East by Northeast Brings New Flavors to Inman Square

Perhaps the most beautiful dish we tried on opening night at Philip Tang's new East by Northeast restaurant was this cabbage salad made with honey, rice vinegar and peppercorn oil, topped with bright pink watermelon radish.

But nearly everything we sampled was bursting with fresh, almost summery flavors on a snowy winter night in Boston. This vivid, colorful menu reflects the time Tang (formerly of Hungry Mother) spent in sub-tropical Taiwan, learning to cook the dishes he grew up with.

Even the cocktails we started with tasted zesty--particularly the rum mixed with ginger soda and slices of lime. Icelandic Reyka vodka with pomegranate juice and Himalayan goji berries was another happy choice.

Many of Tang's veggie dishes feature local vegetables, and though I didn't find out for sure, presumably these included our favorites: the sauteed kale topped with crunchy garlic; the light and refreshing kohlrabi and carrot salad with sesame-ginger dressing; and the celery root salad with poached chicken and apple in a creamy sesame-mustard sauce.

The other stars of Tang's menu are his handmade noodles, which have drawn comparisons to David Chang's Momofuku. Beef noodle soup is one of the most popular dishes in Taiwanese cuisine, and Tang's version was made with thick noodles, beef shank, celery root, and parsnip in a hearty, spicy beef broth.

Another thick-cut noodle soup (this one a special) came with smoky pork meatballs and vegetables including sunchoke and mustard greens. It wasn't my favorite, but like the other dishes, it was full of interesting flavors.

We liked the hand-rolled short rice noodles best. Prepared with chicken, daikon, shiitake mushrooms and XO fish sauce, these tender little pillows reminded me of incredibly light gnocchi flavored with an array of Asian seasonings.

At the beginning of the meal, our waitress advised us to order three to four dishes per person, but we were satisfied with roughly 2.5 each. Still, at $150 for four people, it was not an inexpensive dinner. But I haven't found anyplace else in Boston serving Taiwanese-inflected food this fresh and innovative.