Han Palace

Han Palace located on Barracks Row offers dim sum and Chinese dishes in a casual atmosphere.  Closest Metro is Eastern Market. For New Year's Day, we wanted dim sum!  We walked over to the fairly new second location of Han Palace (first location is in Woodley Park) and saw it was already quite crowded, so we sat at the bar.  While set tasting menus are available - Option A offers all the dim sum with hot tea for $38 per person with a two hour limit and Option B offers the meat and vegetable entree dishes for $48 per person - we decided to order a la carte.

Q by Peter Chang

*Sponsored Post

Q by Peter Chang is located in a chic 8,000 square foot palace offering modern Chinese cuisine in the heart of downtown Bethesda, Maryland.  Q stands for Qijian and means "flagship" in Chinese. Keith and I were invited to try the dim sum brunch, available Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm.  Closest Metro is Bethesda.

CHIKO

CHIKO is the first restaurant from The Fried Rice Collective. Chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno pair modern cooking techniques with traditional Chinese and Korean flavors, while Drew Kim provides his passion for hospitality ensuring a unique dining experience. Closest Metro is Eastern Market.

Tiger Fork

Tiger Fork, located n Blagden Alley, brings Hong Kong's gritty, badass culinary culture to the streets of DC. Tiger Fork melds old school Hong Kong culinary tradition with pops of global influence, pulling regional, Asian, European and Islamic flavors to their crafted menu. Executive Chef Irvin Van Oordt has created a menu that combines Hong Kong cool with flavor-packed global influence in Hong Kong classics like dim sum, Chinese BBQ, fresh tofu and chili crab. Designed by Edit lab at streetsense, Tiger Fork's 2,600 square foot space is outfitted with a 21 seat bar and an 8 seat chef's counter overlooking the open kitchen. The dining room includes 56 seats, 18 of which that flank either side of a long communal table designed to showcase Tiger Fork's family style plates and dim-sum menu.  Closest Metro is Convention Center.

Copycat Co.

Copycat Co. located on H. St NE offers Northern Chinese street fare such as skewers and steamed bao along with creative drinks upstairs created by Barmini veteran Devin Gong.  In addition to a permanent cocktail menu loaded with the classics, bartenders rotate through weekly (hand-drawn!) specialty menus featuring toddys, daiquiris, juleps, and more.  Closest Metro is Union Station.

Kyirisan

Kyirisan by Chef Tim Ma brings medium plates of French-Chinese fare to the ever-growing, up and coming, trendy Shaw neighborhood.  Featured in the Inaugural Michelin Guide's DC Bib Gourmand, we figured we better check out this joint quick!  Closest Metro is U Street or Shaw.

Chez Wong

***Special Post by Keith***
Of all the restaurants we planned to visit in Peru I was most excited to go to Chez Wong. Many claim that Chef Wong makes the best ceviche in the world right out of a small restaurant in his 'off the beaten path' house in the typically 'locals only' Lima neighborhood of La Victoria. If you want to eat at Chez Wong you have to email in advance or talk to your hotel concierge and cross your fingers. I emailed 3-4 weeks early and received a response a few days later that we were in!

Madam Tusan

Madam Tusan offers Peruvian-Chinese fusion by Gastón Acurio in the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru. This style of recipes, known as Chifa, arrived from the east during the 1940s and took new forms and flavors at the meeting of Peruvian ingredients. Chifas are overwhelmingly simple and generally inexpensive. While their influence on mainstream Peruvian cuisine is clearly evident, most Chifas serve what is for the most part standard Cantonese cuisine.

Panda Gourmet

Located off busy New York Avenue NE at Bladensburg Road, Panda Gourmet resides inside a Days Inn. The restaurant specializes in cuisine from the neighboring Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces of central China, and has been rumored to offer the "best Chinese food in DC."  The best Chinese food...in a Days Inn?!  I think it's fair to say I was quite skeptical.  After reading a few reviews, and having a couple coworkers recommend a visit, Keith convinced me to check it out.

At Home: Crock-Pot Chicken & Broccoli

Whenever we go to visit Keith's parents in Long Island, we always order Chinese take out one of the nights we are there.  Maybe it's a New York thing, but their Chinese food just tastes better than what we find here in DC.  A favorite go-to Chinese dish that we get is Chicken & Broccoli.  I love the mild and sweet brown sauce with the big chunks of solid chicken meat.   I made a lazy version called Crock-Pot Chicken & Broccoli as my next feature on What Micky Eats...At Home to go along with the Shrimp Fried Rice I made during my time home due to #shutdown.  Check it out below.

At Home: Shrimp Fried Rice

Since I have been home due to circumstances out of my hands (aka #shutdown), Keith tasked me with making dinner and had a special request for Chinese food.  I knew I wanted to make a chicken dish for the main and decided to make fried rice to go with it.  I scrounged around the freezer and fridge to see what ingredients we had on hand.  I found a few jumbo prawns leftover in a package we bought at Costco.  They are raw, but already cleaned and deveined.  I thought they would be perfect to make Shrimp Fried Rice as my next feature on What Micky Eats...At Home.

Chinatown Garden

This traditional Chinese restaurant is my most favorite in the city. Located conveniently off the Chinatown Metro stop, this place is not flashy, yet offers great service and food for a great price. The dining area is quite large and perfect for large lunch groups, tourists groups, families, or first dates. The service is friendly and the food flies out of the kitchen, piping hot and fresh. Closest Metro is Gallery Place-Chinatown.

Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant

This classic Chinese restaurant is located close to the Seven Corners area of Falls Church, right next door to the Home Depot.  Serving traditional Chinese cuisine highlighting seafood specialties, Fortune is also famous on the weekends for its dim sum brunch.

