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Showing results for tags 'Chinese'.
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Greetings; log time lurker, but I only spend two months a year near DC... I just had a long engagement in LA end and I am craving Din Tai Fung big time. Due to time constraints, I'll be confined to the greater Northern Virginia region for the next few days. Any recs for a decent dumpling in the area? Thanks in advance.
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I'm reading a book right now which takes place in a Shandong village, and one food item mentioned that I've never heard of is referred to as "Fistcakes." These are flatbreads, stuffed with eggs and green onions, then rolled up and eaten with both fists - hence, the name "Fistcakes." I don't even know if these are real food items, since the book is a work of fiction, but still, they sound wonderful. gnatharobed, or anyone else familiar with regional Chinese peasant cuisine, do you have any familiarity with these?
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Is it possible that there's anything approaching Jin River out near Reston?
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Well, Tyler Cowen reviewed it today, so I'm guessing it's open. Looks like we need a new topic...and a group of NoVA folks to come with me so I can order many dishes.- 15 replies
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Not wanting to travel far due to car being in the shop, the wife and I stopped in to Shanghai Teahouse, mere steps from out apartment and found a new fav. I'm not going to say it's the best Chinese I've ever had, but after this first visit I rank it right up there with my favorites, Joe's and A and J. We ordered alot for two people as I usually do, but the leftovers made a nice midnight snack We had: Edamame Mini shrimp springrolls: fantastic, seemed like a whole shrimp in each roll, very crisp and wonderful in every way. Scallion Pancake: somewhat of a litmus test for me: this one was better than any i've had. Other versions are thick and can be very greasy and more so when cool. This version was thinner, crispy and well pan fried in that it absorbed very little extra oil and after 30 mins was still crisp and delish. Beef and Celery dumplings, pan fried and steamed lamb dumplings: mixed bag here. wrappers were house made and soft and wonderful when steamed but the dumplings lost their juicyness when panfried, so def not worth the extra dollar for pan searing. Also, while the steamed lamb dumplings were lucious with the right amount of juice and fat and had a great lamb flavor, over all they were bland. Both lacked the depth that great dumplings have. The pork steam buns: steamed pork soup dumplings: best rendition i've had in DC proper. Perfecty juicy having not lost any from poor handling while steaming, very well done. Shrimp Wonton Soup: had scallions and wakame with a good amount of sesame oil in it. I loved this soup. I love sesame oil so for my taste it was perfect, some might think the sesame to much. Lions Head Meatballs: four pool ball sized meatballs with dried (rehydrated) shitakes, baby bok choy and carrots, slivered ginger in a star anise flavored broth. Very rich and delish, meatballs made with ham and other pork bits, very light and had mushrooms and cabbage mixed in. First time I've had these anywhere but would be interested in how they compare to those that used to be served at Bob's. (Hint Hint: Dean, let me know. ) My largest complaint is that they use portion controled sauces ie: hot mustard, plum sauce. I would like to see better sauces to go with these things but it's a small thing compared to the quality of what we ate. Total damage for two was $88 after tax and tip and included two bubble teas (don't bother) and we were STUFFED. Could have probably cashed in at $35-$45 and had a great meal. It makes me very happy to have found this place. They do a lunch special for >$7 iirc. The entire time we were there (7pm-8:30pm) we were the only dine in customers, one guy came in for take out and one other for a bubble tea. I thinks it's a much better alternative to other Chinese choices in DC proper but unfortunately they do not deliver. It seemed to be a young man (server, cashier etc) and his mom (cook). Highly recommended. -
We ended up here after the close of the Democratic Convention Thursday because we wanted a bunch of food and drinks, and there weren't that many spots still serving those things after 1 am. We were able to roll in here with 20+ people, order drinks (cocktails are $5, and they have the extensive faux-tiki drink menu that I love at older Chinese restaurants) and a ton of food. It's not the best Chinese food I've ever had, but it was quite solid, and I'd even rate the pork dumplings and fried chicken wings higher than that. And it may have saved our lives, so I'll add another star for that. Full food menu until 3 am. -
