the far east in northwest DC: shanghai teahouse

Shanghai Tea House
2400 Wisconsin Avenue
(202) 338-3815
Accepts credit cards: Yes
Price Range: $$ (out of 4)

After I read this review by Tom Sietsema in the Washington Post, I knew this was a place I could get excited about. We visited Shanghai Teahouse in Glover Park around 7 last Friday night. The restaurant is on the small side, and service is dicey at best (think: confused waitresses, uninformed kitchen staff, and long waits for getting water and your check), but the food is awesome and affordable. I can forgive the rest!

Thanks to Tom Sietsema's advice we knew to skip the General Tso's Chicken and dine on dumplings instead. We ordered hot an sour soup (one word: intense.), an order of boiled lamb dumplings, an order of boiled vegetable dumplings, and an order of pan fried vegetable dumplings, as well as some spring rolls and scallion pancakes.

The boiled vegetable dumplings were the star of the night. The dough was delightfully chewy, and the filling was gratutiously garlicky (perfect!). The pan-fried version of the same dish were just average. The lamb dumplings were a real treat - the lamb was prepared perfectly (very lean and tender) and paired with tangy ginger, cabbage, and carrot. Oh, yum!

The scallion pancakes were delicious, but then, I've long been a fan of this oily, savory bread treat and, for me, they can do no wrong. The menu does have something for everyone in case you are a person who does not enjoy dumplings or scallion pancakes, and bonus: all their food is completely MSG free.

Their tea menu is long and wide with great descriptions for each. As with the food menu, I took my cues from Sietsema's review and ordered the snow pine tea. As I sipped it from my tiny, thermal, double-glass teacup, its fragrance wafted up to me like a delicate perfume. It was the perfect digestive as we ate platesfull of dumplings. I liked it so much, I may (maybe, maybe) forego my usual glass of wine with my next big meal!

Do go, forewarned about the service. Stick to the dumpling menu, and be adventurous with the tea selections. Enjoy your trip to the far east in Northwest DC!