Without much natural light, there’s a feeling that time has stopped inside Broadway Cuisine. Bright fluorescents beam down on round banquet tables, the ambience lacking any music, and only the sounds of jovial eating — clinking glasses, rattling chopsticks, and chiming teapots — fill the room.
A hand-written Mandarin menu features dishes from Guangdong that you’re not likely to find at other Chinatown restaurants. Picks from there include beef and daikon hot pot or seasonal vegetables like snow pea tips. Ask the server for recommendations if you don’t know Mandarin.
Chinatown’s restaurant scene received a major boost when the former Plum Tree Inn was revived as Broadway Cuisine, a room whose lack of windows gives it a kind of office-building vibe. The lack of modern ambience shouldn’t dissuade one from seeking the wok-fired treasures of its Chinese American and regional Chinese menu that manages to both please a crowd and impress seasoned fans of the cuisine. Even a simple plate of pan-fried chicken noodles manages to balance the right textures and seasonings without being cloying. Fish filet with black bean sauce comes studded with still-crisp red onions and bell peppers, plus plump mushrooms for good measure. Portions are heaping, too, meaning Broadway Cuisine is a go-to for impromptu group dinners, with ample parking in the back. — Matthew Kang, lead editor