Chalawan Asian Eatery

Hard to find SE Asian food besides Thai, and Chalawan has Indonesian, Malaysian, Burmese and other dishes in addition to Thai. Three of our four dishes were delicious (Sumatran lamb, gado gado, and roti canai), and the fourth was pretty good (a chicken dish my wife ordered that now escapes me). Definitely brought me back to travel in the region. I've been cluing in some friends who are big foodies to give it a try, and also a Malaysian pal who is excited to hear about it. Taste buds watering while I write this. Go!

Great food.
Great space.
Great people.

everyone was amazing! the food was delicious

Great! The service was excellent. Our waiter sang happy Birthday to my daughter in the most wonderful voice.

Sat outside on a mild Saturday night. Quiet at first but got busy. We ordered the calamari (very good, but could have been warmer), Chicken Biryani (yum) and whole fish (spicy but crispy with great flavor). Service was very very slow, without much acknowledgment. I think they may have been overwhelmed, or maybe 1 server down, but it was a disappointment.

I'll definitely go again and hope the slow service was an anomaly.

Great food, super reasonable prices. Street food menu was great, very flavorful.

Excellent food and service! One of our favorite restaurants!

Outstanding service! The food was beyond what I expected, soooo good! Highly recommend!

Ate outside...road noise, but nice food and service

Just really average bad take on Southeast Asian food

One of the best restaurants in Boston period. Food and service outstanding.

Chalawan had really great service!
I also really liked the valentines decorations!
The food was good too, and the portions were big enough.

Fantastic food and service!!! I have been there a couple of times now and I can’t wait to try everything on their menu over time.

Phenomenal food and flavors we are coming back soon. Service was great. We look forward to having the heating fixed next time

Service was great. Food was delicious. Will definitely be visiting again soon

As a vegetarian, I was very excited about their separate veg menu. Ordered the Korma and veg curry, but both were bland. The desserts were good and so was the tofu starter.

Had a Nasi Goreng. Good rice but the chicken was hard and dry. They should have comped us with a dessert or coffee or something. Good social distancing and COVID care.
Other dishes like tamarind prawn and all things noodle were delicious.

So nice to find a truly unique menu, every dish was a new experience. I loved all but one but the one dish I didn't like was the favorite of another person at our table. Wish they had cocktails though ( just beer and wine) but the wine was good.

They offer a south East Asian menu - which is great - but the flavors and food really are not authentic- I guess it’s hard to be authentic - but it was really not even close

Otherwise it seems like a good place - probably more Thai

Very authentic! Easily our favorite date night restaurant with authentic Souteast Asian food!

This is a new favorite for outdoor and takeaway dining! It was really awesome that we could specifically book an outdoor seating table. They pivoted well during these times and the food was very good, although a bit uneven. Some of the dishes were sizable, others less so, so it was a little hard to judge what was enough. I would also enjoy a clearer indication of spice level (we love spicy and would like to see more info on it on the menu). But those are details; overall this is a great place!

Excellent, authentic southeast asian food, presented well, with good value and service. I loved the pork belly, scallop "shots" and the mee goreng. I will absolutely be coming back again even in the winter. The outdoor seating was quite large and accommodated a good amount of people

Nice new restaurant near Porter Square. Service was excellent with good beer and wine list, and lots of fresh new dishes. A little noisy on the sidewalk and in the parking lane on Mass Ave, but they have gas space heaters.

Fantastic restaurant. Food is to die for. So delicious and creative.

Vegetarian menu is awesome. Food is presented well, service is excellent - you get great asian hospitality.

Diverse menu spanning Chinese and southeast Asian cuisine. Great food. Wonderful service.

What a wonderful meal and friendly service. This is a quaint Asian eatery located in Porter Square. We started with the calamari and had the ribs and the pepper beef. Everything was very flavorful and you could taste the freshness of the ingredients. We will definitely go back and explore other menu items.

Lovely outdoor dinner at Chalawan. Firstly, safe environment with covid protocols. We sat outside, which was well-spaced out with heaters in between each table, utensils came wrapped, and servers wore marks properly and kept a respectful distance. Secondly, food was tasty: flavorful fish curry and schezuan eggplant, plus I recommend the $4 large scallop. Third: As per other reviews, the desserts were delicious! We enjoyed the thai tea caramel and the divine salted caramel ice-cream.

Prices are a little high for Asian food, but seems worth it given the modern take on a range of unusual dishes from Indonesia/Vietnam in addition to China/India. Owner came out to say hello and check we enjoyed our meal, which we did, thank you!

Food was excellent! A very nice variety of flavor between dishes/sauces. Would definitely return when in the Boston area!

We were excited because of the excellent reviews. Unfortunately we were disappointed with the food and the value. This seems to be an upscale date place where you would not want to eat too much. Food was very overpriced for what we got. $15 for 3-4 fish dumplings. $26 for 10 shrimp pieces with the shell on and nothing else besides some garnish and sauce,

One of my absolute favorite spots!

Everything about the food was absolutely delicious and fresh. The waiter was REALLY engaging and pleasant. We will DEFINITELY be back!

the staff are super lovely! food isn’t the best, and the prices are rather high for the quality. their deserts and tea are phenomenal though.

Delicious food and amazing service!

Great food and will come back..very COVID compliant

I’ve been wanting to try this place and finally came here for a birthday celebration. The service was excellent and they checked on us a few times throughout dinner. The outdoor dining area was well spaced and they took COVID precautions seriously, they even had individually shrink-wrapped silverware. As for the food, everything was delicious especially the crispy pork belly and soft shell crab. The desserts was amazing too, we ordered the sticky rice, Thai tea brûlée and vanilla brûlée. They even brought out an extra dessert of banana cake for the birthday boy. We will definitely come back!

Wonderful food and service, unique flavors, a true gem

Small and intimate eatery on a lively street. Everything was delicious and the owner was particularly attentive to us and other customers.

Great asian food.

Dumplings and the eggplant were the highlights

Great food and the restaurant owner took very good care of us. Very personable and kind! Enjoyed the evening.