China Gourmet, Fairfax - Thai'd.

[cucas87]

I had lots of fun last night. And Scott, thank you, thank you for the rib. Sharing it was an act of heroism.

[mdt]

The restraint shown by the our table was not by choice.  The service was horrible!  The other table was a little closer to the door so I think the restaurant did not forget about them quite as much.  We were extremely forgotten.  Two and a half hours into our dinner, we still had not received all of our food, and it was time to go.  The kicker was when, at 8:30, we inquired as to the whereabouts of our last dish (ordered along with everything else at around 6:30), they said that they had just run out.  Not that we really wanted it anymore, but come on.  After we insisted, they were kind enough to remove it from our bill. 

The server summed it up as we were leaving when he said "don't come on Saturdays, we are too busy."  I don't really plan to return at all. 

But, the company was delightful!

Not return at all, really? Was it really that bad? I would hope that the food was prepared well enough to give them another shot.

[mame11]

BTW- I can't seem to edit my post from yesterday but I have to add the service really was off last night. They were overwhelmed. Every table in the dining room was occupied by the time we left dinner with a pretty significant wait at the door, plus take out orders.

I think we should give them time to get over growing pains now that they have a chef with a following. It was pretty obvious that we are not the only ones aware of the Chef.

Oh, and does anybody know what ingredient is "numbing"?

Thanks!

[mdt]

Oh, and does anybody know what ingredient is "numbing"?

Thanks!

A quick google search found this info from here.

Szechuan pepper is another important ingredient in Szechuan cooking. Also known as pepper flower, Chinese pepper, and fagara, Szechuan pepper is not a pepper at all. Instead, the reddish-brown fruit - one of the ingredients in five spice powder - is a berry that comes from the prickly ash tree. While not as hot as chili pepper, it does have a unique flavor, and is famous for its numbing effect on the tongue.

[jparrott]

Oh, and does anybody know what ingredient is "numbing"?

Ma la, or Sichuan peppercorns. Illegal in this country, unless the peppercorns are cooked in oil first. No, I don't know why.

[Capital Icebox]

Ma la, or Sichuan peppercorns.  Illegal in this country, unless the peppercorns are cooked in oil first.  No, I don't know why.

Importing Sichuan peppercorns into the U.S. was made legal about two years ago, as long as they are roasted beforehand. You can find them at most Asian markets.

And I can't wait to get to Szechuan Boy and have some "roasted fish." Better than crack, it is.

[lackadaisi]

Not return at all, really?  Was it really that bad?  I would hope that the food was prepared well enough to give them another shot.

Some of it was, but some of it was really not very exciting. The pearl tofu balls, the roasted fish, and the ribs were all outstanding! There weren't really any other standouts. But, I really enjoyed Temptasian a lot, and we made the trip often. Maybe I will change my mind after I begin craving the fish again, but overall, it was very frustrating, and I am not certain that I will make the trip again given the distance from where I live. The general lack of food was only part of the problem.

After we had been there for about 40 minutes, we were finally asked if we wanted beverages, a couple people responded tea, and the waiter left, not waiting for other answers. I was planning to order a beer, but as I was not given a chance to order one, I was actually fine with tea. Until the tea ran out. Then, we asked no fewer than 5 times for more tea before it arrived. At one point we thought that it was coming because the tea was headed our direction and the main server was wildly pointing at us indicating that the tea was for us. But, then it was sat on another table. We thought it would be followed by tea for us, but again, we were wrong. We encountered similar troubles when we ran out of water.

The main problem, however, was the constant wait and search for our food. I don't really know what happened. It seems that the other table got a lot of food that they didn't order. Maybe that was ours, maybe it wasn't. Either way, it was quite annoying, and even more frustrating when the waiter/manager (?) apologized to them, but not us, when we were leaving, even though half of our table ended up having to leave before they finished serving us.

Were it not for the excellent company, I would have gone the way of the table next to us that gave up after about 20 minutes without anyone acknowledging thier presence.

