Q - The Flagship Restaurant of Peter Chang, 4500 East-West Highway in Bethesda

[pras]

Update on the Bethesda Fine Dining Location, which reports a May opening (credit--Bethesda Magazine)

[pras]

Q by Peter Chang sets May opening date (credit--Robert Dyer)

[silentbob]

Soft opening is this weekend.  I skimmed through menus and it looks like many items already served at his other restaurants are $3 more at Q.  Lots of unique stuff here though.

[Ericandblueboy]

The menu doesn't look particularly upscale for an upscale Chinese joint and it doesn't seem to target Chinese clients.  Pricing of some dishes seem strange, for example, why is Mapo Tofu $26 when most of the other seafood dishes cost less?

That dopey menu needs work.

[silentbob]

20 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

The menu doesn't look particularly upscale for an upscale Chinese joint and it doesn't seem to target Chinese clients.

Unfortunately, my parents agree.  Every time we eat at one of his restaurants, they comment on the prices and imply that very few of their friends would ever go.  Also, there definitely don't seem to be many "banquet"-like menu items.

P.S.  Then again, my parents say that about any nice restaurant where we take them, always citing how it would be much more cost-effective to eat at a Chinese restaurant and/or do carry out "so you don't have to tip as much or at all" (sigh).

[Simul Parikh]

Maybe it's a typo laden beta? How in the world is Peking duck $16? Or am I misunderstanding what the 16 means?

Last time I went to PC Arlington, parts of the meal were as good as what I had in Chengdu. 

[DanielK]

Maybe it's only a half duck for $16?

[mtureck]

44 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

Maybe it's a typo laden beta? How in the world is Peking duck $16? Or am I misunderstanding what the 16 means?

Last time I went to PC Arlington, parts of the meal were as good as what I had in Chengdu. 

That was my first reaction to the menu as well. Maybe $16 per person?

On the other hand, I like the sound of the $16 lunch dim sum platter:

Peter's Dim Sum Platter

Experience lunch curated through Peter’s eyes. This selection includes 9 seasonally rotating Dim Sum & Cold dishes careful chosen by Peter himself.

[Simul Parikh]

$45 at Peking Gourmet for full duck. Must be $16 a person or the menu is just a mock up and not the real thing. 

[DonRocks]

It's a page number, unless it's just a small portion - these ducks are not roasted to order, and there's no reason why one duck can't be parceled out between multiple parties.

Full Kee has Peking Duck on their menu for "$16.95+".

[Simul Parikh]

It's a page number, unless it's just a small portion - these ducks are not roasted to order, and there's no reason why one duck can't be parceled out between multiple parties.

Awww ... but then you don't get the guy chopping it up at your table. It's the best part! I guess he could chop it up and give you some and then go on to another table.

[JonS]

22 hours ago, DonRocks said:

It's a page number, unless it's just a small portion - these ducks are not roasted to order, and there's no reason why one duck can't be parceled out between multiple parties.

Full Kee has Peking Duck on their menu for "$16.95+".

Their online menu says: "Servings for two 6 slices duck skin, 8 slices duck meat, 4 pancakes scallion, cucumber, maple syrup sauce, PKD sauce, sweet garlic paste."

[Simon]

On May 9, 2017 at 0:52 PM, silentbob said:

Soft opening is this weekend.  I skimmed through menus and it looks like many items already served at his other restaurants are $3 more at Q.  Lots of unique stuff here though.

What items look most interesting from a first read of the menu?  I remember Chang saying (or someone saying) in the press that he'd be at his flagship regularly because the dishes would be more complex...

[silentbob]

13 hours ago, Simon said:

What items look most interesting from a first read of the menu?  I remember Chang saying (or someone saying) in the press that he'd be at his flagship regularly because the dishes would be more complex...

The dishes with five peppers next to them, the dim sum platter mentioned above, kumquat beef, and "guai" (translates to strange in Mandarin) flavored chicken casserole are all intriguing to me.

[Ericandblueboy]

Chili prawns and Sichuan dry steamed fish interests me.  

[pras]

More coverage from Bethesda Magazine.  I can't wait to try the new spot.  I will also be in WIlliamsburg next week and have plans to try the location there.

