• Food Quality
• Price

Ming’s Restaurant

617 H Street
Washington, D.C. 20001
202.289.1001

Hours:

Monday – Thursday 11am – 2:30am
Friday – Saturday 11am – 4:30am

Chinese food is all about going back to basics.  Taking the essence of a few ingredients and not messing about.  Real Chinese food is steeped in tradition with varied adaptations.  It is for this reason that Ming’s Restaurant is not so much a restaurant as it is a proud example of the bastard child that is American Chinese food.

Located squarely in Chinatown on H Street, Ming’s Restaurant is more assuming than other similar establishments.  A modern interior gives off false pretenses of refinement.  After teetering back and forth over a slew of options I landed on the Hot & Spicy Casserole with Chicken, Scallops, and Shrimp.  The thing with Chinese food is that as many times as I’ve throughout my lifetime, I always fall into the same mental trap: I order an item, envision what it will look like / what I want it to look like, receive the item, become disappointed – every single time.

Imagining something vibrant with a developed heat, the Hot & Spicy Casserole was something completely different – something I should have expected.

Dull, with a brown hue, the chicken, scallops and shrimp were lost in some sort of starchy sauce.  Any and all flavors that should produced diverse layers and contextual aromas were suffocated.  I could try to describe the different components and what each contributed but honestly what’s the point?  Everything tasted the same with no “hot & spicy” distinction.

The worst part, though, was the absolute butchery of the scallops.  Scallops are meant to be quickly pan fried with little need for any seasoning.  Unadulterated scallops are meant to be buttery and sweet.  The scallops in the casserole were rubbery and lifeless.  Everything tasted like sub-par chicken with dull sauce.

Now before I continue, I must say that I fully understand that expecting expertise cooking and complex flavors from a run-of-the-mill Chinese place is foolish.  But there should be no excuse that in a town, let alone a neighborhood, packed with Chinese restaurants Ming’s doesn’t put up even a fight.  Ming’s is comfortable being one amongst many bastions resigned to serving those who don’t care about what they eat or are simply drunk.

–Amendment202

Did you like our review on Ming’s Restaurant, check out other EATING DC reviews!