Hong Kong At Harvard Square

I went here after roaming around Harvard Square and so decided to eat some Chinese food and discovered this restaurant. First of all it is nicely kept everything is well cleaned and presentable. The service is great and efficiently, and the food tastes great and was served really fast. I really do recommend this place to anyone. I had the Sweet and sour chicken with pork fried rice it was great! In terms of money I only paid about $ 25 for service for two people and 20% tip included, so yeah I think is quite cheap in comparison with other restaurants of the area!!.

So many people have already complained how terrible the food are in the restaurant, well, because of the limited choices of Chinese restaurant, I still come here from time to time. Today, I notice they hire one new waiter (the only male Chinese waiter here), who was serving me tonight. He behaved very strangely in the beginning. Durning the conversation, he kept backing up and hard to focus. And he left when I was still talking! Finally after coming back, he had hard time communicating. Whatever I asked, he just kept saying «it is yummy, you get it»… Then he started to nag and complain. Ironically he was talking so broken English so I couldn’t quite get him but only guess from his face. I was very nicely asking him to repeat his word, and all of sudden he snapped and screamed to me «you leave»!!! When I complained this to the front desk (manager was not here at this time), he passes by and repeated that again «you go home, not in the restaurant».
I am a medical scientists and have a feeling this guy serving customers in the restaurant doesn’t have a stable mental condition. When the manager came he only blamed the waiter but no further action was taken. Right after manager took off, this waiter was talking out loud «fire me fire me»… Not knowing why this restaurant would hire a person with potential mental issue but is definitely not safe to eat there.
I will definitely not go there with my friends anymore, but also strongly suggest customers not going there too, at least for now before this waiter is leaving — I am really concerned for his mental issue and worried he may do something to the food sitting in the kitchen. (During the waiting, the other customers sitting next me also expressed their concern too). Boycott!

Reviewing just the restaurant not the clubs:
Decent «Chinese» when you’re hungry. Soups, good. Everything else, plenty greasy.
I go to the theater a bit in Boston and I don’t like to hang around too much paying up to $ 20/​hour for parking, so I find myself going here to eat late at night because what’s a night out for a show without dinner? Where else can you go at midnight and get served?
I am old, the drunk college people remind me of that.
I am old, the goddessy-​goddesses remind me of that, I never could walk in those shoes even when I *was* (theoretically) young and beautiful. I don’t remember ever being that young and free.
I am old, I remember when Rick the comedy MC actually looked like the picture on the sandwich board.
Used to be the best hot/​sour soup in the world, changed recipe, wish it would go back to last years recipe. It’s ok, now, but it was so good I used to drive in from anywhere just to get it for everybody.
Quite frankly, if you get out of the theater, the ballet, or concert at 10 or later, there is virtually nothing better Camb/​Arl/​Bel/​Wat/​Waltham than this to choose from for dining out. This place has a hectic atmosphere but it’s tasty and price is good. It’s not too loud to speak with your friends.

Standard Chinese food.
I’ve been to this place late at night and the rest time went because I was craving crab rangoon. Both times it was a good/​bad idea. Probably the only bad thing was that I spent more than I intended I went to the second floor once, and it was a little sketchy, but I guess that’s what makes it Hong Kong. It’s definitely worth going to for the experience.

You come here for strong drinks, drunken dancing, drunker karaōke, and dodging dicks (penises, and occasionally rude patrons). That’s all there is to it. Bypass the food if you possibly can. Super friendly staff and outgoing, unpretentious patrons — usually college students, but sometimes office parties and comics from the club upstairs. A busy night at the Hong Kong has the potential to devolve into out of control debauchery and sometimes genuine danger. One night a friend was belting out a Rolling Stones tune as a bar fight broke out, complete with broken glass and an overturned chair. The bouncers immediately intervened and kept an eye on everyone involved until cops were eventually called. To their credit, the staff handled the conflict wonderfully and made everyone feel safe. Wild antics aside, the Hong Kong reliably delivers a carefree night out with friends. I recommend karaōke on Thursday nights, where an entire bar will sometimes come together in enthusiastic if not entirely tuneful renditions of jams like «Sweet Caroline.»

I’ve gone several times to this spot, not for dancing but for food. On average it hasnt been busy when I have gone, so the service was pretty on point, quick, and attentive. My favorites are the pan fried noodles in eel sauce, chicken teriyaki, and the best crab rangoon. I’m a huge fan of crab rangoons and have tried many, this spot makes em real good.

Oh man, the Kong is your classic Harvard undergrad night out. Order a scorpion bowl and dance the night away, replete with drunk college boys and the odd ceiling tile falling down here or there. The Kong is the epitome of not classy, and you will love it if you are a) drunk, or b) sober and don’t know any better.
Otherwise, if you are actually there for food on the first floor, it’s not bad. It does look pretty sketchy from the outside and during the day though.