[Lydia R]

We were extremely forgotten.  Two and a half hours into our dinner, we still had not received all of our food, and it was time to go. 

But, the company was delightful!

It was unfortunate for the diners and the restaurant. They've been open for about three weeks and are clearly not staffed to run at full capacity. I was at the same table with Lackadaisi and nodded my head when I read her comments.

Mr. Yao was alone in the banquet room (after more than an hour got a few water runs from the busman - we never saw Jerry). The banquet room has six-ten tops. Our two tables were seated followed by three more full tables and a half-filled table. The first non-DR 10-top, seated about a 6:45, left without receiving any food and the two other ten-tops were only getting a few dishes by the time we departed. They didn't know how much time we'd invested before getting served and may have been miffed. We were without tea or our first dish for an hour after placing our order. I didn't see the traffic level in the main room, but there was a huge (multiple chafing dish) carryout order on one of the side tables when we arrived, so the kitchen was smokin'.

Great group at both of our tables - really the saving grace of the evening. Oh, and the spareribs. We also didn't have JamesG/PandaH to liaison for us. I hadn't realized, until last night, how distracting it is to wonder whether the balance of your order was lost or if the other (more aggressive) table got them by mistake.

These service issues are in stark contrast to attentive treatment we received on a ghost-town Thursday 3/16 lunch. I hope they'll get fully staffed and able to handle the demand generated from early press and word-of-mouth.

[Barbara]

I wrote about the problems on the restaurant thread. The waiter recognized some of us from the previous DR.com blowout, so maybe he thought we were regulars or something. That's not an excuse, but a possible explanation. We had to ask for more water at least twice before any showed up. Plus, tea was ordered in the beginning and didn't show up until near the end and it was not hot, too boot.

For those of us who have to make quite a trek out there, it makes sense to go with a large crowd. It is so much easier to taste a lot of different things when you are able to order so much food. The trick is to know what times to avoid--at least until the restaurant can adjust its staffing. I'd be interested to know how their clientele has changed with all the publicity in the last couple of weeks.

[RaisaB]

I was there last night also. I arrived earlier though and service was fine. These poor people were caught off guard! I was there at the same time about two Sundays ago and it was nothing like this! They had 2 waiters, the owner and his wife, and 1 busboy. I am pretty sure they had to help in the kitchen too!

Sitting 100 covers at the same time will place anyone in the weeds!

They will probably be on guard next week!

[PollyG]

My family and I were at table #2, and there were definitely times I felt as if we were at the "kid's table." We didn't have beer like table 1 (heck, there were times we didn't have water or tea, either), and all the food seemed to be going to the adult's table next to us. To be fair, though, we did get our fish in basket before they did. We had to remind the waiter that we still had dishes coming. Next time, we will need to hang onto our order sheet so we can check things off as they arrive.

For me, the highlights were the fish in the basket, the szechuan pickles, tofu pearl balls, the bracken, the ribs, and the dried beef. Nothing really had enough szechuan peppercorn to set our mouths buzzing.

The smoked sesame chicken was much more smokey than at our last visit and much improved.

We had to depart around 8:15 with 2-3 dishes yet to arrive. Y'all didn't need to be subjected to what happens if we keep the kid out past her expiration time.

Did our table ever get the braised seasonal vegetable?

Food: Good to excellent

Service: Poor

Company: Excellent

[Jlock]

I , too, was at the "invisible" table #2 last night and have to say that my first impression of China Gourmet is not too favorable.

I came expecting a feast of exotic Chinese fare - a chance to try all of the items that I have heard so much about and to get my first bite of the "fish in a basket" dish that I had loved so much at Tempt Asia. PollyG immediately began marking up her copy of the translated menu and I thought that my wishes were about to be answered. Number 41...number 17...number 5...... the list grew and grew and I was quite excited as our order was turned-in and we awaited our first dishes to arrive.