[Ericandblueboy]

OMG, who picked out those chairs?

[DonRocks]

13 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

OMG, who picked out those chairs?

Ancient Chinese secret.

[Ericandblueboy]

Even Calgon can't take me away from the sight of those chairs.

[mtureck]

I stopped by the soft opening at lunch today, and tried the dim sum platter, 9 pieces selected by the kitchen, sort of a dim sum omakase. 

I know you don't exactly think "dim sum" when you think of Peter Chang, but it made for a enjoyable lunch. 

As you can see if my picture attached correctly, it was a nice variety...nothing truly transcendent, but very good all around. Could have been a bit more food for the price, but certainly not dramatically undersized. 

Apparently I was the first person to ever order this...soft openings are fun! They asked for feedback after the meal, and then I was on my way. 

And yes, Peter is there, wandering the dining room and seemingly inspecting everything.

I look forward to going back with family and friends and digging into the spicer side of the menu. 

Parking isn't intuitive there...that could be an issue...but there is a big garage right around the corner if you know where to look. 

[DonRocks]

10 minutes ago, mtureck said:

As you can see if my picture attached correctly, it was a nice variety...nothing truly transcendent, but very good all around. Could have been a bit more food for the price, but certainly not dramatically undersized. 

Thanks for the picture. What are those "corn-muffin"-looking things in the corners? It seems like this is fairly starch-heavy, not that that's a bad thing - how much was it?

[mtureck]

11 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Thanks for the picture. What are those "corn-muffin"-looking things in the corners? It seems like this is fairly starch-heavy, not that that's a bad thing - how much was it?

I believe it was $16 and the two in the corner are sweet buns, one with chicken and one with custard. I think the chicken bun was my favorite of the nine..a nice sweet/savory combo with a little crunch. The sesame ball was also surprisingly good...I'm not normally a fan. 

And yes, a little more protein and a little less starch probably would have improved the balance a bit in general. 

[jasonc]

12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Thanks for the picture. What are those "corn-muffin"-looking things in the corners? It seems like this is fairly starch-heavy, not that that's a bad thing - how much was it?

they are called pineapple buns but they don't have pineapple in them!

[DonRocks]

[Just to let folks know, I've split this into a separate thread.]

[MMM]

My husband and I had a latish (8:30) dinner here on Monday night.  There were only a smattering of other diners at that time, in the spacious, semi-industrial dining room.  We were disappointed in the food.  We sampled 5 orders: Scallion Bubble Pancake, Salt & Pepper Calamari, Cilantro Fish Roll, Hot & Numbing Fish in Clay Pot (3 red peppers), and Cumin Lamb Chops (3 red peppers). The Bubble Pancake was puffed and crispy, although pretty greasy (of course it is deep-fried).  The accompanying curry dipping sauce was insipid.  The calamari were crispy and tasty but also very greasy.  The fish roll was fine but I didn't taste the cilantro and thought it was just bland.  Clay Pot Fish was nicely cooked with some scallops and shrimp as well as pieces of fish, but in no way "hot and numbing."  Once again it was pretty bland.  The most interesting dish was the lamb chops.  They were coated in tasty spice and cooked quite rare with a pleasant melange of vegetables.  I did appreciate the fact that there is an inexpensive rose´ on the menu.  The service was attentive and friendly - just fine.  I always wonder when I'm unimpressed with restaurant food, that is supposed to be exceptional, whether I just ordered the wrong things.  That could be.  I'm sure we'll try it again.  My husband really wanted to try the Peking Duck, which in fact is $16 for an appetizer serving for 2 people.  We will also try some of the dishes which are labeled as more spicy.

[silentbob]

On 5/16/2017 at 3:52 AM, jasonc said:

they are called pineapple buns but they don't have pineapple in them!

Yeah, I think they are called "bolo bao" and sold in much larger form at most Asian bakeries in town.  I like the ones at Bread Corner just fine, but anyone ever traveling to Asia should try the ones at BreadTalk if possible.

[Ericandblueboy]

3 hours ago, MMM said:

 I always wonder when I'm unimpressed with restaurant food, that is supposed to be exceptional, whether I just ordered the wrong things.  

