Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup

Sometimes I get home from work and just don't feel like making dinner. Last night was one of those nights. Fortunately, I live close to many great restaurants that offer take-out. One of these restaurants is Green Tea II. Green Tea II opened their doors last month, moving into the spot that was previously occupied by Michi Kusa, a Japanese/Sushi restaurant that once upon a time was good. I don't know why they closed, but the quality and freshness of the sushi they served had deteriorated over the last year.

In comes Green Tea II, with their outstanding Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup. The owner claims it's the best in Boston, I'm inclined to believe him. I've had Szechuan beef noodle soups from other places in Framingham and from a few places in Chinatown, and Green Tea II's soup is definitely the best of the bunch.

Almost as good as the soup is the description of the soup on the menu. This soup is listed on their Herbal Menu, along with several other dishes that claim healthful benefits. Here is what Green Tea II's menu says about it's:

Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup (Dang Gui, Sichuan Peppercorn, fructus lycii etc.) Nutritional value: This dish warms the internal organs, alleviates pain, expels dampness, and Reduces swelling. Promotes blood circulation, relieves liver damage, and improves kidney function."


This soup is very spicy, and as the menu states, contains some stuff that is supposed to be real good for you. Dang gui, also known as Angelica sinensis or Chinese angelica, is an herb indigenous to China. Wikipedia says it "is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Chinese angelica possesses the distinction of being one of the few good non-animal source of Vitamin B12, along with some varieties of yeast and microalgae like spirulina. It has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and sedative effects. The plant's phytochemicals consist of coumarins, phytosterols, polysaccharides, ferulate, and flavonoids.

Also in this soup is fructus lycii, also known as wolfberry or goji berry. This small orangey-red berry is known for it's high antioxidant properties and ranks high among other "superfruits".

Green Tea II also has a full dim sum menu on the weekends. I'll be checking that out soon.

Green Tea II
2 Beacon Street
Framingham, MA 01701
Ph (508) 820-0006

See Michelle's review of Green Tea II at ThisIsFramingham.com
Recent Press - Metrowest Daily News