During my freshman year, as a student with Asian heritage and studying abroad in the United States, I had a weekly routine: go to Chinatown to have breakfast every Saturday or Sunday morning to fill my stomach with crispy youtiao (a golden-brown fried strip of wheat flour dough in China) and hot congee. This traditional breakfast combo from my hometown, Beijing, relieved my homesickness. As a rising junior now, I still keep this routine by cooking Chinese food by myself sometimes.
“It’s satisfying if you can eat a dish here that is 60 to 70 percent the same in China,” said Joe Mei, the manager of Clay Pot Cafe, a restaurant specializing in authentic Cantonese-style dishes in Boston. I think it is true. Sometimes, restaurants need to adjust their cuisines to local tastes when they are located in a different country or region. But I am lucky enough to have some traditional cuisines here, and the native residents love them too.
Chinese Cuisine
While searching on Google Maps, I found the only open restaurant near me at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday was Clay Pot Cafe. I really appreciate it because in China, at least my family, we are not used to having brunch but more of a breakfast. Though I was born in northern China, I love those Cantonese-style dishes from southern provinces, such as Guangdong.
I chose to order a rice noodle roll to start my morning. This is a traditional Cantonese dish made from a wide strip of steamed rice noodles, rolled up, filled with ingredients you want, and served with the sweet soy sauce. Mei told me that he really enjoys the freedom when he eats the rice noodle roll at the street food stall downstairs from his apartment in his hometown. “You can add whatever you want, like pork liver, egg, and vegetables…that is a sense of our everyday life,” he said.
Although I see that pre-prepared or frozen food is common right now, I appreciate that a lot of restaurants, like Clay Pot Cafe, still insist on making food fresh.
If you are a fan of spicy dishes, try the Mala Restaurant in Allston. “Mala” in Chinese means spicy and makes your tongue feel numb. Dishes from Sichuan, a province in southwestern China, are experts in using chili pepper and Sichuan pepper. The geographical reason is that the climate in those areas is wet and moist, so eating something spicy can make people feel better.
Korean Cuisine
Do you know that the Allston neighborhood is a well-known place for the Korean community, sometimes it is even referred to as “Koreantown.” If you want to try some Korean cuisine, you have a lot of choices here from grilled galbi (beef or pork ribs) and soups to tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes simmered in a spicy, sweet, and savory sauce).
At Kaju Korean Cuisine, you can get a steaming-hot tofu stew. Extra-soft tofu is boiled in the broth with gochugaru, a Korean-style red chili flake and served with beef, pork, seafood, or just veggie to serve with. Each soup includes an egg and a bowl of rice. If you think it is not enough, this restaurant also has a combo choice. Enjoy grilled galbi with the tofu soup – the meat flavor is not smoky, but a little bit sweet.
Another restaurant in Allston, Seoul Jangteo, is known for its tangsuyuk (a Korean-Chinese deep-fried pork in a sweet and sour sauce) and jajangmyeon (a Korean-Chinese noodle dish featuring savory, dark, and sweet sauce made by sliced pork and onion, which is sweeter compared to what I eat in China)
Korean restaurants usually offer diverse side dishes (each in a small plate) for customers before they order. Those side dishes are also called “banchan,” including seasonal vegetables like kimchi, soybean sprouts, spinach, and so on.
Allston also has Southeast Asian cuisine, such as Thai food or Vietnamese dishes. They are my top-choice places to have curry or flavors from different spices. I think they are also suitable for the summer season because they usually use lime, basil, mint, or lemongrass in their dishes, which makes me feel refreshed and bright.
It is fortunate to have this diverse food community here. I believe that food holds more meanings than just enjoyable flavors.