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The Tofu Yellow Curry is fantastic, and this is from someone who loves meat! I thought I'd give it a try after someone suggested it, and it was SO good. It's hard to describe in words, but I'm definitely going back there and getting take out for my family for dinner.
I'm not sure about the other dishes-- haven't tried those. But the menu is cheap, about $5-$7 and with sufficient portion sizes.
So after tonight's meal I was inspired to write a review.
First time we ordered from here it was perfect. Yu Hsiang tofu with broccoli(tofu was the most delicious and homemade(!) tofu I've ever tasted. We also got the pineapple chicken which was in a great sweet chili sauce!!
Second time, we decided to order the Yu Hsiang beef, and then we made our mistake- Steamed tofu with spicy peanut sauce. I thought it would of course be their delicious homemade tofu, with just another sauce... Boy, was I wrong. It was giant chunks of plain and package textured white tofu, with equally plain broccoli with a tiny cup of so-so sauce on the side. To make it worse, the tofu/broccoli was in it's own yucky steam water so the sauce was watered down. It had NO flavor.
So I called.... Which I HATE doing. The first woman wasn't very nice, but handed the phone off to the manager who apologized. I told him how delicious our last meal was there, and now disappointed I was in this meal. He promised to send the Yu Hsiang tofu, which arrived within 10 minutes. It was perfect.
We were very pleased with the service, and tipped accordingly (five the first trip out and two the second) I would highly recommend this place. It is the only place that has been able to compare to Chang Feng in Brockton (now closed) for me.
Overall, It's a wonderful place and just speak to the manager if you have any problems.
Cheap cheerful Chinese, deliciously devoid of grease with fast, friendly, free delivery!
Crab rangoons, 5 spice tofu, Thai rolls, hot basil noodles are all amazing.
Four stars because it's still cheap Chinese take-out, but the best expression thereof I've found in Camberville-ford.
I ordered from this place based on all the good Yelp reviews, but boy was I disappointed. The only reason I even gave 3 stars was because their delivery was super-quick, their prices are cheap, and the egg drop soup was pretty good. The rest of the meal was not so good, however. Maybe I made a mistake in ordering chinese instead of thai food, but their "pork" fried rice had not one speck of pork in it, and in fact was pretty much white steamed rice with a few flakes of scrambled egg and a stray pea mixed in. While the website said that they used white meat, my sesame chicken was certainly not white meat and I would even question if it was actual chicken. The boneless spare ribs were spongy and severely lacking in sauce/flavor. I don't think I will be ordering from them again! Could someone please open a decent chinese restaurant that delivers to my house? Please??
A hole in the wall with nice people running the place, but stay far far away from the tofu. Something is wrong with the tofu. It's texture is very unusual. The only reason I give it this many stars is because everything else was so cheap and delicious.
I order pick up from here pretty often, when we're eating out. I found this restaurant through yelp. I never noticed it any of the times that I've passed that block, or parked there, or anything.
I am fairly picky about what kind of chinese take out I'm willing to eat, my boyfriend - even more picky. He has deemed the General Gau's from this place edible, so it's on the list. I can also get pad thai, which makes me really happy.
The people I've picked up my food from have all been really nice. Only once have we been missing an order of rice when we come home, but whatever - not missed all that much in the end anyways. The prices are pretty decently low too...
I'm giving this place 5 stars just for their delivery.
It's 9:00. It's been a couple weeks since I've been food shopping, so the food is lacking in my house. I don't have any clean pots to cook in, and don't feel like doing dishes. It's cold and snowing outside, and I don't feel like walking a block to the 5 possible takeout places away from my house. All signs point to delivery, something I never do.
Boyfriend called and ordered. They said 40 minutes. Food was here in like 20. Delivery guy was the happiest little asian man I've ever seen/met. He made my night.
As for the food, I'm not a big Chinese/Thai fan, so I just get simple stuff that isn't really chinese at all (white rice/chicken wings) and am not a good person to judge. My boyfriend prefers this Chinese place to any others in our surrounding area though.
