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Recommended Reviews - Wasai
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One of the better beef noodle soups I had in awhile! The soup is super flavorful and savory. The beef is tender and I love the texture of the thick cut noodles. The noodles were chewy and bouncy. I am not a huge noodle soup fan but I absolutely loved this dish and ended finishing the whole bowl! I highly recommend trying the beef soup with thick cut noodles!
We found this restaurant while exploring the area and enjoyed its exceptional hand-pulled noodle soups, with a firm, chewy texture and a flavorful broth that wasn't overly salty. The menu also included good dumplings and fried rice. Ordering through the self-serve kiosk was quick and convenient, and the food arrived promptly. We appreciated that Gong-Cha is available in-house for boba tea and found it to be a good, fast option for a quick meal. The interior was clean, though small, and we were lucky to find a table. Overall, we were satisfied with the food and the atmosphere.
Me and my son came here for early dinner prior to the wizards game. The people working there were super busy making noodles since they are handmade and boba but the guy taking orders was very friendly. The tables were super dirty, several customers were very vocal about it and got their food to go. The staff there were VERY BUSY so maybe they need an extra person to clean tables on their busy days. I wanted to eat in the restaurant so I cleaned our eating area with sanitizer and napkins. My son got the spare rib noodle soup and I tried it and it was good! It wasn't the best we've had and the broth was a little bland. His strawberry goncha tasted like fake flavoring and was gross. The spring rolls were very tasty. Everything came out hot and fresh so that was great. I got the steamed dumplings and they were very good. The dumpling sauce was delicious. The reason I gave it a 2 was because of the short rib soup and the goncha. For the price of the goncha it should have tasted better. Also the tables were yuck. Like they need to get that figured out.
We were in Chinatown, on the hunt for something that isn't too expensive, and my friend recommended we go to Wasai. We got to the front, seemed fairly crowded, I think a show had just ended at the Capital One Arena. But seeing that the line was moving, we decided to give it a go. It was pretty crowded and loud inside, but we managed to get seated when a couple got up. The food took a while to come out. Not anything astounding, the sesame chicken is what you'd expect. The soup was a little bit of a disappointment, I'm sad to say... The broth could have used more seasoning or something..? Something was missing, I couldn't put my finger on it. Something I wish they did with the hand pulled noodle is for the noodles to be bouncier, or thicker, something with a little more body. All in all, the prices are reasonable and the location is convenient, the food didn't quite hit the mark for me. My friend seemed perfectly happy though, so maybe you'll be fine here too.
The best pulled noodle spot in Chinatown dc! It's a fast casual spot with gongcha inside too?! You order on kiosks in the back. The menu was extensive. I got both beef pulled noodles with thin noodles. The broth was perfection and not too salty, the beef was tender, and the noodles had a good chew and pull. It made for the perfect slurp. The soup dumplings were well seasoned you didn't need soy sauce. It had a good amount of soup too. The service was quick. Everything was so so delicious! I'll be back soon!
Restaurant is gongcha combined. Got a beef tendon handpull noodle which was a solid eat before heading to the national museum of portraiture. Overall a good stop to grab a quick lunch before exploring museums around the national mall.
Stopped by on a day trip for a festival... I they've got good options for vegetarians as well as meat eaters. They have 2 self service kiosks. One for JUST boba. And the other for food! I got the Vegetable Fried rice and the Vegetable Fried Dumplings. They were amazing and great for the price. Wish I could've tried the boba- but it looks like it must be good if everyone else in there had it besides us. The staff are friendly and quick with their services. Would def visit again to try the boba and get dumplings again !! Cozy little building too.
Definitely a fast casual experience. Soup was flavorful, included meat was tender, and the hand cut noodles were chewy. The lamb was tasty and tender as well. Staff were very nice and topped up our drink when we asked for more ice. A solid and convenient stop for some basics! Curious to try other items on the menu.
Had to get the classic sesame chicken to see how it compares, and I must say, it's pretty good. Also huge quantity with a side of rice. Order at kiosk, it's connected to a Gong Cha. Decently quick service and some simple seating, good vibes.