But then our wait grew, the beverages (and even the chance to order them) were slow in coming, and the dishes arrived at a snail's pace. While table number #1 was stacking plates just to make room for all of the incoming food, we were sadly spinning our lazy-susan picking at the last bits of garnish. After about half of our original order was delivered, the waiter asked us if we were "all set". The ribs, fish in a basket, spicy beef dish, smoked sesame chicken, and tofu balls were all real standouts - but I really wanted a chance to try all of the things that we originally ordered.

Clearly the China Gourmet is not ready to run at full capacity yet - and certainly not ready to host any kind of "special dinner". I will give them another chance but it would certainly be on a weeknight! I think I was better off when Peter was "missing" for a while - knowing that he's back but that I can't get to his food is all the more frustrating!

Thanks to all of my table-mates - it was a pleasure to dine with you and you made the evening fun irregardless of the service!

Jlock

(Jeff)

(year of the rat)

[lackadaisi]

Did our table ever get the braised seasonal vegetable?

No. But, I must say that I cannot complain about the temperature of the tea that we did get. It was some of the hottest tea that I have ever had.

[Geling]

Hi, I wasn't at this dinner, but I can appreciate the problems those at table #2 had getting the dishes they ordered, or thought they ordered. Sometime in the past (not sure what thread it was or perhaps it was on another site) someone asked if it was better to pre-order or order off the menu when you get there. My experience with Chinese restaurants here and in China is that a pre-ordered meal with a set price (except beverages) is the best way to go if you have more than say 8 people. This is how Chinese people often plan banquets. It makes it easier on the kitchen because then they know what to have on hand and how many servers they need. Usually they want to know "how many tables", with there usually being 8-10 per table. But it also makes it easier for the diners, it is very clear what each table has ordered because they all have the same thing and each table will get the same dishes. So, next time you have that many diners I'd suggest pre-ordering so no one misses out on any of their great dishes.

[jparrott]

I have not seen printed pre-orderable table menus at CG (there are several of them of various complexities at Fortune, Peking Gourmet, Sam Pan Cafe, etc). Perhaps we should work with them to develop a set of them--"CG 101" for first time visitors, various intermediate level menus, and the oh-so-important "Menu of dishes that don't have anything to do with their names."

[DanielK]

Sometime in the past .. someone asked if it was better to pre-order or order off the menu when you get there. 

That was me, earlier in this thread. And while I wasn't anticipating the problems that folks had at this meal, it just made sense for a group this large to have the kitchen prepared with a set meal. We certainly can't say for sure that it would have solved problems, but it seems likely they would have been lessened.

I'm sorry that it turned out the way it did, I'm doubly sorry that I had to bow out at the last minute, but I would be ready in a second for another group outing here.

With a PandaHugga pre-set menu.

[mtpleasanteater]

I ate there on a busy saturday two weekends ago and they told us as soon as we walked in that there would be a two hour wait for sezchaun food. We took our seats anyways, and we were again told that there was only one sezchaun cook and everything would take a long time. The food, most of which was good, came out promptley.

[Geling]

That was me, earlier in this thread. And while I wasn't anticipating the problems that folks had at this meal, it just made sense for a group this large to have the kitchen prepared with a set meal. We certainly can't say for sure that it would have solved problems, but it seems likely they would have been lessened.

I'm sorry that it turned out the way it did, I'm doubly sorry that I had to bow out at the last minute, but I would be ready in a second for another group outing here.

With a PandaHugga pre-set menu. 

I would be happy to get together with PandaHugga and the folks at CG to work on a set meal menu, (I speak Chinese too). But, it is also possible to just work out a meal before hand so that a seasonal or favorite dish is included, considering the number of people, and other variables. I like this method too, because then I can budget better! It might make sense to limit the number of participants to 20. Ruth

[deangold]

I hadn't realized, until last night, how distracting it is to wonder whether the balance of your order was lost or if the other (more aggressive) table got them by mistake.

There is no truth that we were packing glock 9mms and that is why were were served first. Switchblades maybe ...