I'm always wary of the places that serve both Chinese and Thai but stumbled upon this little storefront while wandering around looking for Asian food and its now the only place I'll get Chinese takeout from (the Thai isn't quite as good, stick to the Chinese part of the menu). Fresh ingredients in everything make the dishes, its inexpensive, and they deliver quickly!
I think this might be the worst excuse for chinese food I've EVER tried !!!!! The white rice was as dry as a cracker, the vegetables in it were super dry on top of it. I don't know what kind of "General Gau Chicken" this is but its DEF not any kind I've ever had. There was so much batter around a little chicken . . turd? IDK what it was. The boneless spare ribs were the absolute worst !!!!! They were full of fat and very dried out. I still have next to me the hot and sour soup I also ordered, but I must say I'm not sure that I'm super excited to try it, it may join the rest of our $65 lunch in the TRASH! Beef teriyaki was not even cooked well, the edges are usually a little bit darker than the rest of the beef, not these ones, it was nearly brown. My boss and another co-worker ordered shrimp and lobster sauce, it looks like a pile of puppy poo or something, its not liquidy at all, its almost a solid !!! UGHHHH I'm getting sick thinking about this so called "chinese food". That was the first and last time I will ever order there.
Ate in the restaurant for lunch today, and it was such a yummy, cheap good time. Their Chinese lunch specials include soup, an app (eggroll, crab rangoon, etc.) and fried rice, all for under $6! That's music to this impoverished grad student's ears.
How have I not reviewed this place yet? It's totally my Chinese delivery place when I'm lazy and… Read more »
Chinese food in Boston is much different than it is in Minnesota. Not different bad or different good, just different. I'm still getting used to different names, different variations of the same same dish i've grown accustomed to back home.
We stopped by East Asia on our way home to order some food for take-out. I'm a fan of Pork Fried Rice, also ordered the Crab Rangoon. I've only started eating this since I moved here, because it seems to be very difficult to find cream cheese fried wantons. We also ordered the ginger chicken.
When i first opened the box of fried rice, It was not what i expected. It was lighter in color than i am used to. I was pleasantly surprised to find ti very light tasting, fresh, and flavorful. The crab rangoon was still crispy by the time we got home, which is always nice. I tried a little of the ginger chicken and it was pretty good too. I'm sure we'll try it again.
Since moving to the Boston area, I've been struggling to find a reliably delicious and inexpensive Chinese restaurant that can deliver (wow, I sound cheap and lazy right there...ah, well, blame it on the economy). Well, I'm very happy to say I've finally found that place! East Asia (which also offers Thai cuisine) boasts a wide variety of dishes at very reasonable prices. To boot, the food is absolutely delicious and the portions are HUGE (seriously--and I eat a lot at any given meal--I can get two to three meals out of one dish). I'd highly recommend it. We tried the tofu pad thai (unbelievable) and steamed veggies and tofu with brown rice (the rice was very hearty and the tofu and veggies fresh and steamed perfectly). Definitely a go-to!
Five stars for what it is, an inexpensive Chinese/Thai place that delivers, not five stars as in "the best Chinese/Thai I've ever had". I am from California and therefore rather spolied in the Asian cuisine area. In three years I've been disappointed to disgusted by the Chinese food here. Thai has fared a little better, but not much.
The menu, amazingly varied. I'll be trying new things for at least a year. We ordered: crispy tofu in peanut sauce, steamed vegetables in oyster sauce, pineapple chicken and brown rice. All delicious. Delivery guy was SO sweet and everything appeared well under their estimated time (it was a Monday night).
Someone here actually has a clue! Crispy tofu with sauce on the side so, amazingly, the tofu actually stays crispy! Same with my steamed vegetables in oyster sauce so they don't get all oversaturated. Pineapple chicken's chili/curry sauce was delicious.
Now have my go to delivery Chinese place. Yay!
