By Sydney Trost, News Correspondent
Last week, cookbook authors Nancy Hachisu and Naomi Duguid visited Northeastern’s Xhibition Kitchen for a cooking demo and a book signing. Hachisu’s book, “Japanese Farm Food,” and Duguid’s book, “Burma: Rivers of Flavor,” both contain many interesting recipes for delicious Asian cuisine. For those without a kitchen or better yet – don’t feel like cooking, there are luckily a ton of great Asian restaurants around Boston where they’ll do the work for you.
It’s no secret that Nan Ling is a Northeastern student favorite on the weekends; it’s cheap, close and open late. From soup to fried rice, Vietnamese to Thai, Nan Ling has what college kids need to recover from a wild party and at the right price. But if you’re looking for something that tastes as good at one in the afternoon as it does at two in the morning, there are a couple of other places near campus that you can enjoy in the daylight hours.
Pho & I is a great place to start, especially because the restaurant takes Husky Dollars. They offer lots of Vietnamese and Thai dishes with seafood, meat and vegetarian options. The Spicy Beef Salad is wonderful for the adventurous palate, with a large bed of lettuce topped with ground beef and a homemade sauce with a great kick. It’s right on Huntington Avenue and has a cozy atmosphere. The service is quick and the waiters are friendly. Pho & I is a place to grab an exciting Asian meal without venturing too far from the dorms.
The Pad Thai Café is also located close to campus. Nestled on the same strip as the Berklee Boloco on Boylston Street, this restaurant features a walk-up counter to place orders and lots of seating. The dishes here are quite big and all less than $10, and there are featured specials on a daily basis. The Chicken Pad Thai is hearty and spicy and comes on a large bed of noodles. They also have beef and seafood Pad Thai in addition to soups and rice dishes. With so many options, it’s easy to return again and again without getting bored.
If you’re looking for a place to take a date, and are willing to splurge on a bus ticket, head over to Central Square in Cambridge for some Himalayan food at Rangzen Tibetan Place. A short ride on the MBTA’s number 1 bus will drop you off not too far from this cozy, authentic restaurant. With an extensive menu and giant portions, the overall experience of dining here will leave you impressed. They’ve got an awesome all-you-can-eat buffet at lunchtime that leaves Yelp! users raving. The dishes are a bit more expensive here, but customers always bring home lots of leftovers and leave with experience points for trying something new.
Let’s not forget that Boston has a great Chinatown neighborhood with many restaurants, big and small. The Dumpling Café, located in the heart of Chinatown, is a favorite among college kids. Their Xiao Long Bao (commonly known as dumplings) are said to be the best in Boston. While the service isn’t ideal, (the waiters are known to be slow) the customers seem to return to enjoy delicious and flavorful food. And if you don’t want to wait around at the restaurant, they offer a call-ahead take-out option, so there is no reason not to try this Boston beacon of Chinese cuisine.
Jade Garden is another place to try in Chinatown. A big restaurant with many options, it’s a great place to take family members when they visit or to grab a bite with a group of friends. The restaurant features a lot of fresh seafood (the tanks are in the restaurant) with noodles or rice. They run a daily lunch special with many options available for only $5 apiece. They’re also open late with delivery, so next time Nan Ling comes to mind on a Saturday night, why not try something new and call Jade Garden?
Boston offers a lot of tasty options when it comes to Asian food. The list of restaurants is abundant, and nearly all of them are suitable for a college student’s budget. So when it’s time to order Asian food, try straying away from the typical Rice Bowl, and perhaps take on some new Asian restaurants that will make eating cuisine from the far east more exciting.
- Nan Ling, 179 Massachusetts Avenue
- Pho & I, 267 Huntington Avenue
- Pad Thai, 1116 Boylston Street
- Jade Garden, 18-20 Tyler Street
