Mouthwatering Chinese in Washington

Mama Chang

★★★★☆ 3.9 (882) • $$

"Second Chang restaurant I've been to, first time at Mama Chang. First noticeable between this spot and the other spot in Crystal City is that there is ample ground level parking. Second, the prices are higher - but for a reason. NiHao is more "tapas" / small-plate concept, Mama Chang is more family style, where you order for the whole table to share. The one popular dish they both do? Bubble Scallion pancake - popping it is an experience! Unfortunately I cannot partake in the eating part as it has gluten, but I hear it's super delicious with the sauce on the side which almost resembles the sauce from roti canai. Besides that, we got a half Chang's roast duck, Singapore rice noodles, fried flounder in scoop, and cumin spicy lamb shank. Service was pretty fast for dinner time, we were so surprised! The Chang's roast duck was phenomenal with the plum sauce, the Singaporean noodles were filling, and the spicy lamb shank had a strong sichuan flavor. My favorite was the fried flounder with the sweet and sour sauce and shreds of ginger - so delicious with white rice on the side!! Highly recommend Mama Chang for family style Chinese / Sichuan style food. Come hungry with a group, leave happy (with a not so damaged wallet haha - it's affordable as long as you share!)"

Yu Noodles

★★★★☆ 4.2 (632) • $$

"Gosh I have been dreaming about those dumplings for so long. I don't live very close. So when I was in the area I had to make time to dine in ( takeout doesn't do justice I think). N it didnot disappoint. I went overboard and ordered .... Chicken soup dumplings, spicy oil wonton and pan fried pork bun. Loved all of it. I am biased to the soup dumplings and the spicy wonton. Can't decide what's my favorite.... lol . Can't wait to go back again. The service was prompt. It was relatively busy considering it was not dinner time yet at 5pm."

House of Dynasty

★★★★☆ 3.9 (699) • $$

"If you are new to the area or looking for a new go to Chinese restaurant- look no further! This is it! It's so good! Take out or in restaurant dinning is great. The place is clean(dated) but clean, the food is delicious; not overcooked or soaking wet in oil and the vegetables are fresh."

Dumplings & Beyond

★★★★☆ 4.1 (617) • $$

"What's the beyond in Dumplings & Beyond? I don't know and I don't care! The food is mediocre at best. The service is uninspired. The ambiance, such as it is, is cold, old and sterile.We got a recommendation from a local that the dumplings were good. That is a bit of an overstatement. The wrap on the dumpling was thick, tasteless and bland. It is true that the filling was good but only good nothing beyond.The Hot and Sour Soup was okay. It got better once you got used to its strong taste. But the Hot and Sour soup at the dirty little Chinese place on P Street (New Dynasty) is 1000 times better. The soup at Dumplings & Beyond was a single note of sour peppery broth. No complex flavors that are usually the hallmark of a good Hot and Sour Soup.Granted, all we had were the soup, the chicken & cilantro dumplings and the special dumplings. That is a limited sample. Perhaps the rest of the menu is spectacular. But - hello - we got 2 kinds of dumplings at Dumplings & Beyond. Don't you think that I should be wetting myself over their dumplings??? PS - I wasn't!!!I am sorry to be so harsh but if you're going to have a name of a specific food item in your title, then make it FREAKING OUTSTANDING, not mediocre.Plus step up the service and clean up the atmosphere a little.To be fair, they were doing an amazing amount of carry-out business so maybe there is something that I totally missed.For me, though, I cannot recommend this place."

Yuan Fu Vegetarian

★★★★☆ 4.2 (575) • $$

"This is our go to place for vegetarian Chinese. The food is great and the people that work there are just lovely too - have been there for years."

China Boy

★★★★☆ 4 (572) • $$

"We really liked our breakfast dim sum at China Boy. Especially their rice noodle crepes, we tried 3 different kinds and they were all delicious with the rice noodle sauce, the BBQ pork, fresh shrimp and fried dough stick crepes. Also their Popcorn chicken was the best we've had, just let them rest for at least 5 minutes, they come out tongue burning hot."

