Arlington’s Peter Chang

I’m a fan of heat of the savory version. I like spicy in Mexican, Asian, just about any kind of cuisine. I once ate at a Mexican restaurant where they stated in their menu that they only knew how to cook spicy so if you didn’t like it, you would have to peace out. It was so good that even though my mouth was on FIRE, I couldn’t stop stuffing my face 🙂

So the Szechuan style of Chinese cooking is a favorite of mine. A group of friends (some of them who grew up eating these foods) and I decided to try the new Peter Chang restaurant in Arlington. If you haven’t heard of him, Peter is a renown chef who has an ardent following who  are always eager to experience his culinary magic. After years of experience cooking at the Chinese Embassy, he decided to open his own restaurants, amassing even more fans along the way.

With a group of 6 people, we didn’t have to wait too long for a table. It can be an hour+ so be prepared to keep yourself entertained.

Everything we ate was so DAYUM good. With just the right amount of heat to feel the burn but not overpower the rest of your palate. Enjoyable torture!

The scallion bubble  pancakes were so AWESOME – they stayed crunchy even after we deflated them so their texture didn’t become soggy. They’re served with a curry sauce but I liked to eat mine without it.

The twice cooked pork belly – did someone say pork belly??

My absolute favorite, the mapo tofu – the heat was a slow burn that didn’t overwhelm.

The hotpot stir fry with chicken along with a beef dish and rolls.

We didn’t finish there! We managed a few vegetable dishes – the seasonal vegetable and mushrooms and the shrimp dumplings.

We devoured all of it because it was just so delicious. With such an extensive menu, I’m looking forward to my next outing!

The Washingtonian recently wrote about Peter’s new Rockville location and they mentioned that there may be a fine dining branch that may open in the Navy Yard (huzzah!).

Give it a go and let me know what you think!

–MXM