ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FALLS CHURCH
SERIES: Taste of Virginia
SOURCE: The Associated Press|
Ever since it opened seven years ago, Fortune Restaurant has been one of the Washington area's most popular restaurants, particularly among the Asian community.
It serves Dim Sum to an average of 2,000 people weekly and has been named one of Washington's ``50 Best'' restaurants every year since 1989. The Reston Fortune restaurant opened almost two years ago and is also very successful.
Dim Sum is a Cantonese style of cooking that features dishes traditionally created as snacks to eat at either breakfast or lunch in Chinese tea houses. Literally translated, Dim Sum means ``dot heart,'' or, more poetically, ``heart's delight.''
Fortune manager Tony Chen said diners are not supposed to fill up on Dim Sum, only to snack on the bite-sized tidbits while they enjoy their tea. But they do anyway. Chen attributes the restaurant's success to its high quality food.
``The Dim Sum chef makes it better at Fortune than any of the others ... they copy us,'' he says.
Fortune serves Dim Sum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day of the week. On weekends, if you arrive much later than 11 a.m., take a number. Do not let the crowd scare you off; the restaurant is extremely efficient. You can be in and out in about 50 minutes. The dining room seats 400 people, and although you can make reservations, they are not necessary.
Eating Dim Sum is a treat. Menus are not used; you just sit down and wait for the food to come to you. Shy, smiling waitresses wheel carts of steaming food around, and you pick and choose. But be careful and choosy, or you'll fill up fast and not have room for something that comes around later. Do not worry about ordering lots of dishes; they're quite inexpensive (most dishes are only a couple of dollars, with the enormous plates of meat and noodles costing only about five dollars).
Fortune's Cantonese-style Dim Sum is characterized by fresh ingredients, light sauces and savory seasonings such as lemon, curry and Chinese herbs. For the most part, Fortune's Dim Sum dishes are the traditional bite-sized morsels of meat and vegetable-stuffed dumplings, steamed buns and sticky rolls. These are either baked, steamed or deep fried.
Fortune offers about 70 different dishes on weekends, 40 to 50 weekdays. In addition to the traditional buns and dumplings, the restaurant serves platters of Chinese meat and noodles, vegetables, and rice dishes.
Order whatever looks good and ask questions (especially if you don't want to end up eating jellyfish or shark fins). Among the specialties are the steaming hot pork buns, a sweet chewy bun filled with tangy pork barbecue. Crisp deep fried dumplings and shrimp balls also are popular. Another Dim Sum specialty: bowls of sticky rice with Chinese sausage. Seafood is fresh and plentiful; dishes of baby clams and mussels appear on many carts.
After the Dim Sum is finished for the day, Fortune reverts to a ``Chinese seafood'' restaurant, featuring lots of unusual dishes including sea cucumber with sliced abalone ($36), baked Dungeness crab with chili and black bean sauce ($18), and fresh snails in black bean sauce ($8.50).
Traditionally, the Chinese don't drink much alcohol except for special occasions. But Fortune serves both American and Chinese beer, wine, liquor and several kinds of Chinese tea.
Recipe for: BEEF WITH SCALLIONS AND GINGER SAUTEED WITH OYSTER SAUCE
Name: Fortune Restaurant Address: 5900 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church; 1428 North Point Village Center, Reston Phone: (703) 998-8888 (Falls Church), (703) 318-8898 (Reston) Specialty: Chinese Dim Sum, Chinese seafood dishes Price range: $1.95-$5.50 per Dim Sum dish, dinner entrees range from $7.50-$36.00 Hours: Dim Sum lunch served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Dinner served from 3 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday Reservations: Yes Payment: American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club Alcoholic beverages: Full bar, wine and beer selections Non-smoking section: Yes Handicapped accessible: Yes
Additional information: Carryout available
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. The Fortune restaurant in Falls Church stays busy.|by CNB