Modern Chinese (and even non-Chinese) restaurants are getting into the dim sum game in new ways. These DC-area spots eschew carts for made-to-order dishes, fun group cocktails, and bottomless dumplings.
Chang Chang
1200 19th St., NW
Dim sum comes to Dupont Circle courtesy of restaurateur Peter Chang’s modern Chinese spot, which just launched weekend brunch. The made-to-order menu includes a bounty of dumplings—classics like steamed shrimp alongside newer creations such as truffle mushroom—plus bao buns, noodles, plates like scallop-shrimp toast, and the famous Changian scallion-bubble pancake. Don’t miss out on pastry chef Pichet Ong’s sweets, such as passionfruit pie with pepper-spiked meringue. To drink: we have our eye on the sparkling lychee punch. Over in Bethesda, flagship Q by Peter Chang also recently re-launched their weekend dim sum brunch with over 30 new and classic dishes—soup dumplings, duck rolls, mochi, and more.
Han Palace
2649 Connecticut Ave., NW; 522 8th St., SE
Restaurateur Chris Zhu is going big these days—i.e. a karaoke and Japanese barbecue joint at the Wharf—and the same is true with her dim sum places in Capitol Hill and Woodley Park. At the Barracks Row location, dim sum is an all-you-can-eat affair (with a two-hour limit) for lunch and dinner, set at multiple prices depending on how much you want to feast (starting at $18 for kids and $38 for adults). Bottomless mimosas are also offered on weekends. In Woodley Park, the Cantonese menu of dumplings, rice rolls, noodles, roast duck, and buns is priced a la carte—all day, every day.
Nama-Ko
1926 14th St., NW
Dim sum purists may look sideways at restaurateur Michael Schlow’s modern Japanese-restaurant on 14th Street, but the dining room is all about defying rules. Cue weekend brunch, where you can dig into a menu that includes spicy chili crunch shrimp gyoza, lemongrass chicken dumplings, and duck bao. And that’s just the start—the dim sum-inspired menu of share plates includes sushi rolls, chicken karaage waffles, congee-style shrimp n’ grits, and more. Groups can split carafes of yuzu mimosas alongside cocktails like a Japanese vodka-spiked bloody with kimchi and shishito peppers.
Wasai
716 Seventh St., NW
Daily dim sum gets the fast-casual treatment at this Chinatown newcomer that bills itself as “high-end Chinese fast food.” Diners can grab crispy sesame balls, spicy wontons, and crab-and-pork soup dumplings alongside a larger menu of dishes like hand-pulled Lanzhou noodle bowls and Szechuan-style cumin lamb burgers.
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.
