Amazing service and food :) the tables and dining is all clean and waiters bring out food very fast, I highly recommend!

Located in a nice part of cambridge, close to the bridge connecting to Boston, Mulan is a taiwanese restaurant that also has another location in Waltham. We went during dinner time, and it was definitely packed and we had to wait around 20 minutes for a seat, so i'd recommend against coming here during rush hour. The parking lot is small, only accommodates a few cars, but there's plenty of paid street side parking. The dishes we ordered were phenomenal, especially the crispy chicken--it was salted perfectly and fried to perfection. The Mulan Fish was also delicately soft but flavorful in the spicy broth. If you're into duck, their duck is a must try. Portion sizes are very reasonable and will definitely come back again. FYI if you bring cash they'll give you a little discount on the final bill read more

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rating: 3.5/5 i've been looking around the boston/cambridge area for a good chinese food spot, and wanted to try out this spot! i thought that the food was pretty good and great for doing family-style, but not really worth the prices. i can't see myself coming back here anytime soon, but i was pretty satisfied with our experience. - atmosphere - the restaurant is pretty big, with a few private rooms and a main dining area. the tables are pretty close to each other though, which makes it difficult to walk around. it's pretty loud when it gets busy, so it's kind of hard to hear your own conversations at times. it's a good spot to take smaller or larger parties, but i'd recommend making a reservation either way. - overall experience - we came on a friday night and had a reservation for 9 people made in advance. when we arrived, we waited for around 10 minutes for them to get our table ready. it took us some time to decide what we wanted to order since the menu has lots of variety to it, but i appreciated how they had shading next to the menu options that were most popular. we waited around 15-20 minutes for our dishes, which was pretty quick considering how busy the restaurant was at the time. don't really have any complaints about the service here and we enjoyed our meal! - recommendations - highly recommend that you must try their mu lan fish and stir fried pea pod stem with minced garlic! 3/10/23 -pork with leek dumpling: this is one of their more popular dumpling menu options, and i personally thought it was just okay. the filling was really good, but i wasn't a big fan of how thick the dumpling skin was. it was still pretty good dipped into the dumpling sauce on the side, but i probably wouldn't get it again. it's a great dish to order for sharing. since an order of dumplings comes with 10 pieces for $12. (3/5) -salted crispy chicken: this is also one of their most popular menu options and one of the favorites from our table. the chicken was super crispy on the outside and had lots of flavor without being too salty. the portion was pretty fair, but we felt like the individual pieces of chicken were just way too small. some pieces just seemed to be fried batter, with barely any chicken inside. i think it was a good dish flavor-wise, but not really worth the $15. (3.5/5) -taiwanese style pan fried noodle with pork: had high expectations for this, but it ended up being quite bland. the dish came with a large portion of noodles, carrots, bean sprouts, onions, mushrooms, and greens. even though it was supposed to have pork, the portion was barely noticeable. although the texture of the noodles was pretty good, i felt like the dish was just overwhelmingly greasy with not enough flavor. even the pork itself didn't seem to taste like much, and i felt like the price of $14 just wasn't really worth it. (2/5) -mu lan fish: this was a crowd favorite at our table, even though it was the most expensive dish ordered. this seafood dish comes with pieces of fish in a spicy sauce, with scallions on top. the fish was cooked just the right amount and held onto the sauce really well. it was definitely quite spicy for me, but most people didn't really seem to have much of a problem with it. the style reminded me of szechuan style fish, and i felt like the portion was pretty fair for $25. (4/5) -eggplant with basil: i'm personally just not the biggest fan of eggplant, so i felt like it was just okay. but, it was cooked perfectly and soaked up the sauce really well. the basil flavor wasn't too overpowering, and it was really enjoyed by my friends. the dish is also supposed to be spicy, but i felt like it was bearable. the portion was pretty fair for $16, but i probably wouldn't get it again. (3.5/5) -stir fried pea pod stem with minced garlic: this dish is a classic and one of my personal favorites! it's just your typical stir fried pea shoots sauteed with garlic; it's so simple yet so good. there was a ton of flavor but the pea stems were just a bit overcooked in my opinion. i also felt like the portion wasn't worth $20, since it was just vegetables. but, i could see myself getting this again if i ever came back. (4/5) read more

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Food is fine. Fair enough for the price. The service is terrible based on the first waiter that treated us. A gentlemen with glasses. Inpatient and rude. Won't be there again. read more

