Jump to content

North China in South Bethesda - Chef "Joe" Comes From Joe's Noodle House - Closed


Recommended Posts

I thought about North China the other day.  We were in Montreal earlier in the week, at a trendy place apparently popular with chefs in the city, and they had steamed buns similar to what North China calls their "Taiwanese Style Hamburgers" (roast pork in a steamed bun, with scallions, peanuts, and other good stuff).  North China's version was better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had a family dinner at my parents' house on Friday and they asked me to pick up dinner.  North China is a about 2 blocks from my office so I thought it would be most convenient.  My dad provided some interesting insight into the longevity of this place.  Back in the lat 70's/early 80's, when the Wong family first came to this country (the family that owns Far East in Rockville (no thread)), they visited North China and decided that they would base their restaurant on their model.  (side note, Far East was our go to spot, if I ever get around to starting a Far East thread, I can add some cool stories).

So we have established that North China has been around for a long time.  Time may finally be catching up to them.  Recently, they cut their space down and got rid of the dinning room.  It is now carry out only.  The menu has a traditional American Chinese bent, with several authentic items interspersed.  This is good for my family as some are adventurous and some not so much.  The food was generally uninspired.  I ordered Ma Po Tofu-it was not an equal to any where in Rockville--Joe's, Jin River, Peter Chang.  Yellow bird had a sour flavor to it.  Steamed fish was a puny one.  There was nothing wrong or outright bad about the food, it was just uninspired.  Perhaps my tastes have matured and I enjoy more authentic Chinese food, but next time, I am in this position, I will probably figure it out so we can get food from Rockville instead of Bethesda.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading back through this thread, North China seems like it has undergone both a change in concept, and at least two changes in ownership - is "Joe" from Joe's Noodle House still here, or is he long-gone? It's very hard to tell from the posts, and I haven't been back here in several years. This place used to be pretty solid, but that was over five years ago (it's been dropping a bit in the Dining Guide). People also don't realize just how good Joe's Noodle House was - before places started opening in downtown Rockville and north, Joe's was the only serious Szechuan game in town unless you want to consider old-school Peter Chang. First-generation Chinese-Americans would consistently tell me, 'It's Joe's, and not much else.'

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like it's closed. Went to order takeout and the number was disconnected. Driving by today there was new name on the front window, I think it was Banana Leaves Asian Cafe. I need to find a new take out place in downtown Bethesda. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/1/2017 at 11:17 PM, Lobozooma said:

Looks like it's closed. Went to order takeout and the number was disconnected. Driving by today there was new name on the front window, I think it was Banana Leaves Asian Cafe. I need to find a new take out place in downtown Bethesda. 

Well that sucks - that was our delivery place also. If you find something you like, throw it up here!

I knew they'd been contracting their space for a while. They got rid of the dining room a few years ago. Which is too bad - that's the first place I ever took a date (like 1986.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/1/2017 at 11:17 PM, Lobozooma said:

Looks like it's closed. Went to order takeout and the number was disconnected. Driving by today there was new name on the front window, I think it was Banana Leaves Asian Cafe. I need to find a new take out place in downtown Bethesda. 

House of Foong Lin is a pretty good replacement, if not exactly downtown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...