Ma Po Tofu – Wong Eats

For some time, I had been reading and hearing about a Chinese restaurant in a most improbable place, inside a Days Inn motel on the busy gateway of the New York Ave. and Bladensburg Rd. intersection. I had passed by it a number of times on my way to town, but I was quick to dismiss it due to its name (akin to a Chinese fast-food chain) and its suspect location. But my Thai-Chinese doctor assured me, as well some online reviews, that it was the real deal serving authentic Mainland Chinese dishes that I shouldn’t overlook. So, after getting over my reluctance and convincing my usual Friday-dinner group, we stepped into Panda Gourmet‘s doors to savor its offerings.

Coming from the Maryland suburbs was not as tough getting there unlike the convoluted U-turn one has to maneuver from the direction of downtown DC (by the Moonie’s Washington Times). Parking was not an issue there since it is located within a hotel which was a huge relief for this reviewer who is weary from parking battles that DC has lately become known for. Looking at its rather confounding menu, typical of many Chinese restaurants, I managed to pick a few dishes that were based on some reviewers’ recommendations.

The first appetizer was Xian Sandwich with Pork, which was destined for my roomie who couldn’t make it to dinner. When I got home, he was graceful enough to allow me to take a few bites of it. I quickly fell in love with this meat package. The bun was an interesting combination of a semi-hard crust with a rather spongy dough under it, coupling the shredded pork stuffing that reminded me of a long-smoked chopped barbecue. The meat mixture was extremely savory with the right amount of saltiness and a hint of cumin rubbed on the exterior. If weren’t for tasting it after my meal, I would have begged for more of this wonderful small bite. The other was Lamb Skewers that came with many online recommendations. The 4 skewers landed with rather generous chunks of meat attached to them. One bite revealed fairly tender meat that was not overcooked and they lacked the gaminess usually associated with that meat. The seasoning of crushed chili peppers and whole cumin seeds elevated these bites to something that was both savory and enticing, delicious enough for the dinner party to do a reprise of this dish close to the end of the meal.

The establishment is known for Szechuan and Xian dishes of which I focused my eyes on from the menu. Ma Po Tofu with Beef was an order used as a litmus test of this cuisine. The fiery red dish arrived with nuggets of tofu studded in between with bits of minced beef hidden among the whole mix. One mouthful was a bit overwhelming at first. It was quite salty from the heavy use of bean sauce, and spicy from the chili oil and Szechuan peppercorn powder, evidenced by their presence on the white tofu. The silken tofu provided some relief from the salt and spice, as well as the white rice that should be mixed with the main course, hence its over seasoning. The minced beef was lost in the mix partially due its small pieces and the lack of its amount. I was hoping for some textural contrast like green peas that I had savored in versions from other establishments. Despite the above flaws, I appreciated the dish after picking through the pieces, and I was yearning for more spice heat as well as the numbing effect of the Szechuan peppercorn. Not bad.

A spicy dish recommended by online reviewers was Chicken in Spicy Garlic Sauce. The dish was brimming with pieces of chicken breast, snow peas, celery, broccoli, mushroom, wood fungus, and bamboo shoot. The first taste of the dish raised my eyebrows due to the sauce that was an interesting combination of chili oil and garlic, tasting sour from vinegar and sweet from sugar. The sauce flavor was quite prominent and the sweet-sour element nearly overwhelmed the nuances of the mild chicken meat and the crunchy but perfectly cooked vegetables. But then, I was reminded of the nature of Szechuan cuisine that is bold in flavors, which this dish is up the alley, including the pool of red spicy oil which my parents complained about Mainland Chinese cooking during their travels.

To appease a fellow dining companion, we ordered a couple of non-spicy dishes, in addition to balancing out the whole meal without bludgeoning our palates with spice. The first was a newly added dish on the menu – Shanghai Bok Choy and Winter Mushrooms. The dish arrived with halved bright-green baby bok choy accompanied by a pool of whole Chinese mushrooms covered with a dark sauce. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and I was appreciating their fresh quality. But it was the mushrooms that stole my attention with the woodsy notes and slippery consistency, an indication of them reconstituted and cooked properly to give a luxurious mouthfeel. The sauce had hints of oyster sauce that is a classic match in Chinese cuisine. As a respite from the chili heat, this was a perfect vegetarian dish.

Another fellow dinner wanted to take some reign on ordering the dishes, and he chose Shrimp with Mixed Vegetables since he is fond of that seafood and is always trying to add more vegetables to the mix. The shrimp was accompanied by the usual Chinese mix of vegetables: broccoli, celery, carrots, baby corn, snow pea, bamboo shoot, and water chestnut. It was a colorful and multi-textural mix despite the rather pedestrian brown sauce that coated the dish. Even with the ingredients cooked just right, there really was not much to write home about, or in this, in this blog. Meh, just not bad.

