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Taiwan Café
Category: Restaurants Taiwanese Taiwanese [Edit]
34 Oxford St(between Oxford St & Beach St)
Boston, MA 02111
Neighborhood: Chinatown
(617) 426-8181
- Nearest Transit:
-
Surface Artery @ Beach St (500, 501, 504, 505, 553, 554, 555, 556, 558)
Essex St @ Kingston St (11, 7)
Lincoln St @ Beach St (500, 501, 504, 505, 553, 554, 555, 556, 558)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 1 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
291 reviews for Taiwan Café
Review Highlights
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"The best xiao long bao I've ever had." In 17 reviews -
"Forget gourmet dumpling house." In 11 reviews -
"...would highly recommend the beef noodle soup and the "smelly..." In 17 reviews
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291 reviews in English
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Review from Sue H.
Boston, MA
3/31/2012
I love Taiwan Cafe! It's my go to place in Chinatown for great Taiwanese food and quick service. I don't think I've ever ordered anything here that I didn't like, and I've been tons of times. Hmm, let me think...
You should definitely get the soup dumplings here, they're the best in Boston! I'd also recommend any of the rice plates or soup noodle specials. They're super cheap -- $5 for a whole plate/bowl of food?! Umm, yes please! My favorite is pork belly over rice, which is a very typical Taiwanese dish, but Taiwan Cafe does it very well. I also really like the julienned beef with watercress and beef with tofu and bamboo. These two dishes come out in heaping plates, and they're perfect for sharing family-style or for one with a bowl of rice. If you're thinking about ordering some appetizers, I always get the tofu with preserved egg and the oyster pancake. Yum!
Taiwan Cafe is always jam-packed during the lunch and dinner rush, so if you're thinking of coming by, be aware of what time you're going in. Once you're seated, food comes out really quick, so don't be too worried.
Then again, I'd say Taiwan Cafe is worth the wait anyways. -
Review from Chrissy H.
Boston, MA
This place is always super crowded when I go in the evening. There is no place to stand and wait so most of the people in line just stand outside. This is not very cool if it's freezing cold or raining / snowing outside. Inside the restaurant, the tables are put so close together that it is difficult to move and ypu have to sit very close to adjacent tables. It get la frustrating Iove around. Also, it is very loud inside since they try to pack as many people into the tiny restaurant and this makes for an unpleasant atmosphere sometimes as you can not hear what your friend is saying while eating dinner with him or her.
The service is not all that great and the restaurant does not seem very clean. The bathrooms are the tiniest ones I have EVER seen. They are super small, even by Chinatown standards. In fact, they are not big enough to have a sink. Both he men and women have to exit their respectie restrooms and wash their hands outside at a single sink. This is so ridiculous!
In terms of the food, the portions that they serve are not very big. I have to order an extra dish to satisfy my appetite. Even though the items on the menu are cheap, they get you another way! The attracting point of this restaurant is that it is one of the few taiwanese restaurants in Chinatown so if you want Taiwanese food, a lot of people simply comes here by default. -
Review from M. N.
Boston, MA
2/27/2012
The beau and I went around 10pm Saturday night the other night. He hasn't been so I thought I'd take him.
I don't know why it took forever for me to write a review but Taiwan Cafe one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown esp. for the soup dumplings. I prefer Taiwan Cafe over the Dumpling House because they're generally a better restaurant.
The waitress we had was friendly. Definite plus for Chinatown. She recommended the beau try the spicy salt & pepper fried chunky chicken with basil which he ordered and loved every bite of it. Crispy, not oily at all, and the fried basil was aromatic and crispy. Yum! We also got the pork soup dumplings. Those are always delicious and consistent.
I'm a fan of noodle soups so I got the Taiwan style wonton noodle soup. It was light and tasty but paled in comparison to the dumplings and the fried chicken that we ordered. -
Review from Hyeyeon B.
Austin, TX
5/20/2012
My husband's friend is a fan of this restaurant. We are visitng Boston and wanted to go there today but it was closed. They were remodeling now.
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Review from Cassy H.