Delivery service wasn't as painful as my other experiences with local Chinese take-out restaurants. Yes I still got a call that the car couldn't find my place but he only overshot it by half a block, a grand achievement in my history of Chinese takeout mishaps.
Buddha's Delight was surprisingly delicious (I just got it for the fiber) with these strangely awesome tofu pieces that were squishy, springy and tender all at the same time. Kung Pao Chicken was disappointingly authentic, I was hoping for some of that Americanized stuff. But it was good enough and plenty of chicken for the price. House Fried Rice was aces, shrimp, pork, chicken and other fried rice bits.
Prices are good, delivery was quick, no complaints.
Good Asian food (both Chinese and Thai) and they deliver in Somerville which is a plus. I'd definitely order from them again but am still sampling the Asian cuisine of Somerville.
After reading the reviews on here I decided to try out East Asia. People sure weren't lying about the rice being great. It looks like steamed but tastes better than most fried rice I've ever had. I was also pleased with the portions being not overkill. Usually I get a few pounds of greasy food that I eat not wanting to waste and feel the pain afterwards. The meal size was pretty moderate and fresh which I appreciated greatly.
And to top it off, the fortune cookies actually had fortunes and not useless sayings or observations. That was icing on the cake!
This place is the greatest all around Asian delivery place in Somerville, hands down. The Chinese is way better than their Thai so stick to the Chinese -- awesome peking ravioli, chow foon is aces, and the crab rangoons actually have crab up in 'em. The delivery time is unreal -- like 15 minutes, and the folks there are really nice.... although they offer dining in, pass on that -- it's kinda funky, always steamed out windows, and they have Metros there from like 1985. But for all around good chinese delivery, East Asia is the best bet.
I consider myself to be a connoisseur of lo mein noodles. That being said, East Asia gets my official seal of approval. They were perfectly flavored... salty, not a lick of raunchy gross cooked lettuce, and crisp fresh broccoli.
The entire meal was good, and ready in under 15 minutes.
Short and sweet review for a short wait and sweet food.
Good, fast takeout. Yummy, crispy, crab rangoons. Sesame chicken was good too, we'll see if it passes the "left over" test tonight.
-1 star because their pricing was mysterious. I have no idea how they decided our order of two 8 dollar items was $21.70 and I never saw the bill.
This is a charming little establishment with very tasty food. As mentioned by others, the menu is extensive and thorough.
I went this evening with my fiancee and we dined in, so I thought I'd write on that since it looks as though most people just do take out.
Agreed that it is just a small dining room, and the building itself is a little drab and tired, but it is pleasant enough. The table didn't wobbly and all dishes were clean! What more do you want? Especially for a combined bill with appetizers for 2 at $22.
We had a variety of chicken dishes which were well prepared, not too spicy (though I kinda like spicy, but I'm sure they would kick it up a notch if you asked).
I appreciated the lack of mystery bits among the chicken. All edible, no signs of sneaking any stringiness in.
The woman who was hostess (I'm guessing the wife of the husband and wife owners) was gracious and enthusiastic, and managed this with a very thin grasp of English. I mean that as a compliment.
One other thing I wanted to mention is that while the building is kinda lame, I asked to use the restroom, which is usually employees only cause you have to go through the kitchen to get there.
So it's clearly an employee only restroom which you can tell because there's a hairbrush and someone's make up kit, but it is clean and stocked with both soap and hand sanitizer.
Also, I got a brief glimpse of the kitchen - which had already shut down for the night (we were there late). Lovely. Really quite orderly, clean but well inhabited with real woks and neatly organized ingredients.
I know there are exposes out there of kitchens all in hazardous conditions, so I wanted to expose that it looks to me like East Asia is doing as much as they can to run a clean, kind, efficient business and make some tasty food too.
Cheers to that!