They were slammed. Yao had at least half a dozen table in the main room as well as the entire banquet room. If a restaurant ever needed to drag tables before seating people it was CG last night.

[DameEdna]

Service at China Gourmet started OK, then got worse and worse.

I thought back to a friend of friends who told me (with pride) his restaurant

method (which I think is mostly his life method). Here it is:

He goes to his favorite Clyde's Restaurant, always at 5 P.M. on Tuesday. He sits at his favorite table ... his favorite server waits on him. He is treated like royalty. A control freak, for sure. It works.

Anyway, back China Gourmet ... get there early ... on a week day... preferably

when a tornado warning has been issued. And the Redskins are playing.

[johnb]

I would be happy to get together with PandaHugga and the folks at CG to work on a set meal menu, (I speak Chinese too).  But, it is also possible to just  work out a meal  before hand so that a seasonal or favorite dish is included, considering the number of people, and other variables.  I like this method too, because then I can budget better!  It might make sense to limit the number of participants to 20.  Ruth

I'm sorry I had to miss it (still feeling the effects of my brush with gastro-intestinal disaster, which was occasioned by a very occidental, not asian, restaurant I hasten to add), but it sounds like any more persons there the problems would have been even worse. Hope we can chalk it up to them being slammed rather than any longer term issue.

As to the discussion of pre-ordering, in my experience it is always better to pre-order Chinese if the group size is going to be over 10 or so. I have done it several times with reasonable success. The basic reasons are that you get a well-balanced menu (balance being the essence of Chinese dining) and you don't have the chaos of everybody trying to get in his/her perceived favorites. I'm all for trying it, and whomever wants to take the lead you have me as one of the loyal troops.

The danger is that the restaurant always tries very hard to slip in those safe, round-eye items and if you want the real stuff you have to be very firm about it. James helped with pre-ordering on one of my TemptAsian Tuesdays, and while the meal was good (and I think he'll confirm this) it wasn't the most satisfying for the group--one of the dishes was a very impressive fish, but sauced with a sweet-sour (I liked it by the way but I still hear less-than-pleased remarks about it). So whomever does it I'm up for it, but hit Jerry and Peter hard with what we want.

[PandaHugga]

A Chinese friend of ours (who also joined the initial Tuesday DR dinner with us a few weeks ago) told us that she had a similar experience on a Saturday, and that the restaurant was definitely not set up yet to accommodate the large numbers of patrons that Chef Zhang is attracting. When we were there on Friday night, however, there was no such problem.

[Scott Johnston]

The service was slow last nice, but unlike the rest of you, I feel that we had told (warned?) them ahead of time that we would have a large crowd there. Certainly a pre-order would have helped the meal get out quicker. guarenteed that we would get what we had ordered and maybe help with the water and the tea situation. I do know that when we needed rice and a OJ, it came out imediatelly. Yes they were slammed, hopefully next time we will pre-order and that will help things, but they did know that we were coming!

I look forward to a return visit.

[ScotteeM]

Yes they were slammed, hopefully next time we will pre-order and that will help things, but they did know that we were coming!

Yeah, but did they know the rest of the people in the packed restaurant were coming?

My take (and I wasn't there last night) is that these folks really weren't anticipating the buzz that follows Chef Chang like a ship's wake. They probably hadn't read the reviews of TemptAsian or China Star, and might not think their little restaurant would ever get the press it has gotten in the past 3 weeks. They've been mentioned in the Post, on the Post's blog, and in the live chats by Tom and Todd. That and the discussion here and on Chowhound and any other similar places is enough to cause a small tidal wave and swamp that restaurant.

I wondered this about TemptAsian and I wonder about China Gourmet: Does Chef Chang work 7 days a week? Does he get a day (or two) off? He did at China Star, because they were closed on Mondays. But what about at the 7-day-a-week places?

[DameEdna]

Problems will probably be worked out ... I think the idea that every person at the

table (in the group?) will get to taste every dish ... this was difficult. Progress was made,

then forgotten. Not enough of some things, then too much of others. Would traded any number of things for more ribs.