Updated - 5/2/2012 3 Check-ins Here
I'm still a fan, but I would be a bigger fan if Taiwan Cafe was open! I went by today (May 2, 2012) because this Taiwanese transplant was craving some Taiwanese food. I walked up to the street and noticed brown butcher paper taped on the window. I knew that was a bad sign. However, I proceeded further and saw a huge notice posted in English and Chinese.. saying how they are closed for renovation. Please come back soon! I miss you, TW Cafe! =/
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/30/2011
If you are looking for fairly authentic Taiwanese food, then you've hit the spot. I mean, with a… Read more »
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Review from Jessica W.
Boston, MA
2/18/2012
This Jessica Wang from Taiwan Cafe.
Thanks for all your reviews on Yelp ! 5 Stars for everyone!
We try ours best to bring you the favor from home as Taiwan Cafe since 1998, and introduce the first Soup Dumpling, Stinky Tofu, Oyster Pancake, Beef Noodle Soup, Fried Pork Chop on Rice, Beef with Long-horn peppers, and etc. to the people in Boston for more then 13 years.
And now, in order to bring you better dinning experience, we will be closed for renovation for a month starting March 1st. Thank you for your continuous patronage and deeply sorry for the inconvenience that will cause you during the construction, but we look forward to serve you soon.
You can also check us up on Facebook for new updates on the progress . -
Review from Anna C.
2/5/2012 2 photos
We came because I read the reviews about the beef noodle soup (I love noodle soups!) and couldn't wait to try it. It was completely disappointing -- the broth was overpowering, but somehow the noodles were completely tasteless and broke apart easily.
My dining companion's dish came on a child-themed plate... which is kind of amusing, but at the same time, kind of inappropriate. It was a sectioned plate, but the dish wasn't meant to be sectioned... I don't know how else to explain it -- see picture.
Warning -- you will smell like Taiwanese food for the rest of the day. Better go on a laundry day.
Note: Place is small, so be prepared to share a table with strangers if you're dining with less than 3-4 people. -
Review from Karina L.
2/16/2012
***CASH ONLY!****
* Also, another warning: when you look up 34 Oxford Street, Boston, MA, google maps spazzes out and sends you to an Oxford Street in Allston. It also thinks that that address is Taiwan Cafe (it's not!). This place is in Chinatown/near South Station.
Hallelujah! I've finally found my soup dumpling fix in Boston. The six of us ordered 2 orders of soup dumplings, scallion pancakes with beef, and 4 entrees...and it came out to under 15 dollars each (including tax & tip). You can't get any better than that.
We got soup dumplings with pork AND crab (I've never had them together!) and they were piping hot and full of soup and flavor. While different, it is definitely comparable to the soup dumplings you find in NYC.
The scallion pancake with beef (split into 6 pieces) was a great pair to our dumplings. The pancake wasn't overly oily and the beef wasn't overly salty -- big no-nos that I've encountered a lot at other places. I would say that the price for this ($7) is a little steeper than I'm used to, but they make up for it in the quality and quantity of the appetizer.
For entrees, we got beef with peppers, spinach sauteed with garlic, braised eggplant, and sauteed calamari. All were great -- and this is coming from a person who doesn't normally like eggplant. Each entree comes with a free bowl of rice.
My only gripe was that we wanted to order watercress too but the waitress told us they didn't have it because it was "out of season". This didn't damper our experience at all since the spinach was so tasty. Service was prompt and polite as well. -
Review from Tammy L.
Boston, MA
2/26/2012
Braised beef noodle and sticky rice sausage with peanuts. That's literally what I order every time I come here. It never gets old, though I think I should start trying other items on the menu too.
Dishes arrive in children-themed plates. They're actually quite amusing to look after, especially after a long day at work.
Service is good. I've never had anyone give me dirty looks whenever I ask for a few more minutes when looking at the menu. For me, that doesn't happen very often in Chinatown. Sadly.
This place is cash only but it doesn't bother me. It's Chinatown, and being Chinese myself, I think it's normal. -
Review from Fawn Q.
1/26/2012
I am giving this place a 4 solely on how much I love their beef pancakes.