Thank goodness for East Asia, finally some good Chinese food with less guilt! The food is not greasy and heavy, and is actually quite tasty! They do on an occasion get the order wrong and that can get very annoying, but hey when they deliver they deliver! The food has been consistently good. The Hot basil fried rice is so good, we ordered the same thing 5 nights in a row last week!!! The Chicken in black bean and the General Gau's served as perfect sides. Rice needs to be ordered separately. All I can say is I'm glad they deliver :)!
So I have an odd obsession with ordering the pu pu platter for one from every take out Chinese place. I don't know why. I just do. Tonight I ordered it here for the first time and I didn't love it. I didn't like the beef teriyaki, bbq pork, or chicken wings - which left me liking the crab rangoon, egg roll, and fried chicken/shrimp. Think I'll go back to my normal order...
We have ordered takeout from east asia numerous times. BF really likes the rice - seems fluffier/fresher than other places, and he really likes the sesame chicken (and so do I).
I try to mix it up: I've gotten pad thai (better off getting this at a real thai place), shrimp yellow curry (not bad, but basically ditto), basically all the thai dishes taste better at a thai restaurant I am not sure why I keep insisting to try each thai item on this menu knowing I will be disappointed.
What is good? Crab Rangoon, egg roll (nice hint of ginger in here - in fact I'd love it if they put even more ginger in here), sesame chicken, and the fried rice. They a friendly and the service is fast - just what you want from a take out place.
If the phone/delivery guy(s) needed somewhere to live -he could move in with me. If he needed a ride in the middle of the night. I would pick him up.
If he/they asked me to be his/their daughter-I would.
This is the nicest guy in the entire world. Is it the same guy? I think so. I don't care. I will love them both than......
I called and placed a delivery order with Phone guy. The conversation was a struggle. We couldn't really understand each other.
Or at least I thought he couldn't. I feared we wouldn't get the correct food or he wouldn't find our apartment. Daddy was at my door in 20 minutes with a PERFECT order.
While ordering, I did ask him to go to my living room door, since my door bell to the front door doesn't work. And as fate would have it, I heard my doorbell "ring" for the first time in five years. Yeah, so he went to the wrong door-no problemo.......I jumped at the sound of the bell..I opened the door and there he was, standing outside with the biggest grin on his face and waving !
We got the food, paid and my SO old him to keep the change ($5) and I thought delivery guy was going to hug him.....A tear came to my eye.
Everything was delish!
SO ordered: scallion pancakes and crispy half duck.
I ordered: Thai veggie spring rolls and the Saigon Rice Noodle Soup from the Vietnamese menu.
That is the other complete awesome thing about this place. One can order from their Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese sections of the menu. Cheap, HUGE portions and filling.
Here is their online menu:
http://www.tuftslife.c...
Oh and the other thing I love: The food comes in the silver containers with clears tops instead of the white boxes with silver handle. Easier to store left overs IMO.
Such nice people, making such great food at the prices they charge, deserve hugs. That's right. You should not only go to East Asia for your Chinese and Thai food, you should give them great big bear hugs.
They actually care whether the food is good, and they really pay attention to the little things other places often overlook. Living on a hard-to-find street, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I called them by the questions they asked-- unsure of where my street was, they took the time to make sure they knew the neighborhood, cross street, and the spelling of the name. Doesn't seem like a huge deal, but I've actually had to argue with other places' delivery guys as they insist they're outside my door. East Asia takes the extra time to do it right the first time, and they do it so nicely you wonder why you ever went anywhere else.
Yum! Just moved to the hood and decided to try this based on my trusted Yelpers' reviews.
Great big Thai/Chinese combo menu, most entrees you can add on an appetizer for just $1. Prices are cheap, esp for the quality of food you are getting. The fried rice is actually still white, and isnt overloaded with grease (just enough to be awesome.) The vegetables are all crispy from being steamed.
Their chicken fingers are standard (smallish though), veggie fried rice has large chunks of veggies, not a sprinkling of wilted peas like most places give you. The crispy sesame chicken was actually crispy, the wonton soup was good, and I'm looking forward to trying more things!
Bonus: It was a Saturday night and they still got here in 30 minutes with no mistakes on our order. And their nice delivery man even pet my dog.