Still, I would like to go back when they are more settled. I think there are treasures to be discovered.

[lackadaisi]

I understand that they were slammed, but it was their responsibility to stop seating people when they would not be able to serve them. They did not do that.

[RaisaB]

Yeah!!! I don't think any of you who are tiffed should go back, that'll show them! And besides, that will assure a seat and Chef Chang's delicious food for me!

[Lydia R]

We had to remind the waiter that we still had dishes coming.   Next time, we will need to hang onto our order sheet so we can check things off as they arrive.

With JamesG/PandaH's permission, I'm posting a PDF of his most recent menu translation. It fits on one page and is suitable for use as an order "check list."

Did any of Sunday's diners see the manager, Jerry? If not, he may have been our missing key player. Jerry probably expedites the orders in / food out of the kitchen when the tempo rises...

James_Glucksman_Translation_040206.pdf

[Barbara]

With JamesG/PandaH's permission, I'm posting a PDF of his most recent menu translation. It fits on one page and is suitable for use as an order "check list."

Did any of Sunday's diners see the manager, Jerry? If not, that may have our missing key player. He probably expedites the orders in and food out of the kitchen when the tempo rises...

Bear in mind that the "fish in the bamboo cage" is still not on the menu.

Rocks eliminated one of my posts and moved the other so that I appear to be suffering from Alzheimer's. Never mind.

I believe that to get the best possible experience from this restaurant (as long as Chef Zhang is cooking, that is), it will take some thought and pre-planning on our part. We need to know, for example, that the absolutely wonderful "Golden Powder Ribs, etc." normally has six ribs per order. That's going to be a problem when there are more than six people at the table. This is exactly like our experience the first time with the "Hot and Numbing Beef Roll" which is cut into four pieces. We had to quickly order more of that and even then, JG didn't get any (!). Pre-ordering and going on a non-weekend night seems to be the best solution. Mr. Yao begged us to not show up on a Saturday night. Sunday night is, apparently, a problem, too--at least, and until, they work out their staffing problem.

On the other hand, the food--not to mention the price--is worth giving these people some slack, IMHO, no matter how terrible the service yesterday.

Look at it this way, "Chinese" food in this country is a direct result of what the people trying to make a living thought the public wanted. If we want a greater variety, and better product, then we simply have to give the folk at CH another shot and some constructive advice. Just my $0.02.

[PandaHugga]

Hello everyone from Beijing. I just got back to my hotel from the bookstore, where I bought a culinary dictionary so that future translations of CG's (and other restaurants') menus will be slightly more professional. In the course of looking at the books on offer, I checked them all for their entry on "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" and learned the following: there was a restaurant in Chengdu, Sichuan, that was run by a husband and wife named Guo. They served a particularly tasty dish made of slices of lung in a hot and numbing sauce. They then started to use other cuts of meat in the dish, but the dish became known as Husband and Wife Lung Slices, regardless of the meat used. Mystery solved.

[mdt]

Hello everyone from Beijing.  I just got back to my hotel from the bookstore, where I bought a culinary dictionary so that future translations of CG's (and other restaurants') menus will be slightly more professional.  In the course of looking at the books on offer, I checked them all for their entry on "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" and learned the following: there was a restaurant in Chengdu, Sichuan, that was run by a husband and wife named Guo.  They served a particularly tasty dish made of slices of lung in a hot and numbing sauce.  They then started to use other cuts of meat in the dish, but the dish became known as Husband and Wife Lung Slices, regardless of the meat used.  Mystery solved.

Is there no limit to how far one of us will go to solve a food mystery?! Thanks and enjoy your trip.