You ordered mostly from his "greatest hits" list so it's either your taste buds are screwy or the dishes weren't well seasoned. 

BTW, that dim sum platter pictured looks awful in terms of make-up.  Why so heavy on sweets?  If Peter ate that for lunch, he wouldn't be so slim.

[mtureck]

2 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

BTW, that dim sum platter pictured looks awful in terms of make-up.  Why so heavy on sweets?  If Peter ate that for lunch, he wouldn't be so slim.

I probably needed to add something to the pic for purpose of scale, but the buns were pretty small...maybe half the size of a normal pineapple bun, if not a little smaller.

It didn't make for a big lunch at all.

 

 

[Ericandblueboy]

2 hours ago, mtureck said:

I probably needed to add something to the pic for purpose of scale, but the buns were pretty small...maybe half the size of a normal pineapple bun, if not a little smaller.

It didn't make for a big lunch at all.

I wonder if a Chinese person ordered the dim sum platter, he/she would have received the same items.  I can easily spend $20 on dim sum by myself (that's without any leftovers).  $16 is to appease the budget conscious diners, but then you wouldn't get a whole lot of food.  I get it, running a restaurant is tough....people like me find reasons to bitch and moan.

[mtureck]

8 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I wonder if a Chinese person ordered the dim sum platter, he/she would have received the same items.  I can easily spend $20 on dim sum by myself (that's without any leftovers).  $16 is to appease the budget conscious diners, but then you wouldn't get a whole lot of food.  I get it, running a restaurant is tough....people like me find reasons to bitch and moan.

That's actually something I should have mentioned to them when they asked for input...not if a Chinese person would have gotten something else, but that I was a little disappointed that the selection was so mainstream. I was hoping there would be a little more uniqueness/flair.

Again, nitpicking here. I enjoyed it.

[Lydia R]

There's a "First Bite" review from Tom Sietsema. He relates mixed experiences that he thinks time will heal. The article includes photos, by Dayna Smith, of the PK Duck app and Coral Fish. The revelation, for me, is the dim sum on weekends (Tom doesn't comment on the weekday Dim Sum lunch box).

[Shaho]

Had a large group dinner in one of the private rooms last weekend. Didn't pay much attention to the main dining room, but the private rooms are nicely decorated, with space for 15-20 diners. Appetizers (Bubble Pancakes, Dry Fried Eggplant, Bamboo Fish) were good and largely the same as the Rockville location, maybe $1 more in price. Wasn't a fan of the Steamed Rice Flour Beef - the texture was mushy, meat was tough, and the flavors were more sour than savory - but the Peking Duck  was solid and fairly priced, and came with a few exceptionally sweet orange slices that worked surprisingly well in the pancake. The "Veggie Box" dish Tom mentioned was fantastic, a wonderful blend of various diced vegetables wrapped in tofu skin and served in a brown mushroom sauce. 

Our waitress recommended everyone order an individual entree rather than the normal Chinese family style meal, so I didn't have a chance to try too many dishes. The Kumquat Beef was similar to Black Pepper Beef, but didn't really mesh well with the kumquats, which were extremely sour on first bite, followed by a mellow sweetness. The Beef with Dill definitely did not come on a sizzling iron plate, and along with the Shrimp and Scallops dish was just sort of bland. The Guai Flavored Chicken Casserole was essentially a spicy Thai curry with added sour notes, and was good. Friends seemed to enjoy the Coral Fish, though the bit I tried was more batter than fish. Presentations were definitely a step up from the Rockville location, with elegant-looking traditional Chinese pots used for several of the dishes. Overall Q was a bit disappointing for the price point, but there are definitely some gems on the menu. I plan to come back at some point to try some of the other more exotic sounding dishes and their dim sum menu.

[Genevieve]

On 5/17/2017 at 2:00 PM, silentbob said:

Yeah, I think they are called "bolo bao" and sold in much larger form at most Asian bakeries in town.  I like the ones at Bread Corner just fine, but anyone ever traveling to Asia should try the ones at BreadTalk if possible.

