Where to Find Best Asian Soups?

[thanksgang]

Watching Man vs. Food the other night and saw a place serving huge bowls of Pho? or Ramen soup. They looked unbelieavable - loades with veggies, great noodles and thin meat slices. Where can I find this kind of soup in the Boston to Boston North area? Thanks!

[lexpatti]

Yo will find lots of great asian rest. in the Lowell area:
Pho 88 is just off Rt. 3 in Drumhill (Lowell) for awesome pho
Tepthida is closer to downtown and fantastic cambodian soups - best tom yum soup ever!
http://www.tepthida.com/

South East Asia used to be one of my favs but I haven't been in a while:
http://www.foodventure.com/

My all time addiction is in Billerica & Framingham - Sichuan Gourmet - they have a fantastic wonton soup with chili (as well as others);
http://www.laosichuan.com/index.php

Lowell has quite a few places that do a wonderful job with that pho, we love pho 88.

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East Asia Restaurant
868 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

Sichuan Gourmet
502 Boston Rd, Billerica, MA 01821

Pho 88
1270 Westford St, Lowell, MA 01851

[tatsu]

It's a little out of your way, and not a noodle soup, but one my favorites is the White Hot & Sour Seafood Soup for 2 at Sichuan's Garden, on Waverly Oaks Rd in Waltham.

I've had White Hot and Sour at Taiwanese places before, (most recently a vegan one at Formosa Taipei) but this is special. It's loaded with crabmeat, white fish, shrimp and scallops. Almost a meal unto itself.

The rest of the menu is unremarkable (and not very Sichuan), but I will go just for that. It's a big big space, larger than Changsho in Cambridge. Pretty popular around lunch I suspect. The buffet is also open at dinner, which is popular with the older Belmont/Waltham crowd.

It's just one of those suburban Chinese places that you would drive by a million times and never think to go in. I just had a hunch it would be worth it. And it is, by a hair.

But the soup is amazing.

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Sichuan's Garden
411 Waverley Oaks Rd, Waltham, MA 02452

[Aromatherapy]

Good hounding. I always wondered (idly) about that place. Could one person put away an order, or is it vast?

[hargau]

Interesting. Ive been to that SIchuan garden in waltham and never had anything very remarkable. Tried menu, takeout, buffet over the past 10-15 years..

[tatsu]

I completely agree about it being unremarkable, but the White Hot and Sour Seafood Soup just suckerpunched me. The last time that happened I was coming home from college and stopped on 80 in the middle of Pennsylvania. I ate fried chicken from a cumberland farms gas station I think. It was AMAZING, I'll never forget it. Turns out that they were these Amish chickens and the manager really really knew how to fry. (The same chickens I would eat more than a decade later at Tori Shin in NYC, the best yakitori place in the US, if not the world!)

Just try the soup and tell me what you think.

The soup is for two, so I guess it's about a quart, which makes sense, you get about 6-8 servings. It's pretty big! That and some rice for one, you could be all set. But it will take-home just fine I believe. It's served in a sort of hot pot with flanges and set in a ceramic bowl. I like to call it the "chinese canteen-tureen" ha ha.

[tatsu]

I should also add the last time I was there, I custom ordered vegetarian tofu black bean chow foon, which they did for me pretty well actually. I will often custom order dishes at chinese places that I suspect are holding back for the typical clientele.

You should check out the website, it's hilarious:
http://sichuansgarden.com/

Make sure you got the volume up and click a few links. Ridic

[StriperGuy]

Most excellent craptacular web site. I particularly like vertigo inducing pictures that wiggle back and forth when you drag the mouse around.

[okra]

Puts in a vote for Ken's Ramen House..

