All you have to say is Mary Chung and Penny starts craving Dun Dun Noodles. (The noodles are hiding under all that lovely, spicy topping in the photo above.)
Last week, the crew over on Boston Chowhound began a discussion of Chinese and Chinese-American food, so of course Mary Chung was included. That was enough to put it on our lunch list. We arrived at 12:30 pm and had to wait a few minutes for a table. It's good to see an old favorite still filling the seats on a Thursday afternoon.
We're convinced that the Sichuan pepper in those Dun Dun noodles is addictive. It numbs your mouth just enough to make you receptive to the chili oil and other heat-makers in the dish. You have to make yourself stop reaching for the noodle bowl so you can try the other dishes on the table.
In our case, this included one of the daily specials, this wonderful, fresh, crisp plate of aspargus and pork. While the printed menu is giant, always check the daily specials taped to the register area up front.
And, we did have to take home the leftovers because we couldn't resist starting with the pan fried Peking ravioli.
This Central Square, Cambridge institution has been delivering great Chinese food for years. Reviewers mention that it's been around since the early 1980s. And, this is a perfect place to gather a group and fill one of the big round tables with shared food.
Do you have a favorite Mary Chung menu item? Please tell us, we want to get out of our ordering rut and work our way through the menu!
Tips:
- Check those specials.
- They do a type of Dim Sum on weekends.
- You can reserve a table for a group, and if you want it on a weekend, call early.
- Order rice if you want it.
- They only take cash so come prepared.
- They do serve beer and wine, but somehow the pots of tea they put on the table seem perfect with the food.
Related Posts: Here's more about Food & Drink!
What's on your Amazon shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon
Details:
Mary Chung Restaurant
464 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4132 (map & reviews)
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.