Panda Gourmet is not for everyone, especially those who are not familiar with Chinese cuisine from the Mainland. Sometimes, one has to apply some degree of cultural relativism when approaching certain ethnic cuisine, or in this case, gastronomic relativism, and with this angle, I evaluated what I ordered at this eatery. The pork sandwich and lamb skewers were the perfect appetizers, even for the fussy or critical eater. The Ma Po Tofu, Bok Choy and Mushroom, and the Spicy Garlic Chicken scored high in my books with their authentic approach despite the nearly overwhelming sauces and slightly oiliness, which come with the culinary territory. Looking at their daunting menu, I realize that there are most veritable dishes to explore, offering some “funky” dishes with frog, tendon, tripe, and many dishes served on the Mainland. This is a joint worth venturing into, and you may discover dishes not found in your usual carry-out, some to your liking, and some rather challenging.

No holds barred: I struggle with and shy away from Chinese food especially the insipid and bastardized versions served in this country. You may have read that I went back to my birth place for my parents 50th anniversary over last summer, and I took the opportunity to literally stuff my face with all the dishes holding childhood memories and gastronomic reveries. The highlight of this epicurean trip was visiting a number of fine-dining Chinese restaurants to remind myself of what veritable dishes of this grand cuisine taste like.

From aversion to affinity. Having returned from my Southeast Asian trip, my hunt for decent Chinese restaurants has been reinvigorated, and I quickly went back to an old haunt that had not seen my face for many moons (read Full Key). Shortly after such a memorable trip, my laptop screen flashed an online coupon offer for a restaurant offering cuisine from the mainland. With coupons in hand, I made a couple of trips to Bob’s Shanghai 66 located on the same location where Bob’s Noodle 66 (read blog) used to be located before moving itself merely across the street, once by myself, and the other with a friend from the mainland in tow.

Walking into the space, you are immediately impressed by the sheer busyness created by customers packing the restaurant sitting at the tables or standing in line, and the large glass-enclosed assembly line of workers producing (and overtly advertising) the restaurant’s signature dish – Xiao Long Bao or Soup Dumpling. So without any hesitation, we ordered a bamboo basket full of these small beauties from the section listed as Shanghainese Tapas. One bite into these Shanghai delicacies said it all. The dumpling skin was slightly firm but thin enough to be both completely cooked and able to hold the ingredients of a meat filling that was well-seasoned and tasted multi-dimensional, bursting with a rich soup produced by the pieces of gelatinized stock (I noticed the little glowing cubes imbedded in the meat mixture in the production line) melting during the cooking process. The secret is to place one dumpling in a spoon, piercing it to let the soup pour out, drink the rich liquor, and ingest the dumpling – instructions are not included there. The side sauce of ginger slivers in earthy Chinese black vinegar is the perfect acidic and flavor counterpoint to the mouth-sticking soup and the rich pork stuffing. These bites were worthy enough for my friend to state that he would bring his mother there just for this dish (Chinese love their mothers too). Another trip entailed an order made with pork and crab roe – the subtle crab flavor married well with the mild pork. The perfect palate cleanser was the hot tea with its bitter tannins to wash away all the good richness from each little purse. Being the only restaurant in the DMV area serving this dish, they have got their act right for this house speciality.

Another steamed item that I was curious to try was Sticky Rice Shiu Mai. The shrimp version was what I am accustomed to having had enough of it in Cantonese Dim Sum houses. But these Shanghai bites were not what I really expected. Thin egg pasta skin has been stuffed with cooked glutinous sticky rice and steamed to bring the elements together. The rice filling had bits of Shiitake mushroom imparting its oakey woodsiness into each grain, along with a faint fragrance of bamboo leaf which the rice was steamed in. But for me it was just starch on starch, and my interest in it quickly faded – my Southeast Asian conditioning was screaming for more salt and flavor interests. Maybe a side of soy sauce and more ingredients in the stuffing would have made them a success for me. However, my friend seemed to enjoy them, and I appreciated the dish’s veritability.

Another Shanghainese small bite that I had read about was Scallion Pancake, and an order made it to the table. Flat pieces of dough containing pieces of green onion have been fried crisp, filled with a mild pungency from bits of green onion in each bite. Again, my Southeast Asian sensibility was screaming for more in the areas of flavor, salt, and taste interest. After a few bites, I was beginning to appreciate this simple dish especially the light crispy texture.

Another fried small bite was Leek Fried Crescents. Semi-circular pastries made from glutinous rice flour arrived at the table looking a bit drab and lack luster. But one bite into it called my attention. The stuffing was a soft concoction of Chinese chives and soft fluffy scrambled eggs that exuded savoriness that belied the simple ingredients. As I was marvelling with each bite, my Chinese friend stated that sometimes bits of dried shrimp can be found in the stuffing. Sound the gong! Yes, the Umami-ness is from the use of finely shredded dried shrimp that brought each bite to another level – I could not get enough of these bites.