Are there Asian bakeries in Chinatown (DC) that you would recommend? I love pineapple buns, sesame balls, etc. and I know a few places in Chinatown have them, but I have fared badly just stopping into random places (couldn't find pineapple buns or sesame balls, and while I'm happy to try new treats, I got a mooncake that was utterly stodgy and not worth the indulgence, and another not very good bun or two).

[chinarider]

We had lunch here yesterday and I have little to add to what others have mentioned: the food is similar to the Rockville location, but somewhat more expensive. A few more options, particularly dim sum, which were solid but not stunning. There were also some service issues, nothing major but they seem to be still finding their feet a little. There were no dipping sauces for the dim sum - not sure if this was intentional.

I didn't love the decor - they hadn't opened the outside seating despite the nice weather, so we were sitting in a booth against a large, plain grey wall. 

All in all, a good option, but I wanted to like it more than I did. It is expensive without being opulent. I will go back to try a few new things on the menu, but so far I am not optimistic that this is going to be a more exciting place to eat than some of the places in Rockville.

[mtureck]

16 hours ago, chinarider said:

There were no dipping sauces for the dim sum - not sure if this was intentional.

I was given two sauces with my dim sum, a hot pepper oil, and a garlic sauce.

Sounds like a service issue.

[sandynva]

We had a wonderful brunch here yesterday. If you're an admirer of Chang's food, you should definitely go, and I say this as someone who was initially put off a bit by the prices and lukewarm reviews above. 

I go to the rockville location of peter chang often and the food i get there is all about ma la, cumin, coriander and a bit of sour. what surprised me (and my dining companions, who also like Chang's food) is how different what we had yesterday was, yet it was still great. we deliberately stayed away from ordering things we get at the other restaurants, and ended up focusing on the dim sum, which incidentally seems like it might be a better value than the dinner menu. for example, on the regular menu vegetable dumplings are $8 for 4, and duck bao are $7 for 2. i think the barbecue pork bao on the dim sum menu were $5. most of the dim sum items were $5-6 and you would get 2 larger items (like buns) or 3 smaller (vegetable rolls or soup dumplings). (apologies for not taking a picture of the dim sum menu) 

We ordered a lot, so much that i can['t remember it all, but this is what i do remember-

barbeque pork bao-i didn't have these but others enjoyed them

taro puffs, soup dumplings, hot and sour wontons--supposedly all excellent, though as these had meat i didn't try them. my companions said the texture on the taro was particularly good 

vegetable rolls--the soft noodle crepes filled with vegetables--most places only have meat versions, so i was very happy to have these, the chewy texture was great. 

vegetable and noodle stir fry--a simple stir fry of fresh vegetables with chewy broad noodles almost like the ones in drunken noodles--simple but lots of that fresh wok flavor, more so than any dish i can remember having recently. i don't know that i'd get these again--there are so many other things that were absolutely great and in general i prefer strong flavors to subtle--but these were very good for what they are. 

schezuan noodles--angel hair with a hot and numbing sauce with a nice note of sourness. very good. 

summer squash emerald noodle--GET THESE. green linguine with thin noodles of zucchini in a curry sauce. I add zucchini to pasta quite often to make it healthier. This was totally different--the ribbons of squash somehow made the noodles juicy and really contributed to the texture and the sauce was absolutely delicious. so good. 

vegetable dumplings (off the dinner menu)--the dumplings were very good, the translucent wrapper nicely chewy yet tender, and the dumplings flavorful, and came with two sauces, one chil garlic the other some sort of soy mustard thing that was delicious. 

vegetable box--as people have said this is great. i mostly enjoyed the sauce, which didn't taste of mushrooms as much as pure umami. the little envelopes of stuffed tofu skin are nice (though a little hard to cut) but the dominant flavor is that sauce, which even the mushroom haters liked. i think we all would've been happy to have a bunch of that sauce poured over anything. this is a pretty large plate, with four palm-size tofu envelopes and a lot of bok choi

The service was great, really friendly and attentive, and very solicitous of our infant, and when our waiter heard we were fans of the chef, he had him come out and meet us, which was so sweet. 

We'll be back again, and soon. 

[schulju]

A group of 5 of us (2 of my companions were from Southern China), tried Q for the first time Thursday night.  We all had positive impressions overall and wanted to return for the dim sum brunch.  This was a business dinner, so I didn't take any pictures.  Interestingly enough, the person picking up the tab thought the bill was very reasonable for the amount of food we had.  

