An eight-seat chefвЂ™s counter lets customers watch the woks and charcoal grill in action. The renovation of the former space included moving the kitchen from the middle and to the back, making it an open format. Discolored tiles, also a popular accent in Hong Kong spots, are found throughout. The exterior is awash with bright pink coral (pastels are big in Hong Kong), and more neon lighting is en route. The man behind the kitchen is executive chef Irvin Van Oordt, a Peruvian native who grew up in Rockville, Md., and has a solid cooking resume at the Michelin-starred Midsummer House in Cambridge, England, and Singapore-based 2am:lab.Д«eauchamp is buddies with chef Matt Abergel, co-owner of Yardbird and Sunday's Grocery in Hong Kong, who plans to visit for a taste test soon. Herbal and milk teas will be a big focus, along with tea-infused cocktails - a hot trend right now in D.C. The intensive beverage program also incorporates baiju, a hard-to-find Chinese spirit.

вЂњIf you have fatigue or stress you can have a cocktail and it does work,вЂќ says Beauchamp. The team worked with an herbalist for six months, mixing and matching 500 types of herbs before coming up with the menu, he says. There are no TVs needed at the octagon-shaped bar, where entertainment comes in the form of watching cocktails get infused with traditional Chinese medicine. The restaurant screams Hong Kong even from the outside: A huge 18-foot geometric window that peeks right into the front bar intentionally has eight sides (the number вЂњeightвЂќ is a very lucky number in China, so the octagon is a popular shape). In order to capture the Asian cityвЂ™s food and drink scene correctly, chef Nathan Beauchamp and business partner Greg Algie of the Fainting Goat traveled straight to the source multiple times this year and brought along the designer of the 2,600-square-foot space, EditLab. More creative concoctions include cumin lamb tartare and chili wontons stuffed with turkey and shrimp. The 85-seat bar/restaurant, inside in the former Rogue 24 space, serves up traditional Cantonese dishes such as beef chow fun noodles and whole crispy fish. Tiger Fork in Shaw opened last night for its first dinner service, bringing a taste of Hong KongвЂ™s fast-paced bar and dining scene to D.C.

Tiger fork