I’ve eaten my way through many of the restaurants at Eden Center, Washington DC’s suburban Vietnamese strip center. I’ve braved jellyfish salads, avocado smoothies and spicy crawfish — and lived to tell about it. Here are my restaurant recommendations and map.

The Eden Center is a baffling bit of Asia in the middle of Falls Church. It’s as overwhelming as a foreign country, albeit one in a compact strip mall and five minutes from the beltway. The signs are in Vietnamese, the waitstaff barely speak English and it’s easy to accidentally order a strange animal (or animal part). However, the excellent food and reasonable prices make it worth tolerating a dose of culture shock. These are my four favorite restaurants in the shopping mall (and how to find them):

Song Que: Anthony Bourdain visited here on his trip to DC for No Reservations. The sandwich shop/grocery/smoothie stand is in the far corner of the mall (the far left, if you stand on Wilson Blvd. and face Eden Center). I love the BBQ pork sandwich and the smoothies. The pineapple, strawberry and mango are all excellent. And nothing beats the prices: $3.25 for a sandwich (they raised it!) and $3 for the smoothies.

Seaside Crab House: 6799 Wilson Blvd., #5: This Vietnamese take on a Chesapeake crab shack is recognizable by its porch, which extends into the parking lot. If you want to fit in with the Vietnamese patrons, order a bucket of crayfish (by the pound) and a pitcher of Heineken. But I recommend the fried soft shell crab. I’ve also heard good things about the grilled clams.

Huong Viet, 6785 Wilson Blvd: A low-key restaurant with an overwhelming menu. The waitress enthusiatically recommended the pork and jellyfish salad. I couldn’t find a way to refuse without hurting her feelings.  I’m glad I didn’t. The salad was excellent.  The jellyfish tasted like hard, salty jello — in a good way.   Just hit the ATM beforehand. This place is cash only.

Viet Bistro 6799 Wilson Boulevard #11: This restruant is excellent for Eden Center novices. It was the first place I went. The staff speak English and, with a location at the front of the plaza, you don’t even have to forge past the hair salons and travel agencies. The clay pot dishes, baby clams, the caramel fish, the frogs’ legs, the eel, anything with lemongrass and the shaking beef are all recommended.

Interested in Asian food in the DC area?  Take a look at this previous post on  Annandale’s Koreatown.