Hunan Taste is trying to bring some upscale Chinese food to NoVA. I think most people will be impressed with the traditional Chinese decor.
We ordered 3 Chef's Specials (http://hunantastemd.com/en/chinesecui...), including Mao's Braised Pork w/ Brown Sauce, Spicy Shredded Chicken, and Boiled Fried Fish.
Mao's pork is red braised, tender and a good home style dish. The spicy shredded chicken is loaded with cilantro (which you may not realize by looking at the picture, and you don't read or pay attention to the Chinese characters on the menu), but if you like cilantro, it's a very tasty dish. The only bad dish is the boiled fried fish. The fish had a weird texture and really didn't pick up any flavor from the sauce. I've had this dish many times at other restaurants (Hong Kong Palace calls it fish w/ vegetable in peppery broth) and never encountered the bizarre texture, it's a little mealy/gummy.
We will definitely go back and try more dishes.
I'm totally trying this place. I've been looking for good chinese locally. We've been frequenting China Star, but the quality has diminished over time.
Finally went to Hunan Taste a few days ago. I took my teenage son with me.
Loved the ambiance. The decor was beautiful. It's been a long time since I've been to such a nicely decorated Chinese restaurant. We both loved it. The last time I've gone to such a nice Chinese place was in Seattle. And they had a sommelier. Now THAT's fancy. lol
Next, we loved, loved, loved our servers. They spoke very little English. And I thought they were fabulous. It was awesome pointing and ordering and having fun with them. I even was able to get recommendations between two dishes even with our language barrier. It might help that my mom's first language is Korean so I've had a lifetime of practice interpreting various Asian people. But I'm not sure I've ever had so much fun. Our waitress was just as cute as a button.
The food was good and the tea was delicious. I loved the sweet pickled radish they put down along with peanuts and the tea. The app we ordered was the pan-fried dumplings. OMG, home made dumpling rolls. With that chewy mouth feel and all the goodness that went with real dough. For dinner, we ordered clams in black bean sauce, pork belly in a spicy brown sauce, and General Tsao's chicken. All three dishes were good. But I was disappointed by my clams.
Now, I used to live next to Chinatown in LA when I was going to school there back in the day. And there is a little restaurant called Hop Li. The BEST clams in black bean sauce EVER. They'd imported a chef in from Hong Kong and he turned me onto this dish. It is fabulous and succulent. The chef has since left and the clams have never been as good. So, I had my fingers crossed that I might have stumbled onto black bean gold at Hunan Taste. But, sadly, that was not the case. I don't want to leave you with the impression that they were bad. They weren't. They just weren't great. And clams need to be great.
We opted not to have a dessert just because we were really full. My teenager thought it was just as fabulous and ate all the leftover the next day. lol I think he liked the waitresses the best. They were really cute, and nice and ran everywhere. And I think my son just got a huge kick out of it. I'm not sure he's ever seen servers trying so hard to be fast and efficient and take care of customers request super quick.
I failed to take pictures this time. But since I'm pretty sure I'm going again, I will definitely takes pics. Especially since I want to pre-order the duck and maybe a whole fish. *would love company if anyone is interested in a meet-up there*
Given the lack luster Chinese I've had so far in the area, I'm hoping this becomes my go-to Chinese place.
I wouldn't go to a Hunan restaurant for clams in black bean sauce (and I wouldn't order General Tsao's chicken anywhere unless I were literally starving.) It's worth reviewing the discussion of HT in Catonsville to see what their specialty dishes are. They have some excellent preserved pork and beef dishes, various kinds of grilled lamb and beef with cumin, and excellent red cooked pork belly, among other things.
My son ordered the General Tsao. lol Teenagers have certain palates. Far be it from me to interfere. And as long as they try different cuisines, I'm not too crazy with them trying foods they don't find appealing. I'd rather they have an excellent first experience so they can feel confident in branching out later if the restaurant is good.
If clams with black beans are on the menu, I'm ordering it. Every once in a while, regardless of the cuisine in which a restaurant is purported to excel, gems can be hidden. I've had the most exquisite Italian food at a German restaurant. lol So, I get the general rules for ordering Hunan specific food in a Chinese restaurant emphasizing the Hunan region, but what if one of their chefs ROCKS at seafood and black bean dishes? Plus, I am ever searching for that elusive flavor I experienced in LA. And I don't want to miss out.
And yes, the next time I go, I will branch out into some of their chef recs. But for this first visit, I needed to try the foods I ordered.
