Restaurant Review: Imperial China

Chinese restaurants
are a dime a dozen,
but this one stands
out in the local crowd.

Located on route 9 west
in Framingham, MA (also
with access from route
30 via the plaza next door) it is convenient, centrally located, and tasteful. Though you can certainly order take-away, you'll probably want to dine in.

We often end up here
on Mother's Day, which
we did again this year.
There is something for
everyone: both Chinese
& Japanese menus, with
a lot to choose from.
Service is always friendly
and the vegetables crisp
and tasty.













There are lots of options for vegetarians on the Chinese menu, though I always re-ask about ingredients. For example, the Szechuan bean curd is made with pork. I always double check about things like that and fish sauce.

My husband always orders
the General Gau's vegetarian
"chicken" off the very front
of the menu. It's a bit too
'realistic' for me, though spicy
and always served with lightly
steamed broccoli.

I personally prefer the General
Gau's vegetarian "beef", also
located on the very front of the
menu. I enjoy the texture of
wheat gluten dishes, and this
always includes a nice mix of
chinese vegetables in a light
sauce.

Ryan always requires an
order of sushi. He usually
gets kappa maki (cucumber)
and oshinko maki (pickled
daikon) and shares a few
pieces with me. The sushi
menu isn't large, and I
wouldn't come here if I
was just in the mood for
sushi, but it's adequate.




We always order a dish of
mixed vegetables, like the
Buddha's delight. Anything
with baby corn and broccoli
is a hit with the boys. Ryan
insisted that he try "every
kind of vegetable" in the dish.


And I can never get enough
pea pods! I don't hesitate on
Mother's Day to order a
dish that is almost exclusively
stir-fried pea pods with some
water chestnuts added for an
extra crunch.



And we always need at least
one tofu dish. AJ and Nate
love spicy fried tofu. I love
the addition of what I believe
are some portobello mushrooms
that make the dish very hearty.
There were certainly no
leftovers of this to take home!


Imperial China does not have
a website or online menu, but
there are a few reviews on Yelp
and on Restaurants.com.

The dinner concluded with
the standard fortune cookies,
or "Pac Man cookies" as AJ
calls them, and orange
wedges, along with a pink rose
for me on Mother's Day.