Jade Wok

"Blink and you might miss Jade Wok’s awning on College St. But in the dining room inside, you'll find a simple red and jade green dining room where everyone orders the same thing: house special tofu. On the menu, it's listed described as "the best tofu in town” and it's hard to disagree. Fat slabs of tofu are silky and deep-fried, bathing in a luxurious, rich sauce made from mushrooms and pork. Balance your meal with a few sides, like the tea-smoked duck or Shanghai spare ribs which come in bite-size pieces and glazed in a wonderful sweet and sour sauce. " - kat hong

"Blink and you might miss Jade Wok’s awning on College Street (it looks nearly identical to the beauty supply shop and clinical lab next to it). Once inside, you’ll find yourself in a beautiful red and green dining room ordering the exact thing as everyone else: the house special tofu. It’s listed on the menu as “homemade bean curd (best tofu in town)” and it’s hard to disagree: slabs of tofu are fried for a few seconds, then dunked into a luxuriously rich, dark red sauce made from mushrooms and pork. Balance your meal out with tea-smoked duck or Shanghai spare ribs, which come in bite-size pieces and glazed in a sweet and sour sauce. " - Kat Hong, Nikko Duren, Sylvio Martins, Brant Cox

"This small restaurant is located off the main streets of Chinatown, so it doesn’t get as much traffic as it really deserves - even though it’s one of the best in the neighborhood. Jade Wok has that typically large menu found at many older Chinese restaurants, but what keeps us coming back here is the house special tofu, a silky slab of lightly fried, homemade tofu that’s submerged in a mushroom and pork sauce - labeled on the menu simply as “homemade bean curd (best tofu in town).” To balance things out, we also like the tea-smoked duck and bite-sized Shanghai spare ribs glazed with a sweet and sour sauce, which are good to share with the whole table. On top of the good food, most of Jade Wok’s dishes are under $10, meaning you can try a lot without spending a ton. The modest dining room can fill up at lunchtime, so just make sure to plan ahead if you come by in the afternoon." - fiona chandra, kat hong

"This small restaurant is located off the main streets of Chinatown, so it doesn’t get as much traffic as it really deserves even though it’s one of Chinatown’s best. Jade Wok has that typically large menu found at many older Chinese restaurants, but what keeps us coming back here is the house special tofu, a silky slab of lightly fried, homemade tofu that’s submerged in a mushroom and pork sauce–it's labeled on the menu simply as “homemade bean curd (best tofu in town).” To balance things out, we also like the tea-smoked duck and bite-sized Shanghai spare ribs, glazed with a sweet and sour sauce, which are good to share with the whole table. On top of the good food, most of Jade Wok’s dishes are under $10, meaning you can try a lot without spending a ton. The modest dining room can fill up at lunchtime, so just make sure to plan ahead if you come by in the afternoon. Food Rundown Homemade Bean Curd This is the one dish you must get at Jade–it’s listed on the menu as “homemade bean curd (best tofu in town)” and we simply can’t argue with that. The large blocks of tofu are lightly battered and fried for a crispy coating, but the center remains silky and creamy. It’s all completely drowned in a rich mushroom and pork sauce that would also go great on top of some white rice if you somehow have any sauce leftover. Shanghai-Style Spare Ribs If Buffalo has chicken wings, then Shanghai has sweet and sour ribs. The Shanghai-style spare ribs are cut into perfect bite-sized pieces and coated in a sweet, sticky sauce. Chow down on the whole plate by yourself with some white rice for a meaty lunch, or share them as an appetizer with your table. Either way, you'll see why the spare ribs are the second most popular dish at Jade Wok." - Fiona Chandra