If you judge Hippo Kitchen by its website, you might never order from here. The website is...an adventure. The menu is buried under what feels like a million ads, their Fantuan page isn't much better (although maybe that's just Fantuan), and I honestly had the easiest time figuring out what they served by looking at the menu photos on Yelp. One thing I learned while trying to order: the Chinese name, 荷媽廚房, is a cute pun on 河馬 ("hippopotamus"). Instead of the characters for "river horse," they use the characters for "lotus" (荷) and "mom" (媽), so it sounds almost the same while also reading like "(Lotus) Mom's Kitchen." I thought that was some adorbz wordplay. I called to place my order. A woman answered in Mandarin, which I immediately took as a good sign. I chickened out and switched to English. She switched to perfect English without missing a beat. Order placed. Fifteen minutes later, my food was ready. I ordered the spicy pork intestine and the Sichuan duck blood. Loading it onto my bike, the takeout container for the intestine felt surprisingly light, and I briefly wondered whether I was about to be disappointed. (Nope!) The intestine was fantastic: properly spicy, but also packed with layers of five-spice, chilies, and other aromatics. The duck blood was equally delicious. If you've never had it before, think silky tofu that has soaked up wonderfully spicy red oil. You know you're probably in the right place when the menu includes chicken hearts, gizzards, liver, pork kidney, and other offal, and most of the customers picking up their orders are Chinese. The menu also has plenty of charming spelling mistakes. OCR? Someone typing really fast? Your guess is as good as mine. Ordering was easy, they take credit cards, the food came out quickly, and everything tasted fresh. I'll definitely be back. There are far too many interesting dishes here for this to be my only visit. read more

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This place makes good authentic food at a reasonable price point that is not easy to find in Boston. The place is clearly where the locals go to eat. I had the luo si noodles. I was told by a Taiwanese colleague that the broth can have a strong flavor because river snails are used for the broth. I, however, enjoyed the soup quite a lot for its boldness of flavor. If you are a fan of bamboo shoots, this bowl of soup is for you. The crunch of the roasted peanuts also gives it a nice texture. The noodles were chewy and had a good snap to them. All in all, I liked this place. read more

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It is a recently renovated Chinese restaurant. They have tables where there were booths before. I am trying to figure out what type of restaurant I was at. I asked for moo goo gai pan but it was not on the menu so I settled for shrimp with mixed vegetables. It seemed like the American Chinese food was not on the menu. I thought the prices were a tad bit high for what they offered. The prices were about 10.00 more than before. Tables do not justify the price increase. They served me water when I sat down and made sure my glass was full I would not return. I read more

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This place is so busy. And it's no surprise why. The food is so good. See pics. They have their own parking spots too--but be careful not to park in front of the 7Eleven next door or else it's been said you'd get roll away! Yikes. Will definitely come back here again! read more

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Friendly restaurant. This is the kind of the nice and cozy small family-run restaurant that the owner would remember your favorite dishes if you come often. Delicious food and interesting range of choices. The menu has a fusion of Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine. All very delicious. Don't worried if you can't east spicy food. The chiefs can make the food barely heat preserved the spices-aromas. read more

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Clean and small restaurant with good taste of Sichuan cuisine, worthy to try. Location near NB factory store so not bad to go there after lunch read more

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Hippo Kitchen opened recently in the former China Maxim space, serving authentic Chinese cuisine in a low key and cozy setting. The place is not that big with 6 tables in front of the order counter and QR codes at each table to open the menu and order online. I stopped by Hippopo Kitchen on a Sunday night and the place was still busy around 9pm with groups of Asian students & families dining in and enjoying family style Chinese dishes. I ordered online and ordered the Kung Pao Shrimp ($16.95 plus tax) and Roast Pork Lo Mein ($13.95 plus tax), which was ready in 10 minutes after ordering. The portions of hot food were good. The Kung Pao Shrimp dish had a mix of tender jumbo shrimp (cleaned), carrots, celery, peanuts, red chili peppers, in a very spicy red sauce. I already had some steamed rice back home. The lo mein had a mix of firm noodles, strips of roast pork, and veggies. Overall, the food I ordered was very good and prepared well. I would definitely order from Hippopo Kitchen again for hot and fresh Chinese food. read more

