We were in Harvard Square last night and headed over to Eliot Street for Chinese at Ginger Snaps (that was Ta Sheng last year). It has changed again! It is now Zen. They have a unique menu, shaped like a fan, with an interesting choice of dishes - many of the old standards and a few slightly different. The staff all spoke excellent English in a way that made me realize how often that is not the case. They have been open 3 weeks, and were very soliticious. They served us free appetizers of pork wontons, and noticed when my friend ordered all vegetarian and brought him a scallion pancake wedge. We tried the hot and sour soup and the shumai. The soup was wonderful, and the shumai larger than usual, with a lot of filling. Hubby had the chicken corn soup which was thicker than usual, with a nice corn flavor. Our friend tried the sesame cold noodles and pronounced them the best he'd had in a while. They were very peanutty with lots of sauce. I tried the cashew chicken in plum sauce with pea pods. It was excellent - they added the cashews right at the end of cooking so they were not soggy. Hubby had the General Gau's chicken, which was very tangy and good. Our friends tried two tofu dishes. Both excellent with good flavor marinated into the tofu. Everything is very reasonable priced - many entres under $10! It is a little scary when a regular favorite changes, and then twice in one year, but Zen is a great addition to the scene. -B
Boston, MA