Sooooooooo yesterday I decided to try my new thing of spontaneity when it comes to restos as I explained in my previous post sort of. I was going to go to Eim Khao Mun Kai which is a very interesting and nice spot that serves Thai Chicken Rice. BUT I had always wanted to try the interesting looking Chinese restaurant across the way. I made the plunge and went across the street to see the menu. It was a pretty uninteresting menu featuring basicly what you could find on any Catonesey Chinese American restaurant menu. I persisted and went in and ordered. I got the salt and pepper pork chops and some roast meats on rice like duck etc (I am a great lover of the roasted Chinese meats!!!). I felt everything was a bit boring and too fatty for my personal taste. I wasn't really wowed by this. It just was kinda boring. Now I know I ordered kinda boring but when those roast meats are good it can be a sensational dish and this just wasn't. It was slightly better then New York Noodletown perhaps but not really super dee duper better ya know. I didn't love the pork chops either and felt the flavor was diluted by the fried fatty taste of the preperatioooonnn. So was this meal like terrible not quite but neither was it great either!!! I think in LA this food is much much better generally or San Fran or Vancouver for that matter!!! -
Breaking News! Bethesda Magazine is reporting that Peter Chang will open a new "flagship" restaurant called "Q by Peter Chang" in Bethesda. Don will have to decide if this qualifies for it's own thread. -
Wow. This place was bad. We were there for Fourth of July so we could watch fireworks. That is perhaps the only redeeming quality of this spot. Surly bartender. Salt and pepper squid rings? I was expecting what I would usually get at a Chinese restaurant, nice bits of sea salt and cracked peppercorns with thick white rings of squid. I got thin rings that could easily have been rubberbands with some terrible batter that I don't think came within spitting range of pepper. That was the only thing I ordered, but with an app that bad, I can't even imagine what the other food must taste like. -
My sister told me that a coworker had mentioned that there are some Indian-style Chinese restaurants in the area. Anyone know anything? * edit And just out of interest ... Carribean-Chinese.
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I will leave it to escoffier to describe the Vidalia extravaganza, if he sees fit. As for me, another recent indulgence was the baby clams with black bean sauce at Mark's Duck House. A couple of days later, I went to China Pavilion, in the Sangamore Center, and with the echoes of Mark's still rattling around in my gullet, ordered the shrimp-scallop combo with black bean sauce, but alas it was too sweet, somebody had sugared it. But their seaweed salad was just right. -
Soooooo Little Pepper has been getting lots of press. Like literally the times did a whole article on just this restaurant. People have made pilgrimages to this place en masse it seems. It's in a very strange location compared to it's counterparts in and around the main drag in Flushing central. This is in College Point. I was a bit skeptical as places that get SOOOOO much press tend to enliven my skepticism particularly when it's been throughout a relatively long period of time. Anywho, I went and had a very nice meal. They have that balance between the sweetness, the savory, and the spicy downnnnn. Sometimes I go to Sichuan restos and they like need to prove that they are from Sichuan and they just go all out on the spice. I can handle spice but having been to the Sichuan province and having quite a lot of experience with Chinese food I've found it's besssstttt when you get a certain balance in the flavors. I got a whole spread despite it being just me based on recommendations from several of the articles I had read about the restaurant. The menu is quite large which isn't strange but it is chock full of very nice dishes some beyond the usual dan dan noodles and such (they have those tooooo and I love Dan Dan just using it to make a point!!). I got the Chongqing Chicken, the Spicy Potatos, the Cumin Lamb, and the Beef Tendons. My two faves were the chicken and the potatos. The chicken had a great flavor but be warned it is very peppery and not to be eaten if u don't really like spiceeeee. Usually dishes like this with diced meat and chili can be mixed in quality I've found. Sometimes the meat loses out to the rest of ingredients!!! Spot on here in my opinion!! The potatos however could be said to be revelatory. Imagine french fries made by a Sichuan chef and thats what its like. I don't even LOVE French Fries and I felt this was a knock out. It had the perfect flavor blend of that herby peppery mouth numbing taste along with the gloriousness of a French Fry put together. SOOOOOO I would def make the trek and go here it's well worth it!!! Maybe ya'll disagree as well perhaps it has declined from a height it was once at before the hype etc LMKKKK!!