Love this new Chinese restaurant. I travel often to China and very picky with food. Hippopo Kitchen perfected my favorite dish: 夫妻肺片 (fūqī fèi piàn), often translated as "Husband and Wife Sliced Meat" -- a famous Sichuan cold appetizer. Despite the literal translation meaning "husband and wife lung slices," it typically doesn't include lung. Here's a quick overview: What It Is: A spicy, numbing, and flavorful cold dish made with thinly sliced beef, often including: Beef tongue, tripe, and sometimes heart Tossed in a bold Sichuan-style chili oil sauce with garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, crushed peanuts, cilantro, and Sichuan peppercorns Origin of the Name: The dish is named in honor of a famous husband-and-wife duo (Guo Zhaohua and Zhang Tianzheng) in Chengdu who popularized it in the 1930s. Locals loved their version so much they started calling it "Husband and Wife Lung Slices." read more

This is my second time went to this restaurant. Not a big or fancy restaurant but the food and service were excellent. Food portion good size and the prices very reasonable plus free appetizer read more

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Great food great service :) little hard to find parking but the food is very fresh and the service is great

This place is amazing, great food great service they even gave us a free appetizer. Ask for the secret menu item!! read more

Hippopo Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Phenomenal food and very nice and appreciative staff. Szechuan spicy chicken was amazing; hot, spicy, and flavorful. We enjoyed our lunch so much we ordered dinner to go. read more

I was feeling like eating some Chinese food, and decided to go there since it was close and I just had left Seven eleven, when I go inside the cashier was on her phone completely ignoring my presence as I know she could see me, while she was on her phone I took the time to look on the menu and it was more confusing than a math test, it was a long list of dishes that I've couldn't figure out what it was, I just wanted some rice with shrimp, beef and broccoli, and that's what I thought I was ordering, when I saw the crab Rangoon on a review on Google maps I decided to ask the cashier which was another person because the girl that was on her phone was too busy to wait for me to look at the menu, I was answered with a cold and unpleasant NO, I looked back at the menu and decided to get springs rolls, $6 for 2 heavily oiled rolls with Lord knows what was inside, I paid for the bill with came out for $40, for two meals and a order of sling rolls, I took a deep breath and paid since I was too hungry to acknowledge what I was doing with my money, what I looked at my receipt I saw and extra charge of $8 of tip, that I didn't even agreed to give, and it was not deserved at all, I sat there and waited and waited for my food, it took way too long, this was supposed to be a fast food, I got my food and when I got home I was ready to eat, I operated the container just to be faced with disappointment, the food was bathing in oil I could see the carrots floating, the broccoli was so hard that it almost broke seal of my tooth, I tried to finish chewing it but the pressure that was creating in my teeth was aching my jaw, the had just paid almost fifty dollars for pain. And despite all that I realize that there's a nice restaurant literally across the street where I go regularly but I guess it was the mistake of my life trusting those false reviews I don't recommend this place for anyone. read more

Hippopo Kitchen - Photo of the bathing oil they use - Chinese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

Bland. Flavorless. No idea what recipes they're following but they need work. What a disappointment. read more

Super good. Small, low key and casual feel restuarant. More of a homemade family style, but that's how I like my food (not too much salt, sugar, and other "crap"). One of the best around! read more

First time at this time location was traveling through Boston with my daughter. Decided to google search nearest Chinese food. Entered no one was at the front counter, could hear that someone is doing dishes in the back room. After waiting few minutes said hello. The lady looking from the back room was full of anger as if we disturbed her. She yells at someone and the person that shows up at the counter was rude also. Ordered large Shrimp fried rice and small Vegetable lomain. Price a bit higher then normal, since we had been driving all day decided to have the food there. Warm day no AC dirty walls and food wasn't even great. I got up to ask for small thing of hot sauce and the counter lady yelled " why no tell when you order" I guess people who have given any stars they have never visited this place. read more

Please. Do not order food from here. Crab rangoon you say? No. Fried chips with basically no filling. Imagine squirting toothpaste on your toothbrush and some falls off your brush into the sink. What remains on your brush is equal to the amount of filling this place put in their crab rangoon. Food looked greasy. Turns out it was. Whats crazy is that even the grease had no flavor. It was like someone made Chinese food and rinsed it under cold water before serving it. Nasty. Also, this is in response to an order from roughly 2 years ago when I lived around the corner. I was just reminiscing and remembered how awful their food was. Still makes me feels queezy. 1 star and a punch to the gut. read more

