Restaurant review: Peter Chang (Arlington, Virginia)

Peter Chang is a Chinese chef who has owned and operated pop up restaurants throughout the mid-Atlantic region over the years. He has established a cult following of fans who have traveled enormous distances to have his food. He recently opened up a place in Arlington, Virginia, and we paid a visit last week with some friends to see what all the fuss was about.

We started off with the following appetizers:

Scallion Bubble Pancakes

scallion bubble pancakes

scallion bubble pancakes

Hot & Numbing Noodles (with bok choy and mushrooms)

spicy noodles

spicy noodles

Grandma’s Noodles, served with chili powder, scallions, garlic, cilantro, soy sauce and finished with a splash of hot oil

grandma's noodles

grandma’s noodles

Pan fried Pork Dumplings

potstickers

potstickers

Cold Mixed Beef Tendon (not my idea!)

beef tendon

beef tendon

Cold Mixed Wood-Ear Mushrooms with Thai Chili

wood ear with chili

wood ear with chili

Mapo Tofu

mapo tofu

mapo tofu

Mushroom Hot Pot stir fried in special chili sauce with mixed mushrooms, diced garlic, red bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno

mushroom hot pot

mushroom hot pot

Eggplant and basil in clay pot (stewed eggplant with basil in a light brown sauce)

eggplant with basil

eggplant with basil

Fish filets in chili sauce

fish filets in chili oil

fish filets in chili oil

Pan fried steamed pork belly (steamed pork belly marinated with bean paste, rice flour, and chili paste and then pan fried with Szechuan chili powder, scallions, and cilantro and served with snow peas and mushrooms)

spicy pork belly

spicy pork belly

Stir fried shredded duck, with Szechuan chili powder with Chinese celery

shredded duck

shredded duck

New Zealand lamb chops spiced with cumin

lamb chops with cumin

lamb chops with cumin

Stir fried beef in Szechuan sauce

stir fried beef

stir fried beef

Sliced chicken with Szechuan chili

stir fried chicken with hot peppers

stir fried chicken with hot peppers

Overall, the food is excellent—spicy and flavorful. It is typical authentic Chinese food, however, so the dishes tend to be on the oily side, especially for American taste buds. We really enjoyed it and plan to be back for a return visit soon!

Peter Chang can be found at 2503-E North Harrison Street, Arlington, VA, 22207, (703) 538-6688 (www.peterchangarlington.com)

 

Sips & Suppers 2014

We attended one of the Sips & Suppers that were hosted last night.  Sips & Suppers benefits Martha’s Table and D.C. Central Kitchen.  Chefs from across the country (and sometimes from around the world) cook meals in private homes to benefit the charities.

Our dinner was prepared by Scott Drewno of The Source and Peter Chang of Peter Chang (he has pop up restaurants throughout Virginia).  The theme of the dinner was Chinese New Year (which is actually on January 31 this year–the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar calendar so the date changes every year).  It will be the Year of the Horse.

We started the evening with a variety of hors d’oeuvres, most of them very spicy (a specialty of Peter’s).  Accompanying these was a 2005 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee champagne.

The amouse bouche was a Chinese tea egg custard, consisting of a lapsang souchong tea-smoked egg served with caviar on top.  I am afraid that all I can show you is the empty egg shell because I ate all of it before I thought to take photos (this will be a recurring theme in this blog post).

tea-smoked egg with caviar (empty)

tea-smoked egg with caviar (empty)

The first official course was a quartet of Chinese New Year dumplings.  The crescent shape of the potsticker dumpling is a similar shape to the gold “coins” from the Yuan Dynasty and symbolizes prosperity.  Accompanying these dumplings was a 2007 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne.

assorted dumplings

assorted dumplings

The second course was a Chinese-style steamed lobster.  Red (the color of the lobster) is the color of joy and happiness in Chinese culture.  The wine served with this course was a 100 point wine, the 1999 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree.

Chinese-style lobster

Chinese-style lobster

The third course was a dry aged New York strip accompanied with a spicy five vegetable stir fry.  The five vegetables represent the five blessings of the New Year (longevity, riches, peace, wisdom, and virtue).  You’ll have to take my word for it that the presentation was beautiful, as I was too busy eating the dish to take a photo.  The accompanying wine was a 2001 Rudd Oakville Estate Proprietary Red.

The final course was a Chinese New Year tangerine cake and house made fortune cookie served with a banana custard with a blood orange glaze.  The pronunciation of the word “tangerine” in Chinese is similar to the pronunciation of the word “money” and symbolizes prosperity.  There were two dessert wines served with this—a 2009 Doisy Daene L’Extravagant and a 1927 Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera.

tangerine cake, banana custard & fortune cookie

tangerine cake, banana custard & fortune cookie

The meal was a smashing start to what I hope is a fabulous New Year!