BROCKTON — If you’re one of those people who thinks it just wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without Chinese food, you are not alone.
And you’ve got plenty of tasty options in the Brockton area.
Lisa Wong, owner and manager of the Maui Restaurant in Brockton, said she expects the restaurant to do five to six times more orders on Dec. 31 than on a regular day.
“We’ll do in one day what we do in a week,” she said.
Wong said she doesn’t know how the tradition of eating Chinese food on New Year’s Eve started, but she’s glad it did.
“It goes back so far, I don’t think anyone knows why it’s so popular. All I know, it’s been stressing out restaurant owners for decades,” Wong said.
She should know.
The Maui Restaurant is the sister restaurant of the iconic Kowloon Restaurant in Saugus that her parents Madeline Wong and the late William Wong opened 71 years ago. She started working there at age 14.
The Maui Restaurant, at 1875 Main St., opened Dec. 29, 1981.
“I’ve been here for 40 years and it’s stressed me out for 40 years,” she said.
The restaurant will start taking takeout orders on Wednesday. Reservations for dine-in will be accepted until Dec. 30 for parties of five or more.
The most popular items will be Pu Pu platters and their Saugus wings, a signature dish. Some items will not be available, such as combination plates.
“We have to work on a limited menu or we’d never get the food out on time,” she said.
For those who want to wait until Friday to place their orders, Wong urges customers to call before 5:30 p.m. or after 7:30 p.m. Wong said the restaurant will prepare “at least 300 orders in a span of four hours — usually between 4 to 8 p.m.”
New Year’s Eve is even busier than Christmas Eve.
“Christmas Eve is our warm-up,” Wong said.
“It’s going to be crazy, but we’re ready,” she said. “We have a great system. We’ve been here for 40 years. We know how to do it.”
The Maui Restaurant will be open noon to midnight on New Year’s Eve with a disc jockey in the lounge from 8 p.m. to midnight. No reservations are required to sit in the lounge.
The Maui Restaurant, at 1875 Main St. in Brockton, is open 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Day. The restaurant can be reached by phone at 508-583-1010 or online at mauibrockton.com.
Chinatown (Brockton)
Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Chinatown, 51 Oak St Extension, Brockton, 508-580-2885, chinatownma.com
Bamboo Café (Brockton)
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Bamboo Café, 1285 Belmont St., Brockton, 508-588-9188, bamboocafebrockton.com
The Chatta Box (Bridgewater)
The Chatta Box serves Thai, Japanese, Korean and Malaysian food. Manager Alice Huang recommends ordering food early because the restaurant is extremely busy on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
“If you can, order food the day before,” she said.
The most popular items are crab Rangoon, honey sesame chicken and sushi, Huang said.
Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve for takeout only, no dine-in or delivery. Open noon to 9:30 p.m. New Year’s Day.
The Chatta Box, 755 Bedford St., No. 1, Bridgewater, 508-697-8898, thechattabox.com
Crystal’s Kitchen (West Bridgewater)
Crystal’s Kitchen has a variety of both authentic and fusion dishes inspired by different cultures, including Malaysian, Thai and Japanese. Owner Crystal Tan said she doesn’t like her creations to be limited by tradition.
“You can take Chinese herbs and herbs from Thailand and Malaysia, and just create something,” she said in an interview with The Enterprise in 2017.
Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
Crystal’s Kitchen, 4 South Main St., West Bridgewater, 508-510-5295, crystalskitchenma.com
SugarCane Thai (Bridgewater)
Sugar Cane Thai restaurant serves “delicious” Asian food, including Thai, Japanese and Korean food, according to its Facebook page.
Sesame chicken, crab Rangoon and the hot and spicy drunken noodles are some of the restaurant’s most popular items.
Open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve.
SugarCane Thai, 180 Winter St., Unit A, Bridgewater, 508- 697-2266, sugarcanethai.com
Chinatown of Stoughton (Stoughton)
Chinatown of Stoughton offers Hong Kong, Mandarin and Szechuan cuisines, according to its website.
Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day for takeout and delivery.
Chinatown of Stoughton, 103 Sharon St, 781-297-3886, chinatownstoughton.com
Deng’s Garden (East Bridgewater)
Deng’s Garden offers Chinese, Polynesian and Mandarin cuisines.
Open 1:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Deng’s Garden, 225 Bedford St., No. 10, East Bridgewater, 508-378-3155, dengsgarden.com
Mee King Garden (Brockton)
Mee King Garden has been serving the area for the past 30 years with Polynesian, Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine, according to its website. Mee King Garden has locations at 187 Crescent St., Brockton, and 33 Main St., Bridgewater.
Brockton location open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. New Years Eve for takeout and delivery only, and 11:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. New Year’s Day.
Bridgewater location open 11:30 a.m. to midnight New Year’s Eve for takeout and delivery only, and 12:30 to midnight on New Year’s Day.
Mee King, 187 Crescent St., Brockton, 508-588-1311, and 33 Main St., Bridgewater, 508-279-1228, meekinggarden.net
Jade Leaf Restaurant (Brockton)
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Jade Leaf Restaurant, 1050 Pearl St., Brockton, 508-587-6646, jadeleafchinese.com
King Garden (Bridgewater)
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
King Garden, 220 Winter St., Suit 2, Bridgewater, 508-279-3988, kinggardenma.com
Chang Chung (Brockton)
Open 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Day for takeout only.
Chang Chung, 776 Centre St., Brockton, 508-588-9091, changchunrestaurant.com
Easton Lucky Corner (Easton)
Open 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Easton Lucky Corner, 670 Depot St., Suite 4, North Easton, 508-230-2608, luckycornerma.com
Hong Kong City (Taunton)
Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Hong Kong City, 174 Broadway, Taunton, 508-822-2888, hongkongcityrestaurant.com
Yangtze Inn (West Bridgewater)
Open 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. New Year’s Eve and noon to 1 a.m. New Year’s Day.
Yangtze Inn, 266 S. Main St, West Bridgewater, 508-583-9020, yangtzeinn.com
Golden Corner (Brockton)
Open noon to midnight New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day for takeout only.
Golden Corner, 558 N. Main St, Brockton, 508-580-8611, goldencorner.chinesemenu.com
Yummy House (Brockton)
Open 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve.
Yummy House, 180 Oak St, Brockton, 508-584-6826, yummyhousema.com
John Good Time (Brockton)
Open 1 to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
John Good Time, 379 Belmont St, Brockton 508-588-8833, johngoodtime.com
Staff writer Kathy Bossa can be reached by email at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Chinese food near Brockton: 18 locations for New Year’s Eve dining