Terrible. The people who took our order were rude and standoffish like they didn't want us there. Didn't acknowledge us, didn't make eye contact. We were starving tho so we ordered anyway. We ordered the chicken lo mein and pork fried rice and The food was bland and greasy. No flavor at all not even salt and it tasted super cheap. I do not recommend this place at all. I'd sooner get food from the 7-11 next door than eat here again. read more

Clean place with parking ....prices cheap and plenty of food as you can tell from photo Definitley go there again to try other things read more

Hippopo Kitchen - a tray of food with noodles and meat - Chinese Near Me - Brighton, Massachusetts

I always loved their food. They have gone way up in price.Way up. Even charged me .25 for little cup of hot sauce. I guess it's the owners brother-in law who owns it now. He staying on to help. The young man is very pleasant but the girl is rude! I'll find another pkace to get my food at a cliser destination. read more

Okay, the food didn't kill me, but it wasn't good. I don't remember where I was that it made sense to stop here on my way back to the office once day last fall, but I'd driven by many a time and seen the gaudy sign, and worried about the name 'China Maxim III'...where were I and II? My best guesses are Framingham and Saugus. I ordered shrimp in lobster sauce, which was probably not smart. The door was left open (food service violation?), it smelled kinda funny with a weird mix of chinese food and the scrub-a-dub next door. I basically watched my food being cooked (heated) which was semi gross too. It tasted nasty, but I should have know as soon as I walked in the door. With so many other sketchy-looking chinese options in the brighton area, I doubt I'll ever go back. read more

China Maxim III is right across the street from me and I've held out for 9 months. My rule is "don't try the closest restauarants, in case they're good". I don't want to be eating there all the damn time. But last week I caved and got shrimp friend rice because the sushi I got up the street at Asahi wasn't nearly enough for a two-person meal. So even though I live about 100 feet from China Maxim III, I found their menu on some random site and ordered. The lady on the other end was very quick and sounded almost annoyed that I would call. 10 minutes later I got my shrimp friend rice. The meal was very bland. Was cheap, and large quantity, but very very bland. Had to put a bunch of soy sauce on it to make it taste like anything. I was underwhelmed. Tonight I gave them another shot. I'm tired and forgot to thaw anything for dinner, so China Maxim III got one more try. This time I got the Kung pao Chicken. The guy sounded not annoyed, but MAD that I was calling this time. Conversation: Him: Name? Me: Ax Him: (shouting in angry disbelief) What?!?!?!?! Me: Ax Him: .....10 minute What they should really call it is Kung Pao Celery with chicken and some other stuff added. I picked the celery away for 10 minutes....it was probably 25% of the meal. Yet still, with all that celery there to add flavor, this dish was as bland as the shrimp fried rice. Had a slight spice to it, but no flavor. There was a lot of food, but too much celery and it didn't come with rice either. Oh and the woman who took my money tonight looked genuinely angry that I was there. China Maxim III is ugly, run-down, dingy and dirty. The people are incredibly rude, and the food is not good. The only way this place should be in business is if it's a drug front or an illegal immigration front. There is just NO way this piece of crap restaurant should still exist. These people know nothing about customer service and little about food service. Do not eat at China Maxim III read more

Pros: Honestly, the name. Every time I talk about going to China Maxim III, everyone looks at me like I'm talking about ancient Confucian texts or something. It also reminds me of Steely Dan III from William S. Burroughs' esteemed novel The Naked Lunch. More Pros: Numbered, lettered combos remove human error from the ordering experience. Which, trust me, is really a blessing at this particular restaurant. Third Pro of the Day: They will give you a virtually unlimited amount of food. Tastes okay, like, two thumbs not up not down. Con: Every time I eat the food that I get at this place, I can feel the poo rampaging through my intestines like a gumball in one of those complex machines. It's like the top of the water slide, but a buncha guys broke into the pump room and turned everything way way up, and now they're tryna make a record setting run, man! But seriously, Cooking Oil. Like, the food here is practically genetically modified to absorb even more cooking oil than should be naturally possible. And what goes in must come out. If you haven't felt regret in a while, and would like to feel it at an extremely affordable rate, head in to China Maxim III. read more

