China Garden (VA - Arlington)

I stopped into China Garden (1100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA) on Sunday for my bi-weekly Dim Sum fix. As usual, I arrived at 11:30, sharp, only to find that they had opened the doors earlier than the posted time to accommodate two buses of tourists. I approached one of the two unpleasant ladies who guard the seating chart like Scylla and Charybdis, and was promptly rebuked for not having my entire party of six present. So far, so good - just another relaxing Sunday brunch at China Garden.

As the lobby filled up with would-be diners, it eventually took us twenty minutes to get a table. Once seated, we were treated to the gruff indifference from the wait staff that we have come to expect. Tea, water and chopsticks are easy to come by, but everything else is a struggle.

Un-pleasantries aside, as the carts of steamed and fried dumplings and other small bites rode by, we sampled freely. We enjoyed wave after wave of shrimp, pork, vegetarian, shark fin, shrimp and pork and combination dumplings, followed by BBQ beef bao, turnip cakes, fried scallion cakes, taro cakes, fried whole shrimp and shrimp stuffed eggplant. We even managed to coax an order of Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce out of one of the waiters (no small feat considering that on a previous trip, I ordered the same broccoli from four different members of the wait staff and came up empty handed).

At the end of the meal, we gave up looking for the delicious fried sesame balls and almond Jell-O on the passing carts and began the arduous practice of ordering them directly. After several failed attempts, the management realized that we weren't bluffing - and that they were not getting their table back until we got the desserts - and tracked some down for us.

$32 per couple later, we re-emerged fat, happy and triumphant.

It is unfortunate that the best Dim Sum in Washington, DC isn't in the District - it is at China Garden in Arlington, VA. It is equally unfortunate that the seating process lacks the decorum of even a rugby scrum and that the customer service at China Garden is the envy of passport agencies everywhere.

That said, I keep going back for more - and I am not alone - by 12:30, the entire mezzanine lobby looks like a Soviet era bread line. At the end of the day, the food is good enough that it is worth braving the rest of the experience. Besides, you feel a little less gluttonous having had to work a little to earn it.