"what if one of their chefs ROCKS at seafood and black bean dishes? "
Ah, that is what I call randomness. Sure, at every place you can order that dish hoping to acheive the same taste you long for. In that case, I am not sure what the purpose of Chowhound is for you.
Chowhound is to drill down and avoid randomness. To learn, to explore.
KWagle is explaining that your lack of success with a Cantonese dish at a Hunanese restaurant is to be expected. Plus, if you continue to order these dishes, you will probably never get to the 'real deal.'
I suspect, though, you may not like what you get since Hunanese food can be overwhelming.
In terms of your son, of course everyone like highly sugary and fatty food up to a point. I used to, a long time ago. Now It is a big turn off.
So continue to order the Genl Tso for him, but, oh by the way, not all Chinese places serve the same food. it is not a monolithic cuisine. So this is a learning opportunity as well. If you begin to talk to your son about Hunan, Sichuan, Shanghainese, Dongbei, etc, and order those dishes, it goes beyond just 'eating' and takes on meaning as well. The experience is not totally focused on 'do I like it?' but 'can I adapt?'
After a while, he may turn around to realize that food named after mythical military leaders is not the be-all of Chinese cuisine.
Wait, they finally opened? This is amazingly good news since it's hard to get certain Chowhounds to drive to Catonsville. :-)
I am a bit perplexed about this place. I saw it was written up in Tyler Cowen's guide. I went before he put out his report.
I asked if there was any relation, and I was told there wasn't any relation with the Hunan Taste in Catonsville. I was shown a Chinese-American menu, and when I asked if there was Chinese menu, they said no. I didn't stay to eat, thinking it was of no interest and simply more expensive than most. It is very fancy looking inside, and the prices were high.
Steve: Based on the website, you were given bad info, both in regard to the relationship to Catonsville (both places are listed) and the lack of a Chinese menu (they have a huge, interesting one).
Hunan Taste - MD
718 N Rolling Rd
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 788-8988
Hunan Taste - VA
10160 Fairfax Blvd, STE 106
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 877-0766
(703) 877-0767
I went back to Hunan Taste to see what I was missing. Again, I was handed the Chinese-Amenrican menu. I again asked about the HT in Catonsville, and this time they said it was the same place and the same menu. So I looked back through the menu to see if I just didn't look hard enough, but then I finally asked the right question: What about frog and turtle and intestines? Voila, they handed me the Chinese menu which looks just like the American menu, but bigger.
I ordered the preserved pork with string beans. Hunan province is famous for its smoked meats.
The dish looked typically Chinese-American, but the taste couldn't be more different. Someone expecting the iconic sugar and salty soy sauce flavor of Chinese-American food would have been knocked over. It was seriously hot, profoundly smoky, powerfully salty, and had the aromatics of a really good five spice blend which asserted itself despite the other competing flavors. Light years different and thoroughly satisfying for someone conditioned to expect the difference.
Definitely worth exploring.
I'm glad this place has finally opened since it's so hard to talk you into driving up to Catonsville! I wonder if the food is as good and look forward to finding that out, though perhaps unlike when I first tried the original location I will not be eating there five nights in a week. :-/
I finally got around to trying Hunan Taste in Fairfax today. I was alone, so I only tried two dishes -- cucumber in garlic sauce and spicy fish in brown sauce. Both were very good, especially the fish, but I don't pretend to have much of a feel for the place based on just two dishes.
The menu is as diverse and exotic as any I've seen in DC, with dishes such as "braised Chinese soft shell turtle with Chinese yams" (the photo shows the turtle is served whole, complete with head and toes), bamboo fungus with clam soup, spicy ox lung slices, braised bullwhack in brown sauce (Google suggests this is either bull penis or testicles), stir fried agaric with pork, hot oil on pig tripe, sauteed sour beans with chicken gizzards, and on and on.
There were a few things I found odd. I am not Chinese, but they gave me three menus, none of which was the usual Chinese-American menu that is generally handed to me (I'm white and in my 60s). Maybe that was just a mistake?
Hunan Taste made the Washingtonian's 2015 Cheap Eats list and the top dish they recommended was the fish in bean curd sauce, which the Washingtonian said despite its unenticing name was "thrilling in its tight harmony of heat, crunch, and tang." But that dish was no longer on the menu. The waitress said the dish is now called "spicy fish in brown sauce," which I ordered and found to be good, but with no "crunch." Why would you change the name of a dish with the boring name of "fish in bean curd sauce" to the equally boring "spicy fish in brown sauce"?
