It says it in the name: Watertown’s newest restaurant promises you an explosion of flavor and deliciousness! Welcome to Flavor Boom!

Boasting a menu of only 10 dishes based on international cuisine from China to the Mediterranean, this takeout, delivery, and catering restaurant at 224 Arsenal St. will give you a meal you won’t forget.

“You don’t need to go to a fancy place or expensive place to enjoy the food and have a good time,” said owner Jun Tao in a recent interview in the Raider Times newsroom.

Flavor Boom! is open for lunch (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) and dinner (5-8 p.m.) seven days a week, however, there is no seating for diners.

Jun has traveled all over the world and lived in China growing up. After years working in the corporate world, and after suffering a brain injury from a bicycle accident, he decided to change his life path. Without having any culinary training, he decided to open a restaurant.

“Love food, love life” is his motto.

In August, Jun and his good friend Harrison Liao opened their business. Every menu item is homemade and inspired either by travel or their home kitchens. The two each came up with five main dishes they wanted to serve to customers and perfected them.

Now you may be thinking, only 10 dishes? That’s not enough right? Wrong! Each dish is inspired by different countries and cultures, each having its own flavor. The dishes are made with different meats, such as pork, beef, and chicken, all of these are served over a bed of rice, while the veggie dishes come with tofu and edamame.

Though this may seem odd, Jun thought it through. At first he’d worried there wouldn’t be enough variety with the small number of options. It was a logical anxiety, however this easily resolved itself when thinking about how unique each dish was.

 “We want to offer food that is very flavorful,” he said, and this is exactly what he’s done.

Each dish explodes in 10 extremely different ways, some spicy, others leaning toward sweet, with a variety of different meats and rich sauces.

Jun said the most popular dish is the red glazed pork, which is a Chinese dish with pork seasoned in a soy sauce. Jun said he makes the dish a lot at home and his wife and kids love it.

During a recent taste-test in the Raider Times newsroom, the shrimp curry was another favorite.

“My favorite dish was the shrimp curry,” one person said. “My God you have to try it! As a person who does not like curry and spicy food, this shrimp curry would absolutely change your whole view about it.”

The plan is that the Watertown location will be the first of many Flavor Booms! in Greater Boston. Jun believes he has a successful formula.

“America is behind on the food culture,” he said. “You don’t have to be crazy expensive or elaborate or special to enjoy food. Life is about the little things.”

(Story reported and written by Nabila Abenaou, Jenna Atiyyat, Izzy DeLorio, Toria Dicker, Leanna Dorian, Valerie Duong, Abby Hendrick, Fathima Perez-Cordero, Dayana Posada. Gina Rank, Adrian Schick, Adelle Sheynkman, Liliana Souza, Rylee Valstyn, Maria Vasques, and Adrianna Williams.)

–Nov. 22, 2021–