Full Kee is a little slice of New York City.
That's what it is.
It reminds me of those stalwart little eateries (albeit a dying but persistent breed) that line the narrow streets of Manhattan's Chinatown.
Full Kee just plays the part well: the cramped, spartan interior, the minimalist decor, the perfunctory dining furniture, the beat up stainless steel tea kettles, the list of esoteric specials written on the wall, the laminated cards that list the noodle and rice dishes (as if to suggest that these are really the items to get), and, most importantly, the soup and noodle station at the FRONT of the restaurant (with hot steam rising so precipitously up - up toward a window that looks out onto an actual STREET, with pedestrians walking by and cars rushing past, rather than a static, antiseptic suburban parking lot in full view).
All of this gives Full Kee a decidedly Gotham-like aura about it. If I didn't know better (either with one eye closed or having stumbled into town half-drunk and naked), I would swear that I was somewhere on Mott or Bayard Street (or, perhaps, on 8th Avenue in Brooklyn).
No other place in DC (in the city or the surrounding area) really can duplicate this unique set of characteristics. That alone gives Full Kee a sort of psychological appeal for whom such factors really matter (particularly, for Chinese patrons - and, especially, for Cantonese ones).
This appeal plays out, as on my most recent visit, by the way I strolled confidently in (like any customer in the know) and raised my hand accordingly as if hailing a cab.
Before I knew it and without delay, I was seated, eating, and sampling a host of selections from the well-positioned laminated card (a humble yet representative array that would be worthy of any food critic).
The roast duck on rice featured a rather small portion of duck that had been unmistakably microwaved. The bed of rice that the duck rested upon, curiously, itself rested further on a drizzle of soy sauce. Oddly, the chef had laid down a layer of wet soya prior to plopping down the rice (strange, indeed).
The wonton noodle soup with beef brisket featured noodles that were slightly overcooked (but, which offered plump satisfying wontons). The broth was as such broths usually are: slightly salty, slightly thin, bolstered by MSG (although, acceptingly and lovingly so). The brisket and tendon pieces were, on this visit, rather dry and not particularly flavorful.
The seafood chow mein was hearty (albeit the egg noodles were less crispy than they should have been). The mix of seafood toppings, which included shrimp, scallops, squid, black and straw mushrooms, carrot slivers, and stalks of Chinese broccoli, all were bound together by a less than adept corn starch gravy that had not been mixed in its preparation stage with enough water. The resulting concoction was too thick (though, on the whole, passable nonetheless). In the end, the overall effect was actually slightly oily, and the chow mein was not quite salty enough either.
The baby shrimp and eggs on rice consisted of a generous portion of baby shrimp in a silken, translucent gravy, wedded with strands of egg yolks and runny egg whites (all of which were kissed by zesty bits of scallion). In a word...delicious.
The real winner, however, was the beef chow fun (which was requested "wet" rather than in the more traditional "dry" style). This heaping dish of rice noodles, beef, mushrooms, and Chinese broccoli, unexpectedly, exuded a fair amount of wok hei (even as the noodles were smothered in a cover of very dark, unforgiving gravy). Wow...was I pleasantly surprised! A genuine yet fleeting smoky essence wafted through the noodles, made a definite impression, and, then, dissipated as the chow fun was poked, prodded, and slowly devoured.
Ultimately, this meal of hits and misses was par for the course (and, fairly, representative of the DC standard).
No, Full Kee would not outrank the best in, say, Brooklyn or Queens, San Francisco, or Vancouver. The less than stellar state of Chinese food here in DC is a conversation (or diatribe - depending on your position or mood) that has been played out ad nauseam. There is no need to rehash it.
Suffice it to say, Full Kee is an undeniable asset. It is for our little part of the world anyway. Indeed, our little Chinatown (struggling as it is) would be that much poorer without it. read more