It can be extremely daunting to move to a new big city, and have to get used to the local food scene. Amidst recommendations, online reviews, and all of the colorful storefronts flashing at you, it can be difficult to decide where to eat. Have no fear, for I have already tried many places around Boston. Below are my 100% real yelp reviews of various eateries, the good and the bad! Bone apple tea!
Courtesy of KnowYourMeme
Sumiao Hunan Kitchen
“Came here to celebrate a friends birthday, and overall had a good time. We went on a Sunday afternoon for lunch.
Ordered the Sweet Sticky Rice Cakes, Scallion Pancakes, and Sumiao’s Fried Rice to share among 3 people. First thing out was the sweet sticky rice cakes, which weren’t what we expected but still good. They were more fun to eat than anything. Tasted like a dessert, as they’re very sweet and had flowers on them for flavor. The texture reminded me of mochi. We enjoyed eating them, but probably wouldn’t order again since we have now tried them, and didn’t LOVE them, so we wouldn’t want to pay $10 for them again. $10 got 5 pieces, which wasn’t bad.
Next came out the scallion pancakes which were definitely the best thing we got. The order is also $10, but you get 2 scallion pancakes which is nice. The scallion pancakes here were very thin, but we still liked them. They were served with what tasted like some kind of sriracha mayo dipping sauce. We liked it, but definitely prefer the more traditional sauce scallion pancakes are usually served with. It was interesting, but I would’ve liked the option to get regular dipping sauce.
Finally, the fried rice came out. We had to get new plates because our old ones were covered with syrup from the sweet rice cakes. Strangely, it took a really long time for the waiter to get us a new set of plates (like 10 minutes). Maybe he was waiting for them to be washed? Not sure. And when he came out he only brought 2 and we had to wait longer to get the 3rd. The fried rice was just meh. It didn’t taste special or anything, and was kind of bland. There wasn’t really anything in it either. The menu said it should have had egg, but we only saw scallions. Definitely wouldn’t have spent $13 on it if we knew that.
At the end of our meal, the waiter just came and took away the rice even though over half of it was left. I had planned to take the rest home, because we had paid so much for it, but he was already gone. They were happy to pack up our leftover sweet sticky rice cakes and scallion pancakes when I asked though, just make sure you catch them before they take it away! He was very quick – lol.
The restaurant itself is very nicely decorated, and had a nice atmosphere. The waiters were very attentive, and refilled our glasses often. They brought out a cupcake with a candle and sang happy birthday to our friend which was great and she really loved it. I would say the downside was definitely pricing. It was a pricey meal. We ordered 1 sweet sticky rice cake, 2 orders of scallion pancakes, 1 order of fried rice and a birthday cupcake (not sure if we were charged for that, but I think so?) When all was said and done including tax and tip, our meal was $62. It just seemed like a lot of money for the amount of food we got. If it weren’t for the prices, I’d probably be back to try other stuff on the menu. Definitely interesting, maybe I’ll be back once I earn some more money! Haha”
Courtesy of SumiaoHunan
The Halal Guys
“I got the falafel sandwich, which wasn’t anything special. There wasn’t much in it, like a few leaves of lettuce and the falafel but that was it, and was pretty small in size. It was good with the white sauce though. Was wrapped pretty messily, I was eating it in the foil and once I finished the pita I found another falafel wrapped into the aluminum foil underneath it. It was pretty sloppy. My roommate got a chicken and gyro combo, which she said was dry. She tried to add flavor with the hot sauce, which was a BIG MISTAKE. This hot sauce is from PURGATORY! Do not put it on your food under any circumstances, you have to be 100% sure you can handle it before you put it on because it will KILL you! Took my roommate 20 minutes to go back to normal, and cleared her sinuses. For reference, she loves spicy food usually and eats it regularly. We also got the baba ghanouj, which I really didn’t like because it was super oily. It was ok, we only ended up ordering here because it was late and the only place still open. Probably won’t order again because I’ve had better falafel sandwiches at other places. (ordered on ubereats btw)”
Courtesy of EaterBoston
El Triunfo
“I would give it 4, because I got the Falafel burrito and it was GREAT but my roommate hated the shrimp quesadilla she got. The nachos we ordered were also completely soggy. We ordered on UberEats, and it got to us in great time though! I definitely recommend the burrito, but don’t get the nachos!”
Courtesy of MapQuest
Gourmet Dumpling House
“Super tight and crowded, but it made it feel more authentic! My group of 3 was seated immediately at a large round table that we shared with another couple. They said they are regulars, and that the soup dumplings are amazing. Unfortunately, I’m vegetarian and my two friends are halal, and the dumplings have pork so we couldn’t try them. It was a bit hard to get service as it was so crowded. It took the waiter a while to take our order. Same situation when we were ready for the check. The tea was really good, we all enjoyed it! The scallion pancakes were awesome. Everything else was alright. The veggie dishes had a lot of mushroom which my friends liked but I personally did not. All in all it was a fun experience, and wasn’t terribly expensive! Be warned though, it is EXTREMELY tight inside! Also questionable on how clean it was, but we expected that. It adds to the atmosphere, right? (PS. there was a guy there that looked exactly like Dr Avery from Greys Anatomy which we got a kick out of!)”
