Eat Great Cheap 2016Speakers of Mandarin know that the actual name of the place translates as Mama’s Dumplings. They also know that, yes, you can do well for yourself with plates of crispy beef, a cut above the norm, but that the best reason to come is the specialty of the house—fresh-made dough hand-rolled and stuffed with any of 16 fillings (we’re partial to the combinations, such as shrimp-and-chive or beef-and-celery) and steamed till they’re plump and juicy. Make dumplings the centerpiece of your meal (they come 12 to an order), and augment them with small plates—garlicky cucumbers, for instance, and a bowl of cold sesame noodles with its numbing chili sauce.
Cuisine: Chinese
Where you can get it: 755 Hungerford Dr., Rockville; 301-294-0808
Also good: Pork-and-napa-cabbage dumplings; pork-and-chive dumplings.
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.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
