Chef-about-town Tim Ma is adding another job title to his resume. In addition to working on his Eaton Workshop hotel restaurant, American Son, and holding a new executive chef position at Prather’s on the Alley in Mount Vernon Triangle, Ma has signed on as the culinary director of Laoban Dumplings. The dumpling-centric fast-casual venture currently operates out of food incubator Pendleton Carryout in Alexandria as well as American University, and is planning to open a new location soon.
Owner Patrick Coyne brought on Ma to revamp and oversee the current menu and develop new dishes for future projects. Current offerings include homemade ginger-chicken, Berkshire-pork, and veggie dumplings as well as bao buns, noodles, and sides.
Ma seems to be everywhere since closing Shaw’s Kyirisan in April. In addition to his cheffing positions, he and uncle Paul Ma were recently included in the National Museum of American History’s revamped exhibit, Food: Transforming the American Table. He’s also a partner in kid’s meal delivery service Box’d Eats.
Stay tuned for the new Laoban location.
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.