I was scouting the place out for a large group of friends who like to occasionally go to restaurants with exotic dishes. Some of this group insist on having a drink with dinner, so a place with no ABC license is out. The waitress said they do not have an ABC license and don't allow corkage (I think this is required by Virginia law). Yelp shows that the restaurant serves beer and wine and I've never seen a Chinese restaurant other than a hole in the wall, which Hunan Taste definitely isn't, that doesn't serve alcohol. I wonder if they surrendered their ABC license? This is wild speculation, but maybe the owners got very religious? I did see one restaurant worker spend much of her break with eyes closed and hands clasped and apparently praying.
The place is definitely worth exploring further for its fascinating menu, but I'm going to have a hard time finding a big enough group of friends interested in going to a Chinese place that doesn't serve alcohol.
The items of special interest can be found mostly in this link:
http://hunantastemd.com/en/chinesecui...
Preserved pork dishes
preserved sausage with bamboos shoots
smoked tongue
Then also look at the #112 tea tree mushrooms in casserole with pork, elsewhere on the menu.
The dong an vinegar chicken, whole fried grey sole (market price) and the small shrimp (this usually indicates river shrimp) also look interesting.
That green bean dish sounds excellent! I'll have to make the trek...
This is a good primer on Hunan cuisine and gives a list of dishes to try. I mean to make it over to Hunan Taste and try some of them.
FoodDude - I agree, all three of Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbooks are great resources. But it's always good to have eaten the food cooked by an expert, so you can know when you've gotten it sort of right at home. We have lots of good Sichuan restaurants around, so it seems like we always end up cooking out of Dunlop's Land of Plenty (the Sichuan one). With Hunan Taste here, I can maybe get more familiar with Hunan cooking so I can cook more out of Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook (the Hunan one).
Tried 3 more Chef's Specials today - (i) crispy roasted duck (022), (ii) steamed fish tail with chopped hot chili - online menu says $20 but it actually costs $30 (020), and (iii) divine incense mint pork (034).
When the printed price on the menu no longer applies, they just black out the number - thus becoming market price.
The best dish today was the divine incense pork - these were pork belly sliced bacon thin and then they must've been deep fried momentarily (because of the oil on the plate and they're not crispy like bacon). There's a hint of sweetness but not overwhelming.
The crispy roast duck was also very good. I wish I could compare it with Peter Chang's but it wasn't available the last time I visited the Arlington branch. I really liked the texture - crispy skin but there's still a bit of fat and the meat remains moist. Could've used a bit more seasoning perhaps.
Like I said, the fish tail is now $30. I was warned about the bones, and while tedious to pick out, doesn't bother me. What bothered me is that the dish didn't really absorb the sauce.
Finally got around to trying Hunan Taste in Fairfax today. I'm pleased to say it will go in our regular lunch rotation - definitely need to try more dishes. We had the preserved pork with green beans - salty, spicy, and just beautiful slices of pork, not too fatty. Also had the fish filet in spicy sauce, which had nice heat and perfectly cooked fish (tame in flavor, so I'm guessing tilapia.) No gloppy sauces to be found here.
By the way, they offered us both menus without having to ask. Sweet, friendly service.
I love those guys, but I haven't been to the new location yet. The staff at the Catonsville location are also sweet as are the owners. Still regretting I didn't get the wild caught baby turtle when they had it though!
I've revisited the Catonsville branch the third time to finally ordering the right stuff it seems for me to enjoy the Hunan cuisine or Hunan variation of dishes. There's definitely some learning curve. Among the ones we had, Chinese leeks with dried shredded bean curd, and tea tree mushrooms in casseroles with pork (was replaced with beef on request) were outstanding. A lot more to explore here for sure.
You can probably find the thread in which I posted after visiting five nights in a week. There are some real gems, though a number of them do use pork.
Wow, that speaks volumes. I just found the post you are referring to I think and will be a good reference on return visits. I mentioned about ingredient replacement more to say that they are very accommodating. I love pork, but dining with my mostly vegetarian parents helps me to explore different options and inquire.
It's unfortunately too pricey for me to afford very often, never mind having to drive from Boston. And I had gotten to the point where most of the new things I was trying weren't living up to the things I already liked. But it was truly excellent, on a par with Grace Garden (though very differently so) and I hope it continues to be excellent.
Yeah, there's a point as you describe where balance is tipped and one starts to re-order the "greatest hits," and bring friends and family along. The discovery and widening the horizon stage of a restaurant is probably most fun stage as possibilities seem limitless especially in a regional Chinese restaurant with thick heavy menu book such as this one.
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