[Scott Johnston]

My brother, his girlfriend and I had a fantastic meal on Saturday night. Yao served us, he indicated that Jerry had been to the hospital and was hopefully coming back on Sunday for a 1/2 day. The restaurant was crowed, but no waiting line and a few empty tables. Clearly understaffed, they continue to do the best they are capable of. We ordered some of the usual standbys and a few new ones. My brother had a bowl of Hot and Sour soup. While very good, the soup needed a shot of black vinegar and it took us 10 minutes to flag someone down to get it. We next had a shrimp fried rice that was fantastic, full of shrimp and flavor. One funny aside, the bus/water boy was able to tell us in perfect English "I do not speak English" when we asked for some extra napkins. Next we had the Hot and Numbing Beef rolls. These are just plain addictive! The ones we had at the DR dinner were not as spicy as these were. I thought these were much better with the extra heat. Clearly wonderful. We then went on to the Fish in Bamboo, Braised Ribs in Sand, Sichuan Flavor Shrimp, and the Sharp Pepper Shrimp. We brought lots of leftovers home that were just as good the next day. My brother’s girlfriend owns several restaurants in the Philippines, and said that they serve many of the same dishes.

[Hannah]

Saturday and Sunday might be busy, but Friday evening it was damn near empty; a couple of big parties in the back room, but maybe 5 tables occupied in the main room.

We got through the hot boiled peanuts, the hot and numbing dried beef, the golden powder ribs, scallion pancake, and another dish that I think was labeled "szechuan something-or-other beef" - whatever the something or other was, it was tasty. I didn't think the dishes were all that hot, but it sounds like there's some variability, so we'll have to see what heat level we get next time.

One of the things we really noticed about all the dishes was the texture; regular Chinese all tends to be sort of squishy and heavily sauced, but the Szechuan dishes we tried were drier and had more crunch to them without losing any of the flavoring. It was a nice change.

[mdjordy]

can someone point me to the pdf of the menu? We are going on Sunday and I would like to be prepared...thanks in advance

[Hannah]

Ask for the Szechuan Boy menu at the door and they'll give you a printout.

[johnb]

Ask for the Szechuan Boy menu at the door and they'll give you a printout.

HEADS UP: The latest Washingtonian just now hitting the newsstands has Todd Kliman's review and it's very positive. I imagine it won't do anything to reduce the weekend crowds that have been mentioned lately.

I can't find the review on the Washingtonian website to link, but I will when I do if nobody else does it first.

[DanielK]

HEADS UP:  The latest Washingtonian just now hitting the newsstands has Todd Kliman's review and it's very positive.  I imagine it won't do anything to reduce the weekend crowds that have been mentioned lately.

I can't find the review on the Washingtonian website to link, but I will when I do if nobody else does it first.

I think they hold the reviews a month from the print issue before they make it to the website.

[zoramargolis]

Jonathan and I had lunch last Wednesday. It was Jonathan's first time there (he'd eaten at China Star). The place was pretty much empty. Yao was our waiter, and was friendly and helpful as usual. He discouraged us from ordering too many dishes, advising us that it wouldn't taste as good reheated if we took leftovers home. We started with dumplings with red oil and Szechuan pickle--broccoli this time. Coriander fish rolls were unavailable, but when I asked about fish in bamboo basket, Yao said it was not on the menu, but he could get it for us. It was flounder, battered and crisply fried with cilantro, garlic, chiles and ginger. Jonathan doesn't like fish that much, but he loves fried food-- is it his Penn Dutch heritage or the Y chromosome? In any case, it was a huge serving and we devoured all of it. And we ordered spare ribs with golden crumbs. We could not believe how incredibly delicious, succulent and complex the ribs were.

[PandaHugga]

We just had lunch there today (Sunday) with a group of Chinese speakers, including three actual Chinese people who had never before had Zhang's cooking, though have heard of him. They left the ordering to me for some reason, so I tried to pick out the top dishes: chicken broth wontons, Chen Cang beef with buns, Sichuan chili chicken, "boiled" fish, "fei teng" fish, ma po tofu and the golden powder spare ribs. Everything was outstanding, but the real vindication was when the group got ready to leave and everyone started to fight over who got to take what dishes home. And the real test will come tonight when we go with another group for dinner at China Star. Report to follow...

