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Boston Restaurant Blog -- September, 2007

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Saturday, September 1, 2007

A Couple of Lunches at Lee Chen, Lawrence, MA

Over the past few weeks, I've met some friends for lunch at Lee Chen Chinese Cuisine on Route 114 in Lawrence (near the North Andover border). One of my friends had been saying lots of good things about Lee Chen, so I was looking forward to trying it. Well, the first trip was better than the second trip, in my opinion, but both meals I had at Lee Chen were very good.

On my first trip to Lee Chen, I ordered the sliced chicken with spicy garlic sauce, as well as a hot and sour soup and vegetable fried rice. The quality of the chicken was excellent, as it was all white meat with no gristle at all, and the sauce was fresh tasting and delicious. The hot and sour soup was good, too, though I've had better at places such as King Fung Garden in Chinatown and Jade Garden in Arlington Heights. And the veggie fried rice was fresh, too, with none of those dried out, rock-hard bunches of rice that are often found at some of the more average Chinese restaurants.

As I mentioned, my second trip to Lee Chen wasn't quite as good. I ordered the sesame chicken, and while the chicken itself was almost as good as the sliced chicken I had there previously, the sauce was gooey and gloppy, and there was so much of it that it was sliding off the chicken in a very unappealing manner. I finished the dish, and it tasted pretty good, but the sauce was definitely not up to par. Also, the veggie fried rice I had this time around didn't seem as fresh, though the hot and sour soup was about as good as the last time I was at Lee Chen.

So will there be a third time at Lee Chen? I think so, though I may try to avoid getting anything that might come with a potentially gloppy sauce. It does seem to be a step above some of the other Chinese restaurants I've been to north of Boston, and the clean, quiet dining room as well as the terrific prices for lunch make Lee Chen a worthwhile place to go.

For those who would like the address and phone number for Lee Chen, here it is: Lee Chen Chinese Cuisine, 230 Winthrop Ave, Lawrence, MA 01843. Phone: (978) 689-9888.

Related Blog Entries: Chinese restaurants, Lawrence restaurants

Posted by MH, Boston's Hidden Restaurants, on September 1, 2007.
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1 COMMENT:
David Dimauro said:
The peking duck is awesome.
Posted on 7/14/08

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