Restaurateur Peter Chang has wowed Washington area foodies with restaurants like Q and Mama Chang. He has a devoted following of “Changians” who have tracked his movements along the East Coast. And now he’s coming to Baltimore.
Chang’s latest concept, NiHao, which comes from the Mandarin phrase for “hi,” will offer an approachable yet innovative take on Chinese cuisine.
The restaurant is slated to open in Canton in February of next year in a spot previously occupied by Fork & Wrench. Lydia Chang, Peter Chang’s daughter and business partner, told The Baltimore Sun that the family chose the spot in part because of the surrounding neighborhood, which takes its name from the Chinese port.
“Being in that area is really significant,” she told The Sun. “I spent a lot of time in Baltimore, and I found the city really charming — the people, the neighborhoods, the art.”
The menu will include dishes and cocktails from Peter Chang; his wife, Lisa Chang; and pastry chef Pichet Ong, a family friend. Baltimoreans can look forward to trying items like sweet and spicy cheese with Yunnan spices, tofu with mushroom mapo, dry fry wings and tea-smoked duck. The beverage list includes a hot chocolate made with cashew, fernet and Shaoxing merengue. Flavors are influenced by multiple regions of China, including “a hint of Wuhan, a hint of Sichuan and also with a hint of sweet to it,” Lydia Chang said.
The restaurant will have multiple levels, with a 40-seat bar on the first floor and communal tables on the second floor as well as outdoor dining and third-floor event space.
Can’t wait until February? The restaurant group will host a popup at Artifact coffee sometime in January, a follow-up to one that came earlier in December.
