tenpenhclosed, as of 01 july 2011 ... sad ...
1001 pennsylvania avenue NW (between 10th street & D street), washington, DC 20004
tel: 202) 393-4500
hours : monday-friday 11:30am-2:30pm, monday-thursday and sunday 5:30pm-10:30pm, friday-saturday 5:30pm-11pm
tel: 202) 393-4500
hours : monday-friday 11:30am-2:30pm, monday-thursday and sunday 5:30pm-10:30pm, friday-saturday 5:30pm-11pm
what was consumed: restaurant week! must-have monday! ... peking style duck roll (moo shu pancakes, hoisin sauce, cucumber, scallion - which i didn't pick out! i'm growing up!), stir fry minced chicken lettuce wraps (shiitake mushrooms, pine nuts, mustard sambal), chef's special (kabob-ed shrimp and scallops on gnocci and broccolini in a curry sauce) ... some other stuff too, but i've since forgotten the first time i went to tenpenh was for restaurant week over a year ago.
i remember being quite excited for the lunch and leaving the restaurant totally full and greatly satisfied. recently, my friends and i participated in their "monday must-haves" menu - sort of like restaurant week, but just on mondays (most mondays?). we chose appetizers from their list of appetizers, any of the entrees on the menu, and any of the desserts. we admitedly concluded, at the end of the meal, that an appetizer/entree/dessert for each individual was a lot of food. of course, this didn't prevent us from eating the bulk of our the food that was served. and all was consumed deliciously!
we started out meals with our appetizers. i had the peking style duck roll - delicious. 4 pieces of duck, cucumber, and scallions wrapped in a moo shu pancake. it sort of reminded me of a spring roll. a delicious and ducky spring roll! topped with the hoisin sauce, i would've been happy with just this part of the meal. but i knew (and was excited about) what was to come. love it. i've also tried their fried spring rolls, calimari salad, roti, lettuce wraps. all delicious.
entrees. a lot of the choices avaible at tenpenh is seafood. a lot of fish dishes (yeah!) cooked in a variety of different ways, with a whole lot of sauces, accompanied by all sorts of veggies, grains, and other deliciousness. the dishes are plated so appetizingly that all you want to do is dig in and fill your belly! maybe it's the way that they're plated, but one may think that the servings seem on the small side. but as you begin consuming the deliciousness, you realize that you're a lot more full that you thought. so much so that you may think you can't finish the meal (of course, not a problem i have. whoops).
one of my favorites is the whole fried fish (though both visits, i didn't order it for myself. i just consumed large quanities from my friends who ordered it. i keep telling myself to order it, but knowing that others will order it, i find myself ordering other things to accompany the fish. hee hee). the entire fish, coated in a delicious and light batter, fried. bones and all. the fish is seasoned and fried so well that i just take pieces of fish straight from the bone into my mouth. for those that would like additional flavor, the dish comes with a delicious complementary sauce. the fish is accompanied by a nice and light cucumber salad, season with a light soy sauce/sesame oil/etc. dressing. one day, i will order it myself. but until then, i will enjoy my delicious entree (which i share, of course) and proceed to eat others' fried fish. oink oink (haha).
finally, dessert. the dessert at tenpenh is delicious. i'm usually not a dessert person, though i've been increasingly craving sweets as of late (perhaps a result of my non-drinking?). the ice creams that are served with many of the desserts are light and creamy, not too rich. this perfectly accompanies the rich pastries, cakes, and other sweets. but a must have? the donuts. light and fluffy, served with a light chocolate mousse. when the servers told us that it was the chef's speciality, we should've listened! it's not that the other desserts were disappointing - they were not. the desserts were delicious. it's just that the donuts were delicious-er (which, i know, is not a word, but how else can i express this?). in other words, i was happy to have had tasted a variety of their delicious desserts, but secretly i agreed with the rest of my party in that we could've (should've?) all ordered the donuts (hee hee). ahh, hindsight is 20/20.
while waiting for your party or when you're just hanging out, enjoy tenpenh's bar. i have not enjoyed many of their adult beverages, though they have a lot of them. i have heard, however, that they have quite a few (delicious) speciality drinks. friend j told me that she once had a cocktail with a real live octopus! that's so RAD!! perhaps i'll visit their bar to look for the octopus beverage when i'm back on the sauce (haha).to top it all off, the service at tenpenh is amazing. your water glass/soda is always filled, you're always asked if you would like another adult beverage, your napkin is always folded for you if you ever leave the table. we also received tastes of butternut squash soup before our appetizers and bites of sweet rice cakes after dessert, all compliments of the chef ... and all delicious!
i can't wait for the next time i get to dine at tenpenh. yay!
online: http://www.tenpenh.com/main.htm
all of us finally met up at central and i (at least) was STARVING. and everything on the menu looked absolutely delicious. madonna (cousin) suggested oysters (who doesn't like oysters?!?!), cheese puff balls were recommended, and you know me and fries - always on the menu. totally get the cheese puff balls - light and airy, with a lovely cheese in the middle (don't know what kind of cheese, don't really care. totally delicious).
we all decided on getting different entrees (i got the cassoulet - remember? starving - despite it being more of a stew because who doesn't like a stew-y combination of a gillion meats?!). not only were the dishes so pretty in their presentation, but the flavor combinations were absolutely delicious. fresh, seasoned well, and most definitely pleasing to the palate. i was thinking that stuffing my face with the appetizers and bread would diminish some of my thoughts about the entrees, but that was not the case. i had a bite of the others' dishes (which were all delicious) and proceeded to finish off my dish as well. and for those of you who have ordered cassoulet before, even a small bowl is deceivingly filling (but my bowl was large). all gone, and totally delicious.