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I have not yet set foot inside Rolling Cooking (alternate website), but I pass it regularly and I'm hearing good things. From its menu (too long to download and post), it looks a little like a neighborhood Chinese restaurant, but I hear that the dishes are more authentic than Americanized, that Mapo Tofu is on the menu, that the Flaming Lamb is tremendous, and that they deliver. More to follow upon first-hand observation. I'm not sure what to make of the dual websites. One seems to indicate Bayonne is the location, but both point to the Springfield location. What Rolling Cooking replaced was a pretty bad Chinese place, maybe as long as 6 months ago....but I only recently noted the funky sign out front. -
I know that this forum is taking on a bit of an air like "An Index to Jonathan Gold's Restaurant Reviews," but that's okay with me until we get more participants - I love Gold's reviews, and this one is no exception. It's worth reading start-to-finish, and will have you craving Mian's style of Zjajiangmian when you're finished. "Mian Restaurant Has Noodles Like No One Else in the San Gabriel Valley" by Jonathan Gold on latimes.com -
I heard about this place from menusarang.com which introduces Korean restaurants in the DC Metro area. According to the website, Chef Chen used to work at a Chinese restaurant near the city hall in Seoul, left and came to the U.S. and opened this place. The website also added his black bean noodle and Jjampong (spicy seafood noodle soup) is fantastic. Escoffier and I tried the black bean noodle, Jjampong and Szechuan spicy shrimp. The black bean sauce has a deeper and earthier taste than usual. I am wondering if it is homemade. Diced pork, chopped onion and julienned zucchini were stir-fried with the black bean sauce. The sauce was very well done. I could tell the chef is very skillful. The texture of the noodles was okay, not as remarkable as Da Rae Won's. I ordered Jjampong and asked them to make it spicier. It wasn't very spicy, however, it was very tasty. The Szechuan spicy shrimp was good. It also could have been spicier. One thing I was disappointed with was that he made the dish very saucier therefore, it lost crunchiness. Overall, I ilke this place a lot and I will visit this place again soon. 'House of No MSG' was written on top of the menu. After I tasted his foods, I can trust the statement. -
Can't find a thread on this, but I thought I remember SeanMike posting something. We went here for Valentine's Day. Bless their hearts. This could be a really cool restaurant, but it is just trying to hard. Genuinely, nicely trying too hard, which breaks your heart because it just needs some changes. First off the space- it was really cute, but it got really cold inside the restaurant that night. The service was over the top, but also sloppy in a way. They way over utilized rose petals for Vday (especially as it was mostly friends and families there). They got us water then didn't ask us about other drinks the whole evening. We had two glasses of champagne with the menu, but after we drank that no mention of do we want something else. But they did bring out food frequently, check on how it was and refilled our water after a couple sips had been taken. They had a Valentine's tasting menu, then their normal tasting menu. But one was 6 courses and the other 11. They didn't have a vegetarian or dim sum option. We were kind of struggling to figure out what to order. Hubby wanted the 11 course, we wanted the 6, they said we could do that. Well then the timing was kind of all over the place, which is why we hesitated in the first place on doing that, but we had my cousin who is 17 and from a rural area and just trying new stuff. There was an egg drop soup that was forgettable and just bland (do you have to put dyed rose petals in the food, I don't want to eat a dyed rose petal), the soup dumplings were placed on top of some sort of paper, but it wasn't non-stick enough, so two of mine fell apart with me just trying to not eat the paper attached to the bottom, I think part of this may have been they had congealed a bit. They served mine and my cousins dishes on a shared middle plate, and then we had to ask for small plates, and those weren't always cleared and replaced. I would have prefered just two separate plates as the plate in the middle made it hard to eat. The XO scallops were good, but their XO sauce wasn't quite as addictively good as other versions I have had and the scallops were so big and slippery even I found them really hard to eat with chopsticks, they brought spoons after they saw us struggling. I thought the lamb chops were great, but my cousin found them a bit too spicy and gamey. These came out with foil on the top, we only had chopsticks so we ate these with our fingers, but it would have been nice for them to indicate they were intended to be eaten with fingers, but would bring forks and knives if preferred. The dessert was durian ice cream, which was interesting, but the dish could have been more complex or had some other elements. There must have been another dish, but I can't remember what it was. MK's menu had a few more dumplings, and he really liked some of the items, but others he also thought were bland. I feel like if this restaurant would 1) offer a few more options on the tasting menus so you could tailor it a bit more to one's tastes and dietary restrictions that would be great 2) do more small plates a la carte 3) just taste and tweak some of the items 4) work on service that this place felt like it had so much potential, but was just failing to reach that potential. That is always what I really hate when I go to some restaurants, you can feel that it could be really good, but it isn't there. This is one of those places that needs to hire a consultant just to tweak things. -
