January 2020 openings and closings [Boston and New England]

[fooddabbler]

Damn you @GretchenS, as you know flattery will get you everywhere with me. I just force-posted my 5-spice observations:

5 Spices House: Chinatown (Boston), and Cambridge

Our experiences here have been getting better and better. Based on several meals, here are some knockouts: The dry hotpot stuff is terrific, with real heat. We’ve had it with various meats, and with fish, and they’ve all been superb. You cannot get all the internal body parts you can get in, say, Queens, but what they do with what they have is every bit as tasty. The sizzling dishes with rice cakes are also surprisingly good. No heat at all, but a lot of flavor. We’ve done chicken mostly, …