Ming’s Asian Bistro

Tina W. pretty much wrote everything you need to know about this place. This used to be a Vietnamese Phở place but in 2014 changed owner and is now an authentic Chinese restaurant (authentic in every way including the service) and although they still serve phở, you don’t want to get it here… go to a real phở place for that!
Also the regulars are folks who most likely don’t even know what Unilocal is (i.e. my parents generation). They go where they can get real Chinese food (not orange chicken or beef and broccoli). They order things not on the menu or are only written in Chinese. They chat with the owner, ask for what’s fresh in the kitchen today and pre-​order certain dishes that require advance notice (like the duck).
Like most restaurants, they only have a couple stellar dishes, the duck, shrimp in egg yolk, a white fish dish (don’t know the name), a casserole with everything in it… and a few others escaping me right now. I am a semi-​regular as my parents are regulars so I join them from time to time. This is where they like to entertain their friends/​relatives.
The restaurant is small and service is adequate. Definitely helps if you can speak or read Chinese and chat with the owner and ask her for recommendations.
Also I tried their weekend dim sum, was not impressed.

I made the mistake of trying Ming’s despite the mostly lukewarm reviews. I got the orange beef to go, upgrading from white rice to brown. Opening the container of rice, I was surprised at how light it was; there was very little rice in it, certainly not worth the extra $ 1.50. The beef was horrible. They must have used the cheapest cut possible; nothing but gristle. It was impossible to chew and had a funny taste. Completely inedible. Even the garbage disposal had trouble grinding it.

I no longer read Unilocal reviews! That’s right. If I had actually read the reviews for this humble little place with the three star rating (which hasn’t purchased a magic Unilocal ad yet) I might have walked right past it, due to all the complaints from Unilocal trolls. But I work in the Kentlands, and Pasha was closed for lunch, the sushi place was closed, and Thai Titanium was also closed. So I just happened to find this Taiwanese place on Market St. I was greeted by the owner, who was the sweetest little guy, I missed the lunch specials by a few minutes, and was going to keep walking. But owner guy (Mr. Ming?) explained his concept to me, and assured me that I could get mind numbing spicy food if I wanted. And after being served complimentary pickled radishes (om nom nom) and tea, I started with the won ton soup ($ 1.95) which was filled with perfectly meaty won tons. And the beef and cashews ($ 10.50) had the perfect level of spicy to satisfy my soul. And the waitress kept my teapot filled to capacity the whole time. And considering that the time of my visit is when most Asian restaurants close during the day and/​or stay open but consider walk-​in customers an inconvenience I’d rate the service ⁵⁄₅ and ¹⁰⁄₁₀ on the Asian restaurant scale. Ming-​san told me he’s been open for a year. I really hope he bucks the usual trend and stays open. Hell yeah.

Everything was too oily.
I really want to like this place. It’s got all the items that I would like to like at a good price and quantity but the execution was off. I came in for lunch and got the sesame chicken, fried rice, spring roll, and an orange soda all for $ 8.50 which is a great price but here’s what should have been changed:
1. The sesame chicken had way too much sauce and way too much oil, I’d recommend either saying no extra sauce on the plate, light on the oil, or immediately dumping the extra sauce out when you get it so that it doesn’t get absorbed into the chicken.
2. The spring roll was too oily. Either they shouldn’t fry it for so long or ask them to leave it in for half the time they normally leave it in. (or play it safe and get the won ton soup)
3. The fried rice was too oily. Again ask for it to be fried for about half the time they normally do.
I would like to try this place again but I’m hesitant

Small but good restaurant with good price. Their side dishes are also excellent. Nice place for casual dinner or lunch.

Used to like this place. Ate here last night. We walked in around 9 (they’re supposed to be open until 10:30), place was empty, staff was sitting at a table cleaning string beans, looked at us oddly, asking what we wanted…“are you still open?” «Yes.» We’re here to eat.” They seemed surprised and slightly annoyed that we were disturbing them.
Ordered Phở with flank steak and brisket. The thing they called «brisket» was all fat; the «flank steak» was a whitish light grey, a color I’ve never seen in a beef product. And the broth was pink! Not brown, pink. Tasted odd too, not to mention not very appetizing. Could barely eat it but we were all starving and so we tried.
Five hours later had stomach cramps. Yes, stupid of us for not sending it back.

First time here and I only tasted one dish, so the jury is still half way out. In any case, here goes.
By the looks of the clientele, this restaurant is one instance in which Unilocal is neither completely accurate nor the way in which people find the restaurant. The folks that just filled this little place to capacity with bodies and noise are not the folks who will be Unilocaling about their great experience. Neither did they use Unilocal to find it. The two large tables are filled with regulars, none of whom might be considered within the demographic of the average Unilocaler. I’m glad I didn’t let the 3-​star rating dissuade me from coming here.
The Food
I had the traditional spicy beef noodle soup. The broth was spot on! The beef was the authentic cut, complete with the yummy fatty bits and tendon still intact. So the noodles weren’t hand pulled, but I’ll let that slide as they still conveyed the broth well enough and grabbed bits of the savory sour cabbage along into my spoon. The portion was sufficient for two meals — I’ll have a good lunch tomorrow too.
The Ambiance
The authenticity of this Chinese experience rings across the room. Mandarin punctuates the air in rapid fire. The décor is plain and underassuming. The tables are crowded a lot more tightly than folks in the U.S. are used to. The air conditioner struggles to keep up with the demand, but this just increases the sense of authenticity. (I had a steaming hot bowl of soup — so hot I scalded my tongue — but I haven’t broken a sweat. Of course, that might be my Taiwanese blood winning the day. I definitely have seen other people mopping their brows.)
The Service
Again, another area of authenticity. Only the owner/​manager plus a young man (did I just say that?) out on the floor with 4 2-​tops, 4 4-​tops, and an 8-​top. And it is full in here at lunch time. So yes, service is not spot on. But the people who frequent this place will not bat an eye at it. The owner/​manager was no nonsense and took my order efficiently. The young man was very well behaved and courteous — more authenticity. :)
I will definitely come back, and bring my parents so they can read the Chinese for me. :)

New ownership to say the least. The service has gone down drastically. One of the staff made us help them move a table.

