Potluck Cafe

生煎包 Pan fried soup dumplings (labeled pan-fried buns on menu) here are absolutely goated: great value and yummy. 8 for $10. Best if you get it while a new batch is coming out hot. Nice lil cafeteria style restaurant tucked away on the edge of Chinatown. Classic dishes plus some Chinese American. No frills let’s get good food type of spot. Awesome lunch spot if you’re coming from downtown too.

This place is AMAZING. Do NOT skip. Quick delivery and absolutely ORGASMIC food. I know everyone comes for the pan fried buns, but do NOT forget to order the crab rangoons they were seriously the best I’ve ever had. The wrapper was just so incredibly crispy. I will 100%%%% be coming back as much as my wallet will allow.

It’s that perfect hole in the way type of place. I went for the $10 dumplings and they were the perfect snack before starting the freedom. Boston Commons is within walking distance.

Sheng Jian bao were the best we've had since Shanghai. The dough wasn't too thick and there was a good amount of soup in the dumpling. Stopped in for a snack and my daughter had the fish soup with noodles. She was very happy with that. Portions are generous and prices reasonable.

The food is good, portions are big, and prices are very reasonable. Because of this, it can get a bit crowded when eating in the restaurant, but takeout is an option too.

8 pan fried dumpling for 10$ and 3 entrees, rice, and a soup for 10$. Pan fried dumplings are solid and literally drip juice. 3 entrees are chosen from an array of standard chinese/taiwanese/hong kong dishes, taste good, and is enough for 2 meals.

It was so good. The inside does get a little cramped and overwhelming but the food is so good. I got the $10 plate and a side of pan fried dumplings. Will be going back!

Not only does this place have amazing food. They run their business with compassion. I don’t live in Boston but if I did I would frequent this place at least weekly!

The grilled curry chicken with lemongrass is by far the best dish I've had it. Please continue having this available! Definitely a good spot for lunch. $9 you're in and out. There's like 6-8 tables where you can dine in. The structure is a little weird but if you don't mind close contact, you can definitely dine in. Water is included

I was excited to try this new spot for Pan Fried Dumplings. This cafe is located down an alley in Chinatown and has a decent sized cafeteria dining area. You order and you can sit wherever you like. They have many different items on their menu, but we only tried their Pan Fried Dumplings. They were $10 for 8 which was a steal! We were skeptical when we saw that they were already pan fried ahead of time. They were surprisingly still crispy on the outside and the filling had good flavors. Unfortunately, they were greasy throughout and we needed the side of vinegar to cut through the heaviness. For the price, I think it's alright, but there are definitely better options out there.

Money seems to disappear before our eyes these days and it's harder and harder to find good deals anywhere. Potluck Cafe is the oasis we have been looking for. It's one of the best bangs for the buck anywhere. The traditional, old school and home-style Chinese food here is unique, even for Chinatown. If you don't mind a no-frills Chinese cafeteria, then you are in for a treat. Ten dollars will buy you rice, heaping servings of three delicious entrees and a humble yet piping hot bone broth of sorts. What they generously stuff in that black bento box is enough for at least two meals. The service is minimal but efficient. It's a solid quick-service mom and pop restaurant in Boston's Chinatown.

Always walked past this place leaving Jia Ho Supermarket and decided to try it out. 3 Dish lunch combo for $9 is solid for the amount of food. Taste is alright -- homecoming vibe but wasn't a fan of the Szechuan fish but the other two dishes were fine. Limited english speaking but manageable.

Went here on a lazy Saturday afternoon after hearing about this place from someone else. A true hole-in-the-wall, it's located in one of the larger alleyways of Chinatown. Be warned - the English translation of the menu is not really accurate and if you don't know what you're getting, you might be in for a surprise. The service was great as the lady in front gave us a friendly run-down on how to order on the tablet. We ordered two different noodle soups, one with beef + beef tripe + rice noodles, and the other a pork specialty with glass noodles, both requested at mildly spicy. The wait was normal, maybe 10-15 mins, and the bowls they come out with are deceptively deep. Both noodle soups had tofu, bak Choi, and Napa cabbage. The broth was delicious and the bowl themselves kept very hot for a long time. The spicy was just at the right level and for ~$13 a bowl there was a lot food to get through. Tasty and satisfying I think we spent like 20-30 mins mins trying to finish our meal because there was so much! They also have handmade baos to take home but we were too full at the time to consider it. tldr; pretty cheap, good service, good food, generous portions, 100% authentic, but isn't a clean restaurant.

Food is so good with the affordable price. I wish I can eat this thing every day but I lives so far....

