Baby Cafe Kitchen in Allston Has Closed

The sole Boston-area location of a California-based group of Hong Kong-style restaurants has shut down.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Baby Cafe Kitchen in Allston is no longer in operation, with a check on the website for the business seeming to confirm this, as the Brighton Avenue outlet has been removed from the locations section. The eatery offered such options as Hainan chicken rice, beef stew, wings, salt and pepper squid, pork and egg stone porridge, and seafood udon.

Baby Cafe, which also had a location in Brookline that closed last year and which started out in Oakland, now appears to have only one location left (in Union City, CA).

The address for the now-closed Baby Cafe in Allston was 128 Brighton Avenue, Allston, MA, 02134. The website for the business is at https://www.babycaferestaurants.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Sing Choi Kee Opens in Malden

A new restaurant with roots in New York that features Hong Kong-style street food has expanded to the Greater Boston area.

According to a source, Sing Choi Kee is now open in Malden, with the Pleasant Street dining spot joining others in the Flushing part of Queens and West Nyack. The new eatery offers such options as soup dumplings, seafood noodle soup, roast pork with rice, black pepper beef pasta, slippery eggs with chicken and rice, crispy chicken omelet, rice bowls, Hong-Kong style French toast, and milk tea.

The address for Sing Choi Kee is 7 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA, 02148. The website for the business is at https://www.singchoikee.net/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Gateway Canteen Plans to Open in Boston's Chinatown Neighborhood

A new Hong Kong-style eatery may be coming to downtown Boston.

According to a licensing board hearing page within the City of Boston website, Gateway Canteen is planning to open in Chinatown, moving into a space on Hudson Street. The notice states that the basement-level dining spot will be a "Hong Kong–style café serving hot and cold Chinese teas, coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches, and snacks."

While the hearing notice says that the address for the upcoming Gateway Canteen is 19-23 Hudson Street, it appears that the exact address will be 21B Hudson Street, based on an Instagram post from the Chinatown Resident Association.

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Big Fun Clay Pot Is Opening in the Former Baby Cafe Space in Brookline

It looks like a new Chinese restaurant featuring food items found in Southern China and Hong Kong will be coming to Brookline, taking over the space where a location of another dining spot featuring Southern Chinese and Hong Kong food had been.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Big Fun Clay Pot is looking to open on Beacon Street, moving into the former Baby Cafe space just west of the Boston line. A Brookline News article mentions that the proposed eatery will be under the same ownership as Big Fun Cafe in the Wollaston section of Quincy and it will feature claypot rice options.

Another location of Baby Cafe remains open in Allston.

The address for the new location of Big Fun Clay Pot is 1006 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, 02446.

[September 12 update: A poster within the Facebook group page mentions that Big Fun Clay Pot is now open in Brookline]

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Baby Cafe Kitchen to Open in Allston and Brookline

A California-based group of Hong Kong-style restaurants will be expanding to two locations in the Boston area.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Baby Cafe Kitchen is planning to open on Brighton Avenue in Allston, with a check on its website indicating that another outlet will opening on Beacon Street in Brookline as well. The menus for the group of dining spots--which started out in Oakland and now has locations in Emeryville and Union City--show such options as Hainan chicken rice, beef stew, rice cube, wings, salt and pepper squid, chow fun, sizzling steak, pork and egg stone porridge, and seafood udon.

If all goes as planned, the Allston location will open in April while the Brookline location could be opening in February.

The website for Baby Cafe Kitchen can be found at https://www.babycaferestaurants.com/

[April 19 update: According to a poster within Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants, the Allston location of Baby Cafe Kitchen is now open (it doesn't appear that Brookline is open yet).]

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

 

Jumbo Seafood in Newton Centre Has Closed As It Starts "New Chapter" in Boston's Chinatown

A Chinese restaurant in the western suburbs that was known in part for its seafood has shut down, though its name lives on in downtown Boston.

According to a source, Jumbo Seafood in Newton Centre is no longer in business, with a note on the website of the Langley Road spot saying the following:

Leaving Newton was a tough decision to make and we want to thank all of our customers and neighbors for welcoming us to Newton Center nearly two decades ago....While we are sad to announce that we are officially closing our doors in Newton, this is not a goodbye, but rather a see you very soon. We are very excited to share that Jumbo Seafood will be entering a new chapter in the place where we started it all - Chinatown, Boston.

Jumbo Seafood is now open in the former New Jumbo Seafood space on Hudson Street in Chinatown, with a note within the website of that restaurant indicating that "the original owner of Jumbo Seafood" has indeed returned to that space and is featuring a Hong Kong-style menu with seafood along with such options as pork and chicken dishes.

The address for the now-closed Jumbo Seafood in Newton Centre was 10 Langley Road while the address for Jumbo Seafood in Chinatown is 5 Hudson Street. The website for the Boston location is at https://www.jumboseafoodboston.net/

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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NOTE: Leslie Hurwitz, who is the father of Marc (the founder of this site) is currently dealing with health issues and needs your help. Please donate if you can at https://gofund.me/76d8ba28, thanks!

Rubato Is Opening in North Quincy

A brand new Hong Kong-style eatery is opening in a space a short distance south of the Boston line.

According to a press release, Rubato is planning to open in North Quincy, taking over the space on Hancock Street that has been home to Contempo Bakery for more than 20 years. The press release mentions that Contempo owner Joyce Chan is passing the "culinary torch" to her son Laurence Louie and his wife Rary Ratsifa who will both be behind the restaurant and that the upcoming place will be a "modern Hong Kong cafe" with menu items including savory bao, congee rice porridge, steamed rice rolls, French toast with condensed milk and cookie crumbs, and more, along with coffee, milk tea, and yuenyeung (a coffee-tea mixture).

If all goes as planned, Rubato will open sometime this summer.

The address for the upcoming Rubato in North Quincy is 412 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA, 02171. The Instagram page for the place is at https://www.instagram.com/rubatofood/

[August 16 update: A Facebook post from the place indicates that Rubato is now open.]

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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NOTE: Leslie Hurwitz, who is the father of Marc (the founder of this site) is currently dealing with health issues and needs your help. Please donate if you can at https://gofund.me/76d8ba28, thanks!