BEEF and fried Chinese pancake and hoison sauce and green onions....nom nom nom nom
Most of the other dishes are pretty good as well but pales in comparison with BEEF pancake -
Review from caley t.
Boston, MA
2/22/2012
Probably my favorite restaurant in Boston.
This place is definitely a dive. In the middle of Chinatown, on dark Oxford Street, you walk up some stairs into a tiny restaurant ,decorated with shiny paper chinese rabbit decorations, and likely filled with a large crowd of people, very few of whom will be speaking English. It's all part of the experience.
The menu is in chinese and english, and you will probably not be sure exactly what you are ordering- Don't worry, it doesn't matter- It's all delicious. Keep in mind, these dishes are not individual meals. Everything is served family style, and comes out in the order that it is ready. Order all at once, and it comes out in a different order every time, but always very quickly.
Definitely start with the hot and sour soup- one order comes in a giant bowl, and you serve yourself. Easily enough for 4 or 5 people to have a few bowls each. A whole pot of some of the best soup around for only about 4 dollars!
The dumplings are also a win- I have only tried the vegetarian ones, but they are great, even to the meat eaters.
I usually order the Taiwan style noodles with seafood and veggies. It comes with scallions, crab stick, squid, shrimp, and a few other things. I don't know how to describe them exactly, but they are great, and you literally get enough for 3 meals (and I'm a big eater!)(and it only costs 7 bucks!)
The szechuan style white fish is also super tasty, and very spicy, with strong ginger flavor- order rice with it to sop up the sauce! For a more exotic fish dish, try the braised tilapia- served as a whole fish in a giant plate of spicy sauce with soft tofu chunks- absolutely delicious!
Make sure to order one of the giant Tsing Tsaos with your meal, and if you bring a big enough group, try to get one of the big spinning tables so you can try everything! -
Review from Mahina K.
Boston, MA
Oh I enjoyed them. Extremely full restaurant on a Friday but seated us immediately. We had the Taiwan Style noodles w/ chicken, you're allowed to substitute pork for beef or chicken, without charge. (I'm not going to lie, I totally looked up what Taiwan Style noodles are, they're long flat egg noodles with sauce and beansprouts and chicken stirred in). My conclusion is that they were amazing. Soft and very tasty.
We also had the scallion pancakes, I don't like scallions but I could smell the garlic and it smelled delicious. And the General Gao's chicken, crispy, spicy and pretty perfect-I do wish there was more pineapple. Rice comes separately.
I'm super looking forward to going back. Everytime I think about those noodles I just want them again. -
Review from Laura S.
Winchester, MA
2/20/2012
Cheap, delicious food is what you will find at Taiwan Cafe. If you're looking for a fancy dinner restaurant, this isn't the place. But if you're looking to eat a ton with a bunch of friends, definitely come here!
I recommend the eggplant dish, the scalliion pancakes, and the ma po tofu. Are they vegan? Who knows! Some language barriers prevent me from ever knowing. Service is just so-so, but I'm okay with that because the food makes it worth it.
And yes, they are cash only. I always forget this but somehow make it work. -
Review from Eric S.
Boston, MA
2/6/2012
I've been eating here for years. The food is still decent although the quality has declined somewhat from what it used to be.
Beware: This place is not handicap or fat-people accessible. There's a rather long flight of stairs up to the restaurant, and it's quite crowded in there as if they tried to cram as many tables and chairs as they could into the place. -
Review from Noelle N.
Somerville, MA
2/14/2012
I've tried about 10 restaurants in Chinatown and this is by far the best!
Highlights include:
-jumbo shrimp with yellow chives
-braised eggplant with basil
-soup dumplings with pork
I'm a huge tea drinker and my cup never even got close to empty. Can't wait to go back again! -
Review from Tammy K.
Boston, MA
3/22/2012
Taiwan Cafe has *the fastest* takeout ever. Within 10 minutes of placing my order, I'm chowing down on basil eggplant (greasy decadence), pork chops (meaty goodness), and noodle soup with pork and mustard green (I heart soup). Soup dumplings take a little longer, but that's just the nature of cooking these difficult dumplings. +1 star for having special takeout containers that keep the soup dumplings intact.
