Best Inauthenic, Americanized Chinese?

[the modern serf]

I know where to find tasty, authentic regional Chinese with rich in spices and variety meats. However, I don't see a lot of discussion on where to find the best General Tso's chicken or crab Rangoon.

Ideally, this would be a polynesian-themed restaurant with a waterfall and drinks in tiki heads, but I don't know how many of those exist nowadays, so food is a priority over decor.

[sultanp]

Makhara on Great Road in Acton, off Rt 27.

Very inauthentic, but pretty tasty.

There was a place I went to a long time ago in the Westford area that served
rolls and butter. You had to ask for rice and doubt if they even had chopsticks.
The waitresses were all blondes named Darlene - how inauthentic can you get?!

[holldoll]

Royal East on Main Street in Cambridge.
All the food is good, hot and very tasty if inauthentic.
Great spare ribs, crispy duck, soups, fried rice, moo shu.

[MC Slim JB]

Do they still use frozen peas and die-cut carrot cubes in the food at Royal East? That put me off that place forever.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Tir_na_nOg]

I take it you a pea eater, not a chef? ;-) Unless you have access to fresh-picked peas, and by fresh-picked I mean <24 hours or preferably less (not likely this time of year), frozen peas are almost always superior (and don't overcook!). The sugar in peas doesn't last long if they are not flash-frozen immediately on picking.

Now if they were canned, that's a different matter! Eew. And I agree, it may make no real difference in flavor, but machine-cut vegetables always turn me off. Good food should have some random personality in it that only human hands can engender.

I haven't been to Royal East in a long time, but they used to have a sweet and sour breaded chicken stuffed with diced water chestnuts that I liked. I'm pretty sure it wasn't authentic, but it was delicious.

[MC Slim JB]

I have to say I was a little embarrassed when my mother-in-law ordered the crab rangoons at Mary Chung (which I'd never even noticed were on the menu), but damned if they weren't really tasty!

I might also nominate the char siu at Myers & Chang, which clearly isn't going for Vinh-Sun level BBQ authenticity, but isn't serving magenta-syrup-glazed boneless spareribs either: pretty damned fine, and thrown down in a much cooler than usual atmosphere.

My favorite American-Chinese places used to be Changsho and Chef Chang's, but I haven't been back to either in years: the latter in particular seemed to go downhill steeply after the revered grandfather passed. (His coming to the table to carve a Peking duck was an early bit of my Boston dining experience that I'll always remember fondly.)

Since then, my American-Chinese budget lunch fix has been overtaken by the inimitably-named Pu Pu Hot Pot, which I only discovered because I managed to forget ten times in a row that the not-especially-authentic-either Mary Chung is closed on Tuesdays. Really a very decent little cup of soup and plate of something in brown sauce with rice for five or six dollars.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[chompie]

modern serf, stop worrying about the food at Kowloon and just go! It is the exact place you are looking for and on weekend nites they even have loungish music by the water fountains under the thatch huts. AND, we have been even enjoying the food quite a bit for the past couple years it has improved. Even very good sushi.(although i have opersonally only had the vegetarian sushi) The thai food is decenT. Also, I crave the shrimp and noodle dish. Its really just a huge bowl of angel hair with a standard light chowmein sauce and lots of veggies and tons of shrimp. I am guessing that the Poopooplatters are good, as that is what most people get. Saugus wings have a great rep too,
And my rec for really fresh, consistent, simple, basic americanized chinese with no crazy atmosphere is Bamboo House in Wakefield. It is a basic place with the family who owns it hanging out, eating , playing with their kid, watching tv, and they are really sweet and make very fresh cheap eats. They have the best white rice, only use jasmine.. Great salmon(cut in pieces) with veggies choose of 3 ways, excellent rangoon, spring rolls, chow foon, The veggies are always a step above the usual bamboo shoots and broccoli as they usually add summer squash, zucchini, or whatever is fresh..

[jgg13]

The lunch specials at PPHP are really not bad, particularly for the price. I quit liking their normal fare several years ago - a combo of my own changing taste buds and them going south a bit, but a few years ago I found myself there for lunch and was pleasantly surprised. Not by any means a travel destination, but you can do worse in El Centrale for lunch.

[tamerlanenj]

Chef Chang's just isn't what it used to be for pupu style chinese. The General Gau's, egg rolls, and fried rice are just noticeably...weaker...than they used to be. I would say I prefer Changsho, but rarely make it out there.