The best Chinese food in the area. It's not too greasy and consistently good and cheap. Quick whether you order it there or get it delivered. Only bad thing is you have to pretend like you didn't see the woman not wash her hands after she takes your money, pushes back her hair, then pats your crab rangoons down with her hands to fit into the carton. So far, so good. read more

I'm not liking all of these negative reviews about China Maxim III! This is my go to chinese place when in Brighton. The food (for me at least) is always good, it's pretty quick and cooked when you order not before hand. Yes, it is quite greasy, so I do not go as much as I used to, but, its so close to The Sound Museum (our studio space) and so much better than Tin Tin Buffet (yuck!). The chicken wings are delicious, the house rice is fantastic and the terryaki...oh man! Thats just my opinion though, try it for yourself. read more

I prefer dying hungry rather than going here. I have ordered garlic chicken with vegetable and I got Lots of broccoli, few pieces of chicken and lots of sauce. My food container was full of sauce. All the veges and chicken was floating in sauce. I had a terrible experience, ruined my day. Never going to this place again. read more

I literally just bought my food, got home and tried it for the first time. It's still hot as im writing this. This is the WORST Chinese food I have ever had. The oil they cook everything in tastes like stomach acid. There is waaay too much of the oiil as well. It was practically pooling in the bottom of my spring roll bag. I just wanna say this because I don't want anyone else wasting their money here. I have literally never left a Yelp review because I think a lot of them are petty white Karens that are complaining, but I'm actually astonished at how disgusting this food is and genuinely angry i wish I could get that $18 back. I actually tipped nicely too. RIP read more

This is the worse fast food Chinese food I have ever eaten. In one word, greasy and the only other thing I could say is that the food is poorly made. The real problem is the communication barrier which they hang up on you if you reiterate even if being polite. Rude, mean spirited and unprofessional. read more

Tried it for the first time recently and here are my thoughts: Pros: - Pretty good crab rangoon ( how I measure a take out Chinese food place, honestly ) - Flavorful egg rolls, A + on that. - Fast Cons: - The fried rice was almost flavorless without duck sauce on it. Super disappointing. - The place needs a major face lift. If I had seen the place before ordering I might've thought twice about ordering at all. read more

A Chinese food takeout should be judged by how fast the leftovers disappear from your fridge afterward. After more than a week, most of this food got tossed. Everything was way over breaded in very bland batter, and soggy on arrival. The vegetable lo mein was disturbingly bad. The rangoon were okay, the egg rolls were good. Generally, the pu pu platter for two offerings were forgettable. read more

Definitely the service is curt to say the least but they are busy making incredible food in large portions at good prices this place has an A health rating people that say it is dirty don't know how strict Boston is. An A rating is an achievement! If you plan ahead write down your order and make it over the phone you will have no issues read more

Chi N. said it best: "American Chinese with grease and flavor.... generous portions at a cheap price." I like this place as a lunch option, and their food is tasty -- sometimes really, really tasty. The outfit itself is a little suspect (I mean, is there even refrigeration back there? I don't know) but my main qualm is that now and then (ok often), depending on who cooks it, there are literally pools of oil at the bottom of my Kung Pao chicken (and lo mein), and it makes me feel all gross and ashamed. Recently I tried the chicken curry though, and it was super good. Maybe the dish isn't as prone to the same heavy-handed oil treatment. read more

I'm not hungry. I'm not either, but I will be later. Yeah, me, too. What do you want to do? I don't know, what would you like to do? After a painfully long discussion about what we were going to do for dinner, my friends and I decided to walk over to China Maxim III. The dining room was nothing fancy. Actually, I think the term "dining room" doesn't even really fit. It's more like... the space in front of a deli counter. And there's a table or two. And pop machines. The food choices are plentiful, and the kitchen is open. I suppose you could watch your food being made, but we decided to catch up since I was only in town for a short time. We ordered beef chow fun and a chicken dish. The chow fun was fine, but the chicken wasn't anything better than what you'd get out of the supermarket deli. (Orange chicken or general tsao's, I think...) Best part about the trip? My bf and I giggling about the fly trapped in the menu under the glass at the front desk. Unless it's late and you only have your feet, I'd suggest trying another Chinese restaurant. read more

