China Chilcano

Created by the José Andrés Group following the success of Las Vegas’s Chinese-Mexican restaurant China Poblano, Washington, DC’s China Chilcano celebrates Chifa and Nikkei cuisines – Peruvian fusions with Chinese and Japanese foods. Aggressively decorated with a fun, urban energy that has disappeared from the restaurant group’s more recent destinations, China Chilcano has always had aesthetics on its side, but in our experiences, its dishes and service haven’t always lived up to their potential.

The menu includes multiple ceviches, dumplings, rice bowls, buns and noodle dishes, which all sound familiar enough until you note that many are using Peruvian elements such as leche de tigre, sweet potatoes, and aji amarillo yellow chilis to deliver uncommon flavors. You  can’t go wrong with any of the raw fish ceviches or tiraditos, and one long-time menu superstar is the Aeropuerto, which combines both crispy noodles and fried rice with your choice of proteins – just in case you thought noodles and rice were necessarily separated rather than served together.