Today, the menu has changed, so I ordered ramen... So I decided to order volcano ramen takeout (noodle soup is packaged separately)... In the end, I don't know what I ate. The noodles were not ramen, they were clumpy and I couldn't pick them up with chopsticks. The soup was sour, and I couldn't taste the essence of Japanese ramen soup base at all (the waiter said that this was a lot of ingredients that had been boiled for a long time, anyway, it was sour and spicy and I didn't know what I was drinking). The chili oil simply tasted like chili powder, and the side dishes were normal, but they added a few more pieces of fish tofu in a weird way... I originally wanted to give the boss some friendly advice, hoping that they would pay attention to it in the future. The boss was refuse to answer the phone call, and just asked the waiter to answer it for me. Who knew that I was ridiculed and said, "This is fusion, the whole United States is doing fusion, if you want to eat authentic ramen, go to Japan."... In short, for this price, the portion is okay, and the rest is forgettable. I hope everyone doesn't step on the thunder!!!

Very authentic northern Chinese food. Very cheap for a decent serving size! Everything taste amazing, just like home! Def will come back for some home style Chinese food!

[update in 06/2022] this place now reopen with renovation and change in menu! They no longer offer the "buffet-like" precooked dishes but instead you order from their menu. A decent selection, same authentic tastes (LOTS of vegetable options), plus MaLaTang麻辣烫 and ShaGuo/ Clay Pot 砂锅 dishes, with or without meat. The offer complementary rice and soup when you order 3 dishes or more. The place is clean. So exciting to see their strong return. i miss this place! I am writing this review per my experience with this place in 2019 - it was a dirt cheap place where you get three dishes plus rice plus soup. It is a place where a lot of local Chinatown residents and those who work nearby went for lunch. The serDespite crowded - service is fast. the place was always full of people, all attracted by its price and relatively large selection of dishes. Unfortunately with a place relying on customer volume and needs cash flow, it did not do well after Covid pandemic starts. The owner tried to switch to a menu model - but of course given the tense competition as well as overall much smaller customer number - the place eventually closed since 10/2020. Hope it will reopen one day.

Evidently they don't have the same "cheap" meals anymore (unless I ordered wrong), but what I got for about $19 was well worth it. I had two fried chicken legs, mapo tofu, and string beans, along with a plateful of white rice and a small bowl of soup. These were all served quickly with a friendly smile. The restaurant is a little small, but I didn't have to wait very long to get a seat. Will be back!

Review is for the food from the menu, not the fast food combo options. Boyfriend and I ordered the seafood mala drypot (麻辣香锅) and Tianjin buns (狗不理包子). First off, everything was served in a plastic to go container. The mala drypot was more of a stir fry than a dry pot. There was cauliflower, kelp, mushrooms, potato, bean curd, tofu, and seafood. The seafood was a few pieces of fish and some shrimp. It was not authentic. For $13 it was really not worth it. We got an order of the steamed buns (8 for $7). It was a good deal, since the buns were huge, but they were okay. The outside of the buns were a bit hard and not soft like most steams buns should be. The filling was pretty good though. There was a substantial amount of meat in them. However, I'm pretty sure the buns were bought prepackaged from the Chinese grocery store nearby and simply reheated.... Service was good. They were friendly and quick enough. I was also expecting the Chinese crepes but apparently that is no long available here... Honestly I had such high expectations for this place... I thought it was gonna be a hole in the wall with really authentic Chinese food but I was so disappointed... come if you want cheap fast Chinese food but don't have too high hopes.

I am a fan of true hole in the walk restaurants, especially in major cities like Boston. Potluck Cafe is unassuming and has no English menu. It's a true Chinese restaurant, price and all. For $6.25 you get a giant heaping of rice and three dishes. If you don't like the dishes, you probably don't know true Chinese food. The food tastes exactly like how my grandmother made it. And you can't beat the price. It's not a place to visit on its own, but every time I have errands in the area I grab lunch here to bring home and enjoy.

3.5* Very financial friendly price for a lunch box combo. 3 dishes and 1 soup just for $6.75 with enough potion. I have never ever had such cheap meals in Boston area. The food was not bad either. However, the inside of this "restaurant" was dirty, greasy and had no air conditioner. I mean it is a good idea to grab a lunch box to go, but it might not be a good idea to dine in.