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Ken's Noodle House
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[teezeetoo]

try dorchester for great vietnamese soup including pho and can chua - sunrise cafe on dorchester avenue is my favorite

[barleywino]

ask for the "birthday noodle soup" (not on the menu) at Jo Jo Taipei (assuming it hasn't changed since the chef left for Formosa Taipei)

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JoJo Tai Pei Restaurant
103 Brighton Ave, Boston, MA 02134

[StriperGuy]

Shangri-La, Belmont, has several excellent noodle soups and in fact most of the good Chinese places in town have one good noodle soup or another.

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Shangri-La
149 Belmont St, Belmont, MA 02478

[thanksgang]

You guys are the best! I'll work my way through the list! Thank You

[blink617]

It's not pho or ramen, but I had some great soup at House of Tibet Kitchen in Somerville a few weeks ago with daikon, chicken, carrots and some homemade pasta that was kind of like mini-gnocchi. They usually have a few different kinds of soup on the menu.

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House of Tibet Kitchen
235 Holland St, Somerville, MA 02144

[greenzebra]

I just had the thantuk (Tibetan soup with tofu, noodles, snow peas, scallion) from House of Tibet Kitchen for dinner tonight, and it was excellent.

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House of Tibet Kitchen
235 Holland St, Somerville, MA 02144

[9lives]

Xinh Xinh, Vietnamese in Chinatown, makes a lot of good soups but 1 of my favorites is Bun Rieu..crab roe and tomatoes, veggies, noodles in a light broth. .worth a try

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Xinh Xinh
7 Beach St, Boston, MA 02111

[smtucker]

Over the past few months, I have eaten a lot of Asian soups. Favorites have been the Seaweed Soup and Duck Pho at Pho N' Rice [Somerville]. I have also really enjoyed the Pork Chop Noodles and Hot/Sour Soup at Qingdao Garden [Cambridge.]

Now I need to try some of the recommendations from this thread.

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Qingdao Garden Restaurant
2382 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

[EATTV]

Pho Satay Dong Khanh Chinatown
Khao Soi @ Khao Sarn Brookline
Ramen @ Ken's Ramen Brighton
Tom Yum Goong @ S&I Thai Allston
Noodle Alcove hand pulled noodles RIP

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Khao Sarn
250 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446

Dong Khanh
81 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111

S&I To Go
168A Brighton Ave, Allston, MA 02134

[digga]

Jangpong (spicy seafood soup with noodles) at Buk Kyung, Union Sq., Somerville gets my vote.

[StriperGuy]

One of the places on Harvard Street (Color or Hanmaru) supposedly has some excellent spicy Korean soups.

Also Toraya in Arlington had a killer beef soba.

And the soups at the Pho Viet in the (former) Super88 food court in Allston are pretty decent.

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Toraya Restaurant
890 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02476

Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

Hanmaru Restaurant
168 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134

[BostonZest]

Just had a great bowl of Pho Ga at Pho Basil on Mass Ave across from Berklee College of Music. Great service, wonderful menu. DC had the spicy eggplant with tofu and loved it. I was skeptical when I saw that they do both Vietnamese and Thai menus but they do a great Pho. This is in our neighborhood and I should have listened to the first hounds who tried it.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/588599?tag=search_results;results_list

Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/

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Pho Basil Restaurant
177A Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115

[y2000k]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like Pho Basil would be a better choice than Pho & I. I walk by Pho Basil all the time when heading to Symphony Hall, but never ventured in.

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Pho & I Restaurant
267 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115

Pho Basil Restaurant
177A Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115

[nasilemak]

Prawn Mee and Curry Mee Yong Tau Foo at Penang are very good.

[y2000k]

Speaking of Penang, I love their Seafood Tom Yum Noodle soup. I *have* to order it every time (as a result, I never got to try anything else on their menu, except roti canai)!

[cgandolfo]

Pho #1 in Woburn on Main St (right across from the Lanna Thai Diner cart) was absolutely delicious and the prices can't be beaten.

I hear that Green Basil, also on Main St. in Woburn, is supposed to be good as well.

Pho is so delicious, yum!