Recently renovated. Still old-school Chinese service, though, so don't let the chic decor fool you. Highly recommend: - Salty pork congee with fried fritters. No thousand-year old eggs for me. - Salt and pepper calamari - Garlic fish - Yin Yang fried rice - Pork chops with thousand island sauce - Japanese tofu with prince mushrooms - Rice noodle rolls with XO sauce The drinks here are decent as well. Recommend: - peach smoothie - lemon iced tea - tea and coffee mix drink or "yin yang" read more

We used to go here all the time since 2001, but for the last two years, every time I go there, bad service and mediocre food just keep piling up. Last time I went just my gf, the place was half full so we picked a big table, they said it is only for big party. I look around and the place was not even pack or anything so we listened. I told them that we were going to get a lot food. We ordered about 7 dishes and they did not even have a place to put all the food on. Halfway eating, they decided to move us.... Another time, two months ago, we ordered two smoothies to go. They brought out two water down smoothies with some flavor in it. We just left it there and the waiter asked us if we wanted it. my gf said heck no. Taste so terrible. Not even frozen or cold. How can I give this place a zero star? We eat at other place now. read more

How have I only been here a couple of times?! After Book of Mormon at The Bank of America Theater we stopped by for a late dinner. It looked modern/simple with the remodel. This place was bumping for a Thursday night - packed with a diverse crowd. So much so we were second in line. The wait was 10-15 minutes and once we sat down the five of us ordered a feast: Sliced Beef Congee $4.95 Fried Chicken $4.50 Hot & Sour Soup $3.50 cup Japanese Tofu with Watercress $8.95 (tenderness of the tofu = amaaazing) On-Choy sautéed with garlic $7.95 Deep Fried Pig Intestine $4.95 A Szechwan fish filet spicy dish A rice dish with vegetables/bbq pork/chicken Chicken with minced garlic/ginger/scallions (drunken chicken ish) Beers + teas/fruit freezes Hot & greasy food + cold drinks + quick service + good company = success read more

I have eaten my fair share of Chinese foods and Ken Kee BY FAR has the best General Tso chicken!!! They have made me up my standards on this dish and I will probably be unable to eat any other restaurants dish. The fried chicken was SO tender (not tough and dried like most). The sauce was also sweeter than I have had before. I also had their Peach Iced Tea which is another new favorite! The restaurant is also very clean and the staff is very friendly! The food came out so quickly! read more

We've been to Ken Kee a few times. They've never disappointed us, until today. I am giving them three stars: a lose average of 1 for today, and 4 for the other times we've eaten here or got take out and the food was good. First our favorite: Japanese tofu with king mushroom or with watercress are great. We always get this and we always love it. Now for today's major disappointnent. We got beef chow mein that is as bad as what we get up here in the suburbs: soggy, insipid but salty, with overcooked vegetables and canned pineapple. Seriously: canned pineapple. Very little beef. Check out the picture. If this was my first time ordering from them, I would not come back. read more

Ken Kee - Beef chow mein. Salty but insipid, with overcooked vegetables and canned pineapple. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It has been over fifteen years that I come to that little Asian restaurant in China Town and enjoy the food served there. During the time of my happiness and sadness, the food has always tasted there the same-it has always been delicious. Very well prepared dish, friendly atmosphere and amazing personnel will make every customer returning there probably more frequently than to any other establishment of that kind. I put "the fitteen years of eating there" on the table--just go and try that food and you will never forget that. Dorian David Pascal read more

I came here for dinner. My friends and I ordered: 1) Japanese Sake Fried Fish (yummy!) 2) Goose intestine with special beef (it was okay) 3) Fried buns (meh) 4) Stir fried hollow green veggies 5) Half of their special chicken (not too good) I believe there was a time when Ken Kee was practically the only restaurant open during late nights in Chinatown. But not anymore. There are so many restaurants along the plaza (of new Chinatown) that are open til' the wee hours of the night, Ken Kee really ain't something special anymore. Having said that, the reason I'm giving it a three-star instead of two-star is because of the delicious Japanese Sake Fried Fish. If you haven't tried this scrumptious, sweet dish, then you're missing out - majorly read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown! I have been coming here for years and they have consistently produced good quality food! The fried smelt is a favorite as is the steamed whole tilapia (a must try) it takes about 25 minutes to make but is well worth it! They also have a shrimp/egg noodle dish that is tasty. The staff is friendly and helpful for the most part. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food then you have come to the right spot! read more

This was one of my best surprise in China Town. Great food and nice place with good ambiance. The kids decided to get sweet and sour chicken (I know!) and it was actually really light and tasty not the usual fried dough with sugar sauce. read more

Ken Kee - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We ordered Japanese Tofu with pepper and salt, stir-fried veggie, and stir-fried vermicilli with shrimp and pork. All are awesome! They also gave free rice! I came with my sister and we know that all these dishes will be too much for two persons but it's okay because they are tasty! read more