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Review from Charlie R.
Boston, MA
2/22/2012
Basil Eggplant is the only thing I ever get here and it is extremely yummy.
Always very crowded at lunch time so try to go a little early or late so you won't have to wait. Known for having the most authentic Taiwanese food in the metro area. -
Review from Vishal S.
1/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
This is your quintessential Chinese restaurant in a typical Chinatown - low key; no nonsense decor; "Asian" style service - efficient without the show of courtesy and palaver of an American restaurant; but good food!
And that for me is what matters the most - good food! This place does have plenty of that at a reasonable price and good serving portions :)
we ordered a bunch of dishes and here are my rating on that -
Spicy Soft shell crabs - excellent fried crab dumplings (if you will) with perfect amount of flavor.
String beef with long pepper - spicy and flavorful!
Chili shrimp - not too spicy but with intense sweet and sour flavor.
Definitely a must go place when looking for authentic Chinese food! -
Review from Christine L.
New York, NY
12/5/2011
LOVE THIS PLACE!!! FAST service, KIND servers, YUMMY food.
Things to Order:
Zha Jiang Mien - SO GOOD. SO fast, They make it delicious. Not too much sauce, not too heavy either. Has bamboo in it (which I just pick out) but good for those that like bamboo. Meat is good quality too, includes tofu, lima beans, carrots, etc, everything that zha jiang mien should have. Only downfall is not shredded cucumbers, but I haven't been able to find any place in the northeast that serves shredded cucumbers on their zha jiang mien.
OAJIAN - Oyster Pancake. So good. It's LEGIT here!
Lu Ruo Fan - shredded pork rice. Its pretty good here. Only downfall is that they don't give you as much meat, and they also dont give you a tea egg that comes traditionally with the pork rice.
Fried Pork with Rice - SO GOOD.
Any other of their noodle dishes are AMAZINg. Iv'e tried like 10 other ones, and I don't have a bad thing to say about any of the.
FISH BALL SOUP - Really well made. Comes out piping out, with alot of fish balls. Tastes amazing.
KONG XING TSAI - best kong xing tsai in my opinion in boston.
I love this place. Highly Highly recommended!! -
Review from Archana V.
Cambridge, MA
1/28/2012
Six hungry people split six huge dishes.
- Scallion pancake
- Soup dumplings with pork
- Soup dumplings with pork and crabmeat
- Sichuan style white fish cooked in a spicy broth (A-mazing!)
- Sauteed shrimp with scallions
- Mabo tofu
We had a delicious meal and ended up paying $10 per head (tips not included)! Enough reasons to make me a regular here. -
Review from Albert L.
11/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
I got back a few days ago from a vacation in Taiwan. Each night I ate at the night market in Shilin, down the street from my grandparents' home. I went to Din Tai Fung twice. I hardly remembering doing anything else besides eating.
But, despite having spoiled myself rotten lately with authentic Taiwanese food, if someone told me another Taiwan Cafe were opening up in the Bay Area tomorrow, I'd be the first person in line. There will always be a niche for place like this. The combination of a low-key -- but not dirty -- feel with the excellent prices was the charm back when I was a college student in the Boston area, and by all accounts (my sister is a senior in college there now) it remains the charm still. Where else can you find a well-breaded, well-fried pork chop with rice on a plastic plate with the alphabet encircling the rim? And then their tomatoes and beef over rice -- DIVINE. For just $4.99, it's still the best deal in town.
My one complaint back when I was in school was that the food wasn't always consistent -- sometimes it'd be lukewarm, or sometimes the vegetables would come out a little soggy. But the service was never terrible, and unlike at Jo Jo Taipei, the portions are consistently generous. -
Review from Robert C.
10/17/2011 3 photos
I am glad I was able to hit Taiwan Cafe during my visit in Boston. I LOVE their Stinky Tofu ($5.95) here. It's fermented fried tofu served with cabbage. Let me tell you know, it's not for everyone! The rest of my friends were really disgusted due to the smell lol... 1 of them tried it and told me that it tasted like straight up garbage. In my opinion, it's 1 of the best stinky tofu I've ever tried; it's beautifully fermented and cooked!
