If you hang around this little slice-o-internet often, you may know (I only talked about it a thousand times) that one of my closest friends, Courtney, was wed to Andy last January, who has also become a good friend of mine as well over the past few years. Aside from bringing my BFF endless happiness, I'm also happy Andy came into my life, not surprisingly, because of food.

This year, Andy and his two sisters have embarked on the ever-ambitious process of entrepreneurship. The Mei Mei Group (Chinese for "little sister", how perfect) has been launched and their first endeavor, a food truck called Mei Mei Street Kitchen is in the works. The truck has been purchased, a kitchen to cook out of, identified (Fill Belly's in JP, which was also once a food truck, so obviously a great fit), local farms and preferred vendors have been established, and last Tuesday, the first Pop-Up Dinner for friends and family was held.

Luckily I have weaseled my way, by proxy of Court, into this "friends and family" bucket, and was invited to come along to a private night at Fill Belly's. Their menu, which promised to a mix of fun and original Chinese-American fare using all locally-sourced ingredients, looked beyond intriguing when we arrived.





Um, hello braised beef dumplings. I'll take one-hundred, please.

The first course, parsnip soup with torn croutons and beet chips, was the perfect start. It was rich and velvety, and the croutons and beets complimented it well.



What followed, the braised-beef dumplings, roast pork sandwich with crackling, and the red-cooked pork mac and cheese were all met with rave reviews. The dumplings were a perfect balance of dough, beef and cheese. The sandwich was delightfully soft with just enough crunch from the crackling. I was almost full by the time the mac had came, but pushed myself to persevere. It was just, plain, goddamn, delicious.







In between these courses, there was a tofu dumpling course I didn't capture on film, but worth noting that even the most ravenous meat eaters (my boyfriend and roommate, Kurt) were happy with these as well. It just goes to show that a well-cooked dumpling can be comprised of pretty much any ingredients, and it will satisfy most. Also between these courses came a shaved winter root vegetable salad that I would have loved as a side with any of these heavier items. It also looked absolutely stunning on a family-style platter:



For the final course, the Li siblings did a warm rice pudding with cranberry citrus coulis on top. It was absolutely delicious without being too heavy. The Li Ladies (Irene and Mei) have also branched out beyond MMSK and have a side project dubbed Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, focusing on, of course, all things sweet. I've had a macaron or two crafted by these girls and let me tell you, they know what they're doing when it comes to dessert.




All in all, the dinner was outstanding. And aside from getting to feel like an "insider" on the verge of a business that is about to break in Boston, there is also something to be said to see a friend (and his family) pursue a dream. I wish Andy, Mei and Irene the best of luck with the Mei Mei Group, and can't wait to see the Street Kitchen truck rolling around this summer.



You can Like and Follow the Mei Mei Group Here:
facebook.com/meimeisk
@sugarpieboston
@meimeifoodtruck