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A&J, The Tang Family's Fine Taiwan-Based Chain in Rockville and Annandale


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Had dinner with some friends the other night. I have no idea what they ordered but will take a stab at describing it and seeing if I can find it on the menu.

Cucumbers in chili oil was good, pretty standard.

Xia Long Bao I let sit too long on the table, but were good, could use a bit more broth, but were fine.

Dry Bean Curd, cilantro and peanut salad was ok, not my favorite of the bean curd dishes, but it was fine.

Bean Curd with thousand year egg was my least favorite dish, but I liked the texture, it was kind of like ricotta, I don't know if it had dairy in it or not, didn't seem to, which was cool.

There was a bean curd dish with mushrooms that had really thin pieces, I thought this was successful and had nice flavor from the mushrooms.

Thousand Layer Pancake which wasn't my favorite either.

Cold noodles with ham, bean sprouts, shredded egg and cucumber was quite tasty, an interesting combo of flavors and crunch. Hubby particularly liked this dish.

We also had a bowl of soup that wasn't distinguishable enough in any way for me to pick from the list which one it was, but I thought it was excellent, as well, it had tendon in it is all I know, the broth was really good.

And passionfruit bubble tea. There may have been some other things I missed. Overall it was really good, I would like to go back and try some other things. I think Hubby would like a less bean curd centric ordering, but we told them to order their favorites and it was a fun first visit, will definitely be back.

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We are testing two new menu items and I would love to get feedback from the good folks of Don Rockwell.  Neither is on the menu yet but the first we're thinking of calling a Peking Beef Roll.  The flavor profiles are similar to Peking Duck but with beef instead.  The next item is a spicy noodle dish, you can get it with or without sliced beef.  If you ask the waitresses for the new menu items they will know what you're talking about.  Thanks in advance for any feedback, positive or negative!

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We are testing two new menu items and I would love to get feedback from the good folks of Don Rockwell.  Neither is on the menu yet but the first we're thinking of calling a Peking Beef Roll.  The flavor profiles are similar to Peking Duck but with beef instead.  The next item is a spicy noodle dish, you can get it with or without sliced beef.  If you ask the waitresses for the new menu items they will know what you're talking about.  Thanks in advance for any feedback, positive or negative!

Is this at both locations?

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We are testing two new menu items and I would love to get feedback from the good folks of Don Rockwell.  Neither is on the menu yet but the first we're thinking of calling a Peking Beef Roll.  The flavor profiles are similar to Peking Duck but with beef instead.  The next item is a spicy noodle dish, you can get it with or without sliced beef.  If you ask the waitresses for the new menu items they will know what you're talking about.  Thanks in advance for any feedback, positive or negative!

Well, I can say in advance that (assuming this is a soft, cold shell), the Peking Beef Roll has an excellent flavor profile on paper. It sounds like these would be two really good items to get together.

Actually, a warm, crispy shell seems like it would work, too.

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We are testing two new menu items and I would love to get feedback from the good folks of Don Rockwell.  Neither is on the menu yet but the first we're thinking of calling a Peking Beef Roll.  The flavor profiles are similar to Peking Duck but with beef instead.  The next item is a spicy noodle dish, you can get it with or without sliced beef.  If you ask the waitresses for the new menu items they will know what you're talking about.  Thanks in advance for any feedback, positive or negative!

Are these cold or hot dishes?

Either way, can't wait to try them!

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Both dishes are hot. The roll/wrap is a little crispy on the outside. Also thicker and not soft like a traditional Peking duck pancake.

Nice! I plan on stopping in first chance I get: Friday afternoon. Hopefully both are still available then.

I suppose one question: for the noodle dish, do you recommend with or without the beef?

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Tried them both at lunch today--$16 total (not sure of the price breakdown between them).  I enjoyed them both, and might order the "peking beef" again as part of a group meal; but neither stood out enough to make it a must-order item -- there are simply too many other things (most of them starch-based) on the A&J menu that I like better!