Currently, the price is still $5 (cash only) for three choices, plus white rice, plus soup. Take a look at the choices laid out behind the glass at the counter, tell your server your selections, pay, and take your order to go or go find yourself a seat... All the choices looked pretty fresh. Today's 23 choices included three types of fish, a green leafy vegetable, fried tofu, General Gau's chicken (or was it sesame?), clams in black bean sauce, an eggplant dish, pork ribs/taro, fatty pork/peanuts, scrambled egg/tomato. There is very little seating in the place, maybe 5 square tops with a round table by the door. Tables are set with chopsticks, spoons, napkins. Bathrooms are best described as small and narrow. The food was good for the price, but nothing was outstanding. They handle both take-out and eat in. If you eat in, you can leave your trays on the table when you're done, and they'll clean up after you. (There's no place to place your tray if you want to try to bust your own table.) *** 7/2010 Update *** The price is now $5.25 for three choices, plus white rice, plus soup, or for two choices, plus either lo mein or fried rice, plus soup. *** 12/2012 Update *** The price is now $5.75 for three choices, plus white rice, plus soup, or for two choices, plus either lo mein or fried rice, plus soup. Cash only. 22 choices behind the glass cases, and another 12 choices under the heat lamp at the far end. Several tables were available with seats for perhaps 20. The soup was pretty simple and not the most flavorful, but the rice was fine, the broccoli retained some bite, the fried saucy chicken was all meat under the batter and the flavors were acceptable. No trays were provided and there was a trash can against the innermost wall where I dumped by styrafoam container and other trash.

4.6/5 This hole in the wall is a STEAL. For a price of about $6, I had enough food to last me about 2.5 meals (complemented with some rice I cooked on my own). Sure, sometimes some of the food can be hit or miss, but I've had a lot of really tasty dishes from this place, like the Chinese eggplant and egg & tomato. Even though it might seem hard to order here if you don't know Chinese, all the food is displayed in front of you, so you can just point at what you want! If I lived close to here, it would be a dangerous place...I can cook for only about the same price!

I've tried this restaurant several times. 1/1/18, the first day of my new year, I had "Mala Tang (spicy hot pot)" as my lunch. I found a centipede on the vegetable! It's so disgusting!! I went back the restaurant and they said it's just a cabbageworm not a big deal and they'll make me a new one. I chooses to have my money refunded because I don't want to try this restaurant anymore!! It was such an awful experience!

Just like Champs-Elysees has the timeless cafe "Les Deux Magots," for me, Boston's Rue Knapp has the Potluck Cafe. Picture a scenario where you're a lazy medical student, without a car, and without much desire to be further than 40 feet from your dorm room (the approximate length down the hall to the bathroom). You're still putting off the day you finally cook and do laundry. The occasional lecture on vitamin deficiencies in biochemistry, on cardiovascular disease correlation with sodium intake during pathology, or on the diseases of the GI tract owing to the low fiber intake in the American diet should be enough to remind you of the importance of a balanced and regular diet. For me, nothing is enough. I know that no matter if I'm happy or sad, well-rested or falling asleep every 5 seconds, Potluck Cafe will unconditinally provide me with life support and comfort for a mere $6.25. The food here is good. Factoring in the portion sizes? The food becomes great. Factoring in cost? Exceptional. I eat here, on average, 3 days per week. On those 3 days, this is the only thing I eat. The setup of this place is simple: get rice, choose 3 things from what you see, and grab a soup. I've tried most things at this place, and I will tell you what I found. Going from RIGHT TO LEFT on the display: On the rightmost side, there will always be 2 trays of fish. They prepare the fish 2 different ways, and it's not very high quality, so I would recommend against getting it. Sometimes they will have a very good spicy fish with cabbage, but that will be further to the left, so you'll know that this isn't the same thing they usually have. The next pair of trays is something unusual: they will have chicken kidney with vegetables, which is super tasty. Sometimes they have beef liver, which I like, but have to be in the mood for. The next trays are usually vegetables, among which is a nice dish with mushrooms and chicken - not too much sauce, so that one is pretty good. The last two trays next to the section divider have orange chicken, which is a staple and is very good if you don't know what to get for your 3rd dish. Before, along with the orange chicken there was another chicken dish which they have since replaced with garlic bok choy. Going down the second panel of dishes, they have a lot of pork here. All of these are good. One of my favorite things here is the pork with tofu. The pork pieces are very nice and fatty. There are other dishes like the kung pao chicken which they have fairly often - that one is hit or miss. If it's steaming, you know it's fresh and it's good. Otherwise if it looks like it's been sitting out there for a while, pass up on it. This is also where they sometimes have a spicy cabbage + some sort of protein dish. This is a large tray, and takes the place of two trays. It could be spicy fish or spicy pork. If they have this dish on the particular day that you go, make sure to get it, because it is very good. Not extremely spicy, so don't worry about that. Near the end they have fried things, I got the fried little fishes once, but not again since then. Not that they were bad, just usually go for other things. Definitely make sure to grab the soup. It's a very clear broth based on beef and vegetables. It's nice and salty, and I usually just drink it out of the styrofoam cup. Now the tricky part here is seating. The place is very communal, and thus don't be afraid to sit down at the same long table as other people! Unless a small table is open, you probably won't get your own table, especially when you go during lunch. If you see a nice empty seat just sit down and eat! They have sauces at the table, Sriracha to add that extra kick. All in all, this place is fantastic. I think that if I ever move away from Boston and visit for a weekend, this would be one of the places I would come back to. I would also go see my parents.

