Your parents love the dining halls. Accept it. No matter how foul you think Carmichael's tofu bean ravioli and vegan walnut brownies are, your parents will gush over the selection. "This is great!" "Do you realize we couldn't even choose our food?" "Do you get to eat like this every day?"
Despite the endless praise, you know that eating in the dining halls can get monotonous. For those of you who do "get to eat like this every day," it's time to branch out a bit - and we don't mean the oh-so-bold Carmichael Dewick switch. No, when Friday night rolls around, you'd better find something more inspiring to consume before you go out and party... and unless you want to go invest in some cookware, that means going out or ordering in.
With so many varieties of off-campus food, it's not always easy to decide where to go. If you're feeling like a little Chinese food and the Hawaiian chicken in Hodgdon won't cut it, you've got more options than you can handle. This week, the Daily puts two popular Chinese food joints head-to-head: Kee Kar Lau in Somerville and Rose's Chinese Restaurant in Medford. With huge containers of everything from fried rice to egg foo young, both restaurants should be able to satisfy your hunger. The question is: which one deserves your money more?
Selection
Study these menus long enough and you may die before you decide what to get. You may also notice that they look rather similar. Both Rose's and Kee Kar Lau feature an array of nearly 160 different dishes, featuring everything from pork to lobster to tofu. Both restaurants cover the essentials: fried rice, lo mein, and sweet and sour anything. In fact, both feature a chicken dish named after a general - General Hso at Kee Kar Lau, General Gau at Rose's - and Chinese generals must have liked the same kind of food, because these dishes are hard to tell apart. Besides the entrees, there are appetizers galore and exactly 34 combination plates (all of which include pork fried rice) at each restaurant. Rose's deserves a special nod for its daringly named "Strange Flavored Chicken," and Kee Kar Lau should be ashamed that there's no shrimp toast available, but there's no fair way to distinguish most of the items on these menus. In fact, if you look at the pictures of the food on the menu, you'll notice that apparently both restaurants use the same china pattern. However, don't forget the second menu at Rose's: the sushi menu. Kee Kar Lau has nothing even close to sushi, while Rose's has lots of it at decent prices. The winner is clear.
Advantage: Rose's Chinese Restaurant
Quality
In theory, quality should be the most important factor in choosing your food. In theory. Whether you care or not, though, Rose's has a punishing advantage over Kee Kar Lau. It's rare to find truly bad Chinese food in the world, and so there's nothing at Kee Kar Lau that's worth complaining about. However, if you want a tastier crab rangoon or a meatier piece of sesame chicken, Rose's is the one to call. Also noteworthy is the quality-gap in pork fried rice. As a dish that comes with every combination dinner known to man, it's essential to get it right, and Kee Kar Lau's can be a bit dry. Bottom line: if you've been eating Kee Kar Lau all this time, give Rose's a try, just so you can realize the quality you're missing.
<I>Advantage: Rose's Chinese Restaurant
Price
With such similar menus, it's easy to price-check before you order. Unfortunately, it's not going to help you much. The differences are so small that you usually don't even save the cost of tipping a deliveryman. Rose's has a noticeable $1.25 edge on the large crab rangoons, but that's the largest gap you'll find. The quarters here and there may add up if you're ordering for thirty people, but the advantage varies from dish to dish. So despite what your neighbors may tell you, there's actually no price advantage to Kee Kar Lau -if there's any distinction, it falls in Rose's favor (not to mention that you can go eat at Rose's and save yourself the tip from delivery).
Advantage: Rose's Chinese Restaurant
FacilitiesWhat's to wonder about? Rose's is an actual restaurant. You can go in, sit down, eat an actual meal, and not have to deal with your roommate's laundry or the weird stains on the carpet in the lounge. Sure, it isn't romantic (don't go on a date to Rose's), but it's clean and it's easy and it smells great in there. Kee Kar Lau? If you want to sit on the curb outside and eat, they're not going to stop you. Actually, come to think of it, they might. Takeout or delivery only - and good luck fending off hallmates who just want "a bite."
Advantage: Rose's Chinese Restaurant
SpeedTechnically speaking, there shouldn't be much difference. They're both off campus, on opposite ends - neither one is very far. Sometimes (and don't ask why), though, Kee Kar Lau is incredibly fast. Compared to pizza places like Espresso's, these two are both vast improvements. Put head-to-head, Kee Kar Lau comes out a little bit on top - unless you're willing to walk to Rose's to eat and cut out the delivery delay. One significant worry for deadbeats: getting blacklisted. Snub the people at Kee Kar Lau and they may stop delivering to your phone number for the entire year, and then you won't care how fast they deliver to everyone else. The solution? Either order with a cell phone or stop falling asleep when you have food on the way.Advantage: Kee Kar Lau
HoursLet's be honest: the hours of a delivery restaurant make or break it. Rose's relies on some lunch business with its tables - it's open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. That's perfect if you want to buy some lunch, but not so good when you're cramming for an exam at 1 a.m. Kee Kar Lau is open 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. You may not be able to get lunch, but you'll get rangoons at 2 a.m. no problem.
Advantage: Kee Kar Lau
Final Score: Rose's Chinese Restaurant takes first place with a crushing lead of 4-2. Kee Kar Lau may be something of a recognized name around campus as well as a late-night favorite, but Rose's should always be your first option if you're planning to eat even remotely close to meal time.
