Someone once told me that you can tell how good a Chinese restaurant is based on how noisy it is – meaning that the more guests in the restaurant, the louder it would be and therefore the food must be good. For the most part I’ve found this to be true and the restaurants I listed here all live up to that standard. I will barely touch the surface of my favorite Asian eats in Boston. I picked a few and also included information about my favorite dim sum restaurants at the very end.

Double Chin

Located in Boston’s Chinatown, Double Chin serves Chinese dishes with a modern, sometimes whimsical, twist. Two of my favorite dishes includes taro. The first is the Spam and taro fries and the second is the skillet char sui and pork belly hash served at brunch. One thing I’ve always wanted to try is one of the cube toast but I was told that they are huge and meant to serve four people. I’ve had to settle for the smaller HK Style French Toast.

Double Chin
86 Harrison Ave
Boston, MA 02111
617-482-0682

Dumpling Cafe

Also in Chinatown is my favorite place to get xiao long bao (XLB), the hot steamed soup dumplings. Whenever we are craving these dumplings we head to Dumpling Cafe and share an order each of the pork XLB and the crab XLB. Honorable mention is Jo Jo Taipei in Allston which also serves excellent XLB.

Dumpling Cafe
695 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111
617-338-8859
Instagram: @dumplingcafe

Myers+Chang

Myers+Chang is a great neighborhood restaurant that is one of the few places I can eat brussels sprouts that aren’t drowning in bacon fat. But that isn’t the only reason to go there. They have delicious food and I particularly love their weekend brunch, especially their coconut tart.

Myers+Chang
1145 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02118
617.542.5200
Instagram: @myersandchang

Bon Chon

Bon Chon is part of Allston’s Asian dining scene. Fast service and delicious food is popular with area college students and sometimes the wait can be long. We go for big platters of Korean fried chicken drumettes. They wings are dipped in one of two sauces – soy-garlic or spicy. As much as I like spicy the spicy sauce is too much and I don’t find it enjoyable to eat. If they could do a blend of the two sauces I think it would be perfect.

Bon Chon
123 Brighton Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
617-254-8888
Instagram: @bonchonchicken

Shabu Zen

Also in Allston is Asian hot pot restaurant, Shabu Zen. On weekends the wait for a table can be long but once seated, service is fast. You have your choice of cooking broths, my favorite is the kim chee broth but sometimes having a simple pork or chicken broth is equally good. You have your choice of proteins – from poultry to meats to seafood – or you can go all vegetarian. It’s great for dinner in the winter. Be prepared because you (and your clothes) will come out smelling like the restaurant.

Shabu Zen
80 Brighton Avenue
Allston, MA 02134
617-782-8888
Instagram: @shabuzenboston

Dim Sum Restaurants

China Pearl

China Pearl has traditional carts offering a large variety of dumplings and other dim sum dishes. On weekends, particularly Sundays, it gets very busy and it is best to get there early unless you are willing to wait. At peak times they may sit smaller parties together at larger tables unless you request a table just for your party.

China Pearl
9 Tyler Street
Boston, MA 02111
617.426.4338

Windsor Dim Sum Cafe

Across the street from China Pearl, Winsor Dim Sum Cafe is much smaller. Dim sum is ordered off a menu and brought to your table. It is very popular and fills up quickly.

Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
10 Tyler Street
Boston, MA 02111
617.338.1688

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More from the series:

(My) Best of Boston – Part 1 – Celebrations
(My) Best of Boston – Part 2 – Less Formal Favorites
(My) Best of Boston – Part 3 – Fast Casual
(My) Best of Boston – Part 5 – Sweet Treats
(My) Best of Boston – Part 6 – Beyond Boston