We started with four of the dim sum appetizers.  I loved the texture of the Scallion Bubble Pancake when it arrived at the table, but it does get a bit greasy as it cools.  We all really enjoyed the Cilantro Fish Rolls, these were crispy and the cilantro gave them a pleasant flavor.  Pan Fried Pork Dumplings were good, a bit more gyoza than dumpling, but the meat had a very nice flavor.  The only appetizer we didn't love was the Joyful Pyramid Dumplings.  These were beautifully presented, each dumpling having a different color wrapper, but they were over-steamed and the wrappers were too soft.  They fell apart as you tried to remove them from the bamboo steamer.  

We reserved a whole duck.  I was a bit disappointed in the Peking Duck.  It was sliced very thickly, which means it was a bit greasy.  It also came to the table a barely warm.  (The duck is carved and plated in the kitchen.)  One of our party was quite late (almost 45 minutes) so I'm prepared to chalk this up to the kitchen having to hold the entree, but next time I'll only try the appetizer before I order the whole duck again.  

In addition to the 4 appetizers and the duck we ordered two entrees.  Perfect amount of food for 5 hungry people.  I loved the Fu Rong Chicken.  I am not one for really spicy dishes, so this was right up my alley.  The chicken absolutely melted in the mouth and there were a ton of bright, crisp veggies with the dish.  Highly recommend for those that want to retain some of their stomach lining.  My colleagues absolutely loved the Hot and Numbing Fish in Clay Pot.  This dish arrives at the table boiling hot and remains really hot the whole time we were there.  This was a bit too hot for me, I only tried a bit of the broth on some rice.  The broth was rich and complex.  My spice loving friends didn't think it was numbing hot, but they enjoyed it quite a bit.  

All in all a great experience, but not a replacement for Peking Gourmet Inn, unfortunately.  I keep looking for a reason to never have to go to PGI again.  

I can't wait to go back for a dim sum brunch.  I will report back once I've had the opportunity.  

[schulju]

Third trip to Q in 6 weeks and second dim sum brunch.  While the dim sum menu is small it is filled with high quality tasty bites!  There were four of us and we ordered up a storm.  We had taro puffs, almond shrimp balls, soup dumplings, shrimp dumplings and egg tarts from the dim sum menu as well as the pan fried dumplings, Peking Duck appetizer, Kung Pao chicken and Dry Steamed snapper from the dinner menu.  The dim sum was all excellent.  The almond shrimp balls were unique and very good.  The broth in the soup dumplings was really tasty, although these are probably more petite than the soup dumplings you've had other places.  The Kung Pao chicken is a favorite.  The only dish that was not excellent was the snapper, and that could be because it wasn't what we were expecting.  The fish is hidden beneath a pretty thick layer of shredded "stuff"...it was okay, but the fish itself didn't have much flavor.  

I've probably OD'ed on Q a bit, but it's nice to find a place that offers dim sum and a full menu so that both my husband and I can enjoy visiting (he's not a dim sum fan).  There are a number of people in my circle who want to give Q a try...so I'll likely keep going!

[zgast]

Had a pleasant Labor Day lunch at Q today. Stuck with Dim Sum and appetizers along with a bottle of the house rose mentioned above (thank your for pointing that out - we were quite pleased with that bottle for just $22 and might have skipped over it).  Favorites were the Emerald Noodles, Cold Szechuan Noodles, and Hot and Numbing Wontons.  The dry fried eggplant was good, but seemed far more 'toned down' than I've experienced in Rockville location - bring back the spices! The BBQ pork bao, chicken baked bun, and bubble pancake were all good as well, but were just superseded by the first dishes mentioned.  

Surprisingly, it was a relatively cheap lunch for four at under $100 including the bottle of wine, proving that although it might be slightly more expensive than its sister restaurants, it's certainly not an expensive meal out.  Will definitely return soon as this one's just blocks from the house.

[Ericandblueboy]

Does anyone know if they serve the brunch menu in addition to the lunch menu on weekends or in lieu of?

