| Address | 915 E St., Washington, DC |
|---|---|
| Phone | (703) 339-9775 |
1.5 out of 5
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I went here for the special Halloween/Fall-themed menu.
I thought it would be a whole menu, but there was only one choice for appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert. I looked at the regular menu and there was not a single thing that jumped off the page at me that I wanted to order. The original press release for the menu stated that dishes would be $6-$12, which wasn't true.
We ordered the Halloween Chinese dumplings with pan-fried squash and a soy-vinaigrette sauce ($8), Twilight($18)-- baked jasmine rice, pumpkin, chestnuts, ginkgo nuts topped off with a crispy fillet flounder and orange sweet-sour sauce, and Thai Pumpkin Custard($6 or $8).
The dumplings came out cold. We sent them back after trying one each (there were five to a plate), and they still weren't that hot. There was no crispy sear on the dumplings like expected, though there was coloring to indicate that frying them had once been the intent of the cook. Instead, they were steamed miserably and filled with a flavorless filling that I only knew was squash because the menu said so.
From the description of "Twilight" I expected a rice plate with a small-ish sized fish on top. Instead we received a small circle of rice--about the circumference of a baseball--with weird fried orange things on top. Separate from the rice were huge chunks of flounder. My friend noted that the whole plate was a bit gross looking and brown, which is important for those of us that eat with our eyes first. The rice was very salty and I couldn't eat more than a few spoonfuls, but it was better than the fish. The fish had some crazy thick breading and didn't really have flavor at all. When it did have flavor, it was the type of "maybe this fish isn't that fresh..." kind of flavor. The fish was really saved by the sauce on the plate. The spicy green-brown curry sauce didn't go with the dish at all, but it added a nice flavor (as in SOME flavor) to the fish. I wish they had put it on the fish instead of just drizzled it around the plate.
Dessert wasn't that good. I've eaten many a mediocre dessert and this was less than mediocre. It tasted like a watery custard with raw, unwashed pumpkin. Topped off with the same weird fried pumpkin squiggles from the entree.
The service was alright. I had to flag the waitress down to get the check and we had to wait for her to come back to tell her the food was cold, but my drink came out quickly.
I would say the highlight of the meal was the $8 strong and delicious mixed drink (Raspberry Rum, Coconut Rum, 151, Midori, and Pineapple/Citrus juices with blueberries and a dead looking strawberry on the rim). The decor was alright, but it never even got 25% full. I noticed that Asia Nine was reserved the next night, so this might be a place to go to if you're having a private event. Unfortunately, for the price (splitting the tab was $31 each!!), there are much better places in the immediate area with similar menus but done much better.
The only thing keeping me from giving 1 star instead of 2 is because everything that went into my mouth wasn't bad enough to warrant spitting out and their drinks are good. I would never go back here, no matter what.