[johnb]

I have now taken the time to read Kliman's piece in Washingtoian, which I mentioned above, more carefully. It should be very interesting reading for those who have followed Chang around; it gives a lot of detail about his family, his history in the DC area and in China before that, and the role Jerry Lan (the owner of China Gourmet/China Boy) has played in developing his career in Washington. One interesting tidbit is that the Szechuan Boy name appears to have been Chang's idea.

[deangold]

Another lunch there today.

We tried #11, Nan Shan something or other, which was a rice noodle in a spicy red sauce with bits of dried shrimp. Sneaky hot. I think this dish shows the difference between Joe's and China Gourmet off very well. The same dish at Joe's is hotter, more dank and ducky is flavor, more of a jolt to the system. At china Gourmet, it is more refined, more vinegary and much less hot. But it is more complex. If I had only onne version to eat on its own, I would take Joe's by a whisper, but as part of a large meal the CG version is perfect.

We had 17. Hot and Numbing Dried Beef (ma la niu rou gan) which was incredible. THe beef is as advertized, dry and only the slightest bit chewy while still being succulent. It is again sneaky hot with the most numbing character of any dish I ahve had at CG. Very addictive. Our last starter was the chicken juice won toms. These were by far the best won tons we have had at CG, but still not in the top tier of DC area dumplings IMO. But they worked in this meal, because of their mildness adn the soothing broth. Kay is not as into hot foods and I am not sure she would have made it without them!

For entrees, we had 23. Duck Breast with Hot Pickled Mustard Tuber which turned out to be a whole smoked duck with no tuber in sight. In any case it was stunning. Better than the golden powder ribs or the smoked chicken of past trips. It was the best duck I have ever had in a Chinese restaurant,. The skin was a little crispy with a good layer of duck fat under, the meat still moise but very tender and flavorful and smokey. The last dish was supposed to be the special fried fish with no sauce served on a bamboo plate. It was a pretty standard Schezuan sliced chicken, good but nothing special.

Yao was not there so the dishes we got may not have been the dishes we ordered and the service was a little off kilter. But the meal was incredible, about 1/3 of it taken home and, with 3 Tsing Tao, $54.

[ScotteeM]

The last dish was supposed to be the special fried fish with no sauce served on a bamboo plate.  It was a pretty standard Schezuan sliced chicken, good but nothing special. 

Sounds like a little mixup! The fish in the bamboo basket is not on the menu, apparently, so may be difficult to order. But it definitely isn't chicken.

[PandaHugga]

Here's my promised comparison of lunch at China Gourmet with dinner at China Star. Two dishes from lunch were also ordered at dinner (ma po tofu and Sichuan chili chicken); in the case of the tofu, I think CG came out ahead, but that might have been because we had a vegetarian at dinner so we ordered the dish without meat. The chicken was pretty comparable between the two places. Over all, comparing the two meals as a whole, China Gourmet won out by a slight margin, but that could be due to better ordering (the dinner crowd included not only the veg, but also some older people with spice-sensitive palates). In a pinch, either one is perfectly acceptable.

[PandaHugga]

There is a rumor afoot that the peripatetic Chef Zhang is about to depart China Gourmet as early as this coming Monday! According to my source, who would not reveal where she heard this, he has been receiving "threatening phone calls" and has decided to decamp to the relative safety of the State of Georgia (Atlanta, not Tbilisi). As a service to the DR community, we are heading there tonight to try to learn more about this, and of course, a full report will follow. I will note in the meantime, however, that we were there last night for dinner and were shocked by the number of patrons there (a lot, mostly non-Chinese, though mostly ordering from the Zhang menu) and by the number of dishes not available. Also shocking was the fact that all but one of our dishes were not particularly good.

[jparrott]

Oh this is a tragedy, a great tragedy.

And it sounds like he may have already left.

