To get a bit more adventurous, you’ll have to go to places like A&J Restaurant in Annandale. The restaurant, tucked away in a little mixed use retail building off of Little River Turnpike, has been there for as long as I can remember. The faux stone facades and Chinese decor are a bit dated, but they work well enough to give the place a bit of character.

There are traditional dim sum dishes, such as the Steamed Pork ( ’buns’ as they were listed on the menu) Dumplings, which are rice crepe wrapped and served in well used aluminum tins. These dumplings aren’t the most flavorful, or beautifully presented, but certainly get the job done.

I’d never feel completely satisfied without having an order of the Pan Fried Dumplings, served as long logs of deliciously fried goodness. The downside to getting eight enormous dumplings here is that for the most part, these dumplings are fairly lackluster in taste. A pot of chili garlic oil on your table comes in very handy to remedy this, as does the decanter of soy sauce within arm’s length. It’s a shame that this dish doesn’t come with a dumpling sauce to complement it.

The wonton soup remains a classic. Boiled dumplings in broth with strips of egg and scallions, these are a perfect remedy for blustery winter days. A must have if you’re new to Chinese food, and a warm “comfort food” soup if you’re not.

The menu goes a bit beyond typical dim sum dishes with the likes of this Bean Curd Skin with Mustard Greens and Soy Beans (Edamame). It’s a great dish for vegetarians, or those who want to try something a bit different beyond the various dumplings, buns, and tarts served at more Americanized dim sum houses.

If you’re really adventurous, try the bean curd with a 1000 year old egg. The egg really isn’t a 1000 years old, but rather a regular egg that’s been preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, and lime that gives it a unique appearance. The egg white turns black and the yolk turns a slightly greenish color, but the creamy taste combined with the bean curd is amazing, and by far my favorite dish of the meal. The creaminess reminded me somewhat of a ricotta cheese, but with a much better overall flavor.

Worst case scenario, if you find that you’re just not in the mood for dumplings or various plates like the above, you can always opt for a bowl of noodles, which come in a multitude of varieties, like the spicy beef and tendon noodle soup below. You have your choice of wide or vermicelli style noodles,  just make sure to specify your preference to your server.

One of the great things about a meal here is the ridiculous cheap prices, which are more than reasonable, and make it very accessible to get in your dumpling fix when you’re in the neighborhood looking for something to eat. The food here is good for the most part, and some dishes truly stand out as must haves, like the bean curd with a 1000 year egg.  Be adventurous, try something that looks like it could be interesting, and you’ll be a better, more cultured gastronomycist for it.

See A&J Restaurant in Annandale here. There’s also one in Rockville, which you can find here.

Recommended For:

• Frugalistas
• First Dates
• Family Get-togethers
• Vegetarians
• Tapas Hounds

Not Recommended For:

• Wall Street Protests
• Vegans
• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Burning Man Baccalaureates

One of these places stood out in particular when I was searching for a place to take Jen. The striking thing about the menu was that it was decidedly vegetarian. In fact, wholly vegetarian. As a meat eater, even as a paleohead, it’s easy to forget that being a vegetarian can be pretty restrictive when you’re out on the prowl looking for noms. You’re usually given an option of a garden salad fit for a hare, or possibly a smattering of pasta dishes that’ll put you into food coma-esque glycemic overload. I thought it’d be nice to take her to place where she didn’t have to do a double take at every dish on the menu to make sure there wasn’t some sort of meat slipped in.

And so, with no reservations made, we were off to visit Yuan Fu Vegetarian.

The restaurant is nondescript enough to easily pass on the road. Situated in a small strip of storefronts with a tired asphalt lot, I had a split second to wonder if the half filled parking lot really was for this tiny Chinese restaurant. Inside, the tables are buzzing with conversation and ravenous patrons. Little has been paid in the way of decoration or furniture beyond the basics. I tried not to get distracted by the lack of air conditioning, or the thought of how hot the employees must be racing around delivering dishes to each table.

We order a couple of appetizers to start, beginning with the Crispy Taro Root Balls. Taro is a starchy root vegetable with a hearty taste that’s common in Chinese cooking.  Think of something as versatile as the potato. Here, they take taro, puree it down, packed around a vegetarian filling, and then drop it in the deep fryer to give it that beautiful, golden brown color. A must try if you’ve never had them before, and practically a staple even if you have.

We also put in an order for the Pan Fried Dumplings. No pork option for me here, unfortunately, but I decided I’d make do with vegetable ones here. Yuan Fu employs thick dumpling wrappers that carry a nice crisp texture when fried, but still remain as chewy and delicious on top. I’m pretty sure I could write a salacious romance novel about dumplings without too much problem. I can almost picture it now, although the thought of Fabio embracing a giant dumpling with lipstick is just a little too kinky for me.

The lack of meat didn’t end up bothering me too much. I liked the dumplings here, and wouldn’t hesitate to order these again.

For my entree, I opted for the Crispy Sesame Beef. Battered and fried chunks of vegetarian beef (textured vegetable protein) in a sweet sauce served with walnuts, broccoli florets and…a maraschino cherry? I wasn’t quite sure what the hell a cherry was doing on my dish either. I’ll take it as the Chinese equivalent of placing parsley on top of a steak. The beef isn’t going to fool anyone into thinking it’s really beef, but the preparation and taste are both still there, making this a reasonable substitute for vegetarian and vegan diners alike.

Jen ordered the Kung Pao Chickum, filled with chunks of sauteed chickum, red and green peppers, and plenty of peanuts to add a decent crunch to the dish. A decent dish all in all, but with Jen’s dislike of any sort of pepper that doesn’t absolutely burn the shit out of your mouth or have a scoville rating of anything less than 5,000,000, it ended up being a lackluster order for her meal.

It’s refreshing to see a restaurant cater wholly to the vegetarian community, and from the crowds packed into Yuan Fu on a weekend night, it shows that these people appreciate it. The dishes don’t deviate too far from tried and true Americanized recipes that’ll please the vast majority of vegetarians looking for a good meal. The appetizers were good, but the main dishes rely heavily on the sauce to carry them through, with nuts thoughtfully added in or there’d be a fairly obvious lack of crunch or anything to chew. I don’t think we’d end up going back, with so many other places to try, but I can easily see this place being an oasis for herbivores out on the hunt.

See Yuan Fu Vegetarian on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Fortune Cookie Franchescas
• Vegetarians
• Vegans
• Dumpling Divas

Not Recommended For:

• Paleoheads
• First Dates
• Gluten Free Gorging

Ping Pong is just two blocks north of the Chinatown/Gallery Place Metro on the Red line, close enough to still be considered a part of Chinatown DC proper. If you’re not entirely sure of this fact, look across the street. Even the Hooters has Chinese script on their sign out front. Have you ever seen Chinese Hooters?

No?

Me neither.

I’m not writing this post to talk about Hooters though, it’s about the latest addition to Chinatown’s actual Chinese food offerings.  I can’t remember the last time that’s happened.  So what makes Ping Pong so great?

Dim Sum.

All.

Day.

Long.

It’s almost my fantasties come true (throw in a pool noodle, a ping pong paddle, lots of bacon grease, and some bunny slippers, and we’re a lot closer).   I love yum cha.  Why?  It’s my gastro-fascination with compartmentalized food, which is clearly a result of my upbringing.  Yum cha was a regular event when I was growing up, so I was frequently exposed to steamed buns, dumplings, all all sorts of delicious Chinese delicacies.  So when Jen and I were walking around town, I made it with no unclear terms that we MUST eat there.

The decor is sleek and modern, outfitted as a modern Chinese teahouse.  Black paneled wood adorns the walls as well as the furniture, and seats are either stools or benches, just like you’d find in China.

Maybe in 3000 BC.

Still, it’s not a discredit to the efforts of the decorator-  everything is tastefully done.  The restaurant has a very open and expansive feeling, and nothing comes off as gaudy or cheap.

The food is admittedly a bit more expensive than what you’d pay at any other local yum cha-ery, and you don’t have quite the same experience.  Little steel cart mavens are not weaving between tables, hawking steel containers of delight. Tour buses do not drop off traveling, hungry, bug-eyed Chinese tourists here.  The bathrooms are not nuclear hazardous waste dump sites.

Definitely not quite the same experience.

The restaurant here wasn’t completely quiet, but perhaps us coming in at the tail-end of lunchtime helped.  We were immediately seated, and I dove into the food menu, as Jen did the same with the drinks.

It’s hard to recall exactly everything we ordered, as yum cha usually involves a large wide swath of destruction reaped on the food as soon as it’s brought to the table.  Jen and I did just that, like two raptors viciously tearing into a fallen T-Rex.  a raptor tearing into a T-Rex, and an ankylosaurus, gently nibbling on some trees.  We found it easiest to each go with a set menu that had a variety of things to try, and then added a few additional dishes a la carte.  All the fixed menus come with two baked vegetable buns, stuffed with mooli and spring onions.

Jen had the Vegetarian Lunch (2 golden vegetable dumplings, 1 vegetable bao (white bun) , 2 spicy vegetable dumplings, 1 vegetarian sticky rice parcel) and I went with something, well, more appropriately named to my fixation on yum cha.  The ‘Dumpling Fix’.

Dumpling Fix - 1 chive dumpling, 1 shrimp dumpling, 1 scallop and shiitake dumpling, 1 seafood dumpling, 1 golden vegetable dumpling, 1 spicy chicken dumpling, and a sticky rice parcel

We added several other dishes, like the Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Bun) for me, some vegetarian spring rolls for the two of us to share, and even some Valhalla Chocolate Buns for dessert.

Char Siu Bao

Spring Rolls

Valhalla Chocolate Buns

I was very happy with the food here.  The dishes are excellent, and some of the modern twists and uses of high quality ingredients are evident with every bite.  Jen enjoyed the food as well, but maybe not to the same levels of fanaticism displayed by me.

I’d highly recommend Ping Pong to anyone who enjoys Chinese food (and who doesn’t enjoy Chinese food? Maybe the Taiwanese)  and the all-day availability is a huge bonus.  Steamed prawn dumplings at 11am?  No problem.  BBQ pork buns for a mid-afternoon snack?  No problem.  Sticky rice parcels at 9pm?  No problem.  A Chinese hooker who claims she has your baby after your last visit to Shanghai three years ago?

Well.  That’s definitely a problem.

So what gives?  Why is this place so different from your typical American yum cha establishments?

It turns out that Ping Pong is actually a chain, imported straight over the pond from London, where they boast 12 locations throughout the city full of limey blokes, wankers, and chavs (just kidding, I actually love the Brits).  And the universal truth of British gastronomy still stands- The only good food you’ll find in London is either going to be Indian, Middle Eastern, or Chinese.

Ping Pong can be seen on a map here.

Recommended for:

• Dumpling whores
• Chinese food lovers
• Vegetarians
• Germaphobes

Not Recommended for:

• Budget diners
• Chopstick klutzes
• Zone Dieters
• Paleo heads

Let’s back up a second here and get you acquainted a bit with the terms.  Dim Sum, literally translated as “Touch the Heart”, refers to a Canton style brunch where restaurants have young Chinese women push stainless steel carts between tables, with each cart holding numerous dishes of seafood, pork, beef, chicken, vegetables, and desserts.  These dishes are served in steamers or small plates, and typically are served in portions for two to four people to share.  The phrase Yum Cha translates to “drinking tea”, and can be interchanged with the phrase Dim Sum, as they both refer to the same meal.

I’ll be the first to admit, the experience of yum cha in this area isn’t really the most pleasant.  The typical patrons lack tradional Western manners, which may be perceived as rude or even slightly unpleasant.  The hostesses and waiters tend to be very direct without the niceties, although the cart pushing girls are a little bit better.  The tables are usually clean, but you shouldn’t be surprised if they are a tad greasy when you arrive…and don’t bother queuing up unless you’ve got everyone who’s going to eat with you, or you’ll be shunned by herr hostess without a bat of an eye.

The bathrooms, well, let’s just say I strongly encourage you to hold your bladder, or find a place elsewhere to do your business after yum cha.

But don’t be scurred.  There’s a one really, really good reason why I’ll ignore all that and come to China Garden, time after time.

Dumplings

Carrot Sesame Paste Pastries

Taro Cakes

Egg Custard Tart

The food you get at yum cha is phenomenal.  A huge array of compartmentalized dishes, each with their own distinct tastes and flavors.  The dumplings and buns are by far some of my favorites, with the soft breaded exterior secretly holding delicious variations of meat or custards inside that are so incredibly delicious.

The one caveat is that you’ll have to steel yourself and come with an open mind for tastes and textures.  There are definitely a handful of dishes that are way off some people’s tolerance for consumption.  For example, chicken feet.  It’s a delicacy in China, and America, apparently, exports some of the best chicken feet in the world.  So good it’ll prevent a trade war between the two countries.

Still not good enough for me to ever eat them.  I’ve tried it once, and…BLARGH.  Not my cup of cha.

But BBQ pork buns?

Baked custard buns?

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

LOLWTFBBQPORKBUNS

Definitely $240 worth of pudding. Er, custard.

And the icing on the cake?  Most dishes won’t run you more than $4 a pop.

So a solid gorgeathon here will, with a generous tip, drain your wallet of about $16-25.  Not too shabby!

Most yum cha establishments have vegetarian dishes, but I wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable taking Jen here because I can’t definitively say that the vegetarian dishes we would order are definitely meat-product free. With that being said, there is a vegetarian only dim sum restaurant in New York’s Chinatown that is worth a visit.

China Garden is for:

• adventerous eaters
• dumpling lovers
• proficient chopstickers
• budget diners
• meat lovers
• gluttons

China Garden is NOT for:

• vegetarians
• germaphobes
• claustrophobes
• restricted carb diets
• paleo eaters
• mermaids

China Garden is located on the Mezzanine level of the Channel 8 7 building in Rosslyn. View a map here.

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