Happy Lamb Hot Pot

★★★★☆ 4.1 (539) • $$

"I don't usually go out for hot pot but having already been out all day, we didn't have time and heard great things about this place so had to try it out. There were two selections and since we don't venture to Virginia that often, we went with the more inclusive option. Unfortunately one of the meats was not available but we still had plenty to choose from along with various veggies and seafood we could get ourselves. Going during peak dinner hours, we often had to flag down a server to place additional orders of meat. Despite all this, I would recommend people trying this place out! Definitely expect to wait a bit if you go during peak busy hours. Google said that there was no wait time for when we wanted to go but had to wait ~45 mins as we couldn't reserve ahead of time. I appreciate when other restaurants provide iPads that allow its customers to place orders to the kitchen so hopefully they'll think to incorporate this idea."

Choong Hwa Won

★★★★☆ 3.9 (523) • $$

"We went as a family of 6. It was bustling as usual and our food arrived quick. Make sure to check out seasonal specials on the walls. The black bean sauce noodles were better than a lot of other spots in the area. I also got spicy squid and it was delicious. They don't skimp on ingredients or amount so come hungry!The jjampong seafood soup was just the right amount of spicy. Nothing was incredibly great but better than average. The interior needs a serious facelift but I guess the rundown look is part of its charm? So I won't take a star off for that."

Hong Kong Palace

★★★★☆ 3.7 (554) • $$

"Haven't been here in a long time but tried it again on the Chinese New Year. Food was very good and the staff very friendly. Started with hot and sour soup and dumplings. Moved on to Kung Pao Chicken and General Tsao chicken. Everything was excellent and can't wait to go back."

Chiko

★★★★☆ 4.4 (391) • $$

"I'm not a fan of QR code ordering but this spot had great food! I will definitely go back, next visit! Korean tater tots (in my head NO, in my belly YES) the fried rice was excellent with a soft egg on top, the fried chicken dish with the sauce, perfection in the crunch & the seasoning & THE SAUCE!!! it's a small spot & I do not think wheelchair accessible (old houses remodeled into food spots) also Proudly known & shown on the map as the best Gayborhood for eating!Drinks were just OK. Server was decent. I missed out on a noodle dish, please go for me!"

CHIKO

★★★★☆ 4.4 (382) • $$

"Stopped by here an hour before closing in a Sunday evening. Staff were friendly. We stayed to eat but it's very utilitarian vibes, clean and functional but not much more than that. Between three of us we got 1 app (green beans), 2 mains (three pepper beef, jajang) and 1 side (spicy cucumbers) - was around $60 (with a soda and lemonade as well) and there was enough food to have leftovers! Maybe like 1 more meal. The food was actually phenomenal. Like waaayyyy better than expected given that this place is not at all a fancy vibe. Honestly hard to say which item was my favorite. Flavor, texture, freshness - everything was amazing! The only kinda weird thing is that they all the items were being cooked in the same singular wok, so the items were a bit staggered coming out. But overall, delicious, easy, cheap especially relative to the quality for sure! Would come back and recommend."

Full Key Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.9 (482) • $$

"I have eaten food that my grandson bought from this place and the roasted pork was delicious!My friend and I decided to have dinner here on the weekend since we were in the area.I ordered the roasted pork on rice with vegetables. My friend got the won ton soup. The server came out with a bright smile, she brought us some hot tea and the menu. She also bought us water which was a surprise because most other Chinese restaurant doesn't serve water unless we ask for it. The serving sizes were good so we had some to take home. Both dishes were delicious! The dining room is beautifully decorated and it was comfortable atmosphere. I would definitely return."

Muncheez

★★★★☆ 3.7 (523) • $$

"Tbh, I would rather come here than any late night diner 100% of the time. I have driven from Rockville to get Muncheez on multiple occasions hehe.The shawarma is FIRE. I always get a wrap. I often get a crepe. Whoever thought about having a crepery in the window was a smart person. I so appreciate that the menu is small and simple but every single item so fresh and so deliciously made.I often see people come in picking up food togo. Delivery drivers too! The guys working hard to cook for you, be nice to them! They are so sweet and they work so hard and such long hours.Love this place and don't forget to tip! Hehe"

East Pearl Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.6 (550) • $$

"I used to live down the street from here and would come very often. My mom and i met up here for the first time in a few months and it is as good as i remember. We always get seated very quickly and the staff are nice. Their wonton soup is my favorite out of any wonton soup i have tried elsewhere. It is wontons filled with delicious shrimp. I was not feeling too well today and after having their (very) hot tea and hot soup, i instantly started feeling better. They also have a large menu and a great lunch menu. Large portions, where we always have leftovers."

