At Shojo in Central Square, Chinatown favorites and bold new flavors
Where to Shojo in Cambridge’s Central Square.
Why For Southeast Asian plates and surprising flavor combinations from Shojo Group founder Brian Moy, plus strong cocktails, a (very!) loud soundtrack, and welcome-to-springtime sensations. A patio will soon be put in place, which he aims to make “a vibe.”
The backstory Moy grew up in the food world: His parents ran Chinatown dim sum staple China Pearl for more than 30 years. He’s taken the family business in modern directions. In Chinatown, his groovy Shojo serves things like fries topped with mapo tofu and nacho cheese. Ruckus serves amped-up ramen in a space that looks like a Beastie Boys album cover. In 2022, he opened Nomai in Hingham, a more refined outing for lemongrass filet mignon and steamed sea bass in dashi broth.
Moy has eyed Cambridge for 10 years, he says, because he came of age hanging out in the area.
“It was awesome to me, because, on my days off, I used to go to Cheapo Records. Growing up, I used to go to the Middle East, all the fun stuff of growing up,” he says.
The Boston Shojo has a swaggering, transportive energy — the motto is “hip hop and kung-fu fusion” — and Moy wants to re-create that sensation here.
“We did have some design plans to make this one a little bit more amped up, a little bit more fine. But, throughout the build, we decided to go back to our roots and make it feel hopefully identical to Chinatown,” he says.
What to eat: The menu here deviates a bit from its Boston sibling, since this version was originally intended to focus on Southeast Asian bar bites.
“I have such a passion for Southeast Asian flavors right now.
I got married recently, and my wife really exposed me to different regions of Vietnam, and Cambodian and Laotian cuisines that aren’t really marketed to the public,” he says. “Southeast Asian bar food is constantly evolving. There are constantly new trends in Asia that become super popular and go viral. And we’re keeping on top of those trends, traveling and eating.” He’s especially proud of the Vietnamese-style papaya salad: A sweet-soy savory base with beef jerky on top for a spark of umami. Another different-from-Boston item: butter beef spring roll with fermented-sardine pineapple sauce — “a little bit fragrant and a little bit stinky,” he says, though I didn’t spot it on my visit.
There are also crossover dishes, like “shadowless” fries drenched in a homemade cheese sauce akin to Velveeta, perfect for sharing. DK lemongrass chicken is “a cult classic in Chinatown from the restaurant New Dong Khanh that closed in 2016, and the family has shared their secret recipe,” he says. “I grew up eating it. All my friends grew up eating it. And the [owner] finally invited me over to their house and said, ‘I’ll teach you the recipe, but please don’t tell anybody.’ It was all by feel and touch.”
These were the favorites for our crowd: papaya salad (tart, crunchy, with a nice pop of tomato); “monkey” chicken wings showered with shards of crispy garlic and sticky strips of daikon; kimchi fried rice topped with a perfectly runny fried egg; and those classic, signature fries — a drunken, saucy dream. The only downer? Chicken dumplings, which tasted oddly dry and unfrozen. Plates are under $20.
What to drink: Mixologist Justin Park from Honolulu’s acclaimed Bar Leather Apron consulted on the drink program. The Phoget About It, a basil-forward vodka sour exclusive to the Cambridge location, is a must for the star anise lover. One Thousand Deaths, a smoky mezcal elixir with pea sprouts and lime, “was like drinking a garden, without the dirt,” declared my cocktail maven pal. For the more traditional drinker? Can’t go wrong with a classic mai tai, served in what looked like a stout little rabbit mug. Cocktails are in the $16 range.
The takeaway Your new place for fries and wings after a night of partying.
425 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-714-5461, www.shojocambridge.com