My family was craving Taishanese-style yellow eel claypot rice, and Dong Kee is the only restaurant (that we knew of) that serves it! We arrived around 6:30 PM and waited for about 20-30 minutes before being seated. Even after we were at the table and had placed our order, it took a while for food to be served, since the restaurant was packed. There are a few aquariums with live seafood like lobster and crab, which they prepare fresh before cooking.
TAISHANESE-STYLE YELLOW EEL CLAYPOT RICE 台山黄鳝饭 - 51.95
This dish takes a bit of time to prepare, so I'd recommend ordering it as soon as you're seated if you know you want it. It also comes with a seafood-based soup to pair with the claypot rice, although we didn't get until the end since they initially ran out. The claypot rice was delightful, with lots of "wok hei" flavor and well-seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and probably MSG. The top layer of the rice was generously topped with fresh eel. While the eel didn't add a lot of flavor to the dish, the claypot rice was still enjoyable. As we dug deeper into the rice, there was much less eel and sauce, and the rice became somewhat bland. The bottom of the claypot had a lot of stuck-on rice, which was crispy but lacked much flavor. Overall, this dish was still good, especially since it's not commonly found at many restaurants, and it's nice to see some Taishanese representation.
PORK NECK MEAT & CHINESE BROCCOLI W/XO SAUCE XO菜心猪颈肉 - 18.95
The pork neck meat had a unique, crunchy texture and the perfect amount of fat in each piece, which I really enjoyed. It was stir-fried with Chinese broccoli, and the XO sauce added a nice touch of spice. While the broccoli was somewhat bland, it wasn't necessarily a negative -- its weaker flavors allowed the pork neck meat to stand out more.
STIR-FRIED CHIVES, SCALLOPS, OSMANTHUS CLAMS 韭黄带子桂花蚌 - 32.95
This dish was interesting, since this is my first time eating osmanthus clams. The stir-fry had a lot of "wok hei" flavor, but it lacked seasoning. The snap peas were crunchy and fresh, complementing the other vegetables and various mushrooms mixed in. The seafood was pretty good, too. It wasn't our favorite, but it was unique.
SNOW PEA LEAVES WITH CHINESE GARLIC 上汤蒜子豆苗 - 16.50
This is one of the best snow peas we've ever had at a restaurant. The snow peas was very fresh and was stir-fried to perfection. The Chinese garlic flavor was evident in every bite, and there was a bit of sauce to elevate the dish. We honestly wished we ordered two plates of this because it was that good.
OYSTER WITH GINGER & ONION 姜葱生蚝煲 - 29.95
This dish was served in a claypot and contained fried oysters, onions, and ginger. Each claypot had enough oysters for everyone to enjoy one, and they were perfectly crispy, coated in a delicious sauce.
Overall, we had a solid experience at Dong Kee with the food and would recommend everything we tried. However, the utensils, bowls, and plates were on the dirtier side, so be mindful of that. read more