There's a new Chinese restaurant in Malden center, and it's quite good. I dined there the other night with a friend. We intended to meet at White Elephant (Thai & Cambodian), but it was closed. I mentioned that there was this new Chinese place (Peking Gourmet, on Main Street, 2 doors down from Saigon Noodle). At first glance, what sets this place apart from most other Chinese restaurants in the suburbs is the large fishtanks in the front window, containing large crabs, lobsters, and the largest clams I've ever seen (sea clams). Another good sign was that for the 2 hours we were there, besides another table, we were the only non-Asians there. The front of the menu contained the usual Chinese fare.. lo mein, fried rice, appetizers, etc. However, the back of the menu contained things I've only seen in Chinatown... spicy pig's ear, shredded pork stomach, jellyfish, etc. I was a little disappointed to not see dim sum, but this is the kind of place that would likely offer it. Maybe they can be convinced. I couldn't resist and ordered an appetizer of jellyfish. It came on a plate, chilled, with mixed pickled vegetables. It was slightly spicy, and quite tender. The plate was colorfully decorated with sprigs of cilantro and surrounded by cucumber slices. The portion, I thought, was quite large considering the $5.50 price tag. I was anticipating a much smaller serving. For my entree, I had eggplant sauteed in hot garlic sauce. Of course, it wasn't spicy enough, but I HAD ordered it "medium spicy" so I wasn't about to complain. They used the baby purple eggplant, which was very tender. It came with rice at no additional charge, which surprised me. And no bread. :) Again, it was a large portion, and I took home leftovers, which made for a full meal the next day. Quite reasonable, I thought, for $7.25. My friend had an order of crab rangoons (6 for $3.90). I had one and thought it was quite good. Very crispy, without being greasy. Her entree was a sizzling seafood platter with scallops, shrimp, and squid, for $12.95, which also came with rice. For dessert, we both ordered fried bananas with crispy honey nuts, but they were out. The waitress brought us "peanut cream" and said it was on the house. Sort of a peanut flavored soy soup, in a bowl with a spoon. Definitely a more traditional Chinese dessert than fried banana, perhaps. Service was excellent; the waitress checked up on us often. I had to ask for chopsticks (silly Americans like me want to eat with chopsticks). There was also a small bowl of duck sauce, and one containing small roasted peanuts. I found this rather odd.. but perhaps that's because I'm not used to real Chinese food. Lastly, a pot of hot tea came with the meal. Lobsters and crabs were retrieved from the tanks a number of times while we were there, so they're not there just for show. Great place if you're looking for authentic Chinese food, but don't feel like schlepping into Chinatown. --Art
Boston, MA