Hunan Taste, web site, 10160 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, VA, 703-877-0988 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | Ylp]
Update July, 2016: CLOSED
This is real Hunan food! I’ll be producing a full review, but on my first visit I saw at least fifty dishes on the menu I would love to try. I did have two knockouts on the first visit, namely the Tea Tree Mushrooms with Pork Casserole, and Spicy Beef Steak Hunnan, which is more subtle than spicy. (The latter by the way does not work as a stand-alone order, but rather should be eaten in combination with other dishes.) The seafood I had was fine, and good quality, but not original.
Be warned that the prices are not super cheap, many entrees can fall in the $17-20 range, in return the decor is more formal and proper, for those of you who care. Right now this is the place you all should be swarming to, and in due time I will offer some more detailed advice on what to order.
These are the same people who operate the Hunan Taste in Catonsville, MD, which is also very good.
I’ve been a number of times. Interestingly, the Carry Out Menu has a gazillion more items on it than the thick “in-restaurant” menu.
So far, my favorites have been:
1. Mountain Mushrooms w/Barbecue Pork: If you like star anise, get this dish
2. Sponge Cucumber with Egg Pancake (an omelette with vegetable in it)
3. Preserved Sausage w/Bamboo Shoot
4. Diced Chicken w/Chilies and Nuts (but I don’t think it had any nuts in it.)
5. Stir Fried Small Shrimps
6. Sauteed Dou Miao w/Garlic
7. Shrimp Fried Noodle
8. Sauteed Chinese Cabbage w/Preserved Soy Beans
Items I thought sounded great but I didn’t really care for:
1. Divine Incense Mint Pork – Lovely name, dish itself doesn’t merit the “name hype”
2. Stir Fried Octopus Roll w/Garlic – Entirely deep fried and way too much roasted garlic
3. Mao’s braised pork w/Brown Sauce – The dish tasted good and has good star anise sauce, but the pork was odd – – layers of the meat were alternately too fatty and then too tough and chewy
4. Stir Fried Agaric w/Pork – Basically just pork and tree-ear fungus. Not bad, but not great. Tasted kind of “ordinary”
5. Fried Pork slices in Countryside Style – just tasted kind of “ordinary”
6. Guilin Rice Noodle – has thin beef slices like Vietnamese Pho on top, but it’s not a soup. And since I’m not a beef lover, I wouldn’t order it again. Also the noodles were absolutely NOT rice noodles, they were bean thread noodles.
7. Hunan style fried rice. Meh. Wasn’t crazy about the chicken in it. Wouldn’t order it again. Am willing to try the Yangzhou (Yang Chow) style fried rice next time. I love good Yangzhou style fried rice.
Two new items I’ve since tried at Hunan Taste that have been phenomenal:
1. Sauteed Spicy Fish Fillet
2. Yang Chow fried rice
Another item I thought was “meh”…Good, but just ordinary:
Stir fried smooth fish fillet
Went with a group, mix of dishes, some more authentic, some more staples of Americanized Chinese food.
***** Tea Tree Mushrooms with Pork Casserole (very complex flavor, recommend especially as an accompaniment to other dishes)
***** Kung Pao Chicken (I know, I know, it feels like you’re ordering an American staple… I was blown away though, it’s like the perfect form of that dish. I’m going to try testing their “Americanized” dishes more mixed alongside their authentic cuisine, it seems like they’ve really experimented with ways to bring those up a level too.)
***** Mapo Tofu (great balance, excellent sauce)
**** Pan fried dumplings (I’ve never tasted a maillard quite like this one, they must have a different oil or sear these in a cast iron skillet or something, tops were very soft (not rubbery at all), meat was perfectly seasoned)
*** Crispy duck (well prepared but on par with other good crispy duck sources in the area)
** Sponge Cucumber with Egg Pancake (the dish was well prepared, but I’m not a fan of other Asian egg dishes like egg foo yong… I wouldn’t necessarily recommend unless you’re a fan of egg dishes)
So many things to try there. If you’re heading that way, go with a big group so you can really explore the menu. They look like they have some great hot pots too, definitely worth scraping some frost off the car.
Would absolutely go again. 5 stars overall.