This place is awesome! I've came here a few times with my friend because she and I both really like Chinese food. I'm sorta sad to say that I've only discovered this place a few months ago but as long as I know now. The egg fried rice taste really good. The spring and egg rolls are yummy. The beef and chicken teriyaki is wicked good, especially when it's freshly made. The crab rangoons are like wicked delicious. The crispy beef is also really good. They have the best lobster sauce (especially on white rice) I have had in all my lobster sauce eating years. They have a variety of things on their menu that I have yet to try. Portions are huge, service is fast and friendly - must come back! read more

I really wanted to like this place, because it's convenient, being approximately a two minute walk from my place. It's also cheap. So, if my primary motivations in choosing a restaurant were price and location, I would eat here all the time. Unfortunately, I also look for things like taste and varied options. Excepting a snowstorm so powerful I can't make it to the pizza place down the street, I don't see myself eating here often. First, I personally find the menu disappointing, because they don't have my favorite dish (walnut shrimp). But, since most Boston-area Chinese-food places have this flaw, I try not to hold it against China Maxim. Second, the crab rangoon is very good. I really like it. It's only $4.50 for a giant box, and they're tasty. Crunchy and soft in all the right places, and they reheat well. The hot and sour soup did wonders for my cold, but I admit that I have no basis for comparison. Still, I enjoyed it immensely - and it was only $2.25 for enough for two meals, which was nice. The problem is, I don't really like the entrees. The lo mien is nice enough, but there's too much filler (although, to their credit, the mushrooms aren't slimy). I really don't like a lot of stuff in my lo mien - I just want soft, delicious noodles with a teeny bit of meat. That's it. There are very few entrees that have any sort of vegetable involved, and they really aren't that interesting. The most egregious problem, though, is the sweet and sour dishes. Sweet and sour chicken is NOT chicken fingers with a side of sweet 'n sour sauce. If that's what I wanted, I would go to McDonald's and pick up some McNuggets. Worse, the pork is essentially the same, and "pork fingers" just scare me. All I want is little pieces of pork, chopped up and sauteed, with maybe a bit of onions or something, and a sauce that I don't have to add myself. Is that too much to ask? read more

It's been a long time since I've had food from here, but I remember why I stopped going. When you order chicken fingers you usually have an idea of what you're going to get...this place just doesn't cut it. When a chicken finger is actually the size of a large gumball, I no longer consider it a finger. If that's the size, I can accept it, but thrown in a few extra and we'll call it even. This is not fine dining - mostly takeout service, but if you're craving greasy Americanized Chinese food in smaller portions than you are used to it may be just the place for you. read more

Went here for lunch. It's a fairly standard Chinese takeout. (There are two kinds of Chinese restaurant: fancy ones that go for authenticity and inexpensive ones that go for Chinese-American standards.) The crab rangoons were tasty and fresh and creamy. Beef teriyaki was also good. The pork fried rice that came with my lunch combo was plentiful. The Kung Pao chicken was somewhat disappointing. Not much in the way of spicy heat there and fairly bland. There is no ambiance to speak of, unless you consider shabby to be chic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but know what you're getting into. The service was okay. I went during lunch so they were busy filling phone and delivery orders too. Only two people were working and one took my order and then ran out the door to make deliveries. The cook had to watch the stove, wait on customers, and answer the phone. The wait wasn't inordinate, but for lunchtime customers five minutes can be too long and at least one customer walked out. I did pass by two other takeout Chinese on the way to China Maxim so I think I'll try the others as well. Bottom line: Good food cheap (under $10 for a combo and crab rangoons), somewhat dingy. I could eat there again. read more

Called these guys up one day looking for a quick lunch, and i gotta say, the food arrived quick, a rarity for a chinese restaurant. The cashew chicken was very flavorful, with good color from the radishes and the peas, but a little too saucy. The crab rangoon, a mainstay for me, were boring. Too much cream cheese, not enough crab, but it was at least fried to gopden perfection. The egg rolls are what youd expect, crunchy, juicy, and a steady choice. All totaled up, the price was $16, so its not a bad price for two people. read more

We've gotten takeaway/delivery from this place a few times and have yet to be disappointed. If you are looking for traditional American style Chinese then this place is great! Generous portions of tasty food for reasonable prices. read more

Good chinese food. Like the Lomein, Crab Rangoons and Beef Terryaki. Prices are very good. I tried the orange chicken off the chef's specialties and he did a great job on it. The restaurant is mostly takeout and could use a spruce up. Its pretty dingy when you go in. I usually go for takeout out once a week. Good Service. read more