I heard her speaking English to someone and I approached her to ask about some different brands of curry pastes. A few months ago, I met a wonderful Chinese woman by the name of Carol Cheung at an Asian food market in Acton. And then, the produce- oyster mushrooms, lemongrass, a million varieties of bok choy, bean threads, ginger… I could go on and on.īut on the Tuesday before New Years, my real dream came true. We would tromp down each aisle of Super 88 picking up Kadoya Sesame Oil, Yamasa low sodium Soy Sauce, Kikkoman Aji-Mirin, Marukan Seasoned Rice Vinegar, Viet Huong Fish Sauce, Srirachaa Hot Chili Sauce, rice noodles, rice wrappers, dumplings and shao mai, sushi rice. It was like we had just entered Hong Kong. At the mere site of the people here, her eyes became larger than silver dollars. When I started my catering business in the early 90’s, I would take my then, 5 year old little girl, now 20. Whenever life in the suburbs gets a little too Wonder bread, I go here, armed with lists of exotic spices, vegetables and meats and fish. Immersed in history and filled with pungent smells, Chinatown always transports me to another place. Pick up from Shojo, at the same address.Since I moved to Boston, back in the early 1980’s, I’ve always been fascinated by our Chinatown. Open daily for takeout only 11 a.m.-3 p.m. “I really believe Chinatown as a community, not until all the business returns does it becomes a destination again.”Ĭhina Pearl, 9 Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston, 61. We are staying open because that’s the only way people will have faith to come back,” Moy says. The restaurant owners talk to one another: “We are keeping high hopes, encouraging each other.
They show up, get what they came for, and leave. People aren’t hanging out and lingering in the neighborhood like they used to. Since China Pearl reopened, business has been slow. I will be back at China Pearl soon for more - and Winsor Dim Sum Cafe, and Peach Farm, and the bubble tea shops and bakeries, and all of my Chinatown favorites. Dim sum with loved ones is ideal, but dim sum for one is a fine consolation. China Pearl operates its takeout from the neighboring Sojo restaurant, in Chinatown, during the coronavirus pandemic. Also available in frozen packs: chicken feet with black bean sauce, turnip cake, sticky rice in lotus leaf, and more. In my freezer, there's now a frozen "survival pack" of a dozen pork and shrimp shu mai. Fluffy white steamed buns have bright yellow centers of comfortingly sweet egg custard, and chewy deep-fried sesame balls are filled with lotus seed paste. The only thing that hasn't traveled well is an order of rice noodle rolls with shrimp they've come unfurled during the journey home, but it doesn't really matter. Deep-fried triangles stuffed with shrimp and chives are still crisp. There's bean curd rolled up with minced pork, deeply savory, with a bouncy texture I love. I open the first one: har gow, shrimp dumplings with translucent wrappers. I make my own pot of tea and unpack the bag, cartons on the kitchen counter in a line. With my usual dim sum companions quarantined in their own homes, this feast is all mine.
I just don't intend to share it with anyone. I, too, have purchased a large amount of food from China Pearl. Erin Clark/Globe StaffĪnd then some people choose to bond with themselves. The exterior of China Pearl in Chinatown.
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