Dumplings and Beyond is an unpretentious, no-frills Chinese spot located in the neighborhood of Dumbarton Oaks - you walk up the stairs of a small strip mall to see an entryway crowded with dozens of takeout orders (a great sign of a solid Chinese restaurant). There are many tables throughout the space, with multiple large tables equipped with the classic Lazy Susan setup to maximize family-style sharing - as a party of 9 on a Saturday night at 7pm, there were a couple of open tables, as the restaurant was around 75% full, though continued to fill up throughout the night.
The menu is extensive, ranging from your classic Chinese-American dishes (think General Tso's Chicken and Mongolian Beef) to more traditional Chinese fare (Tree Ear Salad and Ginger Scallion Shrimp) to regional specialties (you'll see some food from Hunan and Szechuan Province on the menu) - there's truly something for everyone! To start, we ordered their Pork n' Chives Dumpling ($12.95/10pcs), Chicken & Black Mushroom Dumpling ($12.95/10pcs), and Shrimp N' Chive Dumpling ($15.95/10pcs) - the food began to come out within 10 minutes. While I wasn't able to try any because I'm gluten-free, my friends really enjoyed these dumplings - they were plump and juicy, with the perfect dumpling wrapper thickness that trapped the soup inside, keeping the filling soft and supple. Additionally, the price is pretty reasonable given how large each dumpling is!
My friends also shared some dishes family-style, first starting with the proteins: the Chinese Style Mu Shu Pork ($17.95) with cucumber, wooden fungus and egg with soy sauce, the Broccoli Beef ($19.95) served with carrots and brown sauce, and the Kung Pao Chicken ($16.95) with bell pepper, onion, and peanuts. While none of these were fantastic, they were generous portions at a good price, and the meat quality seemed pretty good! Additionally, the wood fungus in the Mu Shu Pork lent an interesting textural contrast to the dish.
As a vegetable, we ordered the String Beans Szechuan Style ($14.95), which are fried green beans in an addictively spicy chili oil - these are quite greasy, but the green beans held their firm texture, and it's a great dupe for the famous Din Tai Fung String Beans! They also ordered the Combination Fried Rice ($14.95), which is a heap of glistening fried rice topped with chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetables. While I didn't try this, it was (again) a large portion, and my friends thought it was seasoned well.
Since we had ordered so many dishes, I think they threw in a large bowl of white rice for free as well, which paired nicely with the salty proteins. Lastly, I ordered their Pork Spare Rib Casserole ($19.95), which is a gigantic clay pot of comforting soup filled to the brim with cabbage, onion, cilantro, wood fungus, tofu, and succulent pork spareribs. The soup was well-seasoned (if not bordering on too salty), but the clean-tasting broth and fresh vegetables were perfect for a cold DC night. Overall, this was a great, affordable spot for both Americanized and authentic Chinese food, and perfect to curb the Chinese craving of several hungry Georgetown students - the food is tasty, service is fast, and there's something for everyone! read more