The brightly lit blue and white restaurant sign on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Main Street in Central Square is not very remarkable.

But if passersby slow down to read the words printed on the sign, chances are they will take a second look.

The Pu Pu Hot Pot is a rather curious name for a restaurant, and after initial surprise, passersby likely realize that the words have a different connotation in Chinese than they do in English.

Still, "pu pu" is a phrase that can hardly attract customers in an English-speaking country.

It takes repeat customers for a restaurant to keep its doors open, and you just don't become a repeat customer at a place called the Pu Pu Hot Pot if the culinary benefits don't outweigh the social losses you face every time someone asks you where you had dinner last night.

But strange name aside, good food had to back up the restaurant, which has been in business for five years.

Catering to the Curious?

En route to the restaurant, the warehouses and gas station nearby don't help to ease potential customers' worries.

But five blocks from the Central Square T station, the small but tidy Chinese restaurant with pleasant pink walls and lots of windows greets the eye, belying the strange name.

Steven Chen, the owner's son, waits by the door to greet customers. With a smile, he ushers customers to one of the restaurant's ten tables, about half of which sit by the floor-to-ceiling windows.