I also tried their Xiao Long Bao ($6.95) - mini steamed buns with pork & crabmeat. You get 8 buns per order and they're pretty dang good. They're a little smaller than what I'm used to, but they're also cheaper at the same time. Definitely 1 of the better Xiao Long Bao I've ever tasted.
Beef Stew Noodle Soup ($5.75) - I'm usually not a big fan of beef stew noodle soup in most restaurants. However, this is the BEST beef stew soup that I've ever had. The flavor of the broth's just out of this world; The rest of them don't even come close to this.
Overall, I'm really impressed with this place. If I don't have a high standards when it comes to Chinese food, I'd probably give this place a 5 stars. You guys should definitely stop by and give this place a try!!! -
Review from Bob B.
Melrose, MA
12/19/2011
The food here is fantastic. But be warned, this is a VERY authentic menu. For the culinary feint of heart, order wisely. Even though I have been told that fried duck beaks are delicious, I'm not brave enough to try them - I get the shivers just thinking about it.
My favorite appetizer is the steamed pork buns. They're sort of like soup buns. If it's your first time, ask the server how to eat them, but basically, you put them in a spoon, nibble a bit off one end, and then drink the soup out of the bun. then you eat the bun and interior meat. so good!!!
The hot and sour soup is also delicious, and it's HUGE. more than enough for four people.
It's also really cheap. but it's cash only, so go prepared.
Highly recommended. but for the record, you do NOT come here for the glamorous ambiance. it's very small and basic. -
Review from Sasha L.
New York, NY
2/8/2012
i have aboslutely NO CLUE what everyone is raving about here and on yelp. the four of us ordered a BUNCH of food to sample and boy were we let down. BOY OH BOY. then we looked around and realized people weren't doing family style dinners. they were all ordering single platters with rice and fried chicken. i guess we missed the memo but we also asked the waitress to suggest something to us in which she did, and left out the single platters! also the stinky tofu.. we had as well. all i can say about that dish is it literally tastes liek GARBAGE+SMELLY SOCKS. GROSS !!! try it for the experience lol.. but it looked and smelled nasty!! oh and their bathrooms were tiny but amazingly clean! granted, i'd probably give taiwan cafe a second try and order the single platters instead of doing family style.
Listed in: Boston
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Review from Marcus W.
San Francisco, CA
11/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Like everything in life, it's all about expectations. A co-worker who lives in Boston said this place was "the best Taiwanese restaurant in Boston". That statement may be true by virtue of the fact that it may be the only one.
I think he wanted to eat here so he could pocket the unspent portion of our dinner per diem...
The beef and green pepper dish he ordered was pretty meh. The sea bass and tofu hot pot I ordered was mostly tofu and other assorted seafood. Very little sea bass in the hot pot. The pea sprouts and garlic that we shared was delicious.
Total with tax and tip for 3 dishes plus rice: $46. Not horrible and okay value, but I don't expect I'll be rushing back anytime soon... -
Review from Tanya Y.
10/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
I come here for one dish, and one dish only.
BEEF AND TOMATOES OVER RICE!
And for only around ~$5.00? What's not to love?
Taiwan Cafe has a homey feel and sports a variety of traditional dishes, all for killer cheap prices. The food is served super fast and the service is prompt. Getting a table usually isn't an issue due to its prompt service, despite it's small restaurant size.
Usually, entrees come with a bowl of soup, which is pretty tasty. A variety of the usual carbonated beverages are available, as well as the ever-so-popular Tsing Tao Beer if that tickles your fancy. And, the place is opened relatively late for all the party animals out there.
The only downside to this place is that one: it's cash only, and two: parking, per usual for anywhere Downtown/Chinatown, blows big chunks.
But! Don't let these kinks in the chain be the rain on your parade: get your butt to an ATM and take the train or silver line to Chinatown and pay Taiwan Cafe a visit, you won't regret it! Your wallet will even be smiling =) -
Review from Alex C.