The last order from the “tapas” section was Spicy Wontons. I grew up on these Cantonese style dumplings either in a mild-sauced noodles or in a clear broth. In this case, these bites came swimming in a pool of redness, ringing out its fieriness with its Szechuan identity. Sure enough, each bite was spicy hot from the chili oil and made more incendiary by the use of Szechuan spicy bean sauce, Doubanjian, which added the necessary saltiness to a well-flavored meat filling that could have stood by itself. After a few bites, the chili heat was making my mouth slightly numb from its sting, but this salty meaty combination was completely irresistible for both of us, breaking my friend into a sweat which didn’t slow him down at all.

Having read online customer reviews, Ja Jiang Mien was mentioned a number of times, and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to try it. My dining companion had mentioned that this Beijing dish is usually salty and plain. A bowl of thin wheat noodles arrived with a topping of minced pork seasoned with fermented beans sauce, soy, and garlic. Salty it was; plain it wasn’t. After giving the noodles a good mix, it tempered the salt content, and the meat sauce imparted its savoriness to the bland starch. The presence of couple of pieces of Edamame was a nice surprise. My friend further exclaimed that this version was a supped-up version of the original, which was to our benefit for this sitting – a slightly salty but savory slurp indeed. Hint: follow the advice of cyber critics.

Moving on to the main courses. I decided to taste their version of Ma Po Tofu. This ubiquitous dish can be found in most so-called Szechuan eateries but I have always longed for something that give me a good sense of the true dish. Well, this one did. A glass bowl arrived with silky smooth tofu cubes covered in a thin pool of fiery chili oil, furthered spiked by bits of dried red chili bits, and bits of fresh-shucked peas (judging from its granular texture and myriad of sizes) and carrot that provided textural and flavour contrast to the slipperiness. A good stock and some bean sauce provided the necessary body to what could have been a two-note dish, boosted by large slices of fresh garlic. What I thought was a sprinkling of white pepper on top totally misled me. It was the regional Szechuan peppercorn spice that added to the singe quality in my mouth with its lip and mouth-numbing effect, compounding the back throat burn from the chili oil. Having a penchant for gastronomic pain, I couldn’t put my spoon down, and I was enjoying every mouthful curiously waiting for the five-alarm bell to sound!

Being a bit of a masochist for chili heat, I also ordered another fiery dish at the same sitting (Yeah, I know) – Flounder Fillet in Hot Chili Sauce. Pieces of mild-tasting flounder have been battered in corn flour to produce a silky coating after being smothered by a stock-sauce filled with bits of pickled red chilies, which added some sourness, along with some scorch, and dried chilies. Like the above dish, I was enjoying the heat level that was just right, even with the mild tasting fish, and this was further aided by large slivers of pungent garlic. The mound of blanched broad bean sprouts and Napa cabbage not only provided textural counterpoint but also some necessary relief to the sweat-inducing notes. A tasty and satisfying fish dish indeed, but not for the faint of tongue.

Eating at Bob’s Shanghai 66 was like a study abroad lesson in Chinese culinary topography, from the rarely served and tasty Soup Dumpling, alongside a bit flavor-lacking but authentic small bites, to the fiery Szechuan tapas and main dishes that did a number on my taste buds that kept me coming back for more for its complexity and not-so-suble mouth-numbing flavors. This is what true Chinese cuisine is about – unadulterated, revelatory, and uncompromising. With a large Chinese population in the DMV, more restaurants are stepping up to the demand from customers and knowledge of the initiated. Places like this puts the cognoscenti like me many steps closer to attaining the Holy Grail of this grand Asian cuisine.

Addendum:

A recent visit to this place gave me a chance to try some new dishes. A Chinese “tapa” ordered was Beef Wrap with Scallions. It was like a burrito wrap with a strong wheat skin encasing thin slices of beef and lettuce leaves. The beef slices tasted seasoned, made even more savory by a copious amount of Hoisin sauce that made each bite delectable. The use of wheat and beef meat points toward the northern origin of this small bite, akin to the Southern Fujian version of Popiah (see blog). Unfortunately, I could not detect the use of scallions which would have added a slightly pungent note and more interest to these mild bites.

For a seafood dish, we honed in on Salt and Peppered Squid. I had tasted this dish before in another Chinese restaurant recently (see blog) that I have grown fond of. The pieces arrived battered and deep fried, with slices of green onion and red pepper softened by a short trip to the hot oil. However, this plate was quite lame compared to the aforementioned version. The batter was a bit too thick and not crisp enough due to either a lack of sufficient time in the oil or the oil not being hot enough. What a shame.

The last main dish was Shredded Pork and Bamboo Shoots. Slivers of young bamboo shoots are paired with slivers of pork, tofu and green onions, all brought together by a savory sauce made of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I enjoyed the tenderness of the bamboo shoots, the mild moist slivers of pork, and the healthy mild tasting tofu that provided more soft texture to each spoonful. And that sauce – it was enough to whet the appetite and to beckon the mouth to get another mouthful. This was definitely a dish that is a vestige of its former identity as Bob’s Noodle 66 (see blog). A dish worth ordering, in my estimation.