"Grand Harbor Caters to Seafood Tastes in the $10 to $10,000 Range" by Jonathan Gold on latimes.com
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I think it's really bad for my car to want to keep making the drive from Arlington to Upper Rockville every week, but I just cannot resist buying this type of comfort food I grew up with! I am talking about Chinese buns -- you know, the ones filled with pork sung or custard or cream or red bean? Well, you can find this type of bread readily in Rockville now at Bread Corner, next to Mama Wok Teriyaki in that tucked away corner of the Giant Shopping Center on Hungerford Drive. They have a good variety cross of both Taiwanese-styled buns, ones topped with puffed pastry or sprinkled with matcha and filled with azuki-mochi, or Cantonese-styled buns like Chicken bun or custard-filled ones, with those familiar if you have frequented Maria's Bakery before. The chef/owner studied in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, apparently. I also have liked their portuguese-styled egg tarts as well as the regular ones. There isn't really seating; I think maybe one or two tables with 5-6 chairs at the most. The breads are mostly consistent, but sometimes with the underbaked feel. The other thing I haven't really liked are their cakes. I am planning to try a few more though. The current problem is that they are not as spongy as Asian cakes should be. I have gone several times now, and even though I get the same things, I see a good rotation of different types of bread flavors/toppings. They also have your usually coffee & tea with bubbles. Bread Corner 591 Hungerford Drive Rockville, MD 20850 -
Far East in Rockville (website) has been around for probably close to if not more than 40 years. It serves a mostly Americanized menu, but it does a good job at what it does. It is the classic Chinese restaurant of old where if you take a sip of water someone arrives out of no where to refill it. While I haven't eaten here in a while, this post is more than a review of a restaurant (my tastes have shifted and I am more interested in eating purely authentic food). They have a space upstairs which is suitable for banquets (website says 20-225 people). (some of the foregoing is based upon my dad's stories as I am too young to remember) When the Wong family moved to America in the 70's they lived 2 houses from my parents in Silver Spring. When they set out to open their restaurant, they used North China as their template. They started with a smaller store-front spot next to their current larger free-standing location. I think for the time it was very well received as dinning out of the house provided few options. When talking about Far East my parents always re-tell a story. My dad helped them fix something at their house, and Mr. Wong asked what they could do to repay my dad. My dad being my dad, he said "cook us a meal"-much to my mom's embarrassment. Mr. Wong insisted. The chef was sent to the store with my mom to buy meat. The chef insisted on whole chicken. When they got back to my parent's house, he quickly dispatched the chicken into several parts. My dad kept a huge vegetable garden in the back yard. The chef had his pick of fresh vegetables and made an amazing meal. (I wish I was old enough to remember). More often than not, we would order carry out. My dad was fond of their seafood hot-pot soup (no longer on the menu). Although the soup was not available for takeout, we would bring my mom's largest stock pot and they would fill it to the top. At our request, they would include sea cucumber to the bounty which was certainly beyond exotic at the time. Another story (one which I remember vividly) involved the Wongs and my grandparents. Growing up I was truly blessed to live around the corner from my grandparents. While my parents had a couple of houses separating them from the Wongs, my grandparents shared a back yard. The Wongs imported some sort of Chinese peach tree and planted it on the property line with my grandparents. This tree did not bear fruit, but the Wongs would pick the leaves and pickle them. Even once they moved, they would come back every year and collect the leaves by the trash bag full. My grandparents hated this tree. Although it provided a bounty for the Wongs, it left leaves on their lawn in the fall. As it grew, its roots came into my grandparents yard. One day when my grandparents had had enough of the tree (long after the Wongs had moved) they had the tree removed. You would think this would have been the end of it. This was one suborn tree. The tree started putting up shoots in their yard. My grandparents were in their 80's at this point and had a vendetta with this tree. They would chase it around the yard trying everything they could to get rid of this thing. I remember going over there one day and saw them digging holes and pouring salt into the ground. My grandparents finally won, but it has provided a lifetime of memories. It has been years since our family has shared a meal at Far East, but perhaps it is time to get everyone together again and introduce the next generation.