I had some time to spare before meeting a friend for drinks, so I decided to grab a quick snack from Wasai since the restaurant was in the same area where i was meeting my friend. For my quick meal, I went with the Pork and Chive Steamed Dumplings, which were about $10 for a serving of eight dumplings. I thought the dumplings were quite delicious. Since I am not a huge dumpling aficionado, I cannot give great details about the dumplings; however, I definitely would not mind ordering these dumplings in the future. While I would visit this restaurant again, I probably would not go out of my way (e.g., 15+ minute walk) to dine here. Although the restaurant has plenty of seating, the restaurant seems to more of a take out type of establishment - at least from what I saw from other customers. Eh, maybe folks nowadays are more interested in take-out options, rather than dine-in options. The restaurant is pretty much a self-service spot where you order the food from one of four tablets and bus your own tables. While I provided a tip with my order, I will admit that it sometimes rubs me the wrong way "having" to tip when I have to enter my own order, pick up my food at the counter, and buss my own table after eating.
1 year ago
This was one of the places on my friend's and I "restaurants to visit" and sadly I have to say that I was underwhelmed. Although the szechuan wontons were pretty tasty, I was really disappointed by the noodle soup. I got the hand shaved noodles and i don't think it was the right choice, as i feel that it did not complement the soup. The broth was bland to the point I had to take the szechuan sauce and add it to the soup to give it for flavor. The beef and the greens themselves were good but the fried egg had no seasoning to it. If I were to come back, I'd try more of the dumplings and the burger to get an overall feel of this place. read more
4 years ago
This place recently opened and is perfect if you're in the mood for dumplings, fried rice, and noodles. You can either order with the staff or kiosks - service is quick and excellent. They specialize in hand-pulled noodles, so enjoy the show while the chef literally hand-pulls them from fresh made dough. read more
Get the hand pulled noodles, beef with the spicy broth. It is an absolute dream of a soup. DO order the thin noodles. DO leave it as is. There is an add meat option which means adding more meat on top of what they already give you. It had veggies, green onions, daikon, sooooooo good! You order from a machine. They also have boba too. read more
I was in town for a conference and excited to see that there was a new-ish Asian place nearby. I'm a sucker for noodle soups and can never say no to a hand-pulled noodle restaurant. I came here on a Saturday for an early lunch and was accompanied by the sounds of quiet slurping. I got the spicy braised broth beef flank noodle soup with flat noodles (biang biang). It was quite a large portion size. The soup was savory and good, though not spicy like the name. The beef was fairly tender but I would have preferred it more tender. I appreciated the fresh crunchy bok choy and the thinly sliced radish. I did not like the noodles. The noodles were uneven thicknesses and they were almost all too thick to enjoy. They were floury in the center and coated my mouth in flour, and didn't have the bounce or chew I wanted. It seems like other people like the thin and knife cut noodles, so maybe you just shouldn't get the flat noodles with the soup, or maybe I just had a bad batch. The noodles were pretty inedible for me, sadly. I also got the pork soup dumplings ($10 for 6). They are pretty big and have lots of hot soup inside. The dumpling skin is a bit thick and the inside was a bit too porky flavored for my tastes. Overall I think I definitely could have had a better experience at this restaurant -- if I came back, I would get the beef noodle soup with either the thin or knife cut noodles. read more
4 years ago
I had the pulled beef tenderloin noodle soup . Star of the soup was the noodles. They were made fresh, pulled by hand , in front of me. The beef was just small pieces of fat. The soup had almost no vegetables. The broth had a rich flavor and was tasty. The restaurant was very small with limited seating. I had mine to go. They did a good job separating all the ingredients until you needed them. It was reasonable priced. read more
2 years ago
I sprinted across 7th street and a bit south all the way from the Gallery Place-Chinatown metro station entrance in this awful cold and rainy weather for Wasai. I'm glad to have found a Chinese restaurant in the DC area that serves authentic Lanzhou style hand-pulled noodles - absolute no frills, not weirdly elevated like most ethnic restaurants tend to be, and at a reasonable price. The noodle soup here definitely warmed my body and soul this evening. There's not much seating, but fortunately, my friend and I were able to squeeze into a small space/table. There was a good amount of people here, but people seem to eat and go quite easily. I like that there is a kiosk here so I can just order easily by myself. The food came out quite quickly (within 10 minutes) and it was piping hot. My mouth was watering because I was so cold and hungry from the nasty rainy weather. For the record, I ravished my entire bowl of noodle soup within 6 minutes. 