The food was 3 stars but the customer service was minus 3 stars! The waitress was rude and disrespectful wouldn’t let us talk to the manager and manager wouldn’t care about anything. Also ask about the prices on the menu, because they post lower prices on menu and after you are done with your meal bring you the receipt with 60% higher prices. And you can’t even complain about that!

Walked into this place Saturday after a good night partying prior, walking in you don’t expect much, looks kinda seedy, but don’t let looks fool you, was instantly seated and then ordered some orange chicken and rice and pork with mushrooms and mushrooms, prices are decent $ 8 – 9 for a dish. When my food was brought out I was amazed how much there actually was! So much bang for your buck I immediately asked for boxes knowing I was going to have dinner planned for that night. But the real surprise was just how amazing all the food was, even putting them in my to go boxes I opened them back up to sneak a few more bites out. Will definitely be back to eat again and so should you! A great Harvard Square treasure.

We were going to the comedy show up stairs and needed a place to eat before hand. My friend who I was with insisted we go here due to lack of time before the show. I told him it had bad reviews but he said it would be fine. Well it wasn’t fine. It was terrible. Food came out within minutes of ordering so you could tell it was precooked. It was that type of food, that while you are chewing it your body is telling you to stop. We didn’t even finish any of our meals. My friend is dumb and so am I for following him. Don’t be dumb. Don’t eat here.
Update: it has now been almost 12 hours and neither of us have food poisoning so far so that’s nice. Comedy show up stairs was really good too!

Oh, the memories. Hong Kong is where people go to get messy.
The upstairs bar and dance areas were a cosmopolitan mix of Harvard undergrads, grad students, post-​grads from various locales, and townies. Not sure you’d find that kind of diversity outside the T! But it also means all kinds of sketch — just differently dressed.
The downstairs food area is pretty spacious, and your general Americanized Chinese food deal. The portions were generous, though, and the quality was generally good for what it was. After a night of foolishness upstairs, especially, many capped their times off with some eats.
I wouldn’t recommend the nightlife, but the restaurant is fine, if you’re going for Americanized Chinese fare. I do still hold some fondness for this place despite my aversion to nonsense. ;)

Just a few problems I had with the bar the other night:
–They can’t/won’t tell you what’s in the scorpion bowl.
–My friend got the world’s weakest gin and tonic for $ 7.50. Bartender poured it in front of us and we both objected. Usually when you object, they pour a little more no matter what. Not the case. Friend stopped buying drinks after this because he got shafted big time. I honestly wouldn’t even have taken the drink.
–I ordered an overpriced jameson/​coke for $ 8.50. The bartender kept the $ 10. You always bring back the change! She looked at me like I was crazy when I was still waiting for my change (which I didn’t get)… sorry, but I get to decide the tip, which probably would have been zero given the high price and bad service.
Overall, it’s a fairly trashy place frequented by tourists, kids, and top 20 enthusiasts. They charge more than they should, but get away with it because there’s little competition in harvard square and their clientele doesn’t know better.
Review is for bar only. Cannot speak for the restaurant on the first floor.

Hong Kong is quite an experience. Although it is right across the street from Harvard, it is different than anything you will experience on the actual campus. Two of my friends and I went on a Saturday night — we got there at 10:30 PM. When we got there, there was a line out the door, so we asked the bouncer if we would have to wait in line to get into the restaurant, to which he replied «no». We went inside and asked to be seated, but the owner told us that it would be a 30 minute (!) wait. As we waited, two college kids who probably had five too many scorpion bowls were completely passed out at one of the booths by the door.
When someone finally took us to a table, it was completely dirty. The owner told us someone would be by to clean it — but nobody ever came! We waited more than five minutes, found another empty (and clean) table and sat down. We enjoyed two scorpion bowls and some fried chicken, which, were overall a pretty good deal. The service was not so great, but you don’t come to the Kong for the service; you come for the EXPERIENCE.
Once we were done eating, we decided that we would go upstairs… and had to wait in line yet again, but waited no more than 5 – 7 minutes to get up to the 3^rd floor. People were way more respectful than usual, but as it was closing, a fight broke out and EVERYONE made a mad dash for the door.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you want to enjoy your night. If you are looking to get really drunk and not be judged for it, then you should go.

I can count on one finger how many times I’ve had fun at this place. I’ve given it so many chances. The DJ will play the same songs, in the same order, with no variation every weekend night. The people are from all walks of life, which is great, but they don’t care about dancing or associating with anyone else in the bar (unless to drink from a stranger’s scorpion bowl.)
Speaking of which, a scorpion bowl with a heat check (buy a bottle of beer and flip it upside down into the bowl) is where it’s at.
Come for the scorpion bowls and people watching and leave for anything else.
This place’s best-​kept secret is comedy nights. Look on their website to find out when they have their showcases and go.