MULAN is one of the best Taiwanese restaurants in Boston. (To be fair, there is not a lot so the bar is not high hahaha) My top three favorite dishes are: + Steamed fish + Veggie dumplings (so GOOD)} + Mulan fish (spicy fish fillet) The people who work there are so sweet! I really enjoyed taking my parents here for graduation (lol). You can also rent out their private rooms for events. This is a nice restaurant for takeout, a wholesome family meal, or when you're looking for some nice traditional food. read more

This is one of my family's favorite restaurant, we usually came here for any kind of special gathering event. Usually we were at the one in Waltham, this time we decided to try the one in Cambridge for the moon festival this year! The food is so delicious, especially the roasted duck, OMG, it's so goooood! The braised pork is very tasty, and don't forget the plum juice! Oh it's the best! It reminds me home! read more

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Mu Lan is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in America (though I have not been to every Chinese restaurant in America)! I used to treat myself to this place in college and it would be the highlight of my day! Ten years later this place is still thriving and the food still exceeds expectations making me super happy whenever I go. I'm a huge glutton, have tried a ton of Chinese restaurants across both coasts and the food at Mu Lan is just really really good - amongst the top three Chinese restaurants I've been to in the US (Cafe China in NYC, Z&Y in SF). They have a huge assortment of dishes and every single one of them is SUPER delicious and flavorful. Some of my favorites are the spicy fish fillet, sliced kidney, and seafood fried rice. The portion sizes are large and the dishes are not expensive. The ambiance and service are okay. You should definitely come here for the terrific food! read more

My favorite dish: shredded pork and (baby) bamboo! (It's not canned bamboo!). The dumplings are freshly made, and are excellent.

Very average Chinese/Taiwanese cuisine. Value isn't too bad, you do get 10 dumplings for $12 or $13 but the dumpling skin was too thick with barely any filling or taste. The noodles were pretty decent but nothing special. Perhaps I didn't order the right items such as ones from their more Taiwanese selections. I may come again but there are many other good Asian places to try. read more

Mu Lan - Fried noodles - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Came here for a celebration, and it was a pretty terrible choice overall. The food fell flat and had no flavor whatsoever. The service was great, but in terms of food and whether it was an enjoyable experience- this is NOT THE PLACE. We ordered pork and it ended up being raw, but they insisted it was cooked when it clearly wasn't. When our food was brought to us, the server had their thumbs all up in our food which was pretty gross honestly. I had to tell them it wasn't after them trying to gaslight us that it is cooked, when it wasn't. Pork, especially intestines, are the last thing that should be even pink in any capacity. We weren't trying to get food poisoning so we just left it as is. My review stems from us ordering multiple dishes that consistently was just bad. I generally don't ever write reviews that's below 3 stars, cause 3 is just okay but this is below a 3 star experience. TLDR: I've included pictures so that you can make your own judgement. read more

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Amazing food! Get the fish and the eggplants. We were well fed for a table of 10. Will come back again!

Mu Lan hits the important points of freshly cooked food, good ingredients, and varied seasoning. Importantly, dishes are not overly seasoned or too salty (from overuse of soy sauce). Individual diners can add seasoning on request. The dumpling plates are too abundant for a couple - most are sold as 10 pieces - so we did not get to try them. Perhaps they could offer smaller plates of them, or assorted plates. read more

This place is probably my favorite Chinese restaurant in Boston right now. All the dishes I've gotten here so far (I've had maybe 8 different dishes across my 2 visits here) have tasted authentic, well-cooked, and delicious. The beef with leeks wrapped in pancakes is an appetizer that I've ordered both times; I love it when scallion pancakes are combined with other things like an egg or protein. During my most recent visit, we actually ended up getting two Szechuan dishes (crispy chicken with peppers and also shredded beef with peppers). Both were fantastic, though a little spicy. Besides the food, the service is wonderful. Even though the restaurant was crowded on the Friday we went, my group of friends and I (a party of four) were seated not long after we all arrived at the restaurant. The food came out a lot earlier than we expected, and we appreciated how attentive they were with refilling our tea. It was also nice that they filled our bowls with West Lake soup when it was served and also helped us package our food when we said we wanted it to-go. I really want to come back again and try some of their Taiwanese dishes considering how rare it is to find Taiwanese cuisine. I'm sure I won't be disappointed. read more

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(Takeout order) This was the third time we've been to Mu Lan, and we were just as underwhelmed as we were the previous times. But with so many positive reviews, we thought we would give it one more try. We ordered mu shi pork, sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, and scallion pancakes. All were okay - nothing special. The Mongolian beef was nicely flavored and was the winner. Mu Lan's prices are a bit high but not ridiculous; the 3 dishes plus scallion pancakes cost $60, for what other restaurants typically charge under $50 -- and others provide rice at no additional charge. The portions were ok. In all, while there was nothing wrong with the food, but given all the positive reviews, we were expecting more. read more

We entertained a party of 10 in the middle private room. The service was quite good. The food is liked by most in the party.

