From January 2005 100 Very Best Restaurants

Like its sister restaurants--DC Coast and Ceiba--TenPenh has a striking decor, a lively bar, and a menu of updated ethnic classics. Executive chef Jeff Tunks and chef de cuisine Cliff Wharton have put together a menu that ranges over the cuisines of Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. You can start with a tasty Filipino-style lumpia spring roll of shrimp and pork, a surprisingly successful Chinese-style Peking duck roll, or Thai-style coconut-and-chicken soup, none of them "authentic" but all of them delicious.

Main-course choices include Tunks's signature Chinese-style smoked lobster, a Green Curry Bouillabaisse with fresh prawns, and an Asian Surf and Turf with a grilled rib eye and tempura shrimp. Pastry chef Jason Andelman's Asian-inspired but thoroughly American desserts are a treat, particularly the trio of crème brûlées flavored with coffee, lemongrass, and ginger, and the chocolate-cashew tart with banana ice cream.