A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

So when I think of the south end, I think hip, trendy, expensive. I think that what makes Myers and Chang ‘hip’ are the people who go there to eat, not the place itself. The outside is pretty darn modern, the whole front wall is glass with images of their logo and a big red dragon on the side of the building. Inside, something about it made me think Jewish deli (weird I know). Perhaps it was the small dark mosaic tiles on the floor, maybe it was the retro white chairs, or perhaps it was the mirrored walls. I found the inside to be homey and comfortable. We arrive at 6:30 for dinner, and it is pretty empty, but by 7:30pm on a Sunday night, the place it packed and there are people waiting outside for tables.

I like the vibe of this place. I liked it from the moment I saw the website with the karate dudes on the backdrop and the staff pictures as yearbook photos. I was even more amused when my limeade came with a fluorescent colored super bendable straw. Who doesn’t love a little bit of whimsy with dinner.

Even though they have starters, and meals etc. when you order there is no telling what order you will get things in, they come out of the kitchen as they are made so everything on your table is super fresh. We order mama Changs pork and chive dumplings ($11) (see above); the genmai fried rice ($13)that is brown rice, toasted garlic, greens, beans, sesame, nori, farm egg; the sweet potato fritter ($10) chinese sausage, red curry, sriracha aioli;the Cantonese lacquered bbq pork ($16) kimchee rice cake, ginger-scallion oil; the asian-braised soft tacos ($13) pear, radish, chili-sesame salsa; the crispy spring roll ($5) garlic chives, bamboo, shiitake mushroom; and the tea smoked spare ribs ($14).

While they state that the dishes are purely inspired by Asian street food, even loose interpretation, and may not be authentic in nature, you should know that this is not your typical “Chinese food restaurant”. You won’t find pu pu platters and wonton soup here. The dumplings are standard fare, like a peking dumpling-was feeling a little let down by them. The genmai fried rice was wonderfully spicy-and unexpected. You mix the egg in and the heat of the rice cooks the yolk. The heat starts of as a slow heat in the back of your throat, but the more you eat, the more your lips and tongue start to tingle. The sweet potato fritter was tasty-it came out looking like an arancini. The fritter itself is sweet while the sriracha aioli has a little bit of a kick to it. I loved the bbq pork, it has such a nice taste to it, the sauce was excellent-perhaps the best dish of the night. The kimchee rice cake was like a potato pancake, I love new ways to enjoy kimchee. The soft tacos were good-I would have liked to have seen them with mu shu wrappers rather than flour tortillas though. They were a bit drippy but the meat was excellent, and was put over this ‘salsa’ that was more like pickled vegetables. The spring rolls were good, a few too many greens inside for my taste. And finally, the tea smoked spare ribs. The meat was fall off the bone tender-yum!

And how can you leave without dessert? All are priced at $7. We order the “ancient chinese secret” chocolate mousse, with homemade 5 spice marshmallows (above), the coconut cream pie with lime whipped cream, and the frozen vanilla bean parfait with fresh orange granita.

The frozen parfait is HUGE. It’s like a huge wedge of ice cream, topped with shaved orange flavored ice and orange slices. Pretty refreshing and light. The coconut cream pie, light as air. It comes in a graham cracker shell that can be hard to cut at times, but worth the effort. The chocolate mousse is dense, we took it upon ourselves to add some of the vanilla parfait to it-what a great idea-it comes served in a coffee mug. I am addicted to the ‘marshmallows’ which are more like merengues-they are light and airy and have a wonderful flavor about them. And as the bill came, no fortune cookies, but more marshmallows. yum!

Myers and Chang

1145 Washington Street Boston MA (south end)

http://www.myersandchang.com/

Hours:

Sun – Wed Lunch 11:30 – 5:30 | Dinner 5:30 – 10:00

Thu – Sat Lunch 11:30 – 5:30 | Dinner 5:30 – 11:00

Dim Sum Brunch Every Saturday and Sunday!

We keep half of the dining room open for our walk-in customers!

Tags: celebrity chef, chinese, south end