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Grover and I went to the Full Kee in Bailey's Crossroads and I made the same mistake you did. Unfortunately, my memories of the Full Kee in Chinatown made me order the seafood. First, last and only time we've gone there. Shrimp that had obviously been frozen, squid like little whitewall tires... -
Lately my mom has developed a fondness for the cooking at Mama Wok, an area chain that's been around for a while (hey, a Phyllis Richman review from 1996?) but mostly off my radar. Having finally sampled the wares last night from their downtown Rockville location, I'd have to say that while perhaps not top-tier, it was very good for an inexpensive Chinese restaurant (most of which I avoid like the plague), and extremely useful for their arrangement of the entrees on their unified-language menu into sections for both Americanized and "Chinese Special" sections, so you could satisfy an broad variation of Chinese food expectations when dining with a mixed group. Sorry, I'll have to follow up later with dish names since I can't recognize them from the names on the menu, but the soft noodles were good and ropey, while the stir-fry of beef and scallions over a next of crispy thin noodles did a remarkable job of emulating Mongolian lamb. Spice levels are mainstream northern Chinese...no fancy Szechuan work here, just homey dishes if you avoid the goopy-saucy-unauthentic sections of the menu. I couldn't find websites for the two Rockville locations, but the downtown one is located in a strip mall to the right of the Giant, across Rt 355 from where N Washington St rejoins. It's next door to Atlantic Guns & Archery, if you know where that is. The other location is on the Dufief/Travilah side of town, in the old/new Rt 28 triangle where Key West Ave diverges from Darnestown Rd. -
A new star appears to have entered the Chinese restaurant firmament. TemptAsian, a rather non-descript place on Little River Turnpike, is the new home of Peter Chang, previously the chef at China Star, arguably the best local Sichuan restaurant at least until he left it several weeks ago. The menu follows the old China Star fairly closely--the Sichuan menu has 88 items in English and Chinese (there is also a Chinese-only first page with another 10 or so and a chalkboard on the wall with 7-8 more, also Chinese only). Be sure to get that menu, as there is also the usual American menu. Two visits, one with a group of 8, confirm that the quality is there, including the baby wontons, diced rabbit, ma po bean curd, Lake Windless prawns, fish with bean curd (or was it wheat gluten), etc. No weekly specials yet, and I'm not clear if these will be part of the new regime--remains to be seen. Apparently PC left CS because they were trying to have him do too many things he didn't wish to do--he has a freer hand in his new digs. The place is at 6259 Little River Turnpike. It is immediately west of 395, in the same strip center as Grand Mart and Hee Been. It is in a little building close to LRT, across the parking lot from GM and facing it. FWIW, Washingtonian gives it a favorable review in the new (July) issue which also has some useful information. -
I can't seem to find a thread on Tasty Garden so I thought I would start one. Located at the corner of 355 and Middlebrook Road (in the strip center opposite Yuraku). They have roasted meats which have all been above average. Tanks with fish, lobster, eel, crab, etc. I have tried a variety of dishes here, but the roasted chicken with crispy garlic and steamed fish (from the tank) are standouts. The fish was cooked perfectly, simply seasoned, but very tasty. Another standout is the shrimp dumpling soup. The broth in this soup is magical. I have been about 4 times and really want to keep coming back and work through the menu. The owner has always been there when I am there and is warm and willing to suggest items.
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On my way back from the library today, I stopped to pickup a lunch special from Hunan Deli, which despite it's name, serves Korean food. It's in a small strip mall on Telegraph Rd., near Rt. 1. I ordered the jjampong, a spicy seafood soup, & it is delicious. I've had a bit of a cold & congestion, & the taste of this will clear your throat right up! It's a small place w/ just a few tables, but most of them were full with folks happily eating big bowls of yummy looking food. I look forward to going back & trying something else... -
This place has opened up in the place formerly occupied by Chef Chen's. The space is much bigger than Tempt Asian but still kind of drab despite a remodel. We have been there a couple of times. They have a "Chinese menu" that is translated and easily available along with the usual Sino-American fare. We have had the spicy fish pot that was Excellent. Also loved the Nanjing salty duck, bamboo cumin fish (although the cumin could have been more pronounced and beef in dry pot. The spicy dishes are hot but not unbearable so. Talked to the owner's son one evening before he went back to school. He said they have high hopes for this location and might even consider moving the whole operation here. Asked couple of different people but didn't get an answer to why they didn't just name it Tempt Asian II. My little corner of Alexandria desperately needed a good Chinese joint. I am excited. Looking forward to reviews better written than this one.
