A&J - Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

A&J
4316 Markham St
Ste B
Annandale, VA 22003

Dumplings

So it was a typical Friday evening for David and I, as always we were contemplating
on where to go for dinner. We have to meet up with my cousin at Korean bakery, Shilla for bingsoo after dinner. For those who don't know what bingsoo is, it is a ice shaved dessert with assorted delicious toppings. It made sense for us to eat somewhere in Annandale for dinner. Of course, we would go to Korean restaurants since there a a lot of restaurants in the area to pick from. Unfortunately, we just recently had Korean food so we wanted to try something else. David wanted to go to Silverado, I was a little hesitant however I did not have any other idea so I agreed. 30 minutes later, we arrived at Silverado, that place was packed. The hostess said that it will take close to an hour to get a table for two. We didn't have enough time to wait, plus we were getting hungry so we left. David suggested that we try A & J knowing that I wanted to try Taiwanese food. I have never been there before, but David has.

Milk Bubble Tea

A & J is located in the building which appears to be a small shopping mall. The restaurant looks almost like fast food place. The waitress handed us two paper menus and two pencils as we sat down. I was a little confused but quickly realized that she wanted to us to circle what we want. This reminds me the sushi menu at the Japanese restaurant but this is Taiwanese. Not a bad idea I assumed there would be nothing lost in translation.

Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

We ordered dumplings, wonton noodle soup, and a spicy beef noodle soup. David also ordered a milk bubble tea to drink. The dumplings came out first. The dumplings were not typical Chinese dumplings that you used to see. These dumplings are like long rolled instead of traditional half mooned shape. There was a decent amount of filling, however it could definitely needs a little flavor beside the soy sauce dipping sauce. David commented that the bubble tea was very weak and watery. He wasn't too impressed with it. At last, our soups came out. The wonton soup has shredded fried egg and bok choy. The broth didn't have me at hello after I tasted it. It was a nothing memorable about it. What memorable about this wonton was I took a bite of wonton and realized that pork inside was bright pink. Immediately, a flow of thoughts and images of Gordon Ramsay screaming and yelling came to my head. Is this filling raw? We asked the waitress if the filling is raw. She was explained that it is not. They put special ingredient to make the pork pink. I'm not too sure what is it because I couldn't understand her very well. But she offered to bring it back to cook it some more. Meanwhile, I watched David eats his spicy beef noodle soup. I tried the soup, it was alright I didn't know how long we waited for the wonton soup to come back but the two tables next us came after us and left. At that point, I was getting a little agitated and didn't feel hungry anymore. I just wanted to leave.

Wonton Noodle Soup

David came up the counter to pay and said that we don't want the wonton soup anymore. The waitress was telling us that it should be ready soon and they're making a new soup for us. Are they just omitting the special ingredient or cooking the life out of the wonton this time? How come the second time around took so much longer than the first? I don't like to create attention to myself or make a scene but I said I don't want it and left. It was the first time that I have walked out of the restaurant, unfortunately we also paid for the wonton soup. Overall, we were not impressed at all with the food. I had better frozen dumplings and wonton from Chinese take out. It was the worst experience and I don't think I will go back to A& J.

By the way, they only accept cash.