Is chinatown place to avoid generally? (Boston: to buy, allergy, restaurant)

[liberal8]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Food poisening doesn't set in that fast, so it's extremely unlikely you got sick from your meal, it was probably something you ate earlier.

I did not eat anything since noon that day before I had that "food" in "jumbo" around 6 pm, so I pretty sure I got bad food there. Besides I found similar experiences on Yelp.
Thanks for the advices, I however still stand shocked, since never before I had such bad experience with a Chinese restaurant in the US, and I am used to be a fan of Chinese cuisine.

[sharencare]

Yeah, I'm sorry that happened to you. My husband also had a bad food poisoning experience with a Vietnamese restaurant and shabu shabu place in Chinatown, but they were obviously raw cuts of meat that caused the problem. I've been fortunate enough to avoid food poisoning in Chinatown by just following where my parents go and they only seem to stick to a very limited number of restaurants. You can also check out the Asian food in Dorchester. At least for Vietnamese, the food is very good, as well as the service and cleanliness. Allston-Brighton area is also good for Asian food, especially Korean and Chinese (e.g. Shanghai Gate).

As for the fried dough (youtiao?), I think you can get those in Chinese bakeries. They usually are added to rice congee or wrapped in some white paste and doused in a sweet soy sauce concoction. I think I might have seen the latter dish at Hei La Moon and China Pearl.

[pennyone]

Liberal8, that's strange. Are you talking about a restaurant called "New Jumbo" right by the big Chinese street gate, and next to a hotpot place? If so, then I just ate there this past Friday night with several friends, and it was great. The restaurant is clean and well renovated/lit, and the food is equal to the iconic Peach Farm Restaurant, which in my opinion is the best restaurant in C-town.

Maybe your jumbo restaurant is different from the New Jumbo?

As for service, most waiters there have little command of the English language, and they are not particularly trained to be waiters, so they will be wary of non-Chinese in general. I also think, as immigrants who hope for a better life here, they most likely are not all that happy to be waiting in a restaurant in an ethnic enclave...but that's life.

[liberal8]

Originally Posted by pennyone

Liberal8, that's strange. Are you talking about a restaurant called "New Jumbo" right by the big Chinese street gate, and next to a hotpot place? If so, then I just ate there this past Friday night with several friends, and it was great. The restaurant is clean and well renovated/lit, and the food is equal to the iconic Peach Farm Restaurant, which in my opinion is the best restaurant in C-town.

Maybe your jumbo restaurant is different from the New Jumbo?

As for service, most waiters there have little command of the English language, and they are not particularly trained to be waiters, so they will be wary of non-Chinese in general. I also think, as immigrants who hope for a better life here, they most likely are not all that happy to be waiting in a restaurant in an ethnic enclave...but that's life.

It's this one to make it clear:
New Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

What happened was also "strange" to me, I also would not call it particularly "renovated", just ok.
I was not alone unhappy looking at yelp reviews BTW.
I also don't get your comment about them being ""not all that happy to be waiting"?? Can't they find another job if they unhappy and why their unhappiness is my problem?
I have eaten Chinese food all over the country, just came from California where I ate all kinds of food including Chinese, Mexican, Indian - you name it, only fantastic experience. I NEVER was so pissed off as in this Boston place - I think the way they treat their customers including receipts in Chinese?! just unacceptable, and most likely the reason for that is lack of proper standards in MA laws.

[pennyone]

Receipt in Chinese? I paid for our dinner and I got one of those printed list for what was billed, along with the hand written list of what we ordered. I didnt have any problem knowing what was what, and how much.

My meaning for not so happy is simply that many waiters are not professionally trained, nor do they like what they are doing. It doesnt excuse the poor service, but it does explains it. You can always express your displeasure by tipping little, but these people don't make very much money, so I usually just give the standard 15-20% and let it go.

Life is indeed too short. Go somewhere else next time; I suggest Peach Farm!!! my favorite.

[johngolf]

Man Oh Man...I so miss Chinatown in Boston.

[xS☺B☺s]

I doubt Boston could ever match west coast standards for Asian food. But there is one place in Chinatown that always is awesome - that's Pho Pasteur. YUM. There's a pretty good Thai place around the corner called Montien which usually is a crowd pleaser.

[Goldn]

I think I know what the OP means though...West Coast Chinese cuisine is just far better, but that does lie in the history of Asians on both coasts. I find much more Asian culture in California than Massachusetts, and logically the restaurants are better there (more Asians, more competition, etc). Boston's China Town is rather dirty when I compare it to San Francisco's (then again the one in Oakland Hills...ugh). I'm a huge Asian food fan so I immediately check out any Asian restaurant/market in town. However, I find myself driving out to H-Mart in Burlington rather than eating out..either it's far too americanized or it's just really dirty and nobody speaks English. Or both. In California, while there certainly are bad quality Asian restaurants, you can also find amazing ones.
There are some nice Dim Sum places, but often they do not speak English and that can be frustrating when trying to find out what exactly is in each one, in case of allergies. The only restaurant I can really recommend so far (haven't been to every one out there though!) is in Natick. It's called Minado and is an Asian buffet. Their seafood is quite good, and everybody goes for the crab leg soup. Also, the bluefish, I believe it's called? Anyway, that would be my recommendation food-wise.
If you are Californian and used to Californian Asian cuisine, you will most likely be disappointed. It's just different over here, I guess. Not as many Asians, quite frankly.
That being said, I'm sure there are some Asian restaurants in Boston that are quite good which I have just not discovered yet
To anyone who loves Asian food, though, seriously give H-Mart a try! Their food court is amazing. Love it every time (also, samples).

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by Goldn

I think I know what the OP means though...West Coast Chinese cuisine is just far better, but that does lie in the history of Asians on both coasts. I find much more Asian culture in California than Massachusetts, and logically the restaurants are better there (more Asians, more competition, etc).

On the flip side, experience has led me to believe that Boston has much better Chinese food than Charlotte.

Boston may not be the best place for Chinese food & Asian culture in general, but it's far from the worst.

To anyone who loves Asian food, though, seriously give H-Mart a try! Their food court is amazing. Love it every time (also, samples).

Have you tried the food court at the Super 88 in Allston? I feel like that place was recommended to me when I was in Allston, but I never got around to trying it.

And if you're in that area, people have told me (I think) that Buk Kyung is decent, and I went to Grasshopper down the street and thought it was good (though I'm no expert in Asian food.) I'm also told that Field's Corner might be a good place to look for Vietnamese food.

[miu]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Food poisening doesn't set in that fast, so it's extremely unlikely you got sick from your meal, it was probably something you ate earlier.

True. Food poisoning doesn't process that quickly. Most likely it was a psychosomatic reaction. You were extremely unhappy with your experience in Chinatown and your body anticipated an adverse reaction to the food. That's all it was.

Next time, go with a friend familiar with the restaurants there.