Just got take-out from here. You can order right from the website. You can also choose how spicy you want it, which is cool! The lo mein and string beans were good! Lots of fresh garlic in the string beans. Would like to order again and try some of the Taiwanese specialties. read more

Love this place! Great flavors, not oily or too salty. The character length requirements are too much on these apps. Get the stars and be happy. read more

Went for the 1st time, was pleasantly surprised that the places packed on a Tuesday night (sign of something good was about to happen). We went with the recommended dishes. Started off with the cuddle fish dumplings, a generous 10 piece portion of the most tender, juicy stuffed dumplings I've ever had. Then came the sauteed bean curd sheets with black mushroom & the Taiwanese pan fried noodle with pork. Both exceptional dishes unlike anything else I've ever tried. Can't wait to revisit & try other items. read more

Good Food, been there for my birthday a couple of times. Service and workers there are very quick. Usually pretty busy and the ambiance is great. read more

Got a couple of meals when I was staying nearby in Cambridge. They always offer some nice complimentary pickled vegetables, salted nuts, and tea. The first time I got the seafood porridge off their specials menu, and eggplant with garlic sauce to go. The seafood porridge had a variety of fresh seafood: fish fillets, scallops, clams, and crab. The broth was decently salty but wasn't flavorful enough for my tastes. I wanted more of that seafood umami rather than the taste of rice that permeated into the soup. The eggplant with garlic sauce had a decent blend of salty and spicy, and the eggplants themselves were large and cooked just right in that the outside was soft but the inside was firm. The second time I got shrimp with garlic chives and bean sheets, as well as a small egg drop soup for starters. The egg drop soup also wasn't hearty enough for my tastes, but my larger disappointment was the entree. Each individual ingredient was cooked nicely but they had way too much bean sheets, and I essentially couldn't taste the garlic chives, which was especially disappointing since I requested them to cut down on the bean sheets when ordering. The portions are large, but the prices are accordingly hefty, perhaps a bit overpriced given the actual quality. They also charge an additional $1.50 for white rice. In summary, the food is decent but not amazing, but the prices are high which makes this place overpriced for what it serves. It's nice that they give complimentary starters, but I'd rather just get complimentary rice and order appetizers of my choice. There might not be other homestyle Taiwanese restaurants nearby, but there are definitely better options around Allston/Chinatown. read more

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Good service, fantastic authentic Chinese food. We came here with a Chinese family and placed ourselves in their hands for ordering. So many delicious dishes: tofu with black mushroom, shredded pork with shredded bamboo shoots, cold smoked duck, sautéed pea shoots, fish in a spicy tomato sauce filled us up. A beef dish and a soup were ordered but never materialized but were not on the bill. read more

We did takeout so cannot speak to the ambiance, but the food was very good and reasonably priced for the large portions given! Will come again! read more

I freaking love Mulan. Their Taiwanese food is amazing. They recently remodeled so everything looks new and fresh. It's a good place to bring a large group or even go on a date! Recommended dishes are the salted crispy chicken, it comes with delightful little basil leaves. Their eggplant with garlic is amazing and slightly spicy. The snow pea sprout is a staple of any meal and is a must get. Their chili fiah filet stew is really good too! read more

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This was the best Chinese food I have had. Went there with a Chinese friend and her family, hosted by her mother. Massive amounts of different foods were brought to the table, all delicious. If I had to pick one, the pork dumplings (commonly known as potstickers) were the best I have ever had - so flavorful and juicy. Five-spice fried chicken strips to die for. How they avoid greasiness or oily taste is beyond me. Same thing with the incredibly tender breaded pork slices. We also had tofu skins with edamame, steamed fish in some sort of flavorful broth with delicious greens, sticky rice cakes (the only thing I did not care for, because I don't like gelatinous textures) with shredded pork and veggies, fabulous spicy beef, a mild seafood soup, stir fried green beans, salted duck (not salty at all, and delicious eaten cold the following day), Chinese pickles (mostly cabbage, but don't miss those slices of pickled jalapeno), and maybe something else I have forgotten. Almost everyone in the restaurant was Asian. There was a party next to us that was larger, and they had a round table with a built-in giant lazy-susan loaded up with food, not the same items we had chosen. There was plenty of street parking on Broadway, but it was a weekday evening. I would recommend reservations. I would recommend coming in a large group, and not alone or on date night. This is so you can try a number of dishes in the traditional "family style". read more

