The restaurant owner Zongmin Li is from Yunan Province and after noticing a gap in the market for a restaurant serving Yunan style mixian rice noodles, she opened this restaurant in 2019. The restaurant has since had a full-page review in the Washington Post and was awarded Best Cheap Eats 2019 in Northern Virginia.
The restaurant has several authentic Chinese small plates including pork belly buns, pan fried potato with pickled radish, and spicy xishu angbanna salad. However, on my latest visit I ordered the dishes that this place is famous for–its steaming hot bowls of rice noodles. I ordered the Little Pot, which is a combination of pork and chicken broth with ground pork, chives, carrots, pickled mustard greens, and a tea egg over noodles. I also tried the Braised Beef Lu with braised beef chunk, beef jus, carrots, chives, mushrooms, crushed peanuts and a tea egg over noodles. All noodle dishes are garnished with green onions, cilantro, and spicy chili sauce.
I was very impressed with the quality of the noodle dishes at this restaurant and I am surprised not to have discovered it sooner. Overall, I would give Yunan by Potomac a tasty/authenticity score of 8/10.
Washington D.C. Asian Food 