[zgast]

9 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Does anyone know if they serve the brunch menu in addition to the lunch menu on weekends or in lieu of?

We were able to order from both on Labor Day, so I'd assume (famous last words) that this is true on the weekends as well.

[rorkin]

Disappointing.. limited menu. Nothing outstanding. Big cavernous space

[jasonc]

8 hours ago, rorkin said:

Disappointing.. limited menu. Nothing outstanding. Big cavernous space

Details!

[Ericandblueboy]

Had dinner there.  Much of the menu are dishes available at other Chang restaurants, and then there're the Chinese-style American food.

We started with half a Peking duck for $35.  The crepes were thin yet resilient.  The condiments included the normal plum and a slightly hot sauce.  The toppings included scallions and cucumbers.  Most importantly, the duck was tasty.  I think they may be the best Peking duck in the DC area, but China Wok charges $35 for a whole duck.

The other 2 apps we had were crispy pork belly (also available at other Chang joints) and cumin shrimp with okra.  Should've realized that the seasoning on the shrimp wouild be the same as the crispy pork belly - but the shrimp was very good - very crispy exterior and yet tender (kinda like that other cumin dish, dried fried eggplant).  The shrimp would've been great in a po-boy sandwich.

The 2 entrees were snow pea tips (excellent) and some bizarre noodle dish - Fermented Bean Paste Beef Tenderloin w/ Rice Noodle - this is not really Chinese food, the beef was cut too thick and too big to eat with chopsticks, and it was cooked to medium rare.  The dish came with some chopped carrots and asparagus that looked steamed, and the whole thing was served on top of chow fun and you have to mix it up yourself.  I would never order this again and even if it was free, I wouldn't eat it.

[sandynva]

i sadly haven't been able to make it back since opening, due to general busyiness on my part, no flaw of theirs. but i was looking over the menu online today (for a possible trip soon) and it seems that the menu has some significant changes. there are some new items which look delicious--i'm especially excited about some that appear to use "olive vegetable" a condiment that i love and don't understand why it's not used more as an ingredient, so it'll be neat to see what he does with it. on the minus side, the emerald noodles i loved no longer seem to be present, but maybe they are a summer thing. 

[ktmoomau]

I still haven't been to Q yet, but my brother ordered delivery for us from there the other night.  Bless his heart- he was like, "we need to stick with things that are like 2 peppers or less, even two peppers is spicy."  I didn't laugh in his face.  But after being to China and eating the amount of spicy food I have eaten, 2 peppers didn't even register as spicy to me.  Hubby said one of the dishes was spicy, I can't even tell you which, I didn't think so.  My digestive system apparently registered some spice later in the evening.  Anyway, my brother might not be a great candidate for traveling to Chengdu anytime soon.  We got the dry fried eggplant, pork belly app, pepper and garlic shrimp, bamboo flounder fish, stir fried veggies and a chicken dish that tasted very american chinese to me- maybe orange chicken.  My favorite dishes were the eggplant- which I really liked and could easily eat a whole serving of by myself because it had a really nice non-greasy and firm texture with eggplant taste to it, the fish was really good even on delivery, which surprised me, I like the texture.  The shrimp was I thought a tasty more pedestrian dish, a good compromise dish.  Anyway, the delivery menu was somewhat limited, I wouldn't mind going to the restaurant and trying a few different things.  

[Charles Tsui]

Since returning from our most recent trip to Hong Kong two weeks ago, we've been jonesing for some dim sum. Decided to try the weekend lunch at Q (we've been very happy with their dinner dishes). I tempered my expectations as Peter doesn't have a Cantonese cooking background, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Overall, I'd rate everything at least average quality by HK standards. By comparison, I've never felt that the dim sum offerings at Oriental East, China Garden, or Mark's Duck House would've made the cut beyond the local market.

Stand outs: the sticky rice sesame balls (莲蓉芝麻球) were impossibly light and had an unexpected orange zest flavor. The egg tarts (蛋挞) were well-baked and not greasy; a little bit of leopard spotting hinted at the Macanese/pasteis de nata style that I love.

