Northern China Eatery

Northern China Eatery Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Don't come to Northern China Eatery expecting sweet-and-sour anything. This hard-to-find restaurant located in a nondescript, nameless shopping emporium across from Asian Square won't even supply customers with forks --- that's how authentic it is. So, polish your chopstick skills, and look for the sign pointing the way to the left of the structure. You'll find the restaurant down an alley-like entryway along the left side of the building. The search is worth the trouble. A close-knit family runs the place, from the kitchen to the waitstaff.

Food & Drinks: Besides hot pots galore, buns filled with exotic materials such as crab roe, both cold and hot homemade noodles and dumplings (both steamed and fried), we liked the "homemade lamb ribs" perfumed with aromatic seasonings --- star anise and ginger prominently --- and served in a cast-iron pot. Dip deep below the bone-in meat to gather some of the juices. The portion is plenty for two or three persons, as is the crisply fried fish filet. Although the place opens only at 10 a.m., Chinese breakfast is served all day. We suggest the scallion pancake. Dessert is nonexistent, and so is alcohol, so get a very good hot tea. Dumplings may be ordered frozen for to-go purposes.