Mark’s Duck House — Restaurant in Falls Church

12/31/24 New Year’s Eve with family and our first time at Mark’s Duck House in Annandale Va. my family and I love Chinese food and we traveled 1 hour 15 minutes in pouring rain on New Years Eve to try this restaurant it was GREAT did not disappoint! Not a glamour place set in a small shopping center but very clean to start off with. We were seated by friendly gentleman even though we were early for our reservation and given a large table like we asked for because we wanted to try lots of dishes. Not a problem. Our waiter, Kenny was wonderful he explained different dim sum options to my sons and was always cheerful and attentive. The appetizers fried wontons, hot and sour soup and shrimp balls and fried dumplings were perfectly. Not blah pot stickers. When the main courses arrived we’re talking large, very large portions! Not complaining loved it. Hands down the best Peking Duck we ever had, large portion, tender and flavorful and we have tried several local Va. restaurants. Large pieces of chicken in a nicely sweet sweet and sour sauce with pineapples. The beef and vegetable dish had large pieces of tender beef along with lots of veggies and pineapples in a tangy sauce. My fav was the eggplant although it wasn’t on the menu as such I asked for eggplant in garlic sauce not spicey (not fried) huge plate came and I shared although I didn’t want to! Fried rice with chicken was hit as well and did I mention Saki and hot tea went along with dinner as well. This place was fantastic from our greeting at entry to our waiter to the exceptional food we will be back. People if you are looking for great Chinese food give Mark’s Duck House a try I promise you will be back. And if that doesn’t temp your taste buds theirs a reason the locals filled the restaurant on New Years Eve. Thanks for a great start to 2025 to everyone who made our family...

I was really satisfying with first time so I visited again on last sunday dinner time. It was the same server as the first time I went. We ordered 2 noodle, 3 dimsum (Taro shrimp, steamed shrimp, panfried chive?dumpling). When ordering, we even pointed to the pictures on the menu and ordered.

The dim sum came out late, just as we were finishing our noodles. Two of them came out as we ordered, but the last dim sum came out as something we did not order. It suppose to be taro shrimp dimsum but server gave us eggplant small dish. So, we told server that oh we didn't order this, we ordered the taro shrimp one, and server said, "oh no no you ordered the eggplant." and starting blaming us. Then she said, "You korean right? usually korean like this one, just try it." My boyfriend and I hate eggplant, so we told our server like "we don't like eggplant, so its fine to take a long time can we get the dimsum that what we ordered it?" and she just take the eggplant dish out without even apologizing.

As we were waiting for our order, a woman in a blazer who appeared to be a manager walked past our table and say something in Chinese. She was just talking herself. I only understanded one part when she said, "Hánguó rén" which means "Korean." The employee probably thought we didn't know any Chinese at all, so she said it openly, but I, who understood even a little, felt very uncomfortable. We finished our food quickly, paid the food and left. I was so disappointed at this service. They need to fix their...

Mark’s Duck House is the kind of hole-in-the-wall that makes you want to call Guy Fieri and beg him to feature it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. From the outside, it looks unassuming — but inside, it’s pure magic. This is Hong Kong dim sum done right, and once you know about it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t come sooner.

The steamed oyster is our must-order every single visit. And when I say oyster, I mean massive — over 12 inches of briny, buttery perfection, steamed with ginger, scallions, and just a drizzle of soy. One bite and you’ll swear you’ve ascended.

Dim sum here is hand-made, fresh, and authentic. The har gow have that perfect translucent wrapper, the shrimp & crab balls are light yet decadent, and the octopus with black pepper delivers just the right punch. Snow pea leaves sautéed with garlic are a masterclass in simplicity, and the crispy sea bass? So good it left us joking that mama needed to be slapped. (Apologies to mama.)

What I love most is how unpretentious it all is. No gimmicks, no shortcuts — just classic dishes done exceptionally well. This is the kind of place that reminds you what dim sum is supposed to taste like.

Pro tip: Come on weekends between 10 AM and 1 PM when the carts are rolling. It’s busy — yes, you’ll wait — but the energy, the variety, and the sheer joy of watching those carts circle the room makes it 100% worth it.

Do not judge by its cover. This is the real deal, and I hope Mark’s Duck House stays in...