 

We are testing two new menu items and I would love to get feedback from the good folks of Don Rockwell.  Neither is on the menu yet but the first we're thinking of calling a Peking Beef Roll.  The flavor profiles are similar to Peking Duck but with beef instead.  The next item is a spicy noodle dish, you can get it with or without sliced beef.  If you ask the waitresses for the new menu items they will know what you're talking about.  Thanks in advance for any feedback, positive or negative!

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Thank you so much for your feedback, Marty. I will pass it along to my family.

Debbie:  I'm really not sure I would change anything, except possibly to add a bit more kick--more depth of flavor--to the spicy noodles.  And there's no reason at all not to put them on the menu--I'm really glad to see the experimentation, and I'll bet the Peking Beef will be a big seller.  I just suspect they won't be at the very top of my A&J List, that's all.

P.S.  For a point of reference with other Rockwellian reports to follow, I had mine at the Rockville location.

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I sent this report earlier to Debbie privately, referencing a dinner that I had at Rockville this evening. I'm the same boat as Marty - liked and would order both again, but none rise to "must order" status.

We liked both dishes.

The noodles were great, but we're not sure if it was supposed to be more like soup or more like just sauce. It was a bit thin and too much liquid to just be sauce, but not enough liquid if it was meant to be broth/soup.

The rolls were good, but the sweet sauce overwhelms the beef, and the scallions don't cut the sweetness enough. *Very* similar to a dish at Bob's Shanghai, but we (sorry!) prefer their version right now.

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Mostly agreed with DanielK, except I wouldn't fault the noodle dish in any way.  Yes, they were brothy but so what.  The thinly sliced beef was great.  The proportion of beef to other ingredients in the rolls needs to be adjusted.  I'd order either dish again, though.

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Thanks porcupine! Would you prefer more or less beef in the roll? What do you guys think we should name the noodle dish? Everything we've been thinking about ends up too close to spicy beef noodle and I worry people will confuse it with the noodle soup.

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Thanks porcupine! Would you prefer more or less beef in the roll? 

That's funny - not having seen it, I was wondering the same thing.

What do you guys think we should name the noodle dish? Everything we've been thinking about ends up too close to spicy beef noodle and I worry people will confuse it with the noodle soup.

"Spicy Beef Noodle" actually sounds pretty appetizing - maybe "Noodle with Spicy Beef?" It might be cumbersome to explain that it's not a soup - is there a way to organize your menu so that the placement would remove the ambiguity? I also like the singular "noodle" - it sounds TOEFL enough to lend an air of authenticity :) (I write in jest, but I also mean it). You could also serve the dish with one, big, long noodle so the joke would be on the nitpicking customer.

I'm actively craving A&J right now.

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"Spicy Beef Noodle" actually sounds pretty appetizing - maybe "Noodle with Spicy Beef?" It might be cumbersome to explain that it's not a soup - is there a way to organize your menu so that the placement would remove the ambiguity? I also like the singular "noodle" - it sounds TOEFL enough to lend an air of authenticity :) (I write in jest, but I also mean it). You could also serve the dish with one, big, long noodle so the joke would be on the nitpicking customer.

We loved this dish--the flavors were bright and the beef was a nice complement. For us, the spiciness came from the noodle, though, not the beef, so we would call it "Thin sliced beef with spicy noodle".

We also had the rolls, and found the proportions to be quite nice. For us this was another winner.

We had both of the dishes via takeout, and they were great.

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We tried both in Annandale this afternoon. For those who have yet to order, 1 order of the Peking beef roll would have been enough for our party of 5. My 15 year-old is delighted to have the leftovers from our double order for her lunchbox. We really liked the Peking beef roll. The addition of cilantro to the preparation is what made it shine for us. We thought the amount of beef in the roll was fine. My in laws liked this dish the best of everything we tried.

