Elite Event: Shophouse Open House

How does he do it? Every event Mike B manages to outdo himself.
If it wasn’t for this event I probably never would have tried Shophouse as it didn’t seem like something that I would be really into. Bringing along a non-​Yelping friend (who has since joined after meeting all the cool Unilocal Elites at the event), we tried a myriad of food. From bowls filled with delicious rice, veggies and the not to be missed meatballs, to the mango rice desserts and the various drinks. Excellent eats.
The staff of Shophouse was incredible. I worked in food service for about a whole 1 hour once. I hated everything about it and the disarray in the kitchen ensured I never stepped back into that chain’s restaurants again, but turned me off from eating out for a while. I am happy to report Shophouse in Bethesda gets my seal of approval for cleanliness. The staff gave us a great tour of not only the kitchen but the how tos. We got to use the industrial slicer and cook with the giant wok. We also got to sample some of the flavors that were in the food individually. This really helps you see and understand some of the ingredients that we don’t normally use in western cooking.
Finally, the raffles were off the chain. While I was disappointed I didn’t get one of the loaded woks, I was even more bummed about not getting a limited edition autographed Mike B. Sriracha bottles! (Here’s hoping my luck changes before the next YEE)

I wasn’t sure if my non-​dominant arm was capable of mirroring the years of stirfry practice without spatulas, but genetics took the wheel and I made my favorite leftie proud charring corn. I may have been making «wok this way» jokes for the rest of the night.
I’d tried their food before, but tasting a fresh batch of meatballs made a huge difference. I wasn’t a huge fan of the new mango parfait because I prefer my coconut rice more moist, but I appreciated the opportunity to sample it and Taste Nirvana coconut water. The ingredients station allowed me to try tamarind and a new rhizome on their own, and the industrial shredder was a neat feature in the pickling process. Stewart W and the Georgetown general manager were super friendly in sharing the corporate vision and fielding any questions I had, and it was clear that the local team was passionate about the culture and their jobs. Shophouse was so crazy generous that I felt bad about maximizing their offerings. Chipotle chapstick and Asian candies, heck yeah! Congrats to the winners of the wok baskets.

I can only say Mike B. works hard for the money, so hard for it, honey. So you better treat him right.
So on the same week as the awesome Unilocal’s Time Warp party, Mike hosted this event at ShopHouse. Color me impressed. This was a well organized event. The staff of ShopHouse absolutely made the event a hit. They were all smiles, super helpful, knowledgeable about the menu and you could tell they loved their jobs (maybe not public speaking, as they confessed, but still did a great job).
We got our fill of ShopHouse bowls (other Unilocalers described those quite well), all I can say is that I love the tamarind vinaigrette, and you should generally respect the pepper ranking system (when they say it’s hot it’s really hot). Then made our rounds with trying each of the fresh ingredients that go into the ShopHouse recipes (tamarind, various hot sauces, etc) and then got our turns stir frying corn and broccoli on a heavy wok using the proper technique. As if endless food and drinks wasn’t enough, we got red envelopes with a free bowl and bogo coupons and they offered bowls to go. Also great to know that the food Unilocalers didn’t consume (like there would be any food left over!) is donated to Bethesda Cares.
Love this business and can’t wait to return again and again. Thank you for the fun Sunday night, ShopHouse and Mike B!

This was my first Elite Event as a Non-​Elite (I was a guest) and I must say, I had a great time — not surprised as it was one of Mike B’s events. I had viewed almost all of the reviews for this location before attending this event. I am a huge fan of Chipotle and so knowing about the concept made me look forward to eating here.
We got our name tags with a piece of candy and were told to save the wrapper (based on what candy we had, we went to different stations to view sauce being made, garnishes being made and learned how to cook with a wok). We also got a raffle ticket where a few prizes were raffled off later in the event (one was a wok full o’stuff).
The event started off with the choice of getting a drink (beer, ginger ale, coconut water). As we lined up to put together our combos, the GM for the Georgetown DC location was on hand to reaffirm us of the combinations we had planned to get, and we could ask him questions too. The concept was that you started with a bowl of rice or noodles, meat, vegetable, sauce, garnish, and an extra topping. I had a bowl of Pork & Chicken Meatballs (meat), with Jasmine Rice (rice), Charred Corn (vegetable), Green Curry (sauce) and Peanuts (extra topping).
There was also dessert as well — Coconut Rice & Mango Parfait. We were told that they recently decided to mix the dessert together (a way of experimenting). I must say that I have never eaten parfait before and initially to me it was just okay, but then I noticed I was eating more and more of this parfait, and so my thought concept went from «this is okay» to «yum». Overall, everything I ate was very delicious and I plan to come back and eat some good food again.

I was so excited in the days and hours leading up to this event, not only because it’s always fun to pass time with fellow Unilocalers, but also because I was eagerly anticipating trying out Chipotle’s southeast Asian sister! In summary, I was totally impressed. The entire restaurant was reserved for Mike B.‘s YEE, and Shophouse had brought in the best of their best crew members and general managers. Not only did we get to enjoy Asian-​inspired teas, coconut water, and Thai beer, we also were able to go through the line and order a complete meal. The ordering process works just like one most of y’all will be familiar with from Chipotle: pick your base, pick your protein, pick your toppings, and pick your garnishes. What this Spice Fiend LOVED about Shophouse were the «flames» indicating spice on the menu and the curry sauces imported from Thailand!
As if that wasn’t enough, Mike and Shophouse totally hooked us up with hands-​on demonstrations in the kitchen! We had the chance to try flipping rice and veggies in the wok, learn about their fresh and awesome papaya slaw and pickles, and try many of the spices that make their food so unique and delicious.
My belly is stuffed, I had a great time, and I am hoping Shophouse opens a location in northern VA! Thank you, Mike!
UPDATE: the big hunk of chain-​link fence that one of my rear tires picked up on good ol’ Clara Barton Pkwy on the way home couldn’t dampen my happiness and satisfaction following this awesome event!