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September 02, 2003
TenPenh Restaurant, Washington, D.C.
I took some time to try out the wonderful Pan-Asian cuisine at TenPenh Restaurant in Washington, D.C. I have heard from others that this was a good restaurant to try. Washingtonian Magazine rated it in the top 100 best restaurants. Starting with the appetizers, we had Steamed Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce, and Steamed Crabmeat and Pork Shu Mai dumplings, both of which were good. We were offered a sample of their Chilled Tomato Consomme Soup, which I was not particularly crazy about. It just felt too much like I was sipping salad dressing. There were many delectable looking entree choices, so it took me a while to decide on what I wanted to order. For example, I've never seen seared Ahi tuna flavored with Tahitian vanilla before. The fusion of relatively familiar dishes with exotic spice flavors shows good innovation in the dish offerings. I finally settled on the Miso-Sake Marinated Seared Chilean Seabass with Kimchee and Dashi Buerre Blanc. The seabass was wonderfully mellow, and was well counterbalanced by the slight sharpness and spiciness of the kimchee. I really enjoyed this dish. For dessert, I was again facing several choices, but knew I only had enough room left for one choice. I was intrigued by the Yuzu creme brulee, but ended up going for the Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Ginger Chocolate Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. Yes, I chose to get a decadent dessert. Needless to say, the dessert was heavenly and a perfect end to a meal that inspired the feeling of trying new ingredients in different ways at home. As it turned out, I had enough room left for another dessert. Afterwards, we went two blocks down the street to Teaism and I got a Sweet Green Tea Bubble Tea.
Posted by Kathy at September 2, 2003 10:45 PM