Kowloon
If you grew up north of Boston. You know the Kowloon. I mean, it's a landmark. It’s an experience. It’s an icon. It’s an Asian megaplex.
Bobby Wong is the third generation of this great family, starting in high school and college. He worked here every weekend, and him and his brothers are still here every day, looking at every plate, greeting every customer, and I think that's what makes this restaurant so special.
The Kowloon is an iconic restaurant that's been around for 75 years. 1950 was when my grandparents started and then my parents kept adding on and as they designed the restaurant they really had the imagination to make it into a Polynesian themed restaurant. We just kept expanding until 1200 seats later.We started off with just the basic Chinese food and as we grew Thai. We added on Sushi and we added a lot of entertainment.
When you come in you don’t feel like you're in any other restaurant in Massachusetts or even beyond. This restaurant is almost overwhelming. Two stories, 1200 seats, two bars. Chinese food, Thai food, sushi, comedy, takeout, delivery. You've got to see this to believe it, I can't even really compare it to any other restaurant in the USA.
Some people call it Kowloon. Some people call it Kowloon’s. I call it the Kowloon, like the Coliseum. I mean, I think it deserves that kind of respect.
I've just had so many fun and crazy experiences at this restaurant, including our birthday party attended by Captain Lou Albano. I think I've been to the Kowloon at least 500 times. I've been here for Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve. My brother Michael had his bar mitzvah here , so did his son, Max, just the way they've done it in Israel for 1000s of years.
If you've never been to the Kowloon, I think the pupu platter is an absolute must. The Wongs were pioneers in the poo poo platter field. This one features spare ribs, egg roll, fried shrimp, chicken fingers, chicken wings. I always add on the beef teriyaki, which I think really completes the poo poo platter. If you're with a big group of people, I say, get two of these. Put one on each end of the Lazy Susan and let the party begin. It's a dying item on the menu in Chinese restaurants. They like it because it has an array of different things you can pick on and that's how most people start off the meal here. I like to take the beef teriyaki and warm it up over the open flame, kind of like a beef s'more. You know. When you really think about the pupu platter, it features an open flame and sharp sticks washed down with mai tais and scorpion balls. I mean, what could go wrong there?
One of the top appetizers here is the Saugus wing. This is a sticky, garlicky wing, believe it or not. It was named after the woman who named me, my mom, Judy Andelman. We said need a name and all of a sudden, Judy pipes up and says, call it the Saugus wings and it's become one of our most of our most popular items. The Saugus wing is a meaty, garlicky, sticky wing. I mean, this is real finger licking food that will require a wet nap when you get done.
I was really excited when the Wongs told me they were going to be adding sushi to the menu here. As much as I like Chinese food, I think I like sushi just as much, and it's definitely my favorite way to begin an Asian meal.It's ultra fresh, expertly prepared. We have a quite a few different sushi and maki choices on our sushi menu. One of the most popular, because it has a little of everything, is the Kowloon Special Maki.The Kowloon Special Maki, has salmon, white fish, crab, stick, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, spicy mayo, cream cheese. You don't see a lot of cream cheese on sushi and tempura flakes in a soy bean wrap.
The Wongs added Thai food to the menu way back in 1988 and they were way, way, way ahead of the curve. It's a big part of their business now. They have Pad Thai and curries. You can choose these dishes with a variety of chicken, beef or shrimp. It's really delicious. I love Thai food, and I learned to love it here. A lot of parents would come in and tell me that all the kids want chicken fingers and they wanted something else. So kids have the chicken fingers and the parents have their sushi and Thai food.
This is the Eddie Andelman Lo Mein. Some people say it was invented so my dad would eat a little bit healthier when he went to the Kowloon. Eddie would come in with his family....and he would always decide to make up some different things that he wanted to try.
The cooks finally agreed to say, well why do you just put on the menu. It's a lot easier. So we added that to the menu, and it stayed on ever since. It features shrimp and chicken over a big bed of low mein noodles. It has pea pods, onions, black bean sauce. Maybe I'm a little biased here. I think it's one of the best things on the Kowloon menu.
No matter how full you are, you have to get this dessert. It's got fried ice cream. It's actual fried ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and cherries and a gigantic fortune cookie covered in chocolate and nuts with of course, a giant fortune. If you have a special occasion or even just a sweet tooth after dinner, you can order this kind of fortune cookies. It's about this big.
If you like Phantom Gourmet, you can thank the Wong family, because this is where I learned to love restaurants. I love the Wongs. I love this restaurant. I love the Phantom Gourmet fans, and I urge each and every one of you to make at least one pilgrimage to the world famous Kowloon in Saugus.
