Q by Peter Chang

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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.

Traditionally, one drinks hot tea with dim sum but the modern day spin is to have cocktails - perfectly fitting for American brunch!  Q offers many fun cocktails in addition to wine and beer - I especially liked the Peking made with gin, jasmine tea, prosecco and a hint of lemon juice.  It was very refreshing.  Keith liked the Q made with vodka and spicy Szechuan peppercorn.  I then switched to traditional jasmine tea to sip with the rest of my brunch bites. Generally 3 pieces come to an order, but other regular items are also available for family style service like the various noodle, soup, or meat dishes.  We tried many dishes, with standouts below:

Steamed Veggie Bao

Pork Shu Mai  小笼烧麦

Almond Shrimp Ball  杏仁虾球 - I loved these; and easily ate three pieces all by myself.  The contrast of texture is what hit the spot for me.

Pan-fried Soup Dumpling - the trick is to take a small bite of the dough to create a hole to allow the hot steam from the soup escape.  Let it cool off before popping in your mouth.  It's like a little bite of pork soup!

Hot & Numbing Shredded Tofu Skin - this was the most unique dish we ate.  Shreds of tofu skin look like cabbage but have a soft noodle texture and were in a spicy sauce.

Pan-fried Chinese Chive Dumpling 煎韭菜包

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling 水晶鲜虾饺

Vegetarian Rice Roll 斋食肠粉

Wuhan Sesame Noodle - make sure you thoroughly mix this dish before serving to ensure all the sesame paste coats the noodles.  Waft in the intoxicating smell!

Peking Duck - selected from the top quality of ducks, prepared through a 5 step procedure and special techniques, this Peking Duck was fat but not greasy; the meat is delectable and its taste layered. Served with house made pancakes that are soft and smooth; accompanied by sliced cucumber and scallions, Hoisin sauce and a house sauce made with beets, ginger, and honey.  

Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Beef  干炒牛河

Salt & Pepper Lotus Root

Chang's Fish Cake Soup - made with sour cabbage, the broth itself was incredibly sour and briny.  The fish cake was tender and the vermicelli noodles were filling.  This soup would be great as a remedy for those days you need a pick-me-up.

Lastly, we finished with a traditional dessert of Sweet Osmanthus Dates.  Stuffed with sticky rice, this dessert was a bit bland and not sweet.

The dim sum brunch is perfect for groups, as the idea is to order many different dishes and share them so everyone gets a taste of everything.  I loved all the steam baskets and the easy "lazy Susan" spinner on each table.  You can't find that many decent traditional offerings of dim sum in the DMV area, so check out Q by Peter Chang for a great experience.  For a limited time only, show special code "qpcdimsum" to your server and get a free order of the sesame noodles with your dim sum!


Total Rating: 4.2
Food: 4.5, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 4.5