Tradition blends locally to create surprising and delicious dishes

Chinese-style roast pork (left) and quail eggs are featured on Bespoke Kitchen's menu.

And, just as Friendly does, more and more restaurants are starting to create their own variations on Chinese dishes.

Last fall, Michelin released its first-ever Washington guide with not only its starred restaurants but also 19 restaurants selected for its "Bib Gourmand" list, places with"exceptional good food at moderate prices".

Three of the 19 are fusion restaurants with heavy Chinese influence — Chinese Peruvian at China Chilcano, Cambodian-Taiwanese at Maketto and Chinese-French at Kyirisan.

"Chinese food plays a heavy part in our menu," said Carlos Delgado, chef at China Chilcano.

"We have a ton of dim sum, noodles and rice on the menu. A lot of our ingredients and spices in general are Chinese."

The original Chinese Peruvian fusion was born with a cultural movement in Peru brought by Chinese immigrants who started to experiment with their household recipes using local Peruvian ingredients, Delgado explained.

"There are more and more Chinese-inspired restaurants popping up in DC, so I think there will be more opportunities for chefs to showcase their style of cooking with Chinese influences and ingredients in the coming years," he said.

Yuan Yuan in Washington contributed to the story