[CookieLee]

I have to disagree about Chef Chang's. We're regulars there, and for what they make, it's delicious. I have yet to find Peking Duck prepared any better in Boston. And, now that my New Yorker brother in law turned me into a beef chow fun with spicy black bean sauce fanatic, Chef Chang's is happy to prepare it for me. In fact, since I started ordering it, I find they're preparing the standard dishes we order a lot less Americanized.

As for Mary Chung's, to me it's all about the suan la chow show, and dun dun noodles, and Peking ravioli.

Back in the day, Changsho was THE place to go. Now, to me, it just seems overpriced and much more Americanized than it ever was.

[Kenji]

I'll usually get the suans and dun dun noodles with shredded chicken at Mary's. However, her versions of General Gao's Chicken and Moo Shi Pork are the best around, in my view. The Moo Shi Pork is reminiscent of that served at Joyce Chen's in its heyday.

[jgg13]

I rarely order The General, unless I'm drunk or hungover. That being said, after having it somewhat forced upon me at Mary's, I've come to really like it there. It isn't at all the same as you find in other places.

[CookieLee]

I've had the moo shi there, and agree, it's v. tasty.

[djd]

Changsho, in my somewhat-recent-but-not-2009 experience, is actually quite tasty. And it's way, way faster on Christmas than Golden Temple ;)

[phatchris]

My faves are Billy Tse's Revere and Boston, and Out of Asia on Rt 1 in Saugus.

[CreativeFoodie42]

I'd have to agree with Billy Tse's. I'm a huge fan of their food and they beat any other Chinese delivery!

[emilief]

I wouldn't call it Americanized and all those hounds out there who love Chinatown would say it is "inauthentic" but it is good, fresh food, consistently excellent and great servic: Bernard's in the Chestnut Hill Mall. I don;t eat crab rangoon or General Tso's so I can;t help with that. Favorites are clams in black bean sauce, shrimp in black bean sauce with crispy shallots, Roast duck, honey roasted chicken, Chilean Sea Bass,

[teezeetoo]

Definitely Golden Temple. Fabulous bar (excellent martinis, and excellent funny drinks with umbrellas) - Expensive, but very good quality ingredients. On another tack, a younger version of thisis Myers and Chang: hipper and not at all authentic. Not sure about General Gao's chicken at Golden Temple, but Golden Temple special spareribs are grand and the closest to GG's chicken I've had their is called Shanghai Chicken.

[pemma]

I went to Bernard's for the first time last weekend before an event at BC. I thought it was very good. Chicken wings were meaty, hot and fresh. Creative entree consisted of big fresh shrimp with avocados and a plum sake sauce. Side of garlic eggplant was very tasty, much like a version served at the Chili Garden in Medford. It was kind of pricey for Chinese food, but to be honest it was mainly because of the wine. Waitress was very attentive and friendly. Decor could use some sprucing up.

[fmcoxe6188]

I have to give a third to Bernards- definitely some good takes on those "Americanized" classics. Delicious food and fresh tasting. You're right though Pemma on the decor-something is definitely left to be desired.

[kmacjp]

As for "a polynesian-themed restaurant with a waterfall and drinks in tiki heads," nobody, but nobody beats Kowloon on Rte. 1. It's insane!

[the modern serf]

I've heard that the food is pretty bad at kowloon, but the decor looks amazing. Is there anything out there that's even close to that level of ridiculousness?

[twentyoystahs]

Here goes...I don't think the food is that bad at Kowloon. Granted, I haven't been there in a while, but I think they do the whole egg roll/chicken finger/spare rib/crab rangoon thing pretty well. And you can't beat the atmosphere.

[nsenada]

I agree - it's really not that bad. I remember reading on another thread that they can actually put together authentic stuff, if you ask. Not that I would want anything other than neon red ribs, crab rangoons, or scorpion bowls.

[hhookk]

Another Kowloon fan here. The OP is describing the place in his post. The food is great for what it is. Americanized Chinese. They don't pretend to be authentic Chinese like someplace in Chinatown. The also have very good sushi. Kowloon gets bashed pretty regularly here but the place is a fun night out with a giant menu. The only turnoff for me is the $9 mai tai. Wayyyyyy too expensive.

[Johnresa]

Ho Win palace in Everett. the best hands down

[BJK]

Chef Chang's - Brookline
Tiki Island - Malden
China Sky - Winchester

[pemma]

Tiki Island is actually in Medford, but on the Malden line. I have not eaten there in many years but know people who like it and II know they do have tiki drinks.

