Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    Home » US Travel » Boston » Cambridge

    Qingdao Garden

    Published: Jun 10, 2007 · Modified: Oct 29, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    Wow, I'm falling behind on the food blogging. It's time to catch up.

    Qingdao Garden is a small Northern Chinese restaurant in north Cambridge between Porter Square and Arlington on Mass Ave. We had heard that they had good dumplings, and thus decided to give it a try.

    Conclusion: the dumplings are good, the appetizer we got was excellent, but we were disappointed with the stir-fry dish we ordered. We ordered a couple orders of dumplings - a vegetarian spinach dumpling, a pork and leek dumpling, and also their namesake dish, Qingdao Fried dumplings. We also ordered a pork, tofu, and vegetable stir-fry and a cold cucumber salad.

    The cucumber salad was excellent. Slices of fresh cucumber tossed with a sesame-oil based sauce and garnished with cilantro. We both really enjoyed that dish a lot.

    The dumplings were cheap (about $5 for 12 dumplings) and quite good. I liked how the vegetarian ones were flavorful without feeling too heavy. The meat ones were OK as well. We both agreed that the pan-fried dumplings were better than the boiled ones. The pan fried dumplings are among the best in Boston (which, according to Bryan, is not saying much - I guess he's comparing with California).

    The stir-fried tofu and vegetable dish was uneventful. The flavor was a bit boring (salty soy-based gooey sauce) and the dish was a bit oily. We packed it up to go but ended up throwing it out because neither of us really felt like eating it.

    Finally, the service was only average. There was only one waitress working at the time, which translated to slow service at times. The clincher for me occurred when I observed the following thing: We had opened the top of our teapot to signal that our tea had gotten cold and we wanted some hot tea. I watched the waitress go into the kitchen, pour the rest of our cold tea into the common tea maker, and then pour out some hot tea from the same container for us. I was a little grossed out by that.

    Over all, Bryan said the food wasn't good enough for him to travel "so far" to eat there.

    Oh well, it was worth a try.

    Qing Dao Garden Restaurant on Urbanspoon

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Cambridge

    • Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2023 Update
    • Farewell Bergamot
    • Urban Hearth Cambridge - Cafe by day, Supper Club by night
    • (Partial) Solar Eclipse Fun! Solar Eclipse 2017

    Recent Posts

    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California May 8, 2025
    • Cole's Chop House Napa California May 5, 2025
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)
    • Tselog Daly City California
      Tselogs (Filipino food) Daly City California
    • Mesa by José Avillez Macau
      Mesa by José Avillez Macau

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen