Chef Chang's House

Recently I started working in the area and was all excited that I would be eating Chef Cangs house again.
I used to love this plave in the 80's and 90's when I frequented it.

I gave it 2 trys both times recently and it was HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE!
Dissapointing overpriced meatless, deepfried, greasy spareribs that were reheated and brought to our table.
I also ordered my all time favorite dish. Pan fried noodles with chicken. Arrived at the table and looked totally differnt with a watery sauce and horrible smell. They added broccoli for an extra dollar. The broccoli had turned bad in spots in it and was broken up so we would not notice. The server ran away after the food was served. Overall a bad experience. I had written to them on their website but they did not respond. Oh well.. We won't return anytime soon.

Pros: location

Cons: very very dissapointing

Posted 10/06/08

They fry the duck! That is NOT how you make peking duck. Nothing wrong with liking fried duck but don't be fooled into thinking you are having an authentic dish. If you've ever had real peking duck in Chinatown, other foodie cities in the US (like NYC, San Francisco), or even in China; you would know what I am talking about. There they slow-roast and glaze the duck for hours until the skin is crispy and the meat is tender and juicy. You can achieve almost the same result by frying the duck but it's not the same as a roast. The one I ordered at Chef Chang's House was over-fried. The skin got kind of tough and the meat was dry. It's clear why you won't see many native Chinese people eating here. The other dishes my friends and I ordered all have the same combination of vegetables in it, the same sauce in it- soooo dull. It's like as if we ordered many of the same dishes. Don't believe the hype about this place. If you want a real peking duck and way better dishes, head over to Chinatown!

Posted 12/18/07

We had the Crispy Fried Fish and it was excellent. The sauce was spicy and hot. The waiter was very attentive and stopped by to see if there was anything he could do. We found our meal to be one of the very best we have had in a Chinese Restaurant. The only issue was there is limited parking around the restaurant.

Pros: Excellent service, nice portions

Cons: Limited parking

Posted 12/14/07

I tried Chef Chang's with a friend because it had a great rating on this website. We were immediately seated and brought hot tea. The service was great. Our appetizer of peking ravioli and especially the sauce was very tasty, though the dough was very thick for our tastes. My friend enjoyed her scallops with garlic sauce. My kung pao scallops consisted mostly of a dishful of peanuts. The scallops were sliced into pieces of not more than 1/8 inch thick, so altogether I doubt there were more than half a dozen, if that. Other than the sauce, there were small bits of scallion. Nothing else. Though somewhat tasty at first, I found it very dry and there are only so many peanuts I can eat at one time. When I pointed out to the waitress, when she came to take our plates, that the dish was mostly peanuts, she said that I must have eaten most of the scallops. Then someone standing nearby who must have overheard, who may have been the owner, came over and immediately began defending the dish, saying how it was created 27 ago and how a lot of people like a lot of peanuts................ Also, my Fog Cutter had a slightly bitter medicinal taste, and, as I'd never had one before, my friend tried it and agreed that it shouldn't taste like it did. I doubt that I'll return.

Posted 10/18/07

Great food all the time. Very consistent. Friendly service. I eat Chinese food once a week and have eaten at many restaurants. None come close to the quality of this restaurant.

Cons: Hard to park

Posted 06/24/07

Chef Chang's is a solid Chinese restaurant. Their food has always come out hot and delicious. They have ample vegetarian options. My favorite entree has to be their General Gau's chicken. As far as I can remember, service has been good. The prices are reasonable as well.

Pros: Good location, never been let down by this place

Cons: None that I can think of

Posted 06/09/07

Once you have had good Peking Duck, it is hard to be satisfied with any other type or quality of duck. After my college days, I spent some time in DC where this high-end restaurant with an up and coming Chinese gourmet chef of acclaim in DC (I think her name was Jessie Yang) served the most amazing Peking Duck. Basically, when you bit into it, it would be crunchy but would melt away once it is in your mouth. It was also a burst of flavor. When I rave to people about it, they say that it sounds like confit, but I have had confit at Aujourd'hui and No.9 Park which does not compare to it. Alas, that store, Yanyu, closed down due to lack of business (really high prices).

Anyways, I mention this because after that store closed, I never thought I would have duck anywhere that would be nearly as good as that duck, but Chef Chang's world famous Peking Duck is famous for a reason. My dad, who is from Taiwan, and my fiancee's dad, who is from mainland China, both have heard of Chef Chang's duck and told me that it is actually a chain restaurant. So I had to try it to see. First time I went, I was tired so got takeout; the flavor was good, but the texture was not quite there. I wrote off the restaurant for a long time.

Recently though, I went back because my parents wanted to try this branch. Suprisingly, the duck was amazing. It was crispy and burst with flavor. I realized my taking it out had led to it losing that crispy quality. My fiancee and I went back several times after that always being sure to eat in the restaurant, and so far the duck has not disappointed.

We also tried some of the sizzling platters, the translucent fish, and veggie dishes. Overall, they were of good quality and good flavor, but nothing a gourmand would write home about. They were very much like dishes my mom used to cook. Definitely more authentic than any of the other Chinese restaurants in Brookline by far.

Pros: Best Peking Duck; Authentic Dishes

Cons: Don't take out the duck because it gets soggy

Posted 03/29/07

Surprising, I love this place. I grew up eating chinese food every day of my life and am usually wary of the authenticy of chinese food outside of Chinatown, but this place was quite tasty. I am also usually wary of restaurants rated "Best of Boston" because they are usually not very authentic to the culture. But, the service is great and the food is as close as you can get to non-chinatown authentic chinese food. This place is one of my Brookline favorites!

Pros: tasty food, nice staff

Cons: More expensive than the really authentic chinese food in chinatown

Posted 11/07/06

I always get takeout from Chef Chang's but it's delicious. The crab rangoon and plum sauce are amazing. Pretty cheap for what you get. Big portions.

Pros: Near T, Takeout, Good food

Posted 08/03/06

good food... nothing to write home about but tasty. the singapore curry rice noodles r very good! the food here isnt spicy and even upon telling them to make it really spicy they dont. so good for some and not so good for others. but overall... its good.

Pros: good portions, good singapore rice noodles

Cons: certain sauces r very sweet

Posted 06/20/06

I went for my best friend's 21st birthday and we had a party of 12. The people were very nice and the prices were great. There were large portions and everyone went home full and with doggie bags. good night. drinks were good too :)

Pros: inexpensive, good drinks, good service

Cons: parking

Posted 02/26/06

as someone who's lived in beijing for two years, i must say, the peking duck at chef chang's is just amazing! it's authentic and not overpriced. make a reservation cuz it's a popular spot. it's easy to reach by T and also has lots of street parking around the area. i do wish chef chang's could have a wider variety of other dishes tho.

Pros: authentic, parking

Cons: crowded

Posted 08/07/05

The hot and sour soup was good, but unfortunately was the best part of our eating experience. Stay away from the curry wanton appetizers, if you want something deep fried, just get crab rangoon. The website says it has a parking lot but we couldn't find it. A large portion for your dollar, but the quality was what I would expect from a buffet.

Pros: water guy, value

Cons: curry wanton, what parking lot?

Posted 05/29/05

The portions are HUGE. My boyfriend and I got the Pu Pu Platter as an appetizer to our meals, and we were SO FULL after just that. Any dish you order is more than enough for two people. I suggest one meat/seafood dish and then one rice dish. The House Special Rice is UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS. I don't know what the group next to us ordered, but they had a whole duck carved in front of them and also an entire fish. Quite impressive! The waiter was so nice and the water boy keeps your water full at all times. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Pros: Portions, Price, Deliciousness

Posted 03/04/05

I've been dining at Chef Chang's for 17 years, and the food has been consistantly excellent.

Their Shrimp with Lobster Sauce is a delicate white sauce and not the usual brown meaty sauce most places serve, which makes it peerfect for vegitarians.

I've NEVER had rude service. They do have a reserved manner, but it has never translated to rudeness.

Pros: Lunch is inexpensive, Lunch is fast, Fried rice excells

Cons: , closes too early

Posted 05/17/04

I liked Chef Chang's House very much. The food was quite good. The only drawback was that our server was rude. Very rude.

Pros: Food, Drinks, Price

Posted 06/21/03