Kungfu Kitchen

★★★★☆ 3.7 (500) • $$

"Ordered takeout when I was in town staying with some friends. I wasn't privy to knowing what we ordered but there was a smorgasbord of items. They were all amazing. My takeaway from this is either:1. My friends have really nailed which the best items in n the menu are. Or2. Everything on the menu has gigachad aura. When we walked into pickup the food, our host was immediately available with our to-go boxes. Everything was packed nicely and we received an appropriate amount of napkins, chopsticks, hot sauce etc for 3 people. She was smiling and overall the exchange was positive. Def would recommend."

District Dumplings

★★★★☆ 3.5 (492) • $$

"We got the soup dumplings, beef dumplings, chicken and lemongrass dumplings, and the wonton soup.The soup dumplings were very good, with a good amount of soup in them. The beef and chicken dumplings were nice. I especially liked the flavor of the lemongrass dumplings.But, my favorite dish ... shockingly ... was the wonton soup. It was so good! The wontons were delicate and the shrimp inside was perfectly cooked (not rubbery). The broth was light (not goopy- which I really don't like). I'll definitely go back for the soup dumplings and the wonton soup"

Taste of Asia

★★★★☆ 4.1 (342) • $$

"My daughter and I got take out from here on SuperBowl night. Our regular sushi place was closed, yeah weird I know, so we needed a back up. We were very pleased and would definitely return and dine in next time. The order was ready on time, staff were nice and got me checked out quickly. The presentation even for take out was quite nice. I want to note that when I went in to pick it up, there were other folks dining in and it gave me confidence I was going to like what we gotWe loved everything!"

Philippe Chow

★★★★☆ 3.9 (377) • $$$

"My fiancée and I had a time in this place, from the amazing music choice to the great service. Everyone was so attentive and friendly, we had great conversation with the staff we left so happy. The food was to die for and you know I had to get my espresso martini!! I also I got the lychee martini which was delicious."

South China

★★★★☆ 3.8 (385) • $

"One of the essential foods that I need to survive is Chinese Food. South China does a very good job of preparing Hot Delicious Food; American Chinese Food.I like this place. A small takeout restaurant with 8 or so tables. There is no waiter service, but the food comes out in takeout packaging to the table. Some paper plates and eat. Simple and no frills.I have only done takeout and service is fast. NYC fast; old-school fast. You call. Place an order. Ten or fifteen minutes later. Pick up and enjoy. Been here half a dozen times already. Always fast. Always ready on time. The food is delicious.Standard dumpling. Had them both pan-fried and steamed. Like them both; not doughy. Lite on flavor for my taste; but it's really tasty. Enjoy with hot oil.Beef Chow Fun. Another winner. The noodles have body; not mush; even after a 15-minute car ride. Plenty of beef. Tender. Flavorful. Nice change of pace for me.Pork Lo Mein. Spot on dish. This is a go-to dish for me. Noodles, protein, veggies, and sauce; equals delicious. My order had plenty of the above. Decent noodles. Tender pork. Veggies in proportion. Well well-balanced dish.Beef Szechuan and Pork Szechuan. Had both and both were delicious. Nice Szechuan sauce. Spicy hot but not deadly spicy. I like the layers of flavors in this style of dish. Again tender beef and pork with carrots, onions, and celeray. Delicious.My favorite; is The Egg Roll. I am a sucker for egg rolls. Top it with your favorite sauce and enjoy. Hot, tasty, filling...Overall, South China is a very good American Chinese Restaurant. Very friendly service. Large portions. Easy on the wallet. Always leftovers. Hot and tasty. CC friendly. Plenty of street parking. No frills; just delicious food. These are all the things I look for in my local Chinese Restaurant."

