Most of the time, the tourists stay on the main drag around the Chinatown arch, but last night Leo took us way down and then around the corner on Sixth Street to a place I never would have thought to try, mainly because the name—Chinatown Express—sounds so mall food court-y. As we got closer, though, it started to look more and more "authentic." It's very much a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, small, crowded, and noisy, but I'm so glad we went there, and it's going to be on my list of recommended D.C. restaurants.
From the street, we could see all these cooked chickens and ducks hanging, ready either for take-away or for being served inside. They also had roast pork and barbecued ribs hanging, and if you look closely, you'll see in the steam table below pigs' ears (by the red tongs) and on the far right, chicken feet. Not all of the dinner entrees were hanging in the window. There's a huge aquarium right by the front door full of fish, crab, and lobster—they want you to know your seafood is fresh!
Leo and the waitress bantered a bit, though his Cantonese and her Mandarin weren't totally compatible, and they had to negotiate a few points in English, but we ended up with a splendid meal! In keeping with Chinese tradition, food isn't served in courses, but tends to come either all at once, or as the more complicated items get cooked. The first thing they brought (actually, as soon as we sat down) was water and a big pot of hot tea. When the food started coming, we got a huge plate of sliced roast duck, roast pork, barbecued pork, and barbecued squid (it was bright orangish-red; at first, I thought it was strips of red bell pepper) accompanied by a little dish of pungent but addictive pickled sliced garlic and another little dish of a chopped green substance that turned out to be fresh ginger root with chives and a touch of garlic.
No sooner had we started eating when a big plate of "potstickers" (fried dumplings) and a big lettuce leaf-lined bamboo tray of steamed dumplings showed up. The table was getting crowded, but on her next trip, the waitress brought a plate of shredded lettuce salad topped with long thin slices of jellyfish marinated in ginger and rice vinegar with sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallions (the marinated jellyfish was not quite so crunchy as the time I had it before, but this preparation was different and good in its own way), three bowls of steamed white rice, a big plate of lightly sauteed gai lan (Chinese kale, which is sometimes misidentified as Chinese broccoli), and the piece de resistance, an absolutely exquisite shrimp and walnuts in cream sauce. LOL....the waitress had to point to a couple of the nearly-empty dumpling platters and command us to "Eat!" so she could clear more space on the table for the newest food.
Our table was deep inside the restaurant, but from my vantage point, I could see the work station up by the front window, where a chef was preparing many of the rotisserie items, plus hand-making and stretching fresh lo mein noodles. It was fascinating to watch....the dough was stretched and folded and stretched and folded, and eventually he stretched the now-multiple strands as far as his arms could reach, when he some how "popped" the strands, and they fell into dozens of shorter pieces, which were then slipped into the simmering soup broth.
Now, I have to tell you about the shrimp dish. They took a bunch of jumbo shrimp, cleaned and peeled them, then dredged them very lightly in cornstarch before flash-frying them. They were cooked again with big chunks of fresh pineapple in a thick, slightly sweet cream sauce. As it was plated, it was strewn with walnut halves, and the platter was carefully edged with precisely cut pieces of blanched broccoli. The shrimp was perfectly cooked (it's easy to overcook shrimp, especially when the technique requires two cooking cycles), succulent, and ever so delicious!
The three of us absolutely stuffed ourselves, and couldn't quite finish everything. And the best part? The bill for the three of us, including tax and generous tip, was only $60! Not only is that an impressive feat for downtown Washington restaurants, but we ordered some of the most expensive things on the menu, what with the jellyfish and the jumbo shrimp.
We waddled back to the main drag and stopped and looked at the bus stop, looked at one another, then promptly hailed a cab. Getting on a bus would have been too much work!
Chinatown Express, 746 Sixth Street Northwest, near Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro.
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