There’s plenty of Asian-Latin fusion restaurants in and around Chinatown, but there’s only one Zengo (781 7th Street, NW). The name is a Japanese word for “give and take” that describes the restaurant’s style of blending world cuisines. It is also the inspiration behind its mission to share chef Richard Sandoval’s discoveries with guests. This winter, Zengo is introducing a new “Culinary Tour” menu inspired by Sandoval’s recent trips to Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Thailand. Upon his return, Sandoval and Zengo’s culinary team—under the direction of Chef de Cuisine Jason Streiff—called upon ingredients they savored to create dishes that showcase the story of Asia’s distinct flavors. DCist got a chance to sample the new menu at a recent media dinner.
“With this menu we definitely went more Asian than Latin,” says Streiff. “We’ll still have Latin ingredients in there, but we wanted to focus on Asian dishes and Asian flavors,” he says. The expanded appetizer and dim sum menu is a perfect example. Streiff describes the large pork and foie gras shumai dumplings: “There’s plantain, pork, a cube of foie gras that melts inside, and it’s finished with XO black vinegar sauce, sake, dried shrimp, prosciutto, scallop, sorrano pepper…twenty different ingredients.” The experience of eating one dumpling is like a tour of flavors in itself.
The Japanese chicken meatballs are also a rare delight. “You don’t find chicken meatballs very often,” says Streiff. “Inside there’s mushrooms, ginger teriyaki, pickled red peppers, and scallions.” My favorite appetizer was the giant broiled sea scallop with mushroom dashi broth, masago (roe), and sambal pepper sauce. Served on a scallop shell and topped with bonito flakes (Japanese dried and smoked skipjack tuna), this scallop is large enough to share among three or four diners. The bonito flakes appear again, waving in the heat retained by the blistered shishito peppers.
Latin influences emerge on the sushi and crudo bar in the form of ceviche. “We changed up our ceviche of non-traditional Latin with more Asian flavors,” Streiff says. The grouper ceviche is thinly sliced and mixed with sea beans, sliced radish, cilantro, blanched Brussels sprouts, Serrano chili peppers, and dollops of New England raised uni (sea urchin) that Streiff explains “really taste like the ocean.” The Thai seafood ceviche boasts more citrus zip with a combination of calamari, shrimp, fish sauce, and chili pepper. Streiff credits the freshness of the seafood, “from a small purveyor and never frozen,” for the popularity of Zengo’s ceviche.
The standout wok dishes and main courses are sure to please meat lovers. The tender short rib udon noodle is a drunken noodle broth with XO, Thai basil, and long beans. A savory Shanghai strip steak is served with lemon aioli and caramelized shallots, and comes with a side of broccolini and crispy soy taro root fries. On the lighter side there’s also lemongrass adobo chicken, a half semi boneless chicken with garlic rice, served with an heirloom tomato salad. Ask for the chef’s daily fish selection for the tempura whole fish served with spicy cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled vegetables, and a black bean sweet and sour sauce.
The Culinary Tour menu is only available for dinner after 5 p.m. and runs until January 31, 2016. These special menu items are indicated by 新, a Chinese character that translates as “new.”
