beverage lunch restaurants: asian fusion d.c. latin fusion sushi
by Lindsey
1 comment
Zengo: Part II
Second post for Zengo of Latin-Asian flava in D.C.’s Chinatown. This time, some friends and I popped over for a lunch special. The management got a little testy when we tried to figure out how to apply two coupons for one party…but ultimately they accommodated us, and everything went smoothly.
The wait service, as before, was excellent (barring one moment where the guy taking the plates away spilled an entire glass of mojito on the table…)
Pictured above is the Zengo fried rice bowl. At first, I wondered whether the menu offered a choice of topping: “duck / shrimp / pork.” It turned out that it actually came with all of the above! One of my friends thought that there was too much going on, but I rather liked it. (^__^) It’s definitely a very hardy fried rice dish!
Before I get into the rest of the food, the drinks: In the forefront is my friend’s (non-alcoholic?) mojito, and behind it is my mango lemonade. I was intrigued by this combination, so had to order it. It came with huge chunks of mango…fabulous! (*____*) Loved this drink, and would definitely order it again.
These are not your grandma’s edamame. You’ll never see edamame the same way again after tasting these babies, which come coated in a savory sauce that is most definitely not vegetarian. I think it was cooked with bacon. Whatever it was, it was amazing and addicting.
won bok cabbage / chile serrano / lemon soy
These potstickers looked pretty, but were mediocre at best, very bland and uninspired. Skip it.
grilled pineapple / salsa verde
They usually serve this with 3 buns, but for our party of four, they added another one (for a charge, I”m sure). These were fabulous! There’s something so fatty and decadent about pork buns. You know they’re absolutely no good for you, but they’re well worth the guilt.
We got three kinds of sushi rolls, from the top:
spicy yellowfin tuna / wasabi tobiko
avocado / sesame-chipotle sauce
volcano
blue crab / salmon / jalapeño aioli
vegetariano
asparagus / scallion tempura /
avocado / sambal aioli
Guh. Okay, the veggie one was pretty good, actually. But the rest were a hot mess. I’m not sure if it was the creamy aioli/sauces that did them in, but we none of us liked them at all. X(
So in all, a lunch of ups and downs, but hey…we saved a great deal with the special promotion, so not half bad. And of course, the company was lovely, and that’s what matters most! ♥
All of it looks tasty!
I suppose the sushi used too much chili. XD;;
Thanks for sharing your pics of a great outing! :D