We liked the noodle side but felt as if it needed a little something extra. We bandied around the ideas of more scallion or some shezuan peppercorns. Being totally ignorant of the region's cuisine, we can't tell whether those would be a major deviation from the intention of the dish. We went for the thin noodles at our server's suggestion.

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Thanks porcupine! Would you prefer more or less beef in the roll? What do you guys think we should name the noodle dish? Everything we've been thinking about ends up too close to spicy beef noodle and I worry people will confuse it with the noodle soup.

I was being vague deliberately   :)  but since you ask - the proportion of beef to other things should be higher.  But I'd prefer a smaller portion, so take out about a third of the other stuff and keep the amount of beef the same.

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CASH ONLY!

My wife and I continued our tour of restaurants near high school field hockey games with a stop here on Tuesday. First things first: They only take cash! No credit cards, no debit cards, no checks. Cash only!

We mostly followed the advice of posters upthread, and like a lot of you, we waaaaay over ordered. Our waitress tried to warn us, but we didn't listen.

The actual menu seems much larger than the online version, but that one is broken up in a funny way so it's hard to compare the two on the fly.

We started with the Cucumber Salad in Hot Garlic Sauce (5203). Very refreshing and satisfying for such a simple dish. The cukes seem too crunchy to be raw, but the couple of recipes I looked at online say they're just regular (unpickled) cucumbers. I'd get this dish every time. (Also very sad to have discovered it after my cucumber plants have died).

Next was Spicy Noodle with Sliced Beef (1206). We got the wide noodle on the recommendation of our server. She tried to get us to order the actual soup, but since we were splitting everything, we thought this would be easier. It was a good dish, but maybe a little bland. The little bit of broth on the bottom helped, but it could have used a little more flavor"¦"¦.of course, I've never had this dish before so I don't really know what I'm talking about! But I would have liked some more flavor. Next time, I'll get the soup instead.

As noted above the Pan Fried Pork Dumplings/Pot Stickers (4105) were about the size and shape of a cigar (maybe a little shorter and a little fatter) and there were 8 of them on the plate. That equals about 16 regular pot stickers (almost 3 orders) but these were only $7.25 for all 8! (Cash only) They were very good and I'd certainly order them again. We only ate a couple of them and our kids quickly devoured the rest of them at home.

The Thousand Layer Pancake (4109) looked better than it tasted. It was kind of bland and boring. I wouldn't get this again.

The Scallion Pancake (4104) was better and I'd probably give this another try.

The Pan Fried Beef Bun (4101) was the best of three and I'd definitely get this again. It was like a mini hamburger wrapped in dumpling wrapper. Juicy and tasty.

Next was the Steamed Pork Bun (4202) aka Chinese Soup Dumplings aka Xiao Long Bao. I love little dumpling-like things so I'd get this again, but I thought the meat could have used a little more flavor. It seemed a little bland to me, but like the noodle dish above, I'm no expert. Maybe this is the proper way they're supposed to taste?

Our final dish was the Peking Beef Wrap (4108). I wish it had a little more sauce in it, but it was still good, and I'd order it again.

We ended up taking at least half the food home with us and the bill before tip was $42!!! Great bargain, great value. But remember, it's CASH ONLY!

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I agree that the spicy noodle with beef is better in the soup.

The 1000 layer pancake is all about the texture - I get it and then dip into soup or whatever other sauce is lurking on the table.

I'm not a fan of the XLB at A&J, as much as I love the place in general. They're so much better at Bob's Shanghai or a handful of other places around that specialize in them.

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Not sure exactly how A&J does it, but traditional Szechuan* way to prepare the cukes is to slice up. Salt and let sit 30 minutes. Rinse off excess salt. Pat dry. A 30 second spin in a wok for the garlic and chili oil. Combine

*Of course there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of variations on this recipe. The main thing is to salt the cukes to draw out water.