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I've been coming to Ken Kee since my first Chinese girlfriend brought me there 12 years ago. All these years I've been ordering pretty much the same dish I ordered back then - it's so good I don't want to waste a trip to Chinatown on something that could potentially turn out to be not up to par. The dish is Sizzling Beef with Black Bean Sauce. The beef is tender and juicy. The sauce is flavorful. If I go with my girlfriend we usually order Sizzling Beef and Sizzling Shrimp and then share. The Sizzling Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce is just as awesome as the beef. A few years ago Ken Kee started making fruit smoothies a la Joy Yee's, and we actually like theirs better. I usually order a watermelon smoothie and the girlfriend gets the mango/lychee. Try it. It's fantastic! One disappointing thing I've noticed at our last two visits the beef is not trimmed as well as it used to be - sometimes there are pieces of fat and other inedible substances that are not supposed to be there. I don't know if they changed the chef or just got lazy... If anyone from the management is reading this - please, cut it out. Keep up the quality you've had for over a decade. I still think they deserve 5 stars. Excellent food at a super reasonable price. read more

Pretty good. However, it tasted not much different than the restaurant I visited the immediate prior night, which was Chi Cafe. Nothing of note, but just competent rendition of Cantonese cuisine. read more

Worst egg roll I've had in my entire life!!! Other dishes were also poor quality and flavor. read more

6 dine-in dinner. First time. Zhu Zherng Fun was good. Do not get the crab ragoon. Not that tasty. Especially bc it comes in 5 or 6 and felt like too much. Cha Siu was okay. The chicken was just hard itself with green scallions to dress it all over and ended up being too salty. Not bad but could be much better. read more

One of the many choices of restaurant at Chinatown, but this is my first time to try KenKee! It is a hongkong style of cooking so a different region cuisine in China. Very busy place, quick in and out the service is fast. I ordered some traditional dishes like butterfish with sakeandsoysauce. Deepfried tofu and some pandfried thicknoodles!! It was all very good and did not disappoint. Many more food in the menu to try for next time. Will be back for more. read more

Pros: -None Cons: -Food is not good Conclusion: If you want authentic Chinese food, please go to Cai, Phoenix and Minghin. They have the equipments and big chefs read more

This place is great for authentic Hong Kong style congee...at least that is what my wife says and we make special trips for it on a regular basis. We usually get this with one of their chinese vegetable in garlic sauce dishes and the japanese spicy tofu. The spicy japanese tofu is super tasty but the last time we had it my wife had a bad reaction to it, so maybe the salt/spice level has changed. We hope that this was a one-time thing and will likely try it again on our next visit. The BBQ pork with garlic chicken is an awesome deal - we usually need to take half of it home. This is normally an afternoon spot for us, so we never have to wait for a table. Not sure if it gets super busy like some of the other places in chinatown. This is a nice, comfortable, and bright place with good service and good prices. One of our regular places to eat at in chinatown. read more

I came with my boyfriend to Chinatown for some Pokemon Go and decided to stop by and eat. We were planning on going to Lao Shanghai (our go-to), but it's close for remodeling. We ended up walking around and ended up seeing this restaurant. It is well decorated with an inviting atmosphere so we figured we'd try it. We immediately got sat down, tea and menus. We ordered 3 items; Crab Rangoons, Sesame Chicken, and the BBQ Pork and Chicken over rice. Crab Rangoons were fine. A little doughy but decent. The sesame chicken was also fine, but for some reason it was intensely hot. Even after 10 min of waiting it was hot. Even now (20 min later) it's still hot. The biggest disappointment was the 3rd dish. First off, it was ice cold. The pork was over cooked the chicken flavorless. The chicken had minced garlic on top of it. It was completely overwhelming. Don't order it! This restaurant got 2 stars. One for fast service and one for nice interior. Great for a last resort dining. read more

It's become a tradition for my family to visit Ken Kee during our annual Chicago visit. The food is very dependable and not much changes, but the reason I give it 3 stars is because nothing really stands out. The noodle dishes are very dependable and the servings are huge. To be honest, I think the restaurant benefits a lot from being in a very central location in Chinatown. If you go during peak hours at lunch or dinner, it's likely to be very busy. read more

Egg rolls are some of the best that I've had. This place is my second favorite Chinatown restaurant, second only to the star of the show.. Joy Yee Noodles. read more

I love this place for their amazing 1000 year old egg congee. It's cheap, the serving size can you fill you up pretty well and you'll have a bit left over, and it tastes amazing. Whenever I feel homesick or miss Hong Kong and China I always come here for congee. The staff is very nice and the restaurant is clean and cozy read more

Food here is decent for Chinese food around here. I'm not particularly fond of Hong Kong style cuisine but it satisfied my crazing. My boyfriend and I ordered the A Choy and 蔥爆牛肉 a spicy beef simmering pot.the beef pot was ok kind of lacked real flavor and tasted of oily sauce. The food came out quick but no one really spoke English the entire time we were there lol. read more

I've been going to Ken Kee since I was young, and it's very consistent. Honestly the dishes are a hit or miss for me, but they're never horrible. Food gets out pretty quick, but the service isn't the best here. I've had to flag down the staff to get a check or ask for utensils a few times. My favorite things to get from here is the beef juk/congee. The over rice dishes are so-so imo. read more