Super Bonus: The guy on the phone spoke English very well so there was none of your typical takeout call "yell and repeat" biz.
East Asia may just have the friendliest workers/owners ever. Even if the food sucked, I'd still come here all the time, just because the atmosphere is so pleasant and relaxing. Serious good vibes.
Lucky for me the food definitely does not suck. It is probably just my imagination, but I always feel like the food here is, well, a bit healthier than normal "americanized" asian food. Their fried rices aren't heavy and brown, but rather fluffy and light (with spicy pineapple, yum!). And the various sauce based dishes never seem to be drowning in a glop of molasses-like-liquid that seems so common around here.
My favorite? The island noodle. It's got this slight spicy, but a little sweet, but maybe was that nutmeg? thing going on. Roommate has some love for the Kung Pao, and we both dig the green curry tofu (even if it could be spicier).
Genuinely friendly, fast service, with tasty food - in Boston??? Count me in!
I should listen to my gut. After perusing the Yelps here, I was weary of ordering from East Asia, but did anyway. I would've probably been better off going with another place.
Here's why. The crab rangoon was soggy. They must not have let them air out or whatever. The beef teriyaki was fatty, poor consistency. (To me, beef teriyaki is an easy indicator of quality). The dumplings were mediocre. My general gau's was composed of what appeared to be non-yummy (low quality?) dark meat and the consistency became more unappealing as I ate.
Like I said I should listen to my gut. Hopefully, next time I check out yelp before ordering chinese, I'll see my review and remember...
Move over Wang's!!
East Asia has by far the best Chinese takeout in Somerville.
Ordered over $80 worth of food here with a big group of friends the other night and every morsel was delicious.
Not too greasy, not to sloppy, packed with flavor, freshness, and AWESOME HOMEMADE TOFU, this is a restaurant sure to please meat eaters and vegetarians alike.
Run by the owner and his wife (and they're unbalanced goldfish) this is one of the best take out restaurants I've found.
Most takeout places end up being heavy in grease and light on spice, but East Asia (or Powder House Thai as we call it) is the opposite. Everything is well prepared and delicious.
Try the Chicken Volcano if you like spice, the Pad Thai if you want comfort food.
They didn't give us food poisoning.
The beef was poor quality ( in both the lo mein and the crispy sesame dishes ). The service was mediocre. And the fish tank is empty.... just a dirty little lit up tank, bubbling away without any fish...erie
East Asia is basically everything you could ever want from a neighborhood Chinese/Thai restaurant. The food is incredible every time, inexpensive, remarkably fast, and the menu is long enough to try something different every time. The people that work there are also very friendly and have never made a mistake. It is worth noting that I've only gotten take-out.
I recommend any of the dishes under the "Fruit Dishes" category and I really like the tofu dinners (and I'm not a vegetarian). The lunch specials come with rice, soup, an appetizer, and a main course for under $6, which is unheard of.
Again, East Asia is a gem. I would give a fifth star, but I am not keen on the idea of eating there. The atmosphere is wanting and the facade doesn't exactly beckon to diners. I live nearby and generally eat their incredible food at home.
As an aside, I would not count on leftovers. They definitely give you plenty of food, but even day-old meals are not inedible, but not that great. Freshly prepared food is key.
Dear East Asia,
Thanks for being such a fantastic Chinese take-out place that is within delivery distance to my house! Your crab rangoon are the tastiest morsels of fried cream cheese goodness I have tasted in some time, and your scallion pancakes are top notch.
I'm not sure if you use MSG, but if you do, it's a small enough amount that my fragile and sensitive self is not sucked into a chemical tornado somewhere between coma and frenzy. I can eat your delicious food so happily!
Your delivery is fast and friendly. You basically beat the pants off any other Chinese food I have found in the Somerville area...by a long shot.
YAY!