Are you really hungry for a meal that can fill up your stomach? Are you not willing to spend more than $6 for it? Are you not willing to wait a long time to get it? Are you not willing to pay for table service? If you said yes to the first question and no to the last three questions, this place might have your answer. Located at one of the dingiest alleyways of Boston's Chinatown, this place serves a platter where you could get a generous spoonful of rice, and generous spoonfuls of three dishes of your choosing from a buffet counter. It also comes with a large cup of soup. The price, as of November 2010, is $5.25. Portions are pretty good here. Every time I come here with an empty stomach, I always got my stomach more than full after eating my dish. As for the quality of the dishes, keep your expectations fairly low. When I come to this place, I do not expect amazingly delicious food. What matters to me when I come here is getting my stomach more than full with somewhat decently tasty food and without spending a lot of money. The soup is usually a greenish broth with some cabbage and possibly some sort of cucumber inside. It could be used as a drink if you are not willing to spend extra money on a beverage. Some of the dishes I liked were the fried mussels, the Chinese broccoli, the pork strips with pepper, and the steamed pork. Although the Chinese broccoli was oily, they were pretty tasty. The fried mussels were somewhat addicting to eat even though I did not taste much crispiness. The pork strips with pepper was tasty thanks to the oil and sauce. The steamed pork, despite having quite a bit of fat, was also pretty good. A couple of the dishes I did not like are the fried fish or the spare ribs. The fried fish tasted bland and a little dry, while the spare ribs were too bony. As for atmosphere, it's not really a clean restaurant. This place is probably not high on my recommendations in Boston's Chinatown if you want to set up a dinner appointment with someone you really want to talk to. Overall, this is a pretty good and tasty place to get some quick and inexpensive take away, if you do not mind the greasiness of the food and the not so clean atmosphere of this place. I also did not detect any monosodium glutamate, so that was a good thing as well.

Step1: DO NOT let the sketchy looking alleyway deter you from entering this establishment, just focus on the large sign that reads $5.50 for three items and soup. Step 2: DO NOT let the simple yet slightly dirty look of the establishment deter you from ordering. Once you have approached the food order something that looks good. I would recommend the SESAME/GENERAL CHICKEN and MABO TOFU. (NOTE: if the lady randomly starts filling your container with food, you have a 50/50 shot at getting something good...so, try your hardest to stop her by waving your hands and saying "no,no" over and over again) Step 3: congratulations you just bought yourself a cheap decent tasting dish, now repeat when hungry and poor

$5.75 for 3 dishes and a soup!? This place is gonna get a great review just for that fact alone! But it's more than the sheer frugality that gives this place such a good review, I personally think Potluck Cafe has some of the most authentic, home-cooked Chinese food I've had in Chinatown. The dishes are plated out in a buffet-like fashion, and you can choose anything you want with complimentary rice and soup. From fried fish, to grilled eggplant, mapu tofu and bak choy, this place has everything you want. I've personally never gotten sick eating their food, but if you've an easily disturbed, queasy stomach, I'd think twice before eating here, just in case. Food: 4 stars Price: 5 stars Location: 1 star (lol, it feels like you're eating in a Chinese restaurant kitchen)

Okay, so it is a hole in the wall on a side street that might look sketchy even during the day,but hey, it's one helluva place to get some fast chinese food in chinatown. Being able to see all the shiny goodness in front of me, from chicken to beef and eggplant to veggie greens, I love being able to choose rice with two entrees. It also comes with a soup that is really a broth (IMO). It's under 6 bucks, so I was content at the time. If you ever crave or need something filling, don't know where to go eat, what to eat, or don't want eat in a restaurant in C-town, then this is one stop plus.

Some dishes are better than others, but for this price 7$ for 3 dishes plus rice combo with soup it is a good quick deal for a meal or two. I would imagine some of it is really good when they just bring it out while others may be of lower quality or lack of cooking technique compared to what my nanny used to make back in China. I have not tried to order individual dishes, but some side items like the tripe makes a good healthy snack if you are up for more exotic flavors. I like how I get to see and choose my options. Solid quick Chinese meal solution.

I used to eat here often for lunch, but now I question the CLEANLINESS of this hole in the wall. I found a huge piece of plastic cooked into the "salmon" that I ordered today so there's no telling what other things may be in these people's food. By the way I've never seen any salmon that looks like theirs in my life! I will NEVER eat from these people again, and I highly suggest you avoid these suspious hole in the wall restaraunts in Chinatown as well.

I came here once with some classmates for lunch and was overwhelmed. They are from China, so they were able to explain many of the dishes to me before I said "yes!" to them. There are so many choices, so take your time, have a look and choose right! The price was like $5.50 and you can choose a rice or noodle and then 2-3 entree dishes, plus a soup. Would I come here again? Yup.

When i first saw this place in the SHADY, WET, NASTY alleyway, I legit thought the name was "3 choices 5.50 with soup." I later found out that it's actually called potluck cafe. BUT it might as well be named the other one cause that's exactly what you get. The food is definitely on the lower side in terms of quality, but for that price, what do you expect? Chicken's soggy and slightly off tasting, the beef and brocolli tasted like some type of mystery meat. I'd say pay a little more and go elsewhere, especially if it's lunch time cause EVERYWHERE has lunch specials that are gonna be only slightly more pricey than this place. AVOID AVOID AVOID! No better words can describe this place than David S: "Chinese Prison Food"

Cheap, good-quality-for-your-buck Chinese food. It's now $6.50 for the special value meal, but hey, that's still way below the average price of a meal in the area... You get to choose three dishes to go with your rice or noodles.. and that includes kung pao chicken, orange chicken, mapu tofu, salt and pepper pork, duck, beef and bean sprouts, yu choy, among many other meat and veggies combinations.

The 3-in-1 set is cheap and above average in flavor, with a tasty soup. The Malatang is not as good as expected, though they put various of vegetable in it.

First of all. I ordered 麻辣烫 (Spicy Soup) before, which has really bad taste, I never had such bad spicy soup like this, the spicy flavor is soooo weird (就是干辣，不好吃） Then the service is awful, I was been kicked out just because I was waiting for my friend and sitting there for a while. I am shocked! I already bought the food for myself on that day, and I always ordered more than 5 orders take-out for other people each time during these several months. I don't plan to go back anymore!

IF you're hankering for cheap greasy chinese, the iconic, 3 item combo for less than $7, Potluck Cafe might be your place. Potluck has all the markings of a working class diner/cafe whose goal is to feed a lot of construction and retail workers rushing on their lunch break. So if you're looking for a plate of mongolian beef, braised pork belly with peppers and bitter melon, orange chicken with a massive scooping of rice and side of soup, well Potluck might be your place. My group of friends and I were not expecting that when we came to Potluck! We were searching for soup and noodles, and being in a rush from our lunch break, came across Potluck and quickly and mistakenly decided that we'd try Potluck. If you happen to know or speak chinese, well you definitely have a leg up from the other customers coming in. Us, well we were at a disadvantage, but the ladies were very patient with us and answered our questions to the best of their abilities. So! If you're looking for a specific soup dish, you might find it here, but chances are, everyone else that knows about Potluck and comes to Potluck will be most likely getting the super cheap $6.50 3 combo plate.

I miss this place desperately when I'm away. Where else can you get nearly five pounds of food for five dollars and change? Quantity aside, the quality of the meal boxes isn't the best, though it hits the spot on those frigid Boston days when the windows of every steamtable shop fog up like frosted glass. My very favorite dish is the Szechuan salmon bellies, whose fiery oil masks the slightly off notes, followed by the grease-saturated yuxiang eggplant. The best thing on offer, though, is nothing in the steamtable - it's the jianbing. These savory crepes are delicious without conditions. The jianbing bro (a small sign says the name of his corner is "big brother crepes" in Cantonese) fries and folds the pockets of deliciousness with deftness and grace. It's one of the best portable breakfasts you can get in Boston.

If you are hungry and don't want to spend a lot of money, this would be your go to spot. You get a choice of 3 dishes with white rice and soup for $6.25 (not sure if they raised the price). Everyone who works here is Chinese and so do a lot of the customers that come here. It's a lot easier if you speak Chinese, but if you don't, you have to point with your finger or hope they understand what you're saying. You basically stand in line and point or say the food that you want, they then put it in a Styrofoam to go container. They have a wide variety of traditional Taiwanese dishes. I usually get the ma po tofu with my dish. They usually have kung pao or general gau's chicken to cater to customers with a western taste. The soup isn't bad, but it isn't great either. It has seaweed and a little bit of tofu. Wish I can give this a 3.5 stars, because it's a great value but the food isn't super tasty.