Upon seating, I was greeted with complimentary salted peanuts and pickled cabbage. This is extremely impressive since these are common appetizers you'd find in Taiwan, and taste authentic too. These two things were so good, that it raised my expectations substantially. Mistakes were made. The Mushu Pork came with tortillas instead of Chinese crepes (no they're no the same) and was under-seasoned. There was way too much cabbage. And they used green cabbage instead of Taiwanese cabbage (much more tender than green cabbage), so the dish was way too tough and too crunchy compared to a normal mushu dish. The garlic stir-fried kong xin cai was tough, and under-seasoned. The scallion pancakes wrapped beef was filled with leek. The western kind. The kind that's thick and hard and not suitable in scallion pancake wraps. Oh, also, under-seasoned. There's a theme here. Inauthentic ingredients, and under-seasoning. It's too bad because I was so impressed with the complimentary appetizers. The restaurant is clean, had good decor, and even has rooms available for large parties. I hope their other dishes don't fit into this theme, because I really want to come try other things on their menu. read more

Mu Lan - Beef wrapped in scallion pancake - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Had dinner here tonight. No one else was here dining in so it felt super safe. Super clean and everyone had masks on. Plenty of people coming in to pick up their take out food though as a testament to the food. We had a few dishes tonight but the best had to be the pork chop over rice. I've had plenty of pork chop over rice at taiwanese spots around the states and in Asia, including taiwan. I would say this ranks close to the top. One of the highlights of our food adventures in Boston. read more

Great fresh food, warm and welcoming service...highly recommend and now need to try the Cambridge location as it's more convenient to me...hope it is as good read more

Dropped by for quick lunch. Food: Ordered the house special fried pork rice dish. Usual staple menu item in most Taiwanese restaurants and usually my go to item. The portion of pork was not as much as I expected compared to other Taiwanese places in Chinatown. The pork was very dry and not marinated very well. It was a bit too salty and didn't have any of the sweetness I usually taste. The veggie side was actually very good. The cabbage was not limp but crispy and tasted good. The ground pork was dry and unflavorful. Soup: The hot and sour soup tasted like per peppery hell. Needless to say, they overdid it with the white pepper. Ambiance/setting: Place is crowded during lunch, but they have several large tables and sits around 40-50. Parking is non existent so you'll have to hunt around. One good thing is the initial peanuts and pickled veggies they serve. The peanuts were probably stir fried a bit and complimented the meal well. The pickled veggies were refreshing and definitely increased one's appetite. read more

Mu Lan - Pickled veggie, peanuts and hot and soup. - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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My favorite Taiwanese restaurant in Boston. Food is fresh and flavorful and not greasy like many other Chinese/Cantonese restaurants in town. The space is very clean and comfortable. They even have private rooms for large private parties. Service is also pretty good. Tip: if you like dumplings, get the frozen dumplings to go. They sell 50 frozen dumplings/bag for ~$26, which is a good deal considering the size and quality. I always have some in my freezer for those lazy days. read more

We came here for early dinner - they are open throughout the day. We ordered the Cuttlefish dumplings (not particularly impressed - it takes similar to pork dumplings), Beef with Pineapple and Bitter Melon, and Shrimp with Chive and Bean Curd Sheet. The two entries are a bit too oily for my taste (not particularly Taiwan-style), but they offer a wide selection and I'm sure there are food that suit my tastes better. The restaurant was burnt in a fire several years ago. I'm glad that they were able to restore and operate again. read more

Bamboo shoot is vacuum packed, and why is Taiwanese food that spicy? Would not recommend

