Chinese Street Market DC was founded in 2019, envisioning a space for sharing authentic regional Chinese culture with cuisine as the vehicle for connection. Since then, CSMDC continues to host cultural events, cooking classes, farmer’s market popups and more.

Then, one day, a child tugged at her mother at a farmers’ market and pointed at our stand and shouted, “look mom, that’s the dàn dàn boy!” Hearing this name from a child, we knew we were creating something special and recognizable. Historically, dàn dàn noodles were sold on the streets by young boys who hauled the food on a pole (pronounced “dàn”) on their shoulders, and that was where the name of the dish originated.

Nowadays, you can find these delicious, packed grocery food products online, at farmers markets, local grocery stores and more to come. These grocery food products are perfect for anyone who is looking for fresh and easy meals to make at home. This year, we have expanded our grocery offerings to other Chinese regional noodles, sauces, dumplings, and frozen meal kits. We decided to move all our food products under the name Dàn Dàn Boy because now each of these items has its own following, which makes Dàn Dàn Boy a standalone brand outside Chinese Street Market DC.

At Union Market, we plan to offer freshly made, curated regional Chinese dishes under the Dàn Dàn Boy name. This will allow us to introduce Chinese regional dishes to a wider audience and further develop the brand, while Chinese Street Market DC will continue building its community through dumpling diplomacy classes and cultural events.