This place is hilarious. I can't even call it by its real name. To me, this is 'Chinese Prison Food'. As in, when I'm assembling the lunch train at the office, I say 'I'm going to Prison Food, want to come?' And all the boring 'I-just-like-American-Chinese-food' types turn back to their desks, and the native Far Eastern folks in the office and adventurous gringoes like me assemble for the arduous journey deep into the heart of Chinatown. If you are squeamish or have a weak stomach, don't come here. You won't even make it through the alley here, the stench will repel you. The alternating layers of rotting garbage, rotting meat, and even more foul stench will drive you right back to Beach Street and into one of the many cookie-cutter order-by-number places. But if you are strong, rewards are there to be collected once you get inside and away from the fetid sidewalk. There's no menu, there's no signage except one that says '3 entrees $5', and a Chinese lady with a big spoon behind a buffet table. The entrees are traditional and run the gamut from old standby to exotic speciality. You might see chicken feet here, jellied blood, strange organ meats. I've seen salty spicy frog legs, lotus root, and had mini octopus in hot sauce. On one day they've had salmon two ways, skin-on tilapia fillets in garlic sauce, clams in sauce, General Gau, tofu three ways, the aforementioned octopus, and different vegetables. If you tell them you are going to eat there, they give you a big stainless steel lunchlady tray (hence the 'Prison Food' moniker) and ladle the food right onto it. If you tell them you're taking it to go, you get styrofoam. Either way you get a cup of what tastes like watery chicken soup left too long at the seashore, a scoop of white rice, and chopsticks. Napkins and plastic forks for gringoes are to be found to the side. I love it- for $5 you get the opportunity for an adventure, and can see what authentic Chinese (or more accurately, Taiwanese) food looks and tastes like. And I'm not even that mad about the stinky alley. For a treasure like this, you should feel like you earned it.

This review assumes a couple of things: 1. You are on a budget, and know how to tamper your expectations of overwhelming quality when it comes to cheap finds 2. You enjoy, to a certain extent, traditional Chinese foods and not Americanized substitutes 3. You do not enjoy overly salty/MSG-laden foods 4. You do not mind the dingy atmosphere and looking for a primarily take-home If that fits your bill, then you may have found a future go-to spot. For $5.50, you can purchase one starch (rice, fried rice, mei fun) with 3 or 2 dishes, depending on starch choice. A soup is included as well. To Try: * Spicy seaweed: if you enjoy seafood and a little bit of sea vegetables, this may be for you. It's not too spicy but enough to make you enjoy it and provide contrast to the other dishes on your plate * Anything with pork: the pork dishes here, especially the pork shoulder and tofu skins are well prepared and stewed in soy sauce. Very traditional dish in my opinion. * Clams: this can have some sand in the clams every once in a while, but overall solid. Black bean sauce if I recall correctly. * Mei fun: well-seasoned, texture is right. Better than the white rice imo. * Tofu with wood ear fungus: tofu is soft and overall tasty dish To Avoid * General Gao's/ Orange Chicken: meat is of the mystery variety, and typically has a lot of the breading. Taste is not bad, however, but is not my cup of tea * Soup: watered-down salty water. Essentially empty carbs * Fish: not terribly well-prepared. Overall, it's a solid place and comes at a great price. If you are looking to take-out and primarily want something filling and quick, this fits the bill. You have to be willing to alter expectations and experiment a little bit to find your place here, but I definitely will and continue to go to this spot again. For what it is, definitely at the top of its class.

Any kid who's ever tried to sell girl scout cookies or bags of candy for your soccer team knows how impossible it is to sell one to a Chinese person (I am Chinese-what? just stating the obvious!). So I ventured out to solicit donations for Asian American Heritage month at the state house and was so suprised when these people agreed so quickly. You can find their food for free at the State House on May 7th as well as free food from Mittaheap, Pho Thien Thien, Seiyo, Hong Kong Eatery, Mela, and Wonderspice. Bomb mix huh? This is the newest restaurant of the bunch and in Chinatown and the owners are really nice and although I haven't had their food, I will very soon and will be able to comment on that for you. The interior is nice and the menu looks interesting. They have really reasonable lunch specials and specialize in Mandarin and Hong Kong Style food. I'm going in for a lunch special next week as well. I think the coolest thing about their menu is the customizable dishes that you can make yourself matching protein and sauce. Anyway, I give them props for generosity. Update 12/3/07 I stand by this rec since the food here is actually pretty good. I had spicy tofu and veggie and the portions were nice and the food was tasty. My friend had "three cups chicken" and by the description on the menu it sounds awful something like chicken in brown sauce or something. But she asked the people who worked there what their best dishes were and they told her to eat this. She said that it was really good and flavored and cooked perfectly.

This is probably one of my go to eaterys in Chinatown area. I usually order with my rice eggs w/ tomatoes, mapol tofu and veggies or a fish dish. Plus there is free soup what more can I ask for. Then a good meal and enjoy it.