Peking Gourmet Inn

Last date I was here: 12/11/2010

Restaurant: Peking Gourmet Inn (http://www.pekinggourmet.com/)

Location: Falls Church - Bailey's Crossroads
Total Rating: 4.5
Food: 5, Price: 3, Service: 5, Ambience: 5, Accessibility: 3


Summary: This authentic Chinese restaurant features northern Chinese cuisine with fresh ingredients and Peking duck as the specialty. A popular place with military dignitaries and even past presidents, Peking Gourmet Inn is always packed with diners, so reservations are highly recommended. Closest Metro is East Falls Church.

As soon as you enter, do not be fooled by the narrow hallway, as the restaurant opens up on the right to a large space packed with tables and buzzing with servers in their red coats and bow ties. Autographed photographs of distinguished military and local celebrities cover the walls. The service is friendly, quick, and attentive. The servings are large and great for sharing. The ingredients are fresh and shine through each dish. We enjoyed our duck, although slightly expensive, the experience of watching them carve it table side is unique and the flavor quite tasty. All in all, Peking Gourmet is great for groups and families wanting to celebrate a milestone as well as couples wanting to share a fun and delicious meal.

What I ate:

Peking Duck

carved table side and served with fresh spring onions, cucumber,

handmade pancakes, and hoisin sauce

Shrimp Fried Rice

rice fried with eggs, bean sprouts, peas, and shrimp

Ping Pong Dim Sum

Last date I was here: 10/29/2010

Restaurant: Ping Pong Dim Sum (http://www.pingpongdimsum.us/)

Location: Gallery Place/Chinatown

Total Rating: 3.95
Food: 4, Price: 3, Service: 4, Ambience: 5, Accessibility: 5

Summary: Serving "little steamed parcels of deliciousness", Ping Pong Dim Sum in Gallery Place, DC is the first American location of this chain originating from the UK. Like tapas or a trendy grazing menu, you order as many or as few dim sum as you wish - lots if you're very hungry, just a few if you’re snacking with tea or cocktails. Beautiful flowering teas and delicious cocktails are on the menu, too, offering a great happy hour spot for the younger crowd. Traditional Chinese ingredients mixed with a modern twist and instantly the Ping Pong flavors are bursting. Closest Metro is Gallery Place-Chinatown.

There have been mixed reviews about the food at this new trendy restaurant, despite the accolades for creative cocktails and exotic teas. This restaurant is great for groups or first dates as, similar to a tapas or sushi restaurant, you can order several small plates to sample and share between the table. Each comes with 2 or 3 pieces. Choose from steamed, grilled, baked, or fried "dumplings" or even soup or salad. The food comes out as it is ready and surprisingly fast. Keith and I shared 7 plates and it seemed to be just the right amount. We also ordered the extra $2 sauce sampler, but it may not have been needed as 3 sauces are already provided gratis and some plates even come with their own sauce. For drinks, I tried the Ping Pong, a $10 mix of Martini Bianco, white wine, Yokaichi Shochu and lychee juice and Keith had the Tennessee Tea Tingle, a $10 mix of Jack Daniel’s, Cointreau, fresh lime juice topped with Coca Cola. Some dishes could have had a little more filling to dough ratio, but all in all, the ingredients and flavors were good and the overall dining experience was fun.

What I ate:

Vegetable Puff

Sautéed vegetables in a honey sauce baked in handmade puff pastry

Pork Shu Mai

Pork and king prawns steamed in an open pastry topped with a Chinese wolfberry

Spicy chicken dumpling

Chicken and vegetables in chilli sauce steamed in translucent white pastry

Scallop and shitake dumpling

Scallops and king prawns with shitake mushrooms steamed in wheat flour pastry

Vietnamese spring roll

Prawns, noodles and vegetables wrapped in rice paper, fried and served with chilli fish sauce

Seafood Sticky Rice Parcel

Rice with king prawns, scallops, carrots and bamboo shoots, wrapped in a Lotus leaf

Lemon chicken

Tender chicken breast fillet with chilli, honey and lemon, served on lettuce

Sauce platter

A selection of three Ping Pong sauces:

Spicy mango, Basil, ginger and black sesame seed, Ginger and garlic

The Orient Chinese Restaurant

Last date I was here: 06/05/2009

Restaurant: The Orient Chinese Restaurant

Location: Bethpage, NY

Total Rating: 4.3
Food: 5, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 2, Accessibility: 3

Summary: This Chinese restaurant is located in Bethpage on Long Island, NY and is known for its owner’s great service to loyal customers and quality of food. Serving classic Hunan style Chinese food, the Orient remains popular for both dining and take away meus. Although no reservations are accepted, you can call ahead to announce how many in your party are arriving – but expect a line waiting out the door upon arrival.

We went for a special dinner with Keith’s family and were seated in the side room where it is less noisy. The friendly service makes up for the lack of ambience. Our server, Angel, was very attentive and the owner, Tom, stopped by to announce his seafood specials of the night. All of the food we had tasted fresh and we shared everything with delight. I enjoyed having a little taste of everything. The soup was very good as a starter on the rainy night we went. The Orient is a favorite of Keith’s family and I hope to come back again in the future.

What I ate:

Hot and Sour Soup

Dim Sum

Fried Scallops (appetizer)

Sesame Chicken

Chicken and Broccoli

Steamed Branzini
Whole European sea bass steamed in a ginger scallion sauce

Scallops in Black Pepper Sauce
Served with baby bok choy

Plus Keith ate:

Seafood Soup

Fried Dumplings

Ribs

Beef Chow Fun