[the modern serf]

How does the food at Tiki Island compare to Kowloon? I've heard its better, but is it so much better that it makes up for the lack of decor?

[9lives]

I've got to think Golden Temple belongs on a list like this.

Funny GT story. I have a coworker who grew up in Brookline/newton area. Sunday night was GT night. 30 + years ago he moved to NYC but could never find "decent" Chinese food.??? When he came home to vist family, first stop is always GT. Who am I to knock it? If I took him to Fuloon, he'd probably hate it. BTW, Fuloon does a great shrimp w/lobster sauce..an old fave for my father which he had when I took him there.

This coud also tie in with why some of us enjoy Prince Pizza, Kowloon, Valle's. It may not empirically be the best, but if one grew up on it, we can tend to retain a fondness for it. I'm sure the steaks I eat today are far better than what I ate at Valle's 30 years ago, and wouldn't frequent themif they were open, but I still have fond memories of them.

[steinpilz]

I also thought Golden Temple, but maybe that's "most popular Americanized Chinese" vs "best?"

[9lives]

I can't say I'm an expert on this genre but if it's the most popular (Is it?) enough people must think it's the best, or cheapest (impossible), or most convenient (for some), or some other quality.

I have been to Golden Temple a handful of times and while I don't think it's the best and far from it, and they're very expensive, they also use a higher quality of ingredients than many Chinese restaurants. I doubt the average Golden Temple devotee scratches their head and tries to decide on Golden Temple or Best Little Restaurant for dinner tonight.

[purple bot]

Something else Golden Temple has going for it (besides high quality ingredients, which is a plus for me) is ambiance. There don't seem to be many sit-down chinese restaurants that don't have fluorescent lighting and cheap metal chairs, where you can order a decent mai-tai. Although the interior architecture at GT is somewhat odd, at least the lighting is dim and the booths comfortable.

[djd]

I thought people went to Golden Temple for the dance floor?

[maillard]

Here are my favorites:

East Asia: fried rice, egg drop soup, egg rolls (these three things are great, but everything else I've had from this place has been pretty bad: gloppy and sweet and overly saucy)
Mary Chung: General Tso's, scallion pancakes, kung pao fish (no idea how I ended up ordering this, but it was really tasty!)
Qingdao Garden: lo mein, egg rolls, orange beef
Golden Temple: General Tso's

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East Asia Restaurant
868 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

Mary Chung Restaurant
460 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Qingdao Garden Restaurant
2382 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

[barleywino]

iirc both Wang's Fast Food and Peach Farm do a good General Gau chicken (a friend of mine always orders that when we go to those places)...for tiki drinks, you could try the lounge in (New) China Pearl in Woburn

[the modern serf]

I live down the street from Wang's, so I've been getting a lot from them, but mostly the "sea cucumber and tripe" kind of stuff. Their not so good for dining in, but I guess I could order from them and do the tiki drinks and volcano stuff at home.

[Eatin in Woostah]

The atmosphere and drinks at New China Pear in Woburn absolutely fit the bill. Last time we went I even saved my beautifully retro paper placemat that gave a large variety of recipes for various classic cocktails. I've mostly had dim sum there for food, but last time we had sweet and sour pork and pork fried rice and didn't love it.

My favorite spot for pu pu platters is Oriental Garden in Haverhill. Funky atmosphere, too.

[hiddenboston]

Great topic! I love both the authentic And the Americanized food at Qingdao Garden in North Cambridge, but I love them more for their authentic dishes (including their amazing dumplings). If you're looking for a good place that focuses mainly on Americanized Chinese food, I really like Tiki Palace in Braintree, Jade Garden in Arlington, and New Jumbo in Chinatown (though they do have a lot of authentic dishes as well).

[the modern serf]

Do any of these do the decor? How are the drinks?

[hiddenboston]

Tiki Palace is slightly cheesy, with Polynesian touches here and there. It's generally a very mellow place that locals know about but few others. Qingdao Garden has zero atmosphere, with bright lights making everyone look washed out (not a good place to go on a date!). Jade Garden is comfortable and spacious--probably the nicest of the ones I mentioned. New Jumbo is a bit more comfortable than most restaurants in Chinatown, and has just a hint of tackiness.

[rlh]

Far and away the best crab rangoons I've had are at Thai Moon in Arlington Center. I had surprisingly good takeout General Gau's chicken from Sun's Kitchen in Arlington recently as well - other food (scallion pancake, rice and dumplings) not so impressive, however...