Ok food. Pancakes good. But stay away from the dumplings.
The people who work here are not very helpful and not nice. Horrible customer service.

Food: ³⁄₅ stars
Service: ²⁄₅ stars
Despite it’s ranking, this is the perfect place for a drunken late night comfort food. Despite the food rating, it still has awesome crab rangoons and scallion pancakes (who can mess up deep fried foods anyway!)
Scorpion bowls are a fun activity if you’re with friends though they always skimp on the alcohol and add too much ice inside.
One thing I do enjoy is their dinner combos which come with rice. Cheap for the portions and the kung pao chicken is actually not half bad.
As you can imagine, service is pretty nonexistent partially because the waiters get pretty fed up with drunk college students. Definitely not a great place for family dinners or dates past a certain point.

DO NOT go to the third floor dance area.
DO order all of the scorpion bowls in the world.

I wish I could rate 0 stars because it felt that bad.
First & last time here.
Came with my roommate here for the first time on Friday night (Saturday early morning) because it’s 1:30am and we just wanted something small to eat.
1.) Food: $ 10 min. We were planning on splitting a meal, but she refused to take our order unless we ordered over $ 10.
Hot & Sour soup: too sour & too spicy, and I felt like I was drinking corn starch. It was like gravy.
Beef Chow Foon: SO SALTY.
It’s Chinese food. Not that hard. I don’t expect you to make it authentic, and I’m Chinese. It’s okay if it’s like Panda, but it’s not okay when the only thing I taste in my mouth is salt and I don’t have enough water to drink it down.
2) Service: HORRIBLE.
Waitress was rude the entire time. Basically threw our dishes at us. Came to pour us some water, and then decided for herself we didn’t need water just because it looked half full and walked away right when we were handing her our cups.
Lady, I know you’re busy. It’s a Friday night and I see you busting your butt off to serve all the tables. But there’s also 4 other people working and they’re just taking their time with their tables so it’s your responsibility to take care of us, please the very least.
Bad attitude ruins the entire meal for me and restaurant atmosphere, it really does. It’s like first impressions and you didn’t make a good one.
Sorry, not coming here again.

Oh the (in)famous Kong! First floor is a Chinese restaurant. However, chances are that you are not here for the food, but for cheap scorpion bowls and to dance the night away without having to pay for a cover — that is, if you are able to get in!
The story is that I was of age and had a real ID. The bouncer refused to let me in and insisted that my ID was fake. He told me to stop lying or else he would call the police. I told him to go right ahead. So he called and of course, was told by the cops that it was a legitimate driver’s license. While this whole shenanigan was going on, my friends were all dolled up in dresses, shaking in the cold. This was in late fall/​early winter. The bouncer made us all wait in the cold and didn’t even apologize for his mistake. Even though he eventually let us in, he got an awful attitude and was incredibly rude! We were furious! If we weren’t going to meet up with other friends inside, we surely would have gone somewhere else in a heartbeat.
As we made our way up to the second floor, we approached the bar packed with loud, drunk college students (not judging because I was one of them). It was impossible to get the bartender’s attention. Good luck getting a drink! Scorpion bowls are good for sharing, but they are loaded with ice and overly sweet — I wonder how much sugar they pour down in that drink. I still drank it when someone passed me a straw.
The top floor is a «club,» with a tiny dance floor and full-​on ratchetry. Dance floor was dirty. Music was uninspiring. If you are a decent-​looking female, there will be dudes creeping up and ready to pounce on you.
Do yourself a favor and go to Boston if you are looking for a great night out. Yes, you pay a cover and more $$ for drinks but in return, you get better music, classier crowd, more spacious venue, and an overall much more enjoyable experience.
Bye, Kong, and never again.

5 stars. Too many good times and memories for me to rate it any less. I mean, come on, you get 3 whole floors of fun!
1^st floor: chinese restaurant. Food isn’t the best or the cheapest but it gets the job done.
2^nd floor: source of kickass scorpion bowls and holding pen for the 3^rd floor before it opens.
3^rd floor: small dance club with tiny bar, opens 10:30 — 11:00.
This is a really great place to go in the winter because usually you don’t wait outside for too long. You can either hop into the restaurant for a bite & a scorpion bowl, or wait for a little bit to get transferred to the 2^nd floor where you will never get a table but at least you won’t be freezing your sweet New England tits off.
Make no mistake, you get all kinds here. A lot of college, some international tourists (I’ve seen it more than once), young profesh, you name it. It’s not glam. It’s not even nice, but it’s the best. It’s Hong Kong.
GET YOUR KONG ON!