ChiKo in Shirlington (4040 Campbell Ave) will take part in the local chain’s Dumpling Week next week.
For Dumpling Week, co-owners Danny Lee and Scott Drewno are drawing inspiration from several cuisines to offer customers a different dining experience each day.
“The world needs dumplings,” Lee said.
The dumpling festivities will run from Monday, March 13 to Sunday, March 19, starting on Monday with a $58 tasting menu.
The tasting box hosts five pieces per flavor for a total of twenty-five dumplings — Chinese sausage and shrimp, chicken wonton, fried yachae mandu, shrimp and scallop siu mai, and classic pork and chive. Dipping sauces will be served with this dumpling smorgasbord at no extra cost.
On Tuesday — 3/14 — ChiKo plans to honor dumplings in dessert form with “Pie Day.” The restaurant’s second special includes fried apple dumpling hand pies with a vanilla glaze ($7).
China Chilcano’s head chef Will Fung has partnered with ChiKo to serve its customers handmade Hong Kong-style shrimp wontons with white pepper dashi on Wednesday.
The chef’s “Mama Fung” sauce is drawn from his mother’s culinary influence and included in the dish to accompany the wontons. The proceeds from Wednesday’s special will be donated to World Central Kitchen — restaurateur Jose Andres’s non-profit that works to serve international populations affected by humanitarian crises.
Fung’s feature precedes the week’s latter dishes: chicken dumplings with ghost pepper chili oil on Thursday ($12), St. Patrick’s Day-inspired Irish beef dumpling stew on Friday ($15) and Korean barbecue dumplings on Saturday ($13).
The celebration will close with Sunday’s crab rangoon special ($14).
ChiKo’s wide-ranging interpretations of the traditional dumpling parallel Lee and Drewno’s multifaceted culinary backgrounds. The owners use Dumpling Week to get creative and share their love of the doughy dish.
“Dumplings equal joy,” says Drewno.
All featured plates are exclusive to the annual event and are not included on the standard menu. Dumpling Week specials will be available during dinner hours; ChiKo will serve its regular lunch options throughout the week.