Okay, so this restaurant is not even remotely within the D.C. metro area, but it might be worth the 2 hour drive for some good Sichuan food!

Upon first impressions the restaurant may not seem that dazzling, but the dishes on the authentic menu will dazzle your taste buds, especially if like me, you are a fan of the spicy ma la flavors. All of the dishes that I tried were not only rich in flavor and an ideal level of spice for me (spicy, but not painfully so), every dish was cooked to perfection. The grilled fish in chili oil was excellent (if you don’t mind bones) and served atop napa cabbage and tofu. The eggplant fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with a great spicy aftertaste. The pig ears in chili sauce was a new dish for me, but the crunchy pig ears and ma la sauce with a garnish of green onion slices was a surprisingly good combination.

I don’t usually review restaurants outside the DMV area, but during a visit to Richmond I discovered this little gem and the dishes just might be worth another trip in the future. Overall, I would give Cheng Du Restaurant a tasty/authenticity score of 8.1/10

This is my go-to spot for Dim Sum in the DC metro area. This authentic family-run Cantonese restaurant has been serving excellent dim sum since 2013. The dim sum is served every weekend from 11 am to 3 pm in the traditional way of pushing carts full of steamed buns and dumplings from table to table.

The dim sum is always fresh, well-priced and there is a great variety to choose from. I always like to order pork dumplings (Sui mai, 燒賣), shrimp dumplings (Har Gow, 蝦餃), turnip cake (Lobakgo, 萝卜糕), chickens feet (鳯爪), pan fried chive dumplings (Gao choi gao, 韭菜虾饺) and pineapple bun (Bo lo baau, 菠蘿包).

I eat dim sum at this place at least every other Sunday. I have tried dim sum in the district and they are no match for this place. Golden Hong is more affordable and authentic than Da Hong Pao in Logan Circle and the dim sum is far fresher than what is served at Tony Cheng in Chinatown. Overall, I would give Golden Hong Kong a tasty/authenticity score of 8.2/10.

This Sichuan hot pot restaurant is popular for both its hot pot and its spicy Sichuan dishes. I have eaten the hot pot here on a few occasions, the broth is quite rich, but the ingredients are fairly limited. The hot pots are individual, meaning each person gets their own–traditionally, everyone would share a large pot.

Personally, I prefer the dry pot dish at Mala Tang. You have a large choice of ingredients and the seasoning is spicy, numbing and delicious (although a little on the salty side). Many of the appetizers are also very authentic and worth a try. I would recommend trying the beef tripe in chili oil, spicy pork wontons and the cucumber salad (spicy). Overall, I would give Mala Tang a tasty/authenticity score of 7./10.

This hot pot restaurant opened earlier this summer in Clarendon, so i was intrigued to try it out. The restaurant has a conveyor belt which transports the various dishes, similar to what you might see in a rotation sushi restaurant. The meat orders are brought to the table by what can only be described as a roomba-like robot that plays musical tunes. The hot pots are small individual pots, not the large shared hot pots that you get in more authentic restaurants.

For my hot pot, I ordered the Chongqing spicy broth. The broth was a little spicy, but the taste was quite bland. The dishes tasted how you would expect them to taste after being carried around the restaurant several times on the conveyor belt-maybe visit during peak hours to get the freshest dishes. Both the lamb and beef that I ordered was frozen, which always disappoints me in a hot pot restaurant. The accompanying sauces were fresh, although the options were limited compared to other hot pot restaurants I have eaten at. Overall, I would give Riverside Hotpot Bar a tasty/authenticity score of 5/10. You can see a picture below:

This family-run restaurant has been in the area for over 20 years and serves some of the best Taiwanese food in the DC metro area. The restaurant has won several awards and is considered one of the best ‘cheap eats’ with most dishes costing around $8 or less.

One of the more popular dishes here is the Taiwanese beef noodle soup (Hong Shao Niu Rou Mian, 红烧牛肉麺). During my last visit I ordered the Taiwanese chicken and rice dish (ji pai fan, 鸡排饭)–this dish is derived from Japanese influence, so it is quite similar to a chicken katsu. The pigs ear dish (Ma la er si, 麻辣耳丝) is a favorite of mine at A&J, this dish is a little crunchy and numbing due to the light peppercorn seasoning. The beef tendon in garlic sauce (Suan Bao Niu jin, 蒜爆牛筋) is very tender and spicy–this dish doesn’t even require chewing, it melts in the mouth. The last dish I ordered was the ground beef with long pepper (Suan jiang dou rou mo, 酸豇豆肉末). Overall, I would give A&J a tasty/authenticity score of 7.8/10. Images of these 4 dishes can be seen below.

This one is a regular of mine. Hunan Gate is best known for its speciality Donbei dish (Northeastern Chinese cuisine). As a lover of all things spicy, I am always inclined to order the sichuan spciy boiled fish (Shui Zhu Yu, 水煮鱼). But you cannot go here without ordering one of the many Dongbei dishes, such as pork belly with potato noodles (东北白菜猪肉炖粉条) or triple vegetable delight (Di San Xian, 地三鲜). Overall, I would give Hunan Gate a tasty/authenticity score of 7.5/10.

You can see pictures below from my order of spicy boiled fish and triple vegetable delight. I highly recommend a visit for those who enjoy authentic Dongbei dishes!

The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live .

— Confucius.

This is the first post on my new blog. I will be updating regularly with restaurant recommendations and favorite dishes to eat in the Washington D.C. metro area. Please subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.