious tofu dishes I've ever had, and their eggplant and basil, I think, is much better than JoJo's.

Was very disappointed at JJ's with jajung mian and suan la chow sho (or however it's spelled there), first one almost flavorless, the second one sweet and not spicy at all, hmmm. Their pork with bamboo was amazing though, a real standout.

Each have their winners I guess, but don't write off TC. There are several dishes I've only had at one or the other so cannot compare on their score, but still, both great places. Have not been to Shangri-La. Gotta toss Wisteria House into the mix if talking about Taiwanese though......

[lipoff]

I agree that each of these Taiwanese restaurants have their strengths, and I also agree that Jo Jo Taipei probably edges the rest out overall.

The niu2rou4 da4cong1 juan3bing3 (pancake with scallion and roast beef) at Jo Jo Taipei is incredible. Revelatory.

Still, there are certain dishes that at Taiwan Cafe such as the preserved egg with tofu and the pan fried cod filet with soy spinkles that are also extraordinary. I find Taiwan Cafe can be as good as any place when it's really good, but is bit less consistent than Jo Jo Taipei or Mulan.

But I thought the OP was looking just for places in Chinatown. Jo Jo Taipei is in Allston. If we're also expanding beyond Chinatown, then Fuloon in Malden definitely needs to be added to the list! (From Chinatown just take the Orange Line there!)

[joypirate]

I'm, like, MISTER Taiwan Cafe and though I love it, I'm looking to try something new.

Jo Jo eh?

[barleywino]

if Jo Jo, try the "fragrant bean curd skin roll" (chicken inside), the "scallion pancake w/ roasted beef", and (if you're looking for some heat) the spicy minced pork w/ dried radish (and of course the "mini steamed buns w/ pork" (soup dumplings))

[mirage]

And the 3 cup tofu. And eggplant with basil.....

[StriperGuy]

Heck hit the Taiwanese foursome: Shangri La, Mulan, and Jo Jo, all have their strengths.

[ipsofatso]

At BLR (formerly Ho Yuen Ting) I would order

Curried Rice Stick Noodle
Hot and Sour Soup (made to order and by far the best I have ever had)
Clams with black bean sauce
Pea Tendrils
the aforementioned ribs....
Lettuce wraps.....

[StriperGuy]

Go figure, all stuff I've never tried. The Squab is insanely good, as as is the cuttlefish in XO sauce. Is the curry stick noodle, very fine noodles with various tidbits, shrimp, meat, etc? If so it is a rendition of Singapore Noodle.

Can't believe I never tried their hot and sour. Just didn't occur to me.

[ipsofatso]

Yup it is the Singapore Noodle. It's killah! Will have to try the squab too on your reco.

You better try the clams and order rice too so you can soak up the sauce at the bottom of the bowl. I often daydream about this dish its so damned good.

How's the fishing been BTW?

[StriperGuy]

Got some juicy mackerel last week. Almost headed out for stripers yesterday.

Jo Jo Taipei does an insanely good Singapore Noodle rendition. I'll have to try the HKE version. I hit Jo Jo last night and did chicken black bean, twin lobstah, soup dumpling, crispy tofu app. Way too much food for 2 people but it was totally awesome.

[beetlebug]

Best Little Restaurant. This is where the former Ho Yuen Ting used to be. There are a number of posts from previous chow gatherings. Of special note are the fried garlic pork ribs and the cutterfish with xo sauce.

Enjoy your visit.

[StriperGuy]

Also, probably their most ordered dish, minced pork and long bean with lettuce wrap.

[beetlebug]

D'oh. My mind is on slo-mo today.

Anyway, here are two links that I found:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/438997

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/560987

[joypirate]

"fried garlic pork ribs" - I've never seen those words side by side, which is a damn shame.

the squab sounds good too, I think I'm sold.

[barleywino]

i've tried the fried ribs and the squab but my favorite at BLR is the Empress chicken (1/2 chicken is plenty)...also if you are a soup dumpling fan, try to get out to Jo JO Taipei in Allston if you haven't been yet

[StriperGuy]

What kind of prep is the empress chicken? And ya, Jo Jo rocks.

[barleywino]

fresh (live) chicken, salted (not sure whether marinated or rubbed) and steamed whole until barely done, then hacked and presented at room temperature; simple but one of the best versions I've had locally

[galleygirl]

I've seen that served at Peach Farm, as well....

[barleywino]

thanks, will try!

[StriperGuy]

Gotcha, I've had it. Not one of my favorite dishes. I'd go for other items at BLR first.

[barleywino]

my description doesn't do it justice (there may be some details of the prep that i'm not aware of), give it a try sometime (it's one of those dishes that they bring out and people go "ahhh...")