A recommendation by the waiter at Capitol Grille, Oriental East is located just opposite Silver Spring station on the Metro in DC. It’s easily located in the one street with many other restaurants, but don’t be fooled! This restaurant might be in a corner but it’s packed with people. We arrived at 1.45pm to find ourselves barely able to squeeze in to get a number. Enduring a 45 minute wait while watching others eat is torture. But we waited anyway, because everyone else waited and we knew that this was going to be good. How this place works: go up to the main waiter, get a number and wait very patiently. You’re going to be pushed around in the crowd, but please wait till you get a table. I promise you – if you love authentic Chinese dim sum, this is for you.
Carrot cake with pork was one of my favorite dishes there. It does not look very appetizing but boy was it a delight to eat! Pork had really good flavors and there’s a good pork to carrot cake ratio. A must-try.
Another DEFINITELY-MUST-ABSOLUTELY-try is their char siew pastry. It is extremely,e extremely crispy and it was heaven with every bite. I really have not tasted anything like it, to be honest. This is especially good on a cold winter’s day.
A classic dish – char siew chee cheong fun (or, rice noodle roll). Not as exceptional as the other two dishes but still will come back for it again.
Which brings me to this – bean curd roll with pork. I loved the minced meat and the sauce here, and I have no criticisms of it.
Overall, this has been an extremely satisfying meal. It’s a little far away from the center of DC but hey, the metro is convenient and there’s nothing stopping me from going there again. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves good dim sum. This is truly one of the best dim sum I ever had in the US!
Oriental East is located at 1312 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
EAT Alone Together 