Bites Nearby: Pan Asia

Whenever we go out for Chinese food, we’ve always visited Beijing Duck, located on Granite Street next to the . We’ve been patiently waiting for it to reopen, after it closed for renovations back in the fall. But I only found out last week, here on Patch in fact, that . We were pretty disappointed. Chinese food is funny that way. You seem to pick a spot and it becomes your favorite, for no reason other than it’s the restaurant you always visit.

But just because our favorite restaurant closed wasn’t going to keep us from eating General Gau’s chicken ever again, was it? I am happy to report no, it was not. On a recent Friday night, we had a hankering for some noodles and the aforementioned General Gau’s. So I cranked up Google and started a search. I found the listing for Pan Asia Cafe and Grille and remembered that we had eaten there before and enjoyed it. I was a little concerned however that they wouldn’t deliver, as we live a good bit away from the restaurant’s Quincy Avenue address.

I made the call and the food was delivered in less than 30 minutes, much quicker than they estimated on the phone. Our meals were fantastic. We were all very much pleased with our combination plates. For around just $10, we each had our pick of an appetizer, entrée, and a choice of pork fried rice, garlic noodles, or steamed white rice. The Peking Ravioli, Sesame Chicken, and Garlic Noodles were superb. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their pork fried rice, beef teriyaki, sweet and sour chicken, and General Gau’s. The meals were fresh and not too heavy with excessive sauce or salt.

Most of the dishes Pan Asia serves are cooked to order so you may request that no salt, oil, or sugar be used. The chefs will also do their best to accommodate any special requests. Favorite menu items include Pad Thai, a Seafood Pie (scallions pancakes stuffed with shrimp, scallops, crabmeat, shallots, and bell peppers,) Mandarin Orange Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, Ginger & Scallion Pork, and lots of different noodle and rice dishes. Prices are about average, with most dishes coming in at or under $10. Seafood and some of the beef items were a little more.

Pan Asia is a dine-in restaurant which also does a heavy volume of takeout, unlike some of the other places in town that are primarily take out (with their hard plastic seating and all). The difference being that if you’re looking to go out for your meal, Pan Asia is a comfortable and cozy spot to do so. The staff are friendly and pleasant and make you feel welcome from the moment you arrive. Regardless of whether you dine-in or take-out, Pan Asia will not disappoint.