Washington DC/Peking Gourmet

Celeste H. wrote:
>
> I've been invited out to dinner at the Peking Gourmet in Washington DC.
> I know
> it's a favorite dining place of President's and other political
> figures.
> Any recommendations on what to order and/or expect?
>
> Thanks!
> Celeste

First of all do not expect anything fancy!  The decor is no different than dozens of less well known neighborhood restaurants.  There are no private rooms.  If you're dining as part of a private party, you'll eat behind a screen or simply at one of the large banquet tables in the main dining room along with all the other diners.

As for your question about what to order, I'd suggest you look at the chef's suggestions.  Not knowing your taste -- and, since you don't know whether I know shoe leather from stir fry  -- I'm not certain how much stock you should put in my recommendations.  Still, with that disclaimer, I'm happy to let you know about our favorites:

There is a shrimp dish, Juo-Yuen shrimp, (sp ???) that we love.  Make sure you order it without the shells unless you enjoy peeling shrimp.

The restaurant makes a big deal about their dishes made with garlic sprouts.  While sprouts are a mild version of garlic, it is still garlic, so be forewarned.  Everyone has to eat the dish, and you can't have any business dealings the next day.  The menu explains that you can order this dish made with several meats; we prefer the version with shrimp.

They do a wonderful Peking Duck at the restaurant and the table-side carving is showmanship of the highest order.  But the showmanship goes beyond mere entertainment.  Every movement of the knife is designed to strip the fat from the underside of the skin or from the meat and improve the finished product.

Their chicken with cashews is excellent, as is their sea bass with black bean sauce.

There is one dish that I plain don't like: Szechuan Beef Proper.  This is a different preparation from Szechuan Beef.  The familiar ingredients are in the dish, however, the chef sprinkles some sugar on the outside of the julienned strips of beef and quickly stirs fries.  This imparts a faintly sweet taste to the meat (which I don't care for) and it makes the exterior of the beef quite tough.

Please report back to us after your meal at the Peking Gourmet.

Karen Selwyn

From [email removed] Thu Mar 27 14:12 EST 1997
To: [email removed]
Subject: Re: DC restaurants -- Dupont Circle area or A Content-Type: text Content-Length: 223

Try the Santa Fe East Restaurant at 108 S. Pitt Street in Alexandria. They have a variety of wonderful dishes, including fish and vegetarian dishes, and the restaurant is charming.  You won't be disappointed.  Joyce Jones

Celeste H. wrote:
> I've been invited out to dinner at the Peking Gourmet in Washington DC.
> I know
> it's a favorite dining place of President's and other political
> figures.
> Any recommendations on what to order and/or expect?
>
> Thanks!
> Celeste

Peking Duck is very very good....
Anything (especially shrimp) with Garlic sprouts are good.... Hong Kong style Wontons are good.... Dumplings stuffed with garlic sprouts.....

Parking is a little cramped....the food is good...but with the fame...the prices are higher than most Chinese restaurants in the area.