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Finally, finally made it out to the Annandale location today for a Sunday lunch with the family. Ordered a handful of stuff that was all varying degrees of great, but I'd say the spicy beef noodle soup (ordered with wide noodles) hit me in a very special place. I loved it and could be happy eating just this for the rest of my life.

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4 minutes ago, Bart said:

Do they serve alcohol here?  Can't tell from the website.  

If not, can you bring your own?  (not even sure that's allowed in VA)

I'm pretty sure the answer to the first is no, and probably no to the second. 

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12 hours ago, Bart said:

Do they serve alcohol here?  Can't tell from the website.  

If not, can you bring your own?  (not even sure that's allowed in VA)

9 hours ago, gnatharobed said:

Unfortunately, no and no for Annandale as well. Hope you will still come check us out!  Please report back :)

It's allowed everywhere in the DMV now, but I think it's only for restaurants that have licenses.

Just in case gnatharobed doesn't see this in time: Fried Chicken, Beef Brisket Soup (I recall the brisket as having a fair amount of fat), Noodles, Bubble Tea.

I am, this minute, reading a book by an author from Shandong Province (管謨業).

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41 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

It's allowed everywhere in the DMV now, but I think it's only for restaurants that have licenses.

Just in case gnatharobed doesn't see this in time: Fried Chicken, Beef Brisket Soup (I recall the brisket as having a fair amount of fat), Noodles, Bubble Tea.

I am, this minute, reading a book by an author from Shandong Province (管謨業).

We're fans of the shredded bean curd with peanuts, the cucumbers in hot sauce, and the beef soup that Don mentioned,

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The Rockville location is one of our favorite restaurants.  The food is consistently delicious, the waitresses polite, friendly, and efficient, and the food comes out fast.  We've been going there so often and for so long, that the waitresses know us and like to spend a little extra time with our children, who some have known since the kids were small.

Our long-time favorites include: pork & mustard green soup; spicy wontons; cucumbers; braised pork (served in a bowl with rice and a marinated egg; cigar-shaped fried dumplings; scallion pancakes; dan dan (wide) noodles; the fried chicken Don mentioned as well as its pork chop cousin; and the soybean/bean curd/mustard green dish. The steamed spare rib and turnip pancake are good too.  I recall for weekend lunch they had some breakfast items as specials but that was several years ago.

btw, they don't take credit cards.

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I hope I'm not too late!  In addition to the dishes already mentioned above I would add thousand layer pancake and cucumber salad, both customer favorites.  The cigar-shaped fried dumplings are listed as pan-fried pork potstickers on the menu.  The pan-fried beef bun flies under the radar but is also delicious.  I've heard it described as an "exploding Chinese hamburger" because it's juicy and filled with soup. The spicy beef & tendon noodle soup (szechuan style) and for adventurous eaters- the sliced pig ears and vegetarian delight with rice.  Happy eating!

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4 hours ago, SilverBullitt said:

btw, they don't take credit cards.

Thanks all, and thanks for the reminder!  My only other visit was last year at this time, for the same reason........daughter has a 7:30 field hockey game against Annandale.  The cash-only theme figured prominently in my write up:  (Ooooh, with the software, more than just the link shows up!):

 

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Three of us arrived around noon of a drizzly Saturday and A&J Rockville was full.  They gave us a number and told us it would be a 10-15 minute wait, which was more on the 15 minute end, but close enough.

If you order the fried chicken, pork pot stickers, and spicy wontons you'll be eating very well.  I'd say it was a toss up for me between the chicken and the wontons for best dish.   

The cucumbers in hot garlic sauce and mustard greens with tofu curd skin and soy beans served as good palate cleaners and a vegetable element.  

Unfortunately I found the Dan Dan mien to be on the bland, one-note side.  The scallion pancake was also fairly bland but was much better once dipped in the leftover wonton sauce.

We finished things off with the red bean paste pastry, which were just enough sweet for dessert.  

By the time we left around 1:30, the restaurant was 3/4 full and a table would have been easily snagged.