We went to Mu Lan for lunch yesterday. Being a native Taiwanese, I had high hope for Mu Lan. And I have to say I was a little disappointed. The restaurant is spacious. The waters were quick to tend to us. The atmosphere is similar to higher end restaurant in Taiwan. It's a good place to bring guests for dinner. The only issue for me is the food. The dishes there is certainly authentic, and the portion is good too. However, I felt all the dishes were undercooked and bland. Taiwanese stir fried dishes should be cooked in a short time using high heat, sufficient oil and proper seasoning. The dishes should be hot when come out with a fresh and slightly burned taste. Mu Lan's dishes do not have that distinct taste. I'd suggest hopping on the red line and go to Chinatown for great Taiwanese food. If you want a quieter environment to dine, then Mu Lan can be a good choice. read more

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Ambience is good and they have soothing music. A family place. Cuttlefish Dumplings were good not spicy. Portion size was around 10 pcs. Chicken Fried Rice was good in taste and well cooked. Spice level was mild and portion size is more than enough for one person. read more

Mu Lan - Cuttlefish Dumplings - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sometimes a 3 star restaurant has great food, and just bad service. After reading a lot of review of crappy service, I decided it was worth trying since I've walked by this place a million times over the years, and its bad ratings could very easily be because of the service. While the service wasn't univocally stellar, it's also not bad. The food though is definitely a big Meh. I had a few things off the menu, trying to give Mulan the best chance to impress me 1) scallion pancake -- almost no scallions, super bland and crumbly dry flour texture. Horrible. 2) stir fried rice noodles -- also bland, I drenched it in the sauce from the scallion pancake, which made it pretty good. 3) spicy garlic eggplant -- it's hot alright... but bland. This is an incredible feat - how do you make something bland but hot. Beats me. It was full of asian people, speaking Chinese, which seems to indicate authenticity, but having lived in Taiwan for 10 years, I would definitely NOT recommend it. read more

We ordered braised of fish and bean curd pork. Loved it. Great service too! That's all I need to say about this place. Yelp, stoping asking me for more words. read more

Mu Lan - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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After closing for 2 years, this location of MuLan reopens and is a blessing for Cambridge students, professionals, or anyone in the area. The food is reminiscent of home and MuLan did a great job renovating the restaurant. I came here during their first week of opening with my girlfriend and we got three dishes: Salt and pepper pork - One of my favorite dishes to get so I'm a hard critic here. I liked their flavor here, it was seasoned well and had the hint of spice from the jalapeños that makes it delicious. Unfortunately the pork itself wasn't crispy enough. Pork and Chinese cabbage dumplings - Amazing! I could eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Great flavor, but execution was a bit lackluster. A few of our dumplings had a broken skin, which would have netted a big red X if I was Gordon Ramsay Eggplant and basil - If you've gotten here, then you can kind of see a trend going on. Good flavor but poor execution. I think they're like to keep me on my toes and change it up a bit - this dish was cooked beautifully but the flavor was a little underwhelming. It could use a little more basil and a little more seasoning, but I loved the soft texture of the eggplant. All in all, you can get good flavors here without the headache of Chinatown parking. If you're looking to get your fix of Taiwanese food, you can't go wrong with MuLan. read more

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Re-opened! May have a little wait during peak times. Great place to get Taiwanese/Chinese dishes. They have the usual Chinese dishes at most Chinese oriented restaurants have. Good take out spot. Mapo tofu was my favorite of the dishes we order. I think ordering off the Chinese only specials is the way to go. Sorry no English translations to that menu. Planning to come back to try more dishes. Good price point and service. read more

The food is excellent and the service is efficient and the ambiance is good! Give them a try.

The best "Chinese" food I've had in the Boston area is 10+ years. I wish they offered wider delivery options but the food is worth the pickup. I'm a vegetarian so I can personally vouch for the lo mein and spring rolls. Both reminded me of the excellent "Chinese" takeout I enjoyed in NY as a child. My husband has tried the beef lo mein, house fried rice and crab Rangoon and says all were excellent. The staff is accommodating to personalized requests for the food and even allows you to choose your desired "spice level" for certain dishes. The interior looks like it would be fun to dine-in with a group we've only done takeout. read more

Average Chinese restaurant, nothing too outstanding. The decor itself was nice and fancy. I heard they just reopened after a fire! They advertise themselves as Taiwanese cuisine but they serve all the standard things you would find in a Chinese restaurant. Service was very quick! Scallion pancake was undercooked and raw. The salt and pepper pork was too oily. Shredded beef was decent. The eggplant with basil though....oooo I could eat that all day! Of course going home, I got that dry MSG thirst in my mouth. Yum. Nothing to scream about but good for standard Chinese restaurant food. read more

Mu Lan - Taiwanese Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts