Ping Pong Dim Sum- Chinatown, DC

After DCFBHH at Poste, Michele from Squirrels-n-Sweets accompanied me to get some more food at Chinatown's trendy dim sum spot Ping Pong Dim Sum. There is street and garage parking in the vicinity. The closest metro stop is Gallery Place-Chinatown on the red/green line.

Sorry this pic is blurry! (One too many HH drinks at Poste). The interior is beautiful with dark (almost black) cherry wood floor and tables. There are a good number of tables, full bar area, and dim sum bar counter. Very modern and sophisticated feel. This was 9:30pm on a Wednesday and the place was packed!

Traditional images of dim sum include carts of food being pushed around, but those are not present here. It's more like 'tapas' where you choose off of a menu, and fill out a sheet of paper with the quantity of each item you want to order.

We ended up not being that hungry after sitting down, but check out the few items we did get.'Chicken puff (Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple)' for $5. This was my favorite. The puff pastry was flaky and light. The pineapple brought a nice sweetness to the tender filling. I could eat 10 of those.

'Char sui bun (Honey barbecued pork in a fluffy white bun)' for $6. We chose this item because Michele has given one of her friends this nickname. It was also a bit sweeter than a typical pork bun because of the honey. The filling was also very tender and the outside was very soft.

We also ordered the 'pork shu mai (pork and king prawns in an open pastry topped with a Chinese wolfberry)' for $5 because we wanted to see what wolfberry was. I don't remember it tasting like anything. This was good and not as salty as I've had it other places.

Overall the food was yummy, and the items we ordered had a little twist to the traditional flavors, but nothing shocking. Our server was very helpful and nice, and the items came out quickly. They do warn that items arrive as they are made, in case you're wondering where the rest of your order went. The menu has a large variety of items to choose from, though they are more expensive than any other dim sum place I've tried. The atmosphere is fun, and a great place to shares lots of plates with friends and down some speciality cocktails.

900 7th St NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 506-3740
www.pingpongdimsum.us


Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 12 am
Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm

DCFBHH at Poste - Penn Quarter, DC

Happy 1 year Anniversary to the DC Food Blogger Happy Hour! Granted, this was my 2nd one, but it has been awesome eating and drinking with people who love food as much as I do.
September's DCFBHH was at Poste Moderne Brasserie in Penn Quarter. The closest metro stop being Gallery Place-Chinatown on the green/red line. The name comes from being in the original 1841 General Post Office, and their modern cuisine promotes sustainability and eco-friendly practices.

This is the entrance to the restaurant, which we didn't get to check out since we were in their garden.

The atmosphere is so relaxing considering you're in the middle of the city, but you can't hear any of the traffic. I was able to meet a bunch of new people, those who's blogs I've been following for a while, and other food blogger friends!

Their happy hour menu was very small and simple. $5 glasses of pinot noir or chardonnay. I preferred the pinot noir.

The only food item was the 'truffle fries ($5)', which were presented in a pot (cute!). I love the flavor of truffle because it's so earthy and rich tasting. Mmmmm...

Apparently there was a cookie give-away and I won! Free food for a foodie?! I felt like I had won the lottery. An entire cake box filled with 2 dozen HUGE cookies from Northside Social in Arlington. Thanks guys! I didn't want to be a total oinker, so I hope the other food bloggers enjoyed eating them too.

Cute place to get away in the city, and who doesn't love wine and truffle fries? Great having funny convos with you guys, and seeing old faces again: squirrelsnsweets, iflipforfood, gregslistdc, dclovesfood, dcwrappeddates, johnnaknowsgoodfood, girlmeetsfood.

555 8th St NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 783-6060
www.postebrasserie.com

Zengo - Chinatown, DC

DC Restaurant Week was like forever ago, so forgive me, but life gets in the way. The bf and I decided to only check out one place since we did 2 restaurants for Bethesda Restaurant Week. We agreed on trying out Zengo because of my friends' recommendations, and the cuisine. It's a Chinese and Latin fusion restaurant, so it was something different that we haven't had before.
Located in the heart of Chinatown, street parking is limited, but there is garage parking. The closest metro stop is Gallery Place-Chinatown on the red/green line (its literally next to the main metro entrance at 7th & H St).

There are 2 levels to the restaurant. The 1st level is where the main bar/lounge is.

The main floor upstairs is huge! Nice high ceilings and comfy, yet modern decor. They did have these "potato-like" items hanging from the ceiling, which the bf and I found funny.

Isn't it cute? I love the soft lighting and simplicity.

They had a great restaurant week deal ($35, 3-courses). You could choose your 1st and 2nd meal off the menu, minus a few options. Then the dessert was on a separate menu. The prices listed below are the regular a la carte prices for reference.

One of my friends that recommended the restaurant raved about the 'Charred Tuna Wonton Tacos (Sushi Rice, Mango Salsa, Guacamole) for $10. I was in love! The flavors melded together so well, and I ate every little thing off that plate.

The bf and I love duck so he ordered the 'Peking Duck Daikon Tacos (Duck confit, curried apple, orange-coriander sauce) for $10. You have to assemble the tacos yourself and the "tortillas" are slices of radish. Everything together was good, but I would've liked it better if they were already assembled.

For my entree I ordered the 'Roasted Scallops Al Mojo de Ajo (Bacon, corn, sushi rice, yuzu-sriracha aioli) for $22. The scallops were seared perfectly, but the sauce was spicy! I ate 3/4 of it and gave the rest to the bf. He didn't like the bacon in it at all. Overall I thought it was good.

Our server recommended the bf order the 'Beef Tenderloin Palomilla (Sauteed chile pablano-onion, fingerling potato, ginger-serrano sauce) for $26. The meat had a more acidic sauce on it, which I liked but the bf was not a fan. The fries looked like yucca to me, even though it says fingerling potatoes on it. Perhaps I'm mistaken?

For dessert, they had this special item, 'Ancho Chocolate Cake (Hibiscus-sake cherries, milk chocolate mousse) for $6. We did not like it very much because it was a very "musky" flavor. I've had chocolate with chipotles, but the ancho chiles tasted different. The mousse was very mediocre, but the cherries were my favorite part.

The bf got the 'Blackberry & Cream sorbet', which I found to be very mediocre, but he liked it.

Our server was awesome and very knowledgeable of the menu. Our food came out quickly and water glasses constantly refilled. I liked the space of the restaurant and the variety of food. We were about to order sushi (love the stuff) but decided to try something else. The prices are expensive with the entrees being in the $20's. It's a nice place to go on a date or with friends because they have larger tables made for groups.

781 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel. 202.393.2929
http://www.richardsandoval.com/zengodc/

Lunch
Monday - Friday 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner
Sunday - Thursday 5pm - 10pm
Friday & Saturday 5pm - 11:30pm
Bar & Lounge
Monday - Thursday 5pm - 11pm
Friday 5pm - 1:30am
Saturday 5pm - 1:30am
Sunday Closed
Happy Hour
Monday – Saturday 5pm - 7:30pm