The Hunan cuisine places around Camberville are either headline-grabbers like Sumiao Hunan Kitchen in Kendall Square or old favorites like Zoe’s Chinese on Beacon Street, Changsho in Porter Square and House of Chang in Huron Village. By contrast, Chef Zhang’s Cuisine and Bar in Harvard Square is relatively under-the-radar.
It opened just over a year ago in the same complex on Mass Ave that houses Cafe Sushi — in the space that previously housed Cilantro and before that Zoe’s Diner. Chef Zhang himself worked at Sumiao before opening his spare, café-style eatery. It’s homey with a bit of cheeky flair, decorated with touches of Hunan cultural adornments and a bit of kitsch — a Chinese version of “American Idol” is usually playing on the TV.
All the food, including the noodles, is made in-house, from classics like Kung Pao chicken and a savory wonton soup (lite broth peppered with pleasantly al dente scallion rings, cilantro and onions) to more inventive dishes like a spicy and numbing pork kidney and nutshell cured bacon. Among its signature dishes is Chairman Mao’s braised pork belly and stir-fried beef topped noodle in a bubbling chili broth. Another popular item is the smokey and bold pepper lovers’ chicken, cubed chucks of lean fowl marinated and heavily dusted with pepper then stir-fried with peppers, scallions and onions. Intriguing is the tofu and crab golden soup, a gourd- (pumpkin or squash) based broth, smooth and silky, with cubes of tofu and crab meat. It’s a big serving too — it and an appetizer are likely enough to sate a single soul. My favorite thing on the menu, however, is the spicy shredded tofu skin salad, peppery and pucker inducing, yet served cold. The fire-and-ice, yin-and-yang is intoxicating and addictive. It’s lite, too. I didn’t do that chili beef dish atop noodles, but I did have the chicken version, which was akin to the pepper lovers’ chicken, though the cubes were marinated and stir-fried in something more savory, umami leaning without the pepper kick. The house-made noodles underneath were meaty and pliable and likewise fully absorbed the rich flavors of the wok — chilis were clearly in the mix. It’s a hearty and flavorful eat that has you slurping up ‘til the bottom of the bowl — your stomach says stop, but your mouth says go.
The menu is vast and has rotating specials. You can go with what you know, or you can go full-on adventurous. Everything is made with care, and the boisterous and friendly staff feel like a family, which adds to that home-style ambiance. Chef Zhang’s is open for lunch and dinner and has a full bar. It’s still a bit of an off-the-beaten-path culinary discovery in the heart of bustling Harvard Square, but you don’t have to keep it on the down low.
https://www.chefzhangcuisinebar.com
Chef Zhang Cuisine and Bar
1105 Massachusetts Avenue
Harvard Square, Cambridge
$$ (out of $$$$)
Have a favorite dish or dine out spot that we’ve not covered and you think we should? Email Tom at tmeek@cambridgeday.com.
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