New Dynasty

★★★★☆ 3.8 (379) • $$

"New Dynasty is a great Chinese food spot on P St (Dupont). Since 1992, they've offered authentic and delicious food. I'm always looking for quick spots to grab food, and really enjoyed their veggie lo mein. The service was great, and the manager was very kind. A cute place to come on a date or with friends."

Sichuan Legend

★★★★☆ 3.8 (375) • $$

"The Sichuan style cooking is delicious and healthy; You can ask for a lesser spicy food if you don't want it hot/ spicy. The hot pot are all fresh ingredients/ all you care to eat. I enjoy the green beans and tofu. Super flavorful. The interiors are tastefully remodeled with tasteful modern setting. Menu is family friendly with exceptional service and staff!"

Rice Pot Asian Cuisine

★★★★☆ 3.8 (374) • $$

"Enjoy refreshing Coconut Hot Pot at Rice Pot Cuisine ! Specializing in Authentic Asian Cuisine, the dishes are made fresh and served so beautifully on the lazy Susan tables! I am so impressed with the rich flavor of the coconut in the broth and how all the flavors come together! Loving the space here with the nice decor! Service was so lovely as the owner reminded me of my grandma and she was serving me some hot pot!! What we Ordered! *Coconut Chicken Hot Pot *Roasted Hong Kong Style Duck *Lucky Family *Mapo Tofu *Coconut Juice"

Q By Peter Chang

★★★★☆ 3.5 (431) • $$

"We stopped by Q for a birthday dinner and were surprised by how good the dishes were. My favorite was the Sweet & Sour Branzino - unbelievably prepared so that you can pick up little cubes of perfectly cooked fish with chopsticks. Thumbs up for the Peking Duck and the Seafood with Crispy Rice. Amazing. And the Golden Buns and Mango Pomelo Tapioca were perfect desserts to finish things off. Fun and adventurous, this is not your typical Chinese restaurant. The dishes are unique and inventive, and just plain delicious. Definitely worth trying, for a celebration or just to stop in and have a fun meal."

Lotus Garden

★★★★☆ 3.5 (421) • $$

"This is one of my favorite places to get Chinese take-out in the Vienna area. No matter what you get the food is plentiful, delicious, and authentic.One of the best dishes on the menu is their hand pulled beef noodle soup. The fresh noodles really makes a difference, it's so bouncy and springy in your mouth and the broth is like a warm hug from a grandma. I'm a sucker for chicken fried rice, sesame chicken, and pan fried noodles and they do these dishes a solid here. I never leave disappointed.The interior reminds me of the old Chinese restaurants I used to frequent as a kid with the roasted ducks and bbq pork in the windows. They have lots of seating and it is always full of families sharing big platters of food.It's nothing fancy but places like these are truly a neighborhood gem!"

Asian Grill

★★★★☆ 4.2 (285) • $$

"Some days you just have to eat Chinese, I was craving fried rice... I decided to order combination fried rice it was delicious. I also grabbed chicken lo mein for my daughter she enjoyed it as well. We did a take out it was fast and was ready on time. This is one of the places that I like around here. You should give it a try. Sorry no pictures this time as I was really hungry! ‍"

Taste of Hong Kong

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (479) • $$

"Gotta say I was a little dissapointed with this place. This place boasts of fresh dim sum dishes, however, half of the dim sum I chose came cold. I had ordered the crispy shrimp cake, dim sum, and was looking forward to it. Not only was it cold, it was not crispy. When I asked them to return it and bring me a fresh one, they simply refried the one that I had, and brought it back. I really wanted to like this place, but will not be going back."

New China Taste

★★★★☆ 3.9 (316) • $$

"Quick carry out service. Large, fresh, portions! Best carry out in the area. Highly recommend."

14th St Cafe Asian Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.1 (282) • $$

"This is my love note to the only Chinese I will order in DC. It's expensive for what it is, but genuinely I won't eat anywhere else because they all pale in comparison. The crispy orange beef is my favorite with their crab rangoons. I always have leftovers. It ends up being about $50-$60 for two people, but you won't find as high quality or consistency anywhere else!"

