Yenching

We have always walked by this restaurant and have never walked inside. In general, we are skeptical of Chinese restaurants, and thus we do not venture in unless if we have received a recommendation from at least one other person who has tried the food.

We received a recommendation the other day to try this restaurant on Mass. Ave in Harvard Square. The menu looked slightly more expensive than typical Chinatown prices. Nevertheless, we thought we'd try it, since it was so close to our house.

Conclusion: it's alright, and most likely the best Chinese food in Harvard Square, which is not saying too much. It's definitely not as good as places like Shangri-La, Chung shin Yuan, and Taiwan Cafe. However, it's decent. I think I'd say it's comparable to a place like Royal East or New Mayflower.

We ordered the pan fried rice cakes (one of my favorite dishes in general), the Kuenming Duck, and the mapo tofu. Both Bryan and I liked the pan fried rice cakes the best. The balance of flavors was just right. We also liked the addition of egg, which we seldom see in this dish. It added a nice punch to the over all flavor. I don't really like duck, so I can't comment on the duck dish. Bryan thought it was OK, although it had some weird spice that he wasn't used to. Finally, the mapo tofu had decent flavor, although I thought it was too salty. I had to eat a lot of rice to enjoy it. It's nothing compared to my favorite mapo tofu in Boston, which is at Zoe's (where they use the real Szechuan peppercorns! YUM!).

I probably won't go back again for a full fledged meal. If I'm craving the fried rice cakes, however, I may just get take out or something.