Hei-La Moon is a great place to go if you are in the mood for a truly authentic Chinese meal while in the downtown Boston area. This restaurant is located within a few blocks walking distance from South Station, and is great if you have a bit of time to kill on your journey.
The specialty at Hei-La Moon is dim sum (small plates prepared with one or two different items that are pushed around on carts and delivered to the tables as the servers pass by). There is plenty of variety of dim sum here; up to 20 different choices on any given day ranging from beef to vegetarian to Chinese dessert dishes. There is a list of the items on the back of the menu describing what is in each dish, but it is very helpful to go to Hei-La Moon with someone with a great knowledge of Chinese food otherwise you might end up asking for something without knowing its true contents. Do not expect the server’s to give you an explanation to what they are serving either—most do not speak any English and tend to be curt with the people that try to ask them questions.
Aside from the dim sum, Hei-La Moon has a full menu of traditional Chinese dishes. My favorite so far has been the Vegetarian Buddhist which comes served with loads of steamed vegetables and pan-fried tofu. Other dishes of note are the Orange Chicken and the Beef Curry. All come served by themselves, but for a small price extra can be gotten with a heaping mound of white rice.
The service at Hei-La Moon tends to be very abrupt so do not expect much more. The ambiance is that of Chinese cafeteria- the rude servers and lackluster décor are not very inspired. However, they do always refill your tea when asked and the servers are generally not outright rude so there isn’t too much to complain about in this department. The prices at Hei-La Moon are a bargain, so it is hard not to justify stopping here if you’re craving Chinese food.