Braintree, MA
4/22/2012
very knowledgable staff and answered all my questions politely and i knew what they were talking about. I stop by here once every few months and they have consistencly kept me pleased with offereing you cannot get everywhere else, even in chinatown. reasonable prices and dont have to wait even at those unreasonable hours
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Review from Jeniffer A.
Brooklyn, NY
7/25/2011
I was just writing my review for the Lucky Star Bus and all the synapses in my brain started to fire "Taiwan Cafe!". I associate my many bus trips to Boston with this lovely little restaurant because I first came here after a long and hungry trip. Taiwan Cafe is wonderful for travelers because it's so close to South Station. Of course, it's good for anyone...as long as they really like tasty food.
I've never been a fan of Chinese food. I guess I associate it with that stuff you get at the ubiquitous take out places. Stuff that I ate sometimes when I didn't know any better, as a teenager, and have since avoided. And even real Chinese restaurants that I visited always served me food drowned in sauces that tasted good for a little while and then kind of became unappetizing.
And now, here is Taiwan Cafe! You can walk in and get a huge bowl of noodle soup with yummy dumplings inside. The neverending broth is truly magical and rejuvenating while the noodles and dumplings will make your belly all warm and full. Truthfully, I find their menu kind of intimidating (too many weird animals and too many weird body parts!)--and you might be too if, like me, you are used to fake Chinese food. But I embrace that and maybe on my next visit I will get something more challenging than noodle soup. (But probably not. Cause that soup is really, really good.)
Along with the outstanding, inexpensive food is really great service and a very cheerful, welcoming space. It's a little loud, but in a nice way. It's just a very laidback, cozy place to grab a meal. I will be making a trip to Boston next month and I am already looking forward to stopping by here. -
Review from Ben j amin S.
Boston, MA
12/7/2011
This is one of my favorite places in Boston.
The beef w/ longhorn pepper is incredible, and one of the few foods I get an insatiable craving for. The soup dumplings are far superior to those at Gourmet dumpling house around the corner.
One of my go-to lunch spots; my friend and I have become regulars; greeted warmly at the door, the beautiful waitress who is always smiling always knows what we want.
A++ in my book. -
Review from Michael D.
Boston, MA
7/23/2011 4 photos
yayy for family run asian restaurants open WAYY when their working children should be asleep.
I came after a night of bar hopping.. the place was empty except for two underaged-looking waitresses who were bored and waiting for customers. My brother and I got the two things I saw that yelpers recommended, and the waitresses gave us complimentary tea (with a fly on it) as we waited for our meal (http://www.yelp.com/bi...):
Beef noodle soup with spinach (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): DEFINITELY not what I expected. I guess I've never had legit taiwanese food before.. I grew up with my mom making vietnamese pho so I automatically assumed the beef broth would be clear.. not A DARK RED color. but eh, it really wasn't too bad. Flavorful with just the right amount of spiciness
Crispy Fried Pork (http://www.yelp.com/bi...): Pretty good, I have to admit. Fixed my fried-food craving from all the beer I had previously. The pork was actually CRISPY and not soggy, and it was semi-sweet and semi-savory. Marinated perfectly. It was served over rice with a hard boiled egg on the side.. The only complaint I have about this dish was that the rice was pretty cold. Oh well, not expecting too much for $6.
Overall, I might be coming back here to try some of their other dishes, but I say the FRIED CRISPY PORK is a winner!Listed in: SHADY CHINA TOWN GEMS
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Review from Hannah M.
Cambridge, MA
Updated - 1/29/2012
Ditto to my previous review - we went, we ate, we were happy. This time, we tried the roast beef and scallions wrapped in scallion pancake which was outstanding! Steamed buns - always good. Vegetarian ravioli - missable. Kind of bland. Only downside - we thought our lunch would cost a lot less than it did. And TC is still cash only :-)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/16/2011
So good! I rarely give 5 stars, so this is about as good as it gets!
We went after getting massages,… Read more »
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Review from Danielle G.
Boston, MA
11/14/2011
This place is AWESOME! Great alternative to the dumpling house around the corner which is only.. meh. Come here to also dine on fantastic soup dumplings, oyster pancakes, and other authentic, tasty, delicious and cheap Taiwanese dishes.