牛肉拉面 BEEF PULL NOODLE SOUP - 13.95 I love the ability to customize here. You can choose between a non-spicy or spicy option for your broth and three different types of noodles (flat, skinny, or hand pull aka knife cut). I prefer a lighter and non-spicy broth and was curious about the flat noodles. There was a solid amount of beef pieces in my bowl - each slice was tender and easy to chew on. This was definitely a highlight of the noodle soup. I really liked the bokchoy and radish they put in here, which was fresh and crunchy. The flat noodles initially looked really thick which was disappointing, but wow the taste and texture was light and chewy. Absolutely delicious and I'd recommend! This bowl of noodle soup really hit the spot and I devoured it so quickly. I'd prefer a bit more garnish, though. While the broth was a great complement to the noodles, meat, and veggies, it was way too salty for me to enjoy by itself upon finishing all the solids. I do like that it was clear and not very oily. I usually don't eat too much, but dang, I must have been really hungry or something so I ended up ordering more food, lol. 蟹粉肉小笼包 CRAB MEAT PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS (6 PCS) - 10.95 For just six XLBs, this is kind of expensive, but hey if I'm already here I'll splurge. Not sure if I taste too much crab, but hey the flavor of the pork was quite good. Despite how flat it looked, there was a good amount of soup in each dumpling and it didn't feel too greasy or fatty. The skin was a bit thick, but my standards for XLB in the DMV area is pretty low. I'd say the XLBs here tasted good and I'd recommend if you're curious. However, they are expensive, so... Overall, I'm glad I finally tried Wasai after hearing positive reviews from my friends. It's definitely the best authentic (with the hole-in-the-wall, no frills vibe that you won't find elsewhere in the city) Chinese restaurant I've been to in DC, so I'll definitely be back. read more
Came here for dinner last night and had a delicious meal! We had 3 people dining and decided to go the family-style route and tried quite a few things to get a sense of the menu. Fried Sesame Ball - this comes with 6 ping pong ball sized balls. I always love a fried sesame ball and these didn't disappoint! I know they're listed as appetizers, but i always save them for dessert. F1. Chicken Stir Fried Noodle - Delicious! So flavorful and the noodles were cooked perfectly. I kept pulling more and more noodles onto my plate bc it was addicting! D1. Pork and Chive Dumplings, steamed - Love me a steamed gyoza! These are exactly what they say they are. Yummy! B2. Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger - one of the surprise favorites. Really flavorful and the lamb comes almost ground style with some crispy bits, so it was really delicious and pleasing to eat. We got one to split between the 3 of us, but next time I'd want one all to myself! Zha Jiang Mian, hand shaved noodle - It was good to get the hand shaved noodle so it wasn't too similar to the stir fried noodles. These definitely tasted homemade, as there was a lot more toothsomeness to them. The sauce and ground pork that came on top was absolutely delicious. Next time I think i might prefer a thinner noodle, but it was still really yummy. Xiao long bao - they're not on their online ordering menu or the physical menu above the ordering counter, but we did "self ordering" at the computer next to the counter, and they came up as a special, and I'm never one to decline some soup dumplings. They were tasty and enjoyable. My one complaint is that there were a lot of gnats inside that swarmed around us while we were eating, which was a bit annoying. Some fans inside the door when you walk in might help to prevent that. Either way, it's simple food made really, really well! read more
4 years ago
Went to Wasai with a larger party on for weekday lunch. It was surprisingly packed with only 1 table available for our party. We all ordered a different variety of noodle soup and 2 appetizers (the toothpick lamb and the vegetable dumplings) I thought the lamb and the dumplings were very authentic and good tasting. My wife did feel like the appetizers were a little on the sweeter side but I thought it was perfectly fine. We all got spicy broth for our noodles which was definitely a good choice. It was flavorful and warm. The texture of the wide noodle however was over cooked and mushy but the knife cut were perfect. Another knock against the place is the service wasn't really great. Very much a "serve yourself" type of place and it took a couple asks to just get napkins from the order counter. The tables were also a bit dirty, granted you can wipe it yourself (if you can get your hands on napkins) but still even with the soggy noodles and ambiance would definitely go again for the food. Just making sure I get knife cut. read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