Great to be back at A&J after way too long.

CASH ONLY. 

 

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Ordered my usual you-tiao, edamame with bean curd skin and mustard greens, and seaweed salad.  Tried some new dishes as well, tripe in chili oil and sliced pigs ear.  I thought the pigs ear was delicious - braised then chilled, with soft skin and crunchy cartilage.  I didn’t like the tripe as much - could’ve used more intense seasoning.

A fancy Korean joint called Hansen just opened in the same complex in Annandale.  I can’t find a website.

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I take the kids to A&J all the time on weekend mornings.  We arrive early and by the time we leave, the place is always full with people waiting.  Not today.  

The cold small plates were terrific as usual - spicy cucumber, garlic seaweed salad, edamame/bean curd skin/bamboo shoots/ mustard greens, and sliced pigs ears.  The kids love their pot stickers and scallion pancakes.  I get multiple orders of little pastries called crab shell roe, which is actually filled with chopped scallion and traditionally lard (but I don't know what they use at A&J).

I suspect if the business is down, it's related to the coronavirus.

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Thanks for supporting A&J, Eric! Business is down for us and all other Chinese restaurants because of coronavirus.  Glad you and the kids had a good time. Appreciate your patronage.  Don- Could you please change the title because we take Venmo now too! Thanks.

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A&J Rockville and Annandale are both reopening tomorrow!  We offer no contact pick-up/take-out and we accept Venmo for no touch payment. We are so grateful for all the support from the Don Rockwell community during this time. Stay healthy and safe everyone!

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2 hours ago, gnatharobed said:

A&J Rockville and Annandale are both reopening tomorrow!  We offer no contact pick-up/take-out and we accept Venmo for no touch payment. We are so grateful for all the support from the Don Rockwell community during this time. Stay healthy and safe everyone!

Thank you for posting, Debbie.

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On 4/13/2020 at 9:24 PM, gnatharobed said:

A&J Rockville and Annandale are both reopening tomorrow!  We offer no contact pick-up/take-out and we accept Venmo for no touch payment. We are so grateful for all the support from the Don Rockwell community during this time. Stay healthy and safe everyone!

Online ordering?  

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We picked up from A&J Rockville on Saturday night, and it was as great as always. The potstickers were a favorite, as always, as were the noodles with ham in the sesame sauce. The sliced pork in bean sauce made a great breakfast the next morning on a tortilla, with some sauteed sweet peppers. Great food that transports well.

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Over the years, A&J Annandale has become our special occasion restaurant - not that we just save it for special occasions, but whenever it's someone's birthday or, in this case, an anniversary, that's where we end up. We were delighted to be able to get takeout from them on Monday for our anniversary, and the service and dinner were both up to their usual high standards. I called from the parking lot when I arrived, and they safely placed our dinner in the back seat of the car. Of all the takeout/pickups we've had over the last several weeks, this was by far the best. And as our family's favorite restaurant, we look forward to doing to again and again.

Also, there's a new website with everything you need to know to place and pick up an order. https://www.aandjrestaurant.com/menu

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5 hours ago, istuffmyface said:

Over the years, A&J Annandale has become our special occasion restaurant - not that we just save it for special occasions, but whenever it's someone's birthday or, in this case, an anniversary, that's where we end up. We were delighted to be able to get takeout from them on Monday for our anniversary, and the service and dinner were both up to their usual high standards. I called from the parking lot when I arrived, and they safely placed our dinner in the back seat of the car. Of all the takeout/pickups we've had over the last several weeks, this was by far the best. And as our family's favorite restaurant, we look forward to doing to again and again.

Also, there's a new website with everything you need to know to place and pick up an order. https://www.aandjrestaurant.com/menu

Happy Anniversary! We are honored to be your special occasion restaurant. Thank you so much for your support. We are getting ready to sign on with UberEats so you can also have A&J delivered soon. We had too many issues with DoorDash. 

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