Beware! New owners… i went here last week to get my usual phở fix. And when it came out it smelled so nasty. I didn’t dare even try it. I ordered well done brisket but got some scary looking meat instead. Good thing I didn’t try it bc someone’s other review mentioned food poisoning! The waitress doesn’t speak English so I just got up and left. Do yourself a favor and don’t come here

Authentic Chinese food! Try their tofu, shrimp and beef! I really love the lemonade they made in the store. Very delicious.

Salty egg yolk shrimp, shell-​off, and five color fish strips are our family’s favorite. Two kids love them. They ate faster here than at other places.

Chicken with Thai basil and the duck were amazing. We ate outside so can’t really elaborate on the atmosphere but the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Do yourself a favor and don’t eat here.
No one in our group finished their food. In fact, the only thing we talked about was how cold the food was and how it tasted stale. Not only was the food horrible but apparently their menu’s are not up to date and my friend was charged extra for her meal without notice. When she asked the waitress she explained that the price listed was incorrect…
I actually filed a complaint with the manager and I have never in my life done anything of the sort.

I’m not a big phở fan and trying to find a good Chinese restaurant in the Kentlands has its challenges (only really liked Pacfica for some of their dishes). Still bummed Chopstix on Muddy Branch closed.
Anyways, I read reviews that this place is under new ownership with Taiwanese cuisine too, so I checked this place.
I’ve been here twice and will say stick with their Chinese Authentic entrees. I like their scrambled eggs with shrimp, salt and pepper pork chop, shacha beef (a bit sweet though), spicy fish fillet (it’s spicy!), and their version of Taiwanese fried chicken nuggets. Caveat, it is not the same like jumbo jumbo.
Their American menu I haven’t tried except for Kung pao chicken. Meh, I’ve had better. Can’t comment on their phở.
They have a good lunch deal. 3 courses for $ 18 like Bobs. Will have to come back for that and their dim sum too.

I used to get delivery from here almost twice a week. Now this place has completely fallen off the map. My phở was horrible no flavor whatsoever. I for one will never order from this place again.

New ownership as of June 2014 — I was delighted to see they introduced a few more authentic Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines on the menu, rather than the old confusing Vietnamese + Chinese + whatever they used to serve.
Gone are the open kitchen layout and pale coloring, which may scare some folks who are frequent visitors of Ming’s. However we had a chance to try 3 appetizers (house made cold radish, chilled tofu, oyster pancake), and 2 entrees (Tainan Stewed Pork Noodle, Cod Fish & Tofu in Hot Pot). Overall we were impressed with their taste and their reasonable portion size (for the price). I’d be back to try their Taiwanese dim sum menu (before 3pm on weekends), and especially their oyster pancake (which is better than Bob 66’s and Taipei Café’s version). You might be lucky and get those dim sum selections after 3pm, but mostly they’ll be out of them by dinner time.
I haven’t had an American Chinese food itch yet, so I can’t say much about their sesame chicken, fried rice, and so forth, but I’ll post an update when I get that itch.
Check out the new menu (shown in green) that is on top of their regular menu. I’d definitely recommend giving the green menu a shot next time you visit Ming’s. The menu however does not specify when those dim sum items were available, so we were disappointed when the owner told us they ran out most of the items (hence a star is lost). Nevertheless you ( Unilocalers and observers) know now! Dim sum before 3pm on weekends, and they also have 3 entrees + 1 soup combo for $ 18.95 on weekdays, for sharing between 2+ people obviously, not for yourself… pig! :D

FOOD POISONING
Do I have your attention? The only two words you need to know about Ming’s Asian Bistro are «food poisoning.» My wife and I were both made violently ill from the food here. Avoid at all costs. Working on filing a complaint with the health inspector.

Little Asian café in Kentlands. A couple of bad experiences here, from a vegetarian perspective. One, we ordered a vegetable and tofu soup, which came with chicken broth. To be fair, a lot of places do this, and we should have asked, but I was a little put off when we asked for it to be sent back asking for vegetable stock and were told that most people like chicken broth because it’s «more tastier». Not to us, it isn’t. Also, once that flat out ran out of tofu on us and we had to get a noodle dish instead, which wasn’t great. These things having been said, I’m a nice guy and I let these things go and have eaten here quite a few times. I recommend caution, that’s all.
It’s a nice little place with indoor and outdoor seating, and their vegetarian dishes, once you get to them, are pretty delicious. They have perhaps the best kung pao tofu I’ve ever had, which is saying something because every Chinese restaurant does this dish. They also have a delicious stir fried tofu and hot pepper appetizer, and several other solid dishes. Their spicy dishes are actually spicy, which is often not the case with Chinese restaurants. And you get a lot of food for your money. I say all of this averages out to three stars.

I haven’t been here in a couple years so I decided to try it again.
Nothing has changed.
In terms of PHO, the broth is still bland, the quantity of meat is low and the viet style iced coffee is awful. See my prior review.
I can think of no reason to go here for PHO unless you live in the Kentlands and your only option is a place within walking distance. And even if that’s the case, walk a little further to Phở City which is a much better authentic Viet PHO experience.

Blech