Gluten-Free Chinese Food: Uncle Cheung's in Framingham

I love Uncle Cheung's. We eat here at least once a month, and as someone who is Chinese, finding gluten-free Chinese food is a big deal. I miss being able to go out for dim sum or to meet my family in Chinatown for a big feast, but this is as close as I can get, and it's pretty damn close.

The day I found out there was gluten in soy sauce, I died a little inside. I am CHINESE, people. We live on soy sauce, and it's everywhere in a Chinese kitchen. This is also why I'm afraid to eat at a Chinese restaurant. The prep areas, the woks.. soy sauce everywhere! I'm also hesitant to trust a restaurant like this, because when there's a language barrier, I don't feel confident in my safety.

Then I discovered Uncle Cheung's. From what I understand, the owner's family has celiac, so they take it very seriously. They can make most of the items on their menu gluten free! As an extra bonus to me, they have an authentic Shanghai menu for Chinese people, with all of the classics that I grew up and love, like beef tendons, pea shoots, rice cakes, and steamed whole fish in ginger and scallions. They use water chestnut flour for frying, and they also use gluten-free soy sauce.

I've never gotten sick from eating at Uncle Cheung's, not once. I am VERY sensitive, so even the slightest error would send my stomach into a conniption fit, and that has never happened here. Is the food the best Chinese food in the world? No. But it's pretty solid, and I feel completely safe eating here, which is worth every penny. It's a little bit expensive compared to most Chinese joints in the area, but it's very tasty and the safety is well-worth the extra money.

Items to try:

• Garlic spareribs. Fried with hot peppers and super delicious. They also do fried calamari in a similar manner.
• Sauteed pea shoots. Delicate and flavorful.
• Shredded beef and leeks. Sweet and pungent, this is fantastic over rice. 
• Steamed whole fish with ginger and scallions. This tastes like my childhood!

If you're in the Boston area and are looking for a safe place to eat Chinese food, run, don't walk, to Uncle Cheung's. Even better, they're open on Christmas! My family and I did Christmas here last year, and it was wonderful. 

Brazzille in Framingham, MA

When I think Brazilian food, I think of men carrying meat on swords and going from table to table, a la Midwest Grille in Cambridge. While my meal at Brazzille was full of meat, it was at a more reasonable price than Midwest Grille, though I'd argue not quite as tasty.

Parking in the area isn't the greatest, as it's right on 126, but on a Wednesday night, we didn't have a problem. The restaurant was pretty dead, as we were one of three restaurants the whole night, but they were running a post-work special of 10 cent wings to try to boost business. More on the wings later.

I started by ordering a frozen mango juice, which is probably one of my favorite beverages ever. I almost threw up from the first sip. Someone had used SALT instead of SUGAR to make my drink! It tasted like ocean water with a kick of tropical fruit. I brought it to the attention of our waiter, and he quickly remedied it and brought me a new, much more refreshing one. He explained to me that someone had put salt in the sugar jar. How nice.

For appetizers, we tried ten wings, and an order of the Brazilian sausage with chicken and yucca fries. When asked if we wanted the wings spicy or mild, we went for mild. Unbeknownst to us, that meant that there was no sauce on them. I wish we had tried some spicy, but the mild sauceless wings were perfectly crispy and juicy. I will definitely return for 10 cent wing night.

The Brazilian sausage was weirdly deep fried, but tasted good nonetheless. The chicken was deep fried as well, with an awesome garlic kick and the skin still on. Loved it. The yucca fries tasted like pretty much any other yucca fries I've had.

For entrees, I had the shrimp. My meal came with hearts of palm salad, potato salad, chicken salad and rice. The shrimp were beautifully cooked, with a tangy chunky tomato sauce on top. The hearts of palm salad couldn't really be called a salad, as it was just diced hearts of palm with a cured meat. The potato salad was full of potatoes, carrots, peas, corn and raisins, but I did find it had a bit too much mayonnaise. If it pulled back slightly on the mayo, it would've been supreme. The chicken salad was ironically dry, and could've used a little mayo. The rice was well cooked, but I found it oversalted.

For dessert, we had the passion fruit mousse. It was heavenly. I expected it to be a bit thicker, but the mousse was light and fluffy, and much tangier than I had expected. With a dollop of whipped cream on top, it may have been the best part of the meal.

Overall, I did find the food a bit over-salted for my tastes. But the portions are huge (I had lunch the next day, plus a little extra), the service was friendly, and the prices were right. For 2 apps, 2 entrees, a dessert, and two drinks, our bill was around $45 with tax. I can't wait to go back for more 10 cent wings.