After opening two grand dim sum parlors in the suburbs, restaurateur Chris Zhu is ready to expand to DC. The China Garden (Rockville) and Han Palace (Tysons) owner will open a 70-seat branch of her Cantonese restaurant in Woodley Park on Sunday, April 10. A third Han Palace is set to debut on Barracks Row (522 Eighth St., SE) later this spring.
Han Palace dim sum chef David Xie eschews roving carts for fresh, made-to-order dishes. Similar to the Tysons location, diners will find dishes like steamed shrimp dumplings, pork buns, scallion pancakes, chow fun noodles, and Peking duck. Xie will also serve seasonal specialties like salt-and-pepper soft-shell crab and Maine lobster with ginger and scallions. New to the DC location are homemade soup dumplings and Cantonese specialties like oyster-noodle casserole. A selection of teas accompany a full bar.
Zhu transformed the former Starbucks space into a lush dining room with replica trees, hanging lanterns, and murals. There is also a 15-seat patio for slurping soup dumplings in the sun.
Han Palace, 2649 Connecticut Ave., NW.
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.
