One of the Best Chinese Restaurants in D.C. Redefines Hong Kong Cuisine
Eater Video Chef Henji Cheung mixes Chinese ingredients with European technique for earthy truffle dumplings and branzino with chili sauce “What we do here is like an East meets West cuisine,” says Henji Cheung, the James Beard-nominated co-owner and executive chef at Queen’s English in Washington D.C. The Hong Kong-influenced cuisine is created “with Asian ingredients, but with European techniques,” reflecting Cheung’s background of growing up in the British territory and working in Italian and French restaurants earlier in his career. A day at Queen’s English starts with prep for the claypot rabbit. Cheung first breaks down a whole rabbit that is braised on a mix of two different types of mirepoix, both the Chinese (scallions, garlic, and ginger) and European (carrots, celery, and onion) vegetables mixtures are cooked in a wok before the rabbit and a hearty portion of Shaoxing wine is poured on top. The truffle dumplings are another example of this style. Truffle sauce is not only added to the edamame, shallot, and tofu filling, but tops off the pan-fried dumplings along with Saba (Italian grape must) and a sweet corn espuma. Open since 2019, the restaurant tends to lean “prep heavy, service fast” due to the small kitchen space and Cantonese menu. Working with high heat is an integral part of keeping up that pace, with crackling woks and clay pots sitting on top of burners that get up to 175,000 BTU and sound “like a jet engine,” according to Cheung. The heat of the work (known as wok hei) breathes life into almost every dish on the small menu, from prepped vegetables and sauces to dishes cooked completely in the round-bottomed pan. Cheung opened Queen’s English with his wife Sarah Thompson, who is a Michelin award-winning sommelier that manages the drinks side of the menu and has also helped to invent dishes like the the daikon fritters. “Our goal was always never to have an empire,” Cheung said. “We like the stage that we built ourselves here... we look forward to performing every day on this little stage that we built.” Watch the latest episode of Experts to see how Cheung preps for a night of serving up wok-seared truffle dumplings and daikon fritters, fried whole branzino, and hearty claypot rabbit.
Chef Henji Cheung mixes Chinese ingredients with European technique for earthy truffle dumplings and branzino with chili sauce
“What we do here is like an East meets West cuisine,” says Henji Cheung, the James Beard-nominated co-owner and executive chef at Queen’s English in Washington D.C. The Hong Kong-influenced cuisine is created “with Asian ingredients, but with European techniques,” reflecting Cheung’s background of growing up in the British territory and working in Italian and French restaurants earlier in his career.
A day at Queen’s English starts with prep for the claypot rabbit. Cheung first breaks down a whole rabbit that is braised on a mix of two different types of mirepoix, both the Chinese (scallions, garlic, and ginger) and European (carrots, celery, and onion) vegetables mixtures are cooked in a wok before the rabbit and a hearty portion of Shaoxing wine is poured on top. The truffle dumplings are another example of this style. Truffle sauce is not only added to the edamame, shallot, and tofu filling, but tops off the pan-fried dumplings along with Saba (Italian grape must) and a sweet corn espuma.
Open since 2019, the restaurant tends to lean “prep heavy, service fast” due to the small kitchen space and Cantonese menu. Working with high heat is an integral part of keeping up that pace, with crackling woks and clay pots sitting on top of burners that get up to 175,000 BTU and sound “like a jet engine,” according to Cheung. The heat of the work (known as wok hei) breathes life into almost every dish on the small menu, from prepped vegetables and sauces to dishes cooked completely in the round-bottomed pan.
Cheung opened Queen’s English with his wife Sarah Thompson, who is a Michelin award-winning sommelier that manages the drinks side of the menu and has also helped to invent dishes like the the daikon fritters. “Our goal was always never to have an empire,” Cheung said. “We like the stage that we built ourselves here... we look forward to performing every day on this little stage that we built.”
Watch the latest episode of Experts to see how Cheung preps for a night of serving up wok-seared truffle dumplings and daikon fritters, fried whole branzino, and hearty claypot rabbit.
