Critic Feasts on Spicy Dishes at 5 Spices House in Cambridge

Good Times for Sichuan Food Lovers

MC Slim JB visits 5 Spices House in Cambridge for his latest review in the Improper Bostonian. The restaurant, which serves Sichuan spicy dry pot, “builds on the excellence of its eponymous Chinatown sibling,” Slim writes. Among dozens of dishes, he finds “plenty of tasty mildness to alternate with the fire-breathers.” On the spicy side, there are Sichuan wontons with red chili sauce, and on the milder side, there are pan-fried pork buns and pumpkin cakes. Favorite dishes for Slim include the cumin-style lamb and the restaurant’s signature spicy dry pot, which he calls a delicious, great bargain.

Northern Chinese That’s “Worth the Wait”

For the Globe’s “Quick Bite” column, Kara Baskin visits Aries Noodle & Dumpling in Waltham for northern Chinese food, made by chef Sean Zhang (previously of Somerville’s longtime dumpling destination, Wang’s Fast Food). The new restaurant is already quite busy, and Baskin makes note of a few dishes, including “pleasingly juicy” shrimp dumplings, a “just spicy enough” Sichuan-style pork “with plenty of chunks of tender meat,” and a savory Chinese crepe, “which looks like a burrito in an omelet suit.” The pace is slow and the lines can be long, but Baskin deems it “worth the wait.”

• Mala-Mala Wallop [IB]
• Aries Noodle & Dumpling, for Leisurely Exploration of Northern Chinese Food [BG]