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Best Bargain Restaurants: Eat First

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Eat First
Washington

A fine lunch for two at eat first comprises two bowls of the kitchen's very good Hong Kong wonton soup and a quarter-order of Cantonese roast duck. Newcomers might be tempted to expand this simple menu by including a small order of Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce for fear of stinting on the greens. Don't bother: The soups are garnished with a couple of stalks of broccoli-like choy sum, enough to cover the vitamin A and fiber requirements for an individual meal. Save that order of Chinese broccoli for when you come back to enjoy the rich, meal-size soup of fresh ham hocks and noodles in a gravy-like broth.

If you plan to dine more elaborately at Eat First, check with your waitress to see if snow pea leaves are available. This Hong Kong delicacy is made of the tender, topmost part of the snow pea plant, quickly stir-fried with a touch of garlic. If it's in stock, you'll see a platter of it at most tables occupied by Chinese diners.

Other recommended examples of this kitchen's above-average cooking include a combination platter of Cantonese roasted meats; Hong Kong pork chow mein; broad rice noodles tossed with beef and a sauce of black beans and fresh green chilies; and a superb hot pot of slices of bone-in fried flounder and pork in an aromatic brown sauce.

Eat First , 728 7th Street NW, Washington; 202/347-0936. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 am to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to midnight. AE, D, MC, V. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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