The place is now $5.25. The street that the place resides on still smells like poo and the constant stream of wetness flowing on the pavement outside seems to come from some kind of nastiness. But, as a Chinese person, I think it's the place to go for cheap chinese food in Chinatown... served FAST. I just went here today at around 2pm, expecting it to be pretty empty. Lo and behold, it's packed with Chinese people ranging from business class Chinese, to bum-like Chinese (me). For meal, I got rice + stirred fried green leafy veggie + oyster sauced chicken + napa cabbage thing. I don't know what the dishes are called, but it hardly mattered -- they are all very delicious and I ate the entire thing in about 10 minutes. The soup was a ... tofu + seaweed concoction and it's pretty damn good too. I bring my friends here to eat as much as they're willing to be adventureous, and they always want to know what they should get from me... my suggestion is -- get the veggie! I love all veggies from this place! Don't worry about getting the meat and making sure you got your money's worth... just get the veggie dish and you'd be happier in the end.

$5.50 - rice plus 3 choices or lomein plus 2 choices. Includes dishwater soup(per the other reviewer) :O) I have tried many different things, including a first for me - potatoes in chinese food! All different types of tofu, meats and fish. I usually always go for the bok choy and another veggie and switch up the third...Yesterday was some type of fish. My coworkers always ask where I get my food, and I say down the alley on the left. This is true and also ensures that no one will ever want to go there with me.HA! I love being able to get in and out in 5 mins with fresh hot delicious food! Cash ONLY!

波士顿麻辣烫之地，有大、中、小、无辣。 性价比很高。素麻辣烫只要5刀，还含蟹带。 牛柏叶麻辣烫给的牛柏叶很多。 另外有三菜一汤的饭盒， 现在还推出水饺。 If u want to find the Chengdu putluck in Boston, this would be a good prefer. Price and amount are both good. They also provide soup dumplings now!

Located in a dingy alleyway in Chinatown, Potluck Cafe's food is about as appealing as its exterior. With a $5.50 for 3 entree special (plus terribad soup!), it's tempting to get a cost-effective meal from here, but I would just avoid it. Brags (+): The price is dirt cheap, and they give a good portion. They have a pretty large selection, also: probably around 15 choices. Beats (-): The food is pretty questionable. The mapo tofu somehow had less flavor than raw tofu. The sweet and sour chicken was a bit chewy. I don't know why they include it, but the soup is terrible. I think they try to water it down so that you don't notice how funky it tastes. Variance (~): I got a disproportionate amount of the bok choy vegetables relative to the other entrees. Good for the ol' GI tract, I guess!

This true Chinatown hole-in-the-wall will give you a plate of rice with your choice of 3 of the 12-15 different offerings, kind of like a buffet, but all cooked just like Grandma ("Por-Por") used to cook! Enough food for 2 (lunch) for under $7! Historically this is how Chinese restaurants began in the U.S. They were plain cheap eating places for the locals (and those fresh off the boat) to be later "discovered" by adventurous non-Chinese. Potluck Cafe offers honest and pure down-home Chinese food without guile, pretense, or even silverware. And true to form, you'll see an occasional non-Chinese person enjoying food that he or she wished Grandma had cooked.

I miss Potluck Cafe!!! Used to come here all the time when I worked in the area.. Miss the great deals they have for their lunch. a whole box (3 entrees, rice and soup) for like $6?! AS GOOD AS IT GETS. They have sooo many options and give you such a huge portion. I like their selections, they remind me of home.. tomato eggs, tofu eggplant, etc etc. I can't wait to visit them again!

As a student, I am a sucker for inexpensive, nutritious, tasty food served at above average portions...and high speed service helps. Potluck Cafe deserves all the props I can give except they've shrunken their portions quite a little bit! Having grown up in Hong Kong, I can testify that the food here is AUTHENTIC Chinese food, so don't come here looking for kung pao Chicken. Don't be afraid of the sketchy-looking alley this place is in. The alley is safe (the large Chinatown C-mart supermarket entrance is right across the street)..this place is well worth it. Portions are SO DARN generous 2 ladies can share the order. The women behind the counter really pack it in - not just the rice, but the veggies/meat dishes as well. Soup of the day is usually a broth-based soup. I've had seaweed tofu soup and eggdrop tomato soup in the past. I love that they have so many stir-fry dishes to pick from. I've been there 3 days in a row and not gotten bored of their food. For example, there are the following dishes: - Tomato and egg stir-fry (It. Is. SO. GOOD with rice.) - Mushroom, Zucchini, chicken in a sweet oyster sauce - Wintermelon with shrimp - Szechuan seaweed/kelp - Cabbage and beef - Fried fish - Ma po Tofu - Marinated fried tofu You can't beat the flavors and portions ($5.25 is a fab deal) of this place, but I'd advise you to get take out. This place is too crammed and stuffy for a nice, relaxing sit-down, but it'll do if you're in a hurry. As a side note, don't eat here TOO often or you may get tired of the options. P.s. I have a tongue for MSG, and I'm almost positive all the dishes I've ever ordered from here DO NOT have any.

