On the corner of Ten(th Street) and Pen(nsyvlania Avenue), this Pan-Asian paradise is from the same restauranteurs that own DC Coast, Ceiba, and - the best Cajun food outside of Louisiana - Acadiana. Funny enough, the location looks like Acadiana but with Asian accent pieces instead of Cajun.
If you're ever in DC for Restaurant Week, make reservations as soon as possible. Our Fridy afternoon call-in gave us a 10PM table. Restaurant Week is awesome by the way, if you can't make it now, go in August. It's $20 for a three-course lunch or $30 for a three-course dinner.
Mom and I settled into the bar while waiting and got some signature cocktails. I had an "Asian mojito" which is just like a regular one but with pear sake instead of rum and simple syrup.
When we got our table, we were greeted with a wonderful amuse bouche: A shot glass of squash soup enhanced with coconut milk, vegetable broth, and cilantro. Perfect to combat the winter weather.
For my appetizer, I had a salmon tartare which had the expected capers, onions, and cream cheese but also a pea-sized dot of wasabi on top and perhaps a little sesame oil. It was served with fried wontons, which lent a nice crunch to the rich, soft salmon.
My entree was four perfectly pan-seared scallops with cilantro sauce and a clearly-Thai-inspired braised pork belly and mashed potatoes. If you know my eating habits, cilantro is not my favorite herb (in moderation, swell) but the cilantro sauce was excellent.
Dessert was a cinnamon pumpkin bread and a chai cream cheese pudding. Both were amazing on their own, but the combination was killer.
The "au revoir bouche" (okay, just made that term up but lots of restaurants do it) was a milk chocolate brownie tinged with tamarind. I was a little hesitant but it was surprisingly good. Sweet is always better with a pinch of sour or salty.
My recommendation if you go there: Sit at the bar, and order the drinks and appetizers. The entrees and desserts were amazing, but I was really floored by the appetizers including my mother's chicken roti with tamarind sauce and my dad's Asian mushroom soup.
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC, 20004
202.393.4744
http://www.tenpenh.com
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