Courtesy of TripAdvisor
Halal Indian Cuisine
“My roommate and my go-to! We order on uber eats. My roommate loves the chicken tikka masala and yellow daal. I like the paneer tikka masala and black daal. The sauce from the tikka masalas is so good, and tastes great with naan. We also got some veggie dish that was alright. The rice was good too, just plain basmati but we liked it. We also have tried the mango lassi which was good. Only complaint is the pricing – it’s kind of expensive. Definitely like the food though!”
Courtesy of Yelp
Dumpling Palace
“Came here out of desperation as it was the only place still open. Got fried rice and scallion pancakes. Rice was just regular, and pancakes were a bit greasy but still good enough. Service was pretty quick. I ordered takeout at the counter and it didn’t take too long. I probably wouldn’t come back, but it saved me from starving that night!”
Courtesy of TripAdvisor
Bangkok Pinto
“My roommate brought me here because she really likes their crab rangoon. I got the tofu pad thai, and it was good while it was fresh. Nothing special, but not bad. Also got the thai iced tea which was tasty. Only downside was that the pad thai reheated TERRIBLY. It was a pretty generous portion though, which I can’t complain too much about. Ate there 6 months ago, and haven’t been back. Probably won’t tbh, nothing special.”
Courtesy of Yelp
PadThai Cafe
“My roommate and I got a tofu pad thai, shrimp pad thai, scallion pancake, and veggie dumplings. I liked the tofu pad thai, nothing special but the tofu was good. My roommate was upset that there were only 2 pieces of shrimp in her pad thai and the rest was just rice noodles. We both really liked the scallion pancakes. Unfortunately, there was a mix up and we were given pork dumplings instead of veggie dumplings. This was a big issue as I am vegetarian and my roommate is halal. We had to throw them out. Called the restaurant the next day, and was very harshly told it was not their issue, but ubereats. (we ordered through uber eats). So, we brought the issue there and eventually got a refund for the dumplings. Alright food, nothing special though.”
Courtesy of Yelp
Sunrise Chinese Food
“My roommate and I really like crab rangoon, so we got the party platter (50 pieces) for $25. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but clearly was not. We had about 40 extra crab rangoon. Tried to eat them for the next week, but they reheated horribly. Tasted good when we first got them though! One thing about the restaurant itself is that it seemed really nasty inside. The ground was completely covered with cardboard boxes which seemed strange. I would probably get the crab rangoon again, but only if I had enough people to be certain we would finish it in the same day lol”
Courtesy of Yelp
Lee Chen’s Mexican Grill and Chinese Food
“So bad, I had to reset my login info for yelp just to warn people not to come here! I ordered on Seamless. Placed the order at 8:40 and the app told me a delivery time of between 9:25-9:35. At 9:40 I called the restaurant, and was very curtly told that food was on the way. Driver didn’t show up until 10pm. Not only this, but she didn’t even go to the right address! On the phone, I tried asking where she was parked and she just yelled at me that she wasn’t parked because there wasn’t any. I had to walk down the street to find her. When I got to the car which I figured was hers, it was empty and abandoned. Then she jumped out of the shadows to give me my food, and then got back in the car to drive away. Wouldn’t have been terrible if the food was at least worth it, but it was awful. Everything was terribly greasy. I had ordered a cheese enchilada, and all the cheese was so greasy it had completely slid off of the rest of my food and was sliding around in its own grease in the tray (nasty). Inside, the onions and peppers were completely raw. The enchilada was also just a plain tortilla, so I guess it was more of a burrito? I’m not sure what was supposed to be going on. My roommate got fried shrimp and after one piece wouldn’t eat anymore because she said it didn’t taste right. We also got scallion pancakes, which weren’t awful, but still greasy. The sauce provided with them was also weird, as it smelled like straight up vinegar and tasted bad. That might be how the sauce is supposed to be, but we weren’t sure and didn’t like it so we ended up throwing it out. All in all a terrible experience. We were so excited to try the food from this place, and especially at such good prices, but it’s definitely a waste of time and money. DO NOT order from here! Save yourself! My roommate and I are now sick from this terrible food!”
Courtesy of Flickr
Juicy Spot Cafe
“Really great ice cream. I went with two friends. I got the Cookie Butter, and my friends got the Ferre-roll Rocker and Firecracker. The ice cream tasted great! Only downside was the price ($7.50 per cup, which I think is the norm for thai rolled ice cream but still, ouch!) and the wait. (Again, not a problem specific to this location, it just takes a long time.) My group of 3 had to wait 20 minutes for us all to have our ice cream. However, once we got it we took cute pictures, and it definitely tasted great! Not sure if I’ll be back, but it was cool to try!”
Courtesy of EaterBoston