Kowloon - a Route 1 Institution

This year, rather than just doing the Whim Dinner for Nick's birthday, we also went with our friends A & A to a Route 1 institution - Kowloon Restaurant.

Kowloon!!!

This is a place that you cannot possibly miss as you pass it heading up north, and while it looks completely crazy on the outside, you HAVE to go in because it gets even better.  As we were seated we were asked whether we would like to sit in the lagoon room, the pirate ship room or a booth.  Since we figured we would take a walk to see the lagoon and the pirate ship, we opted for the booth in the shocking pink and purple greenhouse area. 

Since this was a special occasion we could not leave without this special monkey "glass" that also doubles as a piggy bank!  I mean, what more do you need!  The sugary drink on the inside wasn't bad either - a bit like we should have been on the beach somewhere.

Monkey Glass!

I couldn't turn down a drink served in a coconut that was MADE with coconut!  Unfortunately, this glass could not bring it home.

Coconut Milk and Malibu in a coconut!

 A & A went with a flirtini and a miami vice (clearly we really kept it classy in Saugus.)

A & A's drinks

The dinner menu is rather enormous with traditional appetizers, Cantonese, Szechuan, Thai, Polynesian and sushi, so narrowing it down proved to be a bit difficult.  However, after much hemming and hawing we finally made some decisions.  Nick went with the Kung Pao shrimp, which is a spicy dish with peanuts, scallions and celery.  The flavors were all delicious but there could have been a bit more spice, especially since it was advertised as being spicy. 

Kung Pao Shrimp

A & A ordered the Hunan chicken, which was a spicy hot dish with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, black mushrooms, baby corn, broccoli, red and green peppers. 

Hunan Chicken

 They also split the soft pan fried noodles with a garlic sauce.  

Pan friend noodles with the garlic sauce.

A & A loved both of their dishes.  It was one of the female A's first time at Kowloon and she was really surprised at how good it all was.  All their dishes had really good flavor and were not too oily. 

While the others in our group ordered more entree style food, I am terrible and always go directly to the appetizers, and lets be real - the more unhealthy the better.  So, the first appetizer I ordered was crab rangoon, one of my go-to's.  These were delicious, and though the outside was perfectly crispy, these were slightly more cream cheese-y than I normally prefer.
  

Crab Rangoon

Another go to for me are the egg rolls, and these particular ones are made with shrimp and pork.  Once again, these were fried to perfection (I said I was being super unhealthy!).  These egg rolls were so large they were cut into thirds and perfect for sharing.

Egg Rolls

I also got something a bit substantial in the form of pork fried rice.  It was a last minute addition - otherwise  I would have gone for something a bit more sophisticated, like shrimp.

Pork Fried Rice

Finally, even though I already had a crazy number of appetizers (yes, I ordered like I was doing take-out), I can't get Chinese food without boneless spare ribs.  These were delicious and tasty! 

Boneless Spare Ribs

Needless to say, we had quite a few leftovers to bring home for lunch throughout the week, but they were delicious.  The whole evening was a lot of fun and just reminded me why the Kowloon is such an institution - if you have never been, go now!  And, if it has been awhile since you have been, I suggest you make a return visit.  There is always something to see inside.