Best part- you aren't subjected to standing on a line longer than a bread line in Russia to eat sub-par, mediocre food (cough cough Dumpling House). Come here instead! -
Review from Zach W.
Boston, MA
7/17/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I wish I could give 3.5 stars. I really liked Taiwan Cafe but wasn't blown away like I was with Gourmet Dumpling House. Maybe I ordered the wrong things. I had Hot and Sour soup, and Ma Po tofu (one of my favorites). The Ma Po was really simple, just tofu in a light (brothy) spicy red sauce with garlic....no meat??? A little disappointed, but I'm no Ma Po Tofu expert. The Hot and Sour was excellent. It is in a lighter sauce than other Hot and Sour's I've had but it was still very good and flavorful and chock full of good stuff.
I'd definitely go back but would like to have someone who knows what to order with me the next time. For now, I'm sticking with Gourmet Dumpling House as the Champ of Chinatown.Listed in: Asian Cuisine in the Bean
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Review from Kristin X.
San Lorenzo, CA
7/27/2011
This place is very cramped and tiny.
Eggplant with Basil: one of my favorite Chinese vegetarian dishes, liked that it contained plenty of basil
Soup Dumplings: skin is too thick, needs more soup inside, of course it's nothing like Joe's Shanghai in NYC
Oyster Pancakes: good amount of oysters, some people may find the slimy texture strange but I don't mind
Fried Pork Chop over Rice: good crunchy texture, well seasoned
Bean Paste Noodles: not fond of the sauce, too many broad beans, not enough meat
Most of the items are tasty, but I would steer clear of a few dishes. -
Review from Wen Y.
Malden, MA
1/3/2012
The most amazing point is the price. Cash only here.
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Review from John X.
Somerville, MA
10/7/2011
I came here for the beef noodle soup, and it was alright. The broth was good, but the beef isn't what I like (chunkier, this one was sliced too thin) and the noodles were a bit too soggy. But otherwise, it was good.
My friend got the seafood rice porridge which looked good, I didn't try any but she liked it.
The service was good, and there were a decent number of people there. I will definitely try the other menu options next time I go. -
Review from Bobby F.
Milton, MA
10/23/2011 1 photo
One of my very favorite places to eat. Service is great, prices are FANTASTIC, and the food gives the prices stiff competition.
The thick bacon-cut pork over rice platter is my signature dish there, along with the mini steamed pork buns (soup dumplings).
The rice dish comes with cooked lettuce, preserved vegetables, an egg hard boiled in the braising liquid, and a layer of stewed minced pork between the pork and the rice, just in case you were low on pork.
On top of all this, and plenty of tea, $7 gets you a 22oz. bottle of Tsing Tao, for those so inclined. -
Review from ER Doc K.
Holland, OH
7/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Nice place.
The food is authentic, the portion is big, and the price is very affordable. I came here during a trip to Boston Conference and I ordered the Pork Chop rice that yelpers praised about. It did not disappoint me!
IF i have more time in boston, i'll try other dishes, but for now, I think it gets a 4 star from me! -
Review from Claire W.
Somerville, MA
11/29/2011
I am from Taiwan and I come here to feed my hunger for authentic home cuisine. I always order a feast without spending a fortune in this restaurant. I highly recommend their veggie and soup dumplings.
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Review from Sera T.
Cambridge, MA
10/19/2011
This is hands down my favorite Chinatown place. The food is both fantastic and cheap - you can easily get enough food for dinner for two for less than $15. And, the service is super quick; even with a packed house, you'll have your food in hand (and mouth) within 15 minutes.
My list of favorites has been honed over many visits with many sets of friends. Stewed pork over rice: this appetizer is pure indulgent comfort food - you've just gotta try it. Noodles with sa-cha sauce: flavorful deliciousness with tender Chinese greens and beef. Eggplant with basil: the eggplant is perfectly tender, and the sauce is an explosion of fresh basil - I could eat this every day of the week.
Basically, there are no downsides to this restaurant, other than the fact that it's not down the street from my apartment. Get on that, Taiwan Café!