Please, PH, report before tomorrow afternoon so I can get one last fix tomorrow night.

[PandaHugga]

OK, it seems that the deal is pretty complicated. First, I don't think he's gone yet, but it seems pretty clear that he is leaving. He bought a place in Atlanta and is supposed to be leaving for there pretty soon, though exactly when is unclear. And the reason for leaving is that the folks at TemptAsian are harassing him over leaving them to go to China Gourmet.

[Escoffier]

OK, it seems that the deal is pretty complicated.  First, I don't think he's gone yet, but it seems pretty clear that he is leaving.  He bought a place in Atlanta and is supposed to be leaving for there pretty soon, though exactly when is unclear.  And the reason for leaving is that the folks at TemptAsian are harassing him over leaving them to go to China Gourmet.

He'll be in Atlanta for 6 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours and 22 minutes and then he's going to move to Tarpon Springs, FL....(just kidding)

Shame, he makes Szechuan food really come alive.

[johnb]

OK, it seems that the deal is pretty complicated.  First, I don't think he's gone yet, but it seems pretty clear that he is leaving.  He bought a place in Atlanta and is supposed to be leaving for there pretty soon, though exactly when is unclear.  And the reason for leaving is that the folks at TemptAsian are harassing him over leaving them to go to China Gourmet.

Well, this is really bizarre, and I have serious doubts, BUT, if it's really true, I happen to be moving soon to a place within a short (<2 hour) drive of, yep, Atlanta. For me, leaving the local food scene is one of the big drawbacks of this plan, but maybe there is a ray of hope here. In fairness, Atlanta does have a respectable food and restaurant thing going (I've already been down there to scope it out), so all is not lost; for example, they have a shiny new Super H which makes the one in Fairfax look paltry by comparison. But if PC were manning a wok somewhere around town, that would make it a lot better.

I still think it's just too crazy to be true tho.

[B.A.R.]

It seems with Chef Chang, you've got to strike while the wok is hot. I guess I can scratch this off of my list.

[johnb]

Well, given the rumors, my sweetie and I, mostly I, decided to go out there for possibly one last occasion, and combine it with a trip to Wegmans. I hadn't been for a few weeks.

On the whole, it was a disappointment, not so much the food per se, but the front-of-the-house experience. We arrived at 6pm, waited, and were seated about 6:30. The crowd was split about 50-50 Chinese/Americans, and most seemed to be ordering the good stuff. I was surprised to see they still didn't have a decent menu but were still using Pandahugga's translation from this thread. The waiters were still carrying bad photocopies of PC's original handwritten list to translate back from the numbers to Chinese. We ordered 5 items, partly to balance the meal and insure there would be some mild things for Janet so she could enjoy being there. Of those 5 selections they were already "out of" 4. Given the general chaos, and working with multiple order-takers and harried waiters, it was very difficult to attempt to reasonably order substitutes in a short time--we again tried to order 5 but ended up being served only 3 dishes, the pork in garlic mud (the only one from our original list that made it), lion head, and boiled fish with tofu, which came out sans tofu. It was good in spite of that, while the lion head was only so-so. The pork was great. Unfortunately, while I had tried to order some milder things that Janet could enjoy, the only mild thing that arrived was the lion head and she hated it, so the meal was not pleasant for her. They also did a poor job with water and beverages.

I'm just very disappointed that the place hasn't gotten it's act together better than it has. By now they should know what to expect and be ready to deal with it. To still not have a written menu that staff and customers can work with, and worse to not get in supplies to support so much of it by 6:30 is difficult for me to understand. Yes they are getting slammed on weekends, but they are creating much of their own problems by continuing in their disorganized fashion. It's a shame.

If the rumors are untrue and PC continues to be there, I'll be back, but not on a weekend. However, I sure hope somebody gets things under control soon. If the rumors are true, it's moot anyway.

I was in such a bad mood afterward that I passed up the opportunity to load up on the $499.99/lb. fresh black truffles at Wegmans. Oh well.......