Chiko (Washington, D.C.)

Very rarely do I go to Chinese and/or Korean spots, why?  I have no f***ing idea, but I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not venturing out to more of places with those cuisines.  I have yet to have a bad meal from any of them, and I always get some type of different flavor with each meal.  Maybe I should have a personal goal to seek out more of these kinds of restaurants?  Well, maybe not, but.. I’ll try.

The restaurant is located a block away from Eastern Market metro and offers a modern Asian cooking in a counter-serve format, with a tasting bar option.  If you’re a budget friendly foodie, then this is the place for you.  The interior of this restaurant is pretty small, and it’s a first come first serve seating.  No worries though, it should take people 45 minutes tops to enjoy their food.  Any time past that, they’re being inconsiderate.

I was able to order two dishes from this restaurant to get a try of different cuisines.  The first dish was the Wagshal’s Chopped Brisket, Soy Brined Soft Egg, Furikake Butter, and Rice.  The rice was cooked perfectly and the brisket added with the peppers in the dish gave it a sweet and savory flavor.  Of course the dish came with an egg so that’s automatically a buy, but I was going to order this dish anyways because the ingredients were simple but tasted so unique.  I’ve never had Furikake Butter, which is an Asian inspired butter, but it goes great with beef and or fish.  The dish was enough for one person but doesn’t leave you full or hungry but just right.  The most important part of this dish was that it costs less than $20.

The second dish that was ordered was the Kimchi Stew.  It consisted of Pork Belly, Sliced Rice Cakes, and Soft Tofu.  If you’re looking for a dish with a little kick to it then this is the dish for you.  I thought the dish would be bitter and bland, but to my surprise it was everything but.  The sliced rice cakes had flavor with it because of the sauce that was poured on top of the overall dish.  The sauce was creamy, buttery, and garlicky but yet spicy.  This was my second time having tofu, so I wasn’t surprised by how the taste would be.  When you’re eating this dish, you can barely taste the tofu, and it’s kind of difficult to make out if you’re looking for it.  The Pork Belly was salty, but in a good way, where the other flavors of the overall dish made you forget about how salty the pork is.  If you decide to come here for a quick and cheap dinner, please get one of the two dishes.

Overall, this restaurant is a go to.  It won’t break the bank, and it gives you a chance to eat something different.

OVERALL RATING : BUSINESS CLASS