Post #779929 by Michelle66 on Thu, Sep 21, 2017 6:59 PM

On 2017-09-21 12:03, bamalamalu wrote:
So glad to see current good reviews of this place! I also used to live in the area, but it's been ages since I was back. Makes me happy to know they're still going. It's fun to hear that they're still so cheap, too. I was there once with several friends and we were ordering all sorts of crazy-named drinks - "even if you hate it, who cares? It's $3.50!"

(Hope the issues at Kowloon weren't anything major?)

The "menu issues" I had at Kowloon were nothing major, but were irksome to me just the same.

After flying to Boston from Tokyo on a 13-hour flight, I was cranky and VERY hungry. After clearing immigration and customs, getting my rental car, THEN driving up route 1A and route 1, I was not too thrilled to learn that Kowloon doesn't serve combination plates after 5pm.

(Since I wasn't about to order four different full-sized boxes of food, ended up getting a pizza down the street at Polcari's/Pizzeria Regina.)

The next day, I was still craving Boston-style Chinese food, so headed off of Kowloon and got there 5 minutes after they opened.

The teriyaki nuggets were unavailable has they had "sold out the night before"...

Getting denied two days in a row kind of soured me on Kowloon, which lead me to giving Bali Hai a try.

Speaking of which...

I went back again tonight for a take-out order, as I return to Tokyo tomorrow.

Got a combination plate with teriyaki beef, pork chow mein, and fried rice, all for something like $6.50.

I'd say the food was way more flavorable than the stuff Kowloon sells, and Bali Hai's beef teriyaki strips have be the best ones I've ever had. They were flavorful, nicely cooked, and so tender. Nothing like the leather-like strips of meat many places serve.

While I sat waiting for my order, a few locals can in and the restaurant staff greeted them by name. This gave the Bali Hai a homey feeling that the Kowloon totally lacks.