Food

Cheap Eats 2008: Mark’s Duck House

Why go: More than a decade after its debut, this storefront beloved by wine guru Robert Parker remains a standard-bearer of Hong Kong–style Chinese cooking—from the crackling-skinned Peking duck and marvelous lacquered roast pig to a dizzying array of soups, seafood dishes, stir-fries, and esoteric treasures such as sea conch with yellow chives.

What to get: Shrimp-and-pork wonton with brown vinegar and red chili sauces; Peking duck with plum sauce, scallions, and pancakes; salty beef short ribs with chili and garlic; sesame jellyfish; beautifully stir-fried greens such as mustard and watercress with or without tofu; steaming noodle soups.

Best for: A dish-sampling brunch, lunch, or dinner with friends to take advantage of one of the big lazy-Susan tables.

Insider tip: To signal that you want more tea, leave the lid of the teapot open; we like the chrysanthemum tea. If you’re not up for a half-hour wait, avoid peak lunch, dim sum, and dinner hours.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

See all Cheap Eats 2008 restaurants

Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.