W. Fei
Google
An authentic Chinese—specifically Cantonese—restaurant that could be hard for non-Chinese to navigate/adapt to.
Tip for non-Chinese adventurers: just order their Coconut Chicken pot. It’s a $49 non-spicy hot pot full of aromatic coconut water-based chicken broth that’s good for 2-3 people. (Of course you probably need to add a few other vegetables/tofu topping for dietary fibers and carbs).
But if you ever seek a comforting broth to sip on on a windy cold day, this restaurant is one of the few places in downtown Boston that serves this dish other than your Chinese friends’ own home.
$49 is not exactly so cheap for a pot dish, but if you were to try replicate this dish, you’d realize how much it costs just for the ingredients—a full pot of real coconut water (easily $20), fresh coconut meat (a $5 coconut & the hassle of opening it), a fresh half chicken, and some spices (goji berries, jojobas, etc.).
Plus the Chinese ladies who work there are passionate and warm-hearted to tell you how she’d eat the dish and guide you along the way—quite a bit of sharing while you eat which I find endearing but certainly can be annoying for some people.
This restaurant also has alive fishes that they cook to order and to your preference (typically minced garlic, preserved soy beans, or salted fried).
However, words has it that their line can get long for dinner, so if possible, lunch will be a better time to visit them. Also, their environment is not entirely up to the standard of their pricing range, so one star deducted for warning purposes.
All in all, the Asian Garden is a decent Chinese restaurant authentic to the bone and only recommended to natives or open-minded explorers up for an non-Americanized dining experience.
