Sichuan Jin River in Rockville, MD - Report

Regional Dining Discussions DC, Mid-Atlantic
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Seven of us gathered at longtime favorite Sichuan Jin River in Rockville to share an elaborate meal with a wide range of flavors. The success of the meal was in the variety of tastes we experienced.

We ordered:

Scallion pancake
Anchovies with peanuts and chili
Sliced homemade sausage (a special)
Sichuan String beans
Seafood with rice cakes
Cumin Lamb
Minced chicken ya cai
Pork with lotus root
Whole fish with Sichuan Bean Sauce

The cumin lamb was the only spicy dish we ordered. It was served super crispy and not searing hot.

The minced chicken is served with steamed buns, and you eat this like a sandwich by spooning the chicken into the buns. This is an old favorite that still retains its charm.

The pork dish was a disappointment, with a sweet and sour sauce minus the sour. Though it was nice having so much lotus root, an ingredient that seems to be in short supply in these parts. Also, we could have skipped the scallion pancake which seemed like it was reheated.

The whole fish was a really big, fat tilapia. Yet more evidence that tilapia can be a great order. It was almost fluffy in texture and combined really well with the sauce. It had a luxurious mouthfeel and was a wonderful treat.

I was especially delighted with the special sausage. It was served room temperature in plump, fatty slices, and the interior was moist and saucy. Something I don’t get to see enough of at more ‘polite’ restaurants.

We are such an old-school group that nobody though to snap pictures.

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Tell me more about the anchovies.

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This is a fairly common dish found at many Sichuan restaurants, though every iteration will be different. Also can be found in other Asian cuisines. These are tiny, tiny dried anchovy, as shown in this photo, but not from our dinner. It tastes mostly of peanuts:

Anchovy Peanuts.PNG

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Interesting. I have had lots of Sichuan (usually outside DC) in my day and I think I would remember seeing my favorite tiny fish on the menu, dried or not. I must be going to the wrong places! How were they here?

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I enjoyed the dish, but much of the food at SJR is now tamer than before. A touch less hot and less salty in this case. My two favorites from the regular menu remain the minced chicken ya cai and the whole fish in bean sauce. It could be that the sausage, although not on the regular menu, is a special they regularly make.

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Too bad about being tamer, but less salty would definitely work for me. Thanks.

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IIRC, SJR changed ownership a few or so yrs ago. We haven’t had a chance to try it since the change but good to hear it is still a contender.

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I know there was one change in ownership a while back when, I think, the staff bought out the owner.

We very much enjoyed the variety of flavors. Although appreciated, the cumin lamb, would not be a contender for best in the area - though it’s been a while since I’ve ordered it anywhere.

BTW, Joe’s Noodle House is gone now.

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I did hear that about Joe’s closing.

Please keep me in mind for the next outing! :yum:

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is there any sort of a composite list of regional chinese restaurants in the DC area?
places with carts for Dim Sum, Shanghaiese places with both kinds of XLB, whatever they call Schweinshaxe, and a couple eel dishes, authentic Taiwanese places, hand pulled noodles?

The kind of places Chinese people go with their families, and where I might be the only
white guy in the joint who isn’t part of an Asian family… (i.e. the opposite of Mayflower.)

(The kinds of places that there are dozens of within a mile of the Main St, Flushing subway.)

The only places I’ve found which are up to snuff foodwise (but way upscale from
what I’m hoping for) are Peter Chang’s multiple places that we’ve tried so far (BTW
IMO the ones with the small dishes concept seem a bit better conceptually than
Mama Chang.)

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It would be a good idea to compile a list!

I find you have to hunt and peck throughout a menu to find the gold. If I can find 3 outstanding dishes off a huge menu, that’s a success. And I agree with you that Ni Hao is the best Peter Chang experience right now.

Here are some interesting choices:

Northwest Chinese Food in College Park. Go for the sesame wontons, peanuts in black vinegar, lamb burger, tomato and egg noodles.

Hong Kong Palace in Falls Church for Sichuan. Two of my favorite dishes are not on the menu: the chicken with crunchy peppers and the jao ma ji, cold slice chicken on the bone in a clear spicy broth. You’ll have to ask for those.

Eerkin’s for Uyghur cuisine. Fairfax, Rockville, and Glover Park. Go for the gambain somen, eggplant salad, and lamb skewers.

A&J in Rockville and Annandale for Taiwanese. Niu Rou Xian BIng (beef in bun, but be careful of the boiling hot soup inside the bun), Suan La Liang Mian (you must specify the big aka handmade noodles), pickled long bean with ground beef, and almost all the cold plates.

Hunan Gate in Ballston, they have a separate Dongbei menu. They have a hearty eggplant and beef casserole and a milky white fish with frozen tofu soup.

Xiao long bao at Bob’s Shanghai 66. The best in the area, easily. I also like their peanuts with seaweed.

Dongbei style dumplings at Dumpling Queen in Chantilly (same family as China Bistro in Rockville). In Chantilly you should also order the mung bean noodle salad and the Xinjiang fried ribs.

Yunnan: Mandarin Express in Rockville, they have a Yunnan section on the menu, but you will notice every table gets the fried tofu dish. Yunnan by Potomac in Alexandria, I like their appetizers, not so much the bowls of noodles. Shi Miao Dao in Merrifield, VA , Rockville, and Colombia, MD.

There is a luosifan noodle place in Fairfax, Yanzi Noodle House.

Shaanxi cuisine at Panda Gourmet. Get the lamb and beef with pita stir fry, li piang cold steamed noodles, and the fish served in mini-wok (I forget the name, but it’s pictured on the menu).

Nanjing Bistro in Fairfax for specialties from that city. Lion’s head meatball, tofu with 1,000 year egg, cabbage with dried shrimp. I have hit on some nice specials here.

Plenty of Cantonese places, but I am not convinced of anything worthy. We had a very good meal at East Dumpling House in Rockville, especially the small cold plates. Go for the crystal wide noodles in special sauce, cold eggplant in garlic sauce, and spicy clams.

That should get you started. If you want more details, I have already posted on this website about most of these, so just do a search wihtin Mid Atlantic.

If you ever want to join us for a group meal, I arrange that on occasion. I think you can send me a message on this website.

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