This place is great; we go way out of our way to order from here. The prices are reasonable and the food is incredibly fresh. The fried rice is the best I've ever had: fresh veggies and little oil. They will cook anything to order and understand health-conscious requests like, "Mooshi - no oil." The people working there are incredibly nice and very helpful.
There's not a lot of room inside - to quote my father-in-law, "no one is going to get lost inside that place." Go for take-out.
http://www.tuftslife.c...
What everyone else said - inauthentic, but light on the oil and wonderfully prepared. The homemade tofu is great, and their hot & sour soup is so much better than the gelatinous pile of soy sauce, corn starch and vinegar you get at most places. I was about to give up on Chinese food, as it's been turning out to be too oily or sweet for me as of late, but East Asia has rejuvenated my interest.
The only negatives are that they don't deliver to Union Square area (unless you beg), and there were 4 pork dumplings in my order of 8 vegetarian dumplings that I had to hand over to my meat-eating fiance. He said they were great though. I can't wait to try the veggie burgers (?!!) that they serve for lunch.
I am vegan. I visited a friend of mine who lives outside of Boston who is NOT vegan and instead of trying to explain to her how to cook for a vegan, I suggested we eat out. I found East Asia right here on Yelp and I am so glad I did! I have the 5 Spice Bean Curd which is their homemade tofu... it was fabulous... far and away the best tofu I have ever had. I also ordered the fresh spring rolls which were fine, but the next time, I think I'd skip the spring rolls and just opt for the tofu... and I'd get a 2nd order to go.
We have been ordering take out from East Asia for the past year and have never had a problem. Delivery is quick, and the food is delicious. This place serves authentic Chinese food - scrambled eggs with shrimp, home made tofu, great noodles and soup wontons. The people who own the place are the nicest people - smiling and genuine. Great food, good service and friendly owners!
Not the cheapest Chinese take-out around, but I'll survive. Quick delivery, the chicken and pork dishes are solid, served with fresh veggies always, and the service is always good. I'm partial to the Sesame Chicken, Beef & Broccoli, and Crab Rangoon here.
I'm so happy to see all the good reviews about this place. It's absolutely my favorite Chinese food in this city.
The fried crab rangoons are fabulous (my absolute favorite food at any Chinese restaurant). Everything else is great too (I almost always order the Hot Basil Chicken w/ rice). Every dish I've ordered is about two servings. And the menu is huge! Thai and Chinese menu w/ lots of options.
The delivery is super fast, and the delivery man is usually the owner and he is super nice and always makes small talk. Free delivery too!
We've only eaten at the restaurant once. It's small and a little dingy, but worth it for the food.
Love East Asia!
Good food, good price, lots of selection. You can get Chinese or Thai here. I've never gotten anything but take-out, but we get it pretty often. (They deliver to Medford Hillside.) I have two super-favorites: the Pad Thai and the Thai Hot Basil Fried Rice. Both have an enormous amount of food in the container. I think I get three meals in each! I am really addicted to the Hot Basil though: thai-pepper-spiced rice sauted with a little chicken and shrimp, onion, peas and tomatoes (yeah, odd, but wait till you taste one!) and a few, full leaves of basil cooked like spinach. It's not really super heavy like most friend rices. We've had several other dishes, Chinese and Thai, and all have been "quality."
Highly recommended. I'm hungry just thinking about it.
When I walked into East Asia the other night, two women were sitting at a table, stringing a large bag of snap peas. The produce here is always delicious and crisp, not frozen or canned, which contributes to making this the best Chinese takeout I've ever had. (I was only disappointed in the Pad Thai. The Thai dumplings, Spicy Green Beans, Yellow Peach Chicken, Chicken Goqi, Potato threads, and homemade Tofu dishes are always amazing. The Spicy green beans are particularly addictive).
So if you ever want good, inexpensive Asian takeout, go here. Parking can be a bit difficult, but it's worth it.
Somerville, MA
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Davis Square
Category: Chinese
Somerville, MA
Category: Chinese
Somerville, MA
Category: Thai
Somerville, MA
Category: Thai
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