Lunch at the Potluck Cafe is always a culinary adventure :) Like so many adventures, the outcome can either be Good or Bad, depending on whether or not you Choose Wisely. The food here is pretty good - definitely not high octane gourmet fare but each item is a fine exemplar of what that item should be as near as I can tell. As others have described, it's a big long steam table replete with a couple dozen dishes to choose from, you walk in, scope everything out, and then either point or if you speak chinese, order the dishes by name. The language barrier can be rough depending on which server you get, but in the end analysis you can probably avoid getting anything you absolutely will not eat. For $5 you get a bucket of rice and your choice of three dishes. I've very much enjoyed the roast duck, pork with mushrooms, scrambled eggs with tomato (Odd flavor combination I know, but it's good! :), and any number of other shrimp, chicken and vegetable mixtures. Definitely a great option when you need a break from chinese barbecue :)

Go up to a local. Ask him where the best food is, and you will almost assuredly get an answer that involves the phrases "Its down that alley....,behind that building.....its downstairs....you can easily miss it". No, im not giving you directions to a shady drug-dealer, I'm showing you Potluck Cafe, which is on Knapp St in Chinatown...which looks and smells like any back alley. Go inside, and the place isn't too big. There is a long buffet table, and some odd tables and chairs that surround it. What is on the buffett table, though, is the star. Each day, there are over 25 menu items to choose from, from pork knuckles, to tofu, to chicken wings, to fried anchovies, and a whole manner of vegetable dishes and soups. The ordering process is simple: You pick 3 items from the long buffet, and its packaged up for you with rice and seaweed soup for only $5.50. That's right, only $5.50 per order...can you ask for any better value. Whenever I come in here, there are some items that I can't pass up. The pork knuckles in sweet and sour sauce are juicy, suculant, and addictive. The bean sprout dish is by the far the most original item on the menu, with sauteed pigs liver on top, always cooked perfectly (not bad for a dingy hole in the wall). The fried anchovies are golden brown, fried in a tempura batter, which gives it that nice crush, followed by the brininess of a whole anchovy. The peel and eat shrimp are the way I like it, heads still on so you can suck the brain right out (thats where all the good shrimp flavor is, which is what is used for shrimp stock). Of course there are chicken wings and pork spareribs for those less adventurous, but lets be serious, to eat lunch in a dark alleyway restaurant in Chinatown, you need a sense of adventure. The seaweed soup is the biggest wildcard though, if you get the bottom of the pot, you have a nice cup of vegetable broth, salty and nutritious. If you get the top, you're esentially eating dishwater. Its free though, so its a worthy gamble. So if you want the best lunch in Chinatown, get off of Kneeland Street, and head to this back alley, down that street, and behind that building.

Definitely some authentic Cantonese dishes with dirty cheap price in Boston. The selection is decent and the flavor is not bad at all, especially for the beef brisket & taro stew today. Soup is pretty nice as well. It's $6.25 now, and they add some hotpot combo for $5 (V) and $8 (beef, lamb, etc.).

No-frill eatery with cost-effective food. Besides some regular items, their special offers showed on the walls worth trying, though most of the posts are written in Chinese only. Feel free to ask the servers to explain.

If you are feeling adventurous come to the Potluck Cafe, located on the dirtiest street in the dirtiest neighborhood in Boston. It will be an adventure because this is not American Chinese food: think chicken feet, pig organs, ect... But they also have some dishes that an American palate would enjoy such as general Gaus Chicken and kung pow chicken. Since it is fast and cheap (similar to the set up you'd find in a mall food court) the food is not of the best quality. I got a bone in my General gaus chicken. Still the food is half decent and you are paying early 90's prices for three entrees, rice and soup so it is a good value.

Fast, cheap, delicious and satisfying, this hole in the wall satisfies my craving for a quick authentic meal. This place attracts alot of local people working in the nearby area and is a gem in chinatown that many doesn't know about. For $6.25 for 3 entrees and a soup, the price can't be beat. The mala tang, which is the hotpot style soup bowl is my favorite, its sichuan style! The place can be quite crowded during lunch but the traffic moves fast so normlly you should be able to find a seat. If I worked consider to Chinatown this would definitely be one of my weekly choices.

I used to come here all the time, and I thought it was the best deal. I came in today and the food was deplorable! They had no selection like they used to, they skimped out on portions, and the quality of the food was not very good. They also just opened up a new crepe station that I would recommend avoiding, unless you want to pay $9 for dried bread and egg. What a bummer. Used to be my favorite go to authentic Chinese food spot, but no longer.!