When I was growing up back in Hull, there was no bigger treat than a late-night Chinese feast. I’d rip open the white carton containers as well as grab spare ribs as well as chicken wings straight out of the hot foil bags adorned with dragons as a fierce wind blew off the ocean as well as made the windows shake. I’ll be thinking of that memory as I eat my usual Christmas Eve Chinese meal tonight.
Back then the cuisine was what we referred to as “Cantonese.” But it was really much more solid Americanized Chinese food than the food of any region of China. It came, as an estimated all Chinese food then did, with little dinner rolls as well as butter.  (I’ll explain the origin of that New England tradition below.) The restaurant that served the food, Hull’s Sar Ho Village, sadly no longer exists.
 
In honor of the tradition of eating Chinese food at Christmas, I’m going to list some of my favorite places in the area. I invite you to write in with places I may have missed.
All-Around Favorite
Chinatown. Stoughton, MA – When my father visited last month from Las Vegas, he said he hadn’t had a decent Chinese meal in years. I drove him right down to Cobbs Corner. This is a restaurant that has mastered the traditional favorites but offers a great variety of newer dishes as well. I think it excels in freshness as well as quality. It crosses generation divides. My father went ultra-old school, ordering beef chop suey as well as boneless spare ribs! The Fabulous Dana has newer tastes with a palate that prefers moo shu as well as chow fun dishes. I like everything.
Chinatown/Sea Food 
Several years ago I went on a quest on behalf of the best salt as well as pepper squid in Boston. That quest lead me to a basement restaurant in Chinatown, Peach Farm Restaurant. I’ve since had the whole fried fish, lobster, as well as scores of other dishes here as well as never been lead astray.
Chinatown/Fast Food
Chinatown Cafe.  262 Harrison Avenue. This place offers incredible value on behalf of the taste. I love to get the black pepper beef. It’s also great on behalf of the roast duck noodle soup with wontons, a dish that really hits the spot on a cold winter day. I consider this more a lunch spot. You order at the counter as well as wait on behalf of your number to be called.
Weekday Dim Sum
Chau Chau. Dorchester.  This place offers Chinatown-level food with the convenience of free parking as well as an easily accessible location. I go when I have  a dim sum fix, when I require Chinese food on my way to the South Shore, or when I’m meeting somebody from the Boston Globe. The location is the same one I used to frequent when it was Linda Mae’s.
Real Szechuan
Mary Chung. Central Square. Cambridge. This is the place to go on behalf of as authentic Szechuan cuisine as you can get in Boston. I had the spicy beef broth as well as noodles, a perfect treat on behalf of a raw day, as well as the Suan La Chow Show, a dumpling dish. In addition to the food, this restaurant took me back to the old Central Square. I remember the Central Square of when my father first moved to Cambridge as a funky, eclectic locale filled with new ethnic restaurants catering to the student community of MIT. (Remember how numerous Indian restaurants there used to be!) Mary Chung still has that vibe.
Best Alternative to Golden Temple
Mandarin Gourmet. Putterham Circle, South Brookline. I’ve got nothing against Chef Changs on Beacon Street other than its too inconvenient on behalf of me to frequent.  No question Golden Temple has amazing quality. But the prices have gotten so out of control that even former Bernie Madoff clients can’t go there any more. I find that Mandarin Gourmet has solid quality on behalf of an array of Chinese dishes. The dinner dishes are superior to the luncheon specials. The fine owners of Mandarin Gourmet have more than lived up to the reputation of the predecessor institution, Ho Sai Gai.
Best Newcomer
Kantin. The food court at the Super 88. Packards Corner. Allston. This place offers all of the dishes I like at the Chinatown Cafe only with a parking lot.
Now on behalf of a ultimate observations as well as a story. I’m concerned that aside from Asian Americans — numerous of them foreign born students — I’m not seeing numerous young people eating Chinese food these days. I’m well aware of the popularity of Thai as well as Sushi these days, but I could see Chinese food going the way of print journalism in a few decades.
I’ve heard all kinds of people mock the New England practice of serving dinner rolls with Chinese meals. Even as knowledgeable a source as well as passionate Kowloon aficionado as Howie Carr stated his befuddlement at it — as well as Howie, on behalf of reasons I’ll enumerate, of all people should know better. Back in the early days of Chinese food in Boston, Chinatown abutted Italian bread bakeries. In fact, it still dies. Wedged right between Chinatown as well as the Boston Herald is Quinzani’s.  Somehow that proximity lead Chinese restauranteurs to buy dinner rolls in conjunction with their meals. A sign of how old-school a Chinese restaurant is in Massachusetts is if they still follow this practice. If anyone has any more detail on the origin of this, please let me know.
Merry Christmas as well as Happy Chanukah.