Intro: Honestly, this spot left me a bit underwhelmed, but it may have been my fault. I'll explain. Layout: The spot is pretty well laid out with a decent amount of seating. You place your order on a kiosk. I'm really not a fan of this current antisocial/digital age, but at least it's not as bad as the places that make you write your order like you're taking a freaking test. No penalty for that. I'm just a grumpy old man. Food: Okay. So here's where I may have gone wrong. I decided to try something new by getting the beef tendon noodles. I didn't know that it was literally the tendon of the beef, meaning that the texture is not meaty at all. It is soft and mushy and tastes like flavorless jello. Aside from that, I found the noodles to be a bit hard to eat. They seemed to be cooked al dente and were not free flowing - somewhat stuck and tangled together. Also, the broth could have used more flavor. So I definitely added some soy sauce. As for the dumplings, they were tasty on the inside but the exterior was a bit dry. So you'll definitely want to eat these with dumpling sauce as well. Wrap up: All in all, I'd like to give this place one more shot where I order a more familiar dish. Who knows when that will be considering that I paid about $29 (including tax and tip) for an underwhelming meal. However, I'll try to go at least once more to give a thorough review. read more
The hand pulled noodle soups are the star here. Really delicious knife cut noodles and a generous portion of beef. The soup could've used more vegetables but otherwise was perfect. The shrimp and pork shu mai were delicious and came piping hot. Definitely recommend getting some of the chili oil from the condiments area. Orders were ready quickly after using the kiosk to place an order. A little crowded for 5:45 on a Wednesday, but tables turned over quickly. Bathrooms were single occupancy gender neutral and clean. read more
Cool fast casual concept in Chinatown with yummy hand pulled noodles! I came here with friends and it was super easy to order on the kiosks and then grab our food trays from the counter when they were ready. I had the beef pull noodle soup that came with a generous amount of beef. They even have good vegetarian options like the veggie dumplings (which are bright green and a (wa)sai-ght to behold!) It's nice to have an affordable and modern spot serving good authentic Chinese food among all of the other fast casual places like Chipotle with the hilarious Chinese signage. Even though I've felt that Chinatown can be relatively safe, there was an interesting character who came in while we were eating which was a bit disruptive. read more
Like wow. I am so impressed by this place. Well worth the price for the portions and it was delicious. Dumplings were filled and soup soup was amazing. The quality here rivals large restaurants I have been to. Service is quick and the place is fast food style but don't let that stop you from trying the amazing food. Can't wait to be back. read more
3 years ago
Amazing soup! Amazing Sui Mai! This place has good and fast food! The beef was so tender and soup broth was so flavorful. We had the soup dumplings and they were just okay. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place! read more
4 years ago
- Authentic hand-made Chinese noodles - High quality meat - Friendly (English/Chinese) services - Clean and cozy environment near Capital One Arena read more
Most authentic and best Chinese fast food that one can ever get in DC metro area. The noodles are hand pulled in front of your eyes and super fresh. The cucumber salad was very refreshing. The Xiao long bao was really legit. I wish the beef soup broth could be spicier (I have already selected the spicy option) though. My friend ordered the wonton soup and cumin lamb burger and loved them. We all enjoyed the sesame balls which came in timely for desserts. Will definitely come back again given its central location! read more
The must try is the cumin lamb piece from appetizer. I haven't found a place that does this appetizer so we'll. The classic beef noodle soup is great, I went with spicy but it didn't end up being too spicy. I though the broth could use more flavor and more onions and cilantro. They also make their noodle dough fresh, I do like their Hand shave noodles and flat pull noodles. read more
4 years ago
The advertising made it seem like a sit down restaurants but it's more like a fast casual. The food overall was great, but the cucumber salad and the lamb bites really stood out! read more
I just tried Wasai which recently opened in Gallery place. The pros: ordering is easy, you can do it on a screen and not have to wait in line. It's nice and clean. You can watch them making fresh noodles. Staff works really hard and they could probably use an extra person. The cons: I'm sure the noodles are great based on the other reviews, but I ordered other things. At $7.95 I thought the dry chili french fries would be something interesting, but they're not. Just a regular portion of fries with something akin to seasoning salt on top. Kind of a lot for basic fries. Fortunately I had ketchup packets laying around. The spring rolls ($4.95) don't taste locally made and are the same soggy cabbage filling that every other place in DC uses. The fried tofu ($7.95) is just strips of tofu with nothing on it, no sauce, just soaking in oil in the to go container. It also took about 20 minutes, which isn't too terrible, but kinda long for something just dunked in the fryer. They have sauces out by the registers to use but no napkins for the inevitable mess. To be fair, I'll go back at some point to try the noodles, but I wouldn't reorder anything I tried today. read more