Kisso Asian Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.2 (267) • $$

"Surprisingly, good food. Really fresh and delicious food and an extensive menu. Usually, that would worry me, but this restaurant pulled it off.Sandy made the night so special. If I have a chance to come back again. we will be back and we will ask for Sandy. Thanks for such amazing customer service Sandy"

Taipei Tokyo

★★★★☆ 3.6 (355) • $$

"Stopped in for a quick lunch before heading to the airport since it's close to my mom's. I'm so glad we did as it was perfect. We didn't have a ton of time but they were quick! I was amazed at their lunch special. 3 rolls for like $18?? They're good sized cut rolls too; extremely filling. Flora hooked us up with miso soups too :)My sister ordered a pad thai and I was surprised they had Thai food on the menu. I gave my sister a side-eye questioning her order. I guess she knew though because the pad thai was very good and a huge portion too! I guess don't sleep on their Thai food haha. Flora checked in on us a few times to make sure we were good. The other server did too. I really enjoyed our quick lunch there. The service, quality, efficiency and value are hard to beat!"

City Lights of China

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (433) • $$

"A solid takeout Chinese restaurant. My friend and I ordered City Lights of China for pickup on Christmas Eve. We split the steamed vegetarian dumplings and I ordered the Peking duck as my main dish. The vegetarian dumplings were extremely disappointing. While they were perfectly steamed, the dumplings were a bit too doughy and the filling was relatively tasteless. However, the Peking duck was fantastic. For $25, I got a great portion size that allowed for leftovers. The duck was very good-perfectly cooked with crispy skin, juicy meat, and a delicious plum dipping sauce.I would recommend City Lights of China for your next fast meal or if you want Chinese food."

Duck Chang's Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.1 (259) • $$

"I cannot believe I have lived in Annandale and driven past Duck Chang's so many times but had never been, until today. Well thankful hubby and I rectified that today. I think part of why I hadn't been was I have my take out Chinese food location in Annandale & this spot gets put on the parallel with Piking Gourmet. I can see who one might draw that parallel from a menu & specialty standpoint and similar time frame but they have very different feels inside. First Duck Chang's is smaller inside and feels much more personal. We were spoken to by several staff including the lead chef. We both got something new to us and both had positive food experiences. I had the Sha Cha Delight; hubby got the Stir Fried Ho Fun with beef. Because we both enjoyed our meals and were on our way to check on a friend we ordered her a take out meal, she reported a positive experience. We all agreed we would be back.While I'm not sure how I made it so long without a visit one of our New Year's resolutions will be to visit again and repeatedly. If you haven't been you too should resolve to correct that error."

Meiwah

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (366) • $$

"Ordered takeout from here because I had a bottle of wine at home I wanted to drink. I grew up in DC and was a customer of the owner's previous restaurant, City Lights of China. Ordered the General Tso's chicken, pork fried rice, spare ribs, shrimp/pork dumplings and whole fried fish. The whole fried fish and spare ribs were great. We weren't expecting a snapper as the fish so it was a nice surprise. Everything was super fresh and tasty and up to par with New York Chinese food. Quick service since the food was ready about 20 minutes after ordering on the phone."

Chef Yan

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (371) • $$

"My family used to go to China Star regularly. When Chef Yan took its place, we were a bit worried; however, it hasn't skipped a beat. Chef Yan is easily the best Szechuan-style Chinese restaurant in the DMV (Mama Chang's doesn't hold a candle to Chef Yan). Pretty much everything we order is fantastic and the sheer number of menu items makes it that much more impressive. There are easily 20-30 amazing dishes on this menu. During our most recent visit, we stuck to the seafood, ordering the Chongqing fish and the fish and tofu in chili oil. Both were excellent -- very spicy -- and right up there with the dishes we normally order here. Anyone giving Chef Yan less than 4 stars doesn't have a clue!"

Indochen

★★★★★ 4.5 (198) • $$

"recently added a "cameron corner" menu section which has a chicken sandwhich that is delicious burgers and other american/bar food to better serve the local neighborhood.also love happy hour every day from 3-6 over all great place who is listening to its customers"