The restaurant was only about half full on a Saturday. A bit of a surprise given the lines around the block at Oriental East back in the day. Yes, Peter Chang's prices are higher, but hardly prohibitive and you certainly get what you pay for. Menu ordering is also so much more civilized than chasing after carts (which have all but disappeared from HK, SF, NYC and Vancouver/Toronto dim sum restaurants).

[DPop]

I see that the whole duck is now $68.  Is it worth it?

[DPop]

With a hankering for Peking Duck and bored of going to the same 4-5 places that we always go, my wife and I decided to venture out to Bethesda for a late dinner on Saturday.  Wary about what we might come upon based on the reviews we read here, we decided to order "wide" in the hopes that at least two of the things, and most importantly the duck, would be hits.  Lucky for us, everything we ordered we loved, and we will certainly be moving this place firmly into our rotation.

To start, we got one of our favorite dishes from Arlington, the Dry-fried Eggplant and the Half Duck.  The eggplant was fried and spiced to perfection, this would be an awesome snack to have at my Super Bowl party this weekend.  The duck was what we were hoping it would be and far superior to the one that I had at Peking Gourmet Inn.  Well prepared and plated, this was unctuous without being fatty and greasy, served with lovely light pancakes and fresh, crisp cucumbers and green onions alongside 2 sauces.  This is up there with The Source's preparation, leaning more to the traditional, and really delicious if a bit expensive.

Already feeling a bit full and satisfied, we realized we over ordered even prior to the huge portions of Double Cooked Pork Belly, Grandma's Country Style Chili Chicken, and Stir Fried Snow Pea Tips arriving.  The pork belly has been a favorite in the past in visits to Arlington, and while this version didn't disappoint, it didn't have the level of heat that it has had in the past.  I would still order this again, but it was the least popular dish at the table.  My wife loved the chicken, which came with a 4 pepper rating on the menu and was way too spicy for my taste.  The snow pea tips, which were initially ordered as just a way to add some green to the table, might have been my favorite dish all night.  Garlicky, bitter, and well cooked, these were soft but still had bite in their spines and complemented everything that we had perfectly.  A lovely dish that I left wanting to make for myself at home.

This wasn't a cheap meal and has to be one of, if not the most, expensive Chinese restaurants in the area, but it was right in our wheelhouse. 

[sandynva]

 Had some very good carry out from here last night. 

 The shredded tofu skin with hot numbing sauce was great.  The texture of the tofu skins was much more delicate and tender than it is at peter Chang Rockville. I don’t know if the version at Q is  generally superior, or if in the few months since I’ve been to one of the other Peter Chang outpost they’ve changed how they make the skins, but either way it was very nice. 

 The fresh lily Dan Dan noodles were great-really well seasoned,  and the  pieces of fresh lily bulb in it were a revelation. I hadn’t ever had those before and loved them. Their sweet juiciness was also a nice counterpoint to the heat of the noodles. 

 The other dish that really impressed me was the black mushrooms  with Rosemary.    This is a sort of stew with a large  amount of sliced mushrooms in it. Mostly shiitake’s, but some other things too.    This was a deeply savory umami bomb, and I loved it.    As a vegetarian I rarely come across dishes with this deep, deep savoryness. 

[saf]

I have had a serious craving for Chinese food for a very long time. (Anyone got any suggestions closer to Petworth? Oh, and I really want dim sum.)

So, for Valentine's day, we ordered from Q. Went kinda basic, but not knowing how it would travel, I wanted things that would hit the basic craving. We had vegetable fried dumplings, and vegetable spring rolls. I had sweet and sour sliced pork. He had cumin lamb chops. And we were happy. Food traveled fairly well, just got a little less crispy.

[mtureck]

On 7/28/2021 at 9:39 PM, chinarider said:

I wanted to like this place. At least, I love southeast Asian street food. But when I saw the menu I knew it wasn’t going to be great. A mishmash of Korean, Singaporean, Japanese Chinese etc. No rendang

as feared, everything was a dumbed-down version. Papaya salad with no kick, terrible (inedible) Szechuan wontons...skewers were fine, as were summer rolls. But, as feared, if you want good Asian food you still need to pay top dollar at Q, or head on up to Rockville...

I haven't had anything at Q worth top dollar in a while, but I suppose that's a matter for another thread.