4 years ago
A solid add to Chinatown. I've ordered the beef tendon noodle soup, knife cut/hand shaven option, a couple of times and it has been consistently good. I simply had to go with the knife cut/hand shaven version as I haven't seen it in other places in DC. They should have an option to add veggies. On my last visit, I happened to see the chef preparing the hand pulled noodles. It was interesting to be able to see him at his craft. I am looking forward to trying the regular hand pull version of the noodle next time. read more
We really liked this new Chinese American fast food restaurant! It's clean and the food is good! We especially liked a their pork and chive dumplings, the seafood stir friend noodles, and their combo fried rice! We also tried their beef noodle soup - most of the beef pieces were tender but some were on the chewier side. However, still pretty good! The cucumber salad was refreshing so I definitely recommend that as well. Give it a try and let me know what you think! read more
I was really excited to see this place open up in Chinatown, which has a dearth of good Chinese food. I'm not Chinese, but I've had authentic and relatively inexpensive regional Chinese food in New York, so I think I'm pretty familiar with what to look for in terms of flavors and presentation. I ordered the beef lo mein. The service was quick and the portion was generous, although I would have enjoyed a larger portion of beef in my order. The noodles were perfectly chewy and had good wok hay. I really appreciated their station with pour your own black Chinese vinegar, soy sauce, dumpling sauce, and chili oil. I wish the chili had a greater kick, which is why I'm giving this place a 4-star rating. I'll definitely be back to try the rest of the menu, and I'll be sure to bring my own jar Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp next time. read more
This place is a must try!! I walked in and was pleasantly surprised by all the amazing smells. They're menu is simple but executed perfectly. They're shrimp and pork dumplings are absolutely incredible. A beautiful dough and well seasoned. They're assorted beef noodle soup was phenomenal. Incredible broth for a cold day. Each bite of beef was delicious. I recommend trying this place and the hand pulled noodles. read more
4 years ago
Food was good, but not great. The cucumber salad was sweet - I don't like the added sweetness but at least the cucumber was fresh so that's the most. Important thing. The noodle was good, but the soup was lukewarm which really hurt the overall taste. What's really weird is that they gave me take-out while I was clearly here to dine in. What a waste of all the packages. Also I won't recommend takeout food here unless you have a microwave. Many foods are okay when served lukewarm but definitely not noodles. read more
Ok Chinatown definitely needed Wasai! From the hand pulled noodles literally right in front of your eyes, to the immensely delicious broth of the soup, the cumin lamb bites on toothpicks (my FAVE) to the classic fried rice, everything I put in my mouth was a burst of flavor! Everything is so fresh, and the portions are definitely sharable and huge. I am so happy to welcome Wasai to Penn Quarter/Chinatown and will be spending many lunches here !! read more
3 years ago
1 year ago
I ordered the spicy beef pull noodle soup and the cumin lamb toothpicks. The food comes out quickly and finding seating for a small group was easy. The lamb was soooo good. It was so flavorful and juicy and fatty. I kept thinking about the lamb for the next few hours. The soup was also good. Really enjoyed it. My only knock would be that it wasn't very spicy and there was no option to adjust the spice. read more
Wasai is a fun fast food noodle shop serving authentic Chinese food. I really liked the open fast food kiosk concept, which made ordering east. This was a much needed addition in Chinatown because the vibe is great. However food can be improved. We ordered the beef noodle soup, dumplings and stir fry noodles. Dumplings were on the pricier end and the noodle textures were solid. However I wished there was a bit more complexity with the soup as I had found the broth to be lacking. Would come again to support this business as I understand it might be working through the kinks of launching. read more
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More info about Wasai
716 7th St NW
Washington, DC 20001
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(202) 735-0693
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Ask the Community - Wasai
How would you describe the ambiance or atmosphere of the restaurant?
Very casual, and I would say it's nice and modern inside! It's good for a quick meal. There isn't a ton of seating either.
Do you have any vegan options?
Do we need to make reservations first?
Wasai doesn't do reservations! You can just go in and order at a kiosk. They have seating available but during busy nights it can fill up quickly.
Is there an online menu? Can someone post a pic
It's on their website at https://www.wasai.us
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
13 reviews that are not currently recommended
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