Ravioli raves

On a slow weekday afternoon at Mary Chung restaurant, a place many MIT students consider their cafeteria, the waiters gather around a platter of seasoned ground pork at a corner table. Gossiping and dipping their fingers into porcelain bowls of water, they fold the meaty filling into wrappers, making birdlike wontons and neatly crimped "Peking ravioli" (otherwise known as pot stickers, on right). Spicy wontons come in delicate purse-like wrappers that wrinkle around the meat inside ($3.85 for six). Each Peking ravioli ($4.85 for six) is a doughy pocket carrying a tender, toothsome meatball, with just the slightest crunch of chopped scallions. Order the turnover-shaped ravioli simmered in water or fried in a wok until golden and just a little crusty. GALEN MOORE

Mary Chung restaurant is at 464 Mass Ave., Central Sq., Cambridge, 617-864-1991.