Not all restaurants in the North End are actually Italian! While there aren't many outside the traditional fare, they do exist. One such place is
Billy Tse's, a Chinese/Japanese restaurant right on Commercial St. When my friend L was looking to do a small bachelorette party, she decided to have dinner at the place where she and her future husband originally met. Even better, they have Scorpion bowls, which is always a great way to get a ladies night going. This scorpion bowl is served in a proper Tiki ceramic bowl with the volcano of fire (the traditional way). However, in order to ensure I didn't waste any alcohol, I immediately blew out the fire - its 151! Like most scorpion bowls, this has plenty of alcohol but tastes more like juice.
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| Scorpion Bowl |
As in most Asian restaurants, we of course had to order some edamame.
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| Edamame |
Now, because we were going out afterwards I was not really in a sushi mood - I needed a solid base (did you see the size of that scorpion bowl?!?). Ordering my
traditional appetizers rather than an actual meal, I started with some Peking ravioli. Served in a fun boat these were good but a bit greasy, which may have been a good thing on a night like we were having.
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| Peking Ravioli |
Soon to follow was some crab Rangoon. Billy Tse's is good, however more cream cheesy that I like. The shell, however is nicely fried so it was light and crispy.
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| Crab Rangoon |
L and K decided to split a bunch of delicious looking sushi including a rainbow roll, some shrimp tempura and a roll of salmon roe. Another roll was the daily special that had a unique combination of ingredients including olives, asparagus and yellow tail. Billy Tse's sushi is really fresh and their menu has some great sushi roll options.
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| Asparagus sushi roll! |
The others at out table went with Chinese entrees, like sesame chicken, pork fried rice and some chicken and veggies. With some good flavors, generous portion sizes and a good price point, Billy Tse's makes it easy to enjoy some good Chinese food.
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| Sesame Chicken |
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| Fried Rice |
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| Chicken and Veggies |
The server, after giving us plenty of food and drink, brought over a plate full of pineapple pieces and fortune cookies as a final treat before we headed over to Faneuil Hall to cause some trouble - Ned Divine's had a live band that night...
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| Pineapple! |
Billy Tse's has some great food when your looking for something a little different in the North End. The staff is super friendly and more than willing to accommodate big groups. The restaurant is also pretty big, so you don't have the long waits that can plague you at the neighboring establishments.
Where do you go for Chinese food in Boston?
they really do excel at all types of Asian cuisine. i love their sushi and their pad thai!
ReplyDeleteYou know, Chinese food is one genre that I totally don't have a go-to place for. I'll have to try Bill Tses and relive the glory of the scorpion bowl!
ReplyDeleteI've been searching for good Chinese food in Boston and I heard of BT's. I really want to try it now. The fried rice looks awesome. I like House of Chang in Cambridge, not amazing but decent
ReplyDeleteI've heard about this place a few times. Looks like a great way to kick off a bachelorette party!
ReplyDeleteI haven't found any great Chinese food around here. Like Elizabeth, I like House of Chang, but it's nothing amazing. We tried Zoe's recently and that was ok too.