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Dim Sum in the District

Ping Pong Dim Sum made it’s official U.S. debut a few weeks ago in DC, located between the Convention Center and Verizon Center on 7th street in Chinatown/Mt Vernon Square. As the very first location in the States, Ping Pong Dim Sum delivers a contemporary take on Chinese dim sum by introducing Washington to a 21st century tea house and dim sum experience.

For many in the Washington Metropolitan Area who have dined at local Chinese restaurants in the area, an assortment of dishes served in metal steamers is usually pushed to the table by a server on Sunday afternoon during brunch. Often times, patrons were puzzled from what was handpicked from the cart and placed in the middle of the table. If you’re looking for a new way of having dim sum, Ping Pong provides a different experience by serving up hot and steamy dim sum seven days a week.

The UK based restaurant also provides a different experience, where a printed list of the menu is placed on the table for patrons to mark off selections of hand-made dim sum (similar to a sushi menu). I recommend starting off with one of Ping Pong’s flowering jasmine tea that blossoms after hot water is poured and moving on to steamed and fried dishes to share. The first dish ordered was the Smoked duck and orange salad, a small serving of mixed greens dressed lightly with lemon and soy dressing with thin slices of smoked duck.

Within a few minutes of making our dim sum selections, the server brought bamboo baskets full of delectable treats to the table. The bite-sized servings came out in bamboo baskets, with four pieces of steamed and fried dishes. The baskets are excellent for sustaining the heat, flavor and texture of dim sum. My favorite steamed dishes are the Crabmeat & prawn dumpling, prawn Har gau and the Spicy pork dumpling. The Prawn toast, flavored with garlic and coriander and sesame seeds, was an excellent dish from the fried menu. We ended the meal with Lemon chicken that was served with a delicious chili, honey and lemon sauce.

Ping Pong’s menu features soups, baked, steamed, griddled and fried dim sum. Signature dishes, salads, desserts, tea and herbal infusions are also offered. We skipped out on dessert and ordered signature cocktails (try the Ping Pong and/or Kumquat Mojito).

The set menu is great for an introduction to dim sum. The décor and ambiance for intimate gatherings is excellent at the bar or seated section. The restaurant also features seating in front of the open kitchen and group seating at the bar area. As stated previously, if you’re looking for a non-traditional dim sum experience in a modern day setting, this is a great place to start your indulgence in dim sum. In a few weeks, a special menu for happy hour and discounted dim sum will be unveiled.

It’s not the typical Chinese mom and pop dim sum restaurant but certainly worth checking out for anyone who is open to trying something different in the District.

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Ping Pong Dim Sum
900 7th Street NW
FOOD MENU – DRINK MENU