When you want authentic and a variety of Chinese food, I recommend Ken Kee Restaurant. Although the restaurant is quite small, its decor is simply amazing with black wooden tables and bamboo like chairs, it contains paintings and pictures that you would associate with the Chinese tradition like the mythical chinese dragon and their complex characters of their language. When you enter the restaurant, the staff makes you feel like like the most valued person in their restaurant. Although the staff didn't mention any specials verbally, there was no need to since you could find them on the menu which is not hard to miss since it is bolded with a sun like pattern around it with the word "Special" on it. Personally, the staff didn't act like robots; they were very casual and happy to meet you as you first step in into their restaurant. Not only that, but you also knew what kind of ingredients their food contained in the menu like egg, tofu, and more making it convenient for people to order what foods fits in their agenda. I have entered the restaurant with two of my friends which we all ordered different food items. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken with pineapple with steamed mixed vegetables and a lychee smoothie while my friend ordered fried Japanese tofu with other entrees. As a result, we didn't have to wait for a long time at all since we received our food in less than fifteen minutes and the food was amazing. The sweet and sour chicken with those big chunks of pineapple at only $7.95 was way too generous. It should have had a price range of $15.00 and up because it was the best tasting chicken I have ever had in my life that no other restaurant can compete with. The plumped chicken was neither too sweet nor too sour that when you tasted it, it made you want to savor the chicken until it has melted down into your throat . It was so tender, so fresh, and its golden orange shade that shimmered into the light seem like the kind of food emperors would eat. It was so simply divine that when eaten together with the pineapple, the honey and the pineapple juices would mix together with the chicken that it would fill your mouth full of flavor which neither one overpowered the other. The sweet and sour chicken was so amazing, it has even tempted my friend break his oath being a vegetarian and eaten some of the chicken I ordered. He even said it was worth it breaking his three year streak of not eating any meat. If this type of chicken can make people break their promises like that it did to my friend, then it goes to show you it is the best type of chicken anyone will have in their entire life. Unfortunately, the steamed vegetables and the lychee fruit smoothie was not as good as the chicken. The steamed vegetables didn't distinguished itself from other steamed vegetables served at other establishments. It almost seemed to be bland in taste, but it did look amazing on the plate like an art piece from an exhibit together the steamed asparagus curled up together with the string beans seemed very exquisite, but I care more for the taste of the food rather than the appearance personally. As for the lychee fruit smoothie, it was too sweet it was like drinking a glass full of water and sugar. Avoid this drink unless you want cavities then drink it by all means. Overall, it wasn't very satisfying. Overall, the experience was great being at Ken Kee Restaurant since I enjoyed the customer service, but most importantly, the sweet and sour chicken with pineapple. The food there is relatively cheap which ranges from $1.75-10.50 depending on what you're ordering from appetizers to special drinks. Plus, they have delivery in case if you can't make a reservation or go there, but try to go there in person since the people, both the staff and the other customers, there are very friendly as if you were all part of a large diverse family. read more

Great place for a casual, authentic Hong Kong style meal I definitely recommend this place for all times of the day. read more

Came in here on a Tuesday night for dinner with 2/3 of the FLC (Friday Lunch Crew) and the better half. As this was an intro to Chinese food in Chinatown, Ken Kee provided a perfect place to try many dishes in a family style format. Ken Kee was right on with the food and the service! The dishes I recommend would be the salt and pepper pork chops, XO fried rice, ginger onion fish fillet, and the Japanese tofu and King mushrooms. We chose this over Joy Yee's because of the slightly smaller portions with a lower price point. If we had a larger group than four, might have gone the other way. We were stuffed in the end with six dishes for 4 people on an Asian finish (one small portion left of each dish). Enough food to induce a short nap on the train ride home. Luckily I didn't miss my stop! read more

I was not satisfied with a dish I had that had meat. The meat was too chewy too eat that I couldn't eat. Overall, the wait time is quick and customer service was great, I didn't enjoy my meal very much read more

This place is a super-authentic, Hong Kong style restaurant that makes food that Chinese people want to eat. It doesn't cater to an American palate, and it doesn't compromise on quality. I've been here a bunch of times and have always been happy with my meal. For lunch on many occasions, I get the dry-fried (i.e. no sauce) wide rice noodles with mixed Chinese vegetables (I forget how it's listed on the menu--vegetable chow fun?). It 's always great. That's one of my comfort foods. But it has to be the right kind of rice noodles--"haw fun", it's called. I've tried to order this dish at other places in chinatown and they don't get it right like this place does. When I used to eat meat, the dry-fried beef chow fun was one of my favorite dishes. read more

Simple, yummy Hong Kong style Chinese food. That's what I think about when I go back to Ken Kee's again and again. There's just so much that's good here and too many dishes to choose from. If there's something I must describe, it's got to be their afternoon tea sets. I don't remember how much they go for ($3.50 I think) but it includes a dish- Beef congee, XO sauce rice rolls, ham and egg sandwich, satay beef instand noodle, beef brisket noodle, or curry fish balls and an iced tea or soda. I always go for their beef congee which is pretty decent for Chicago's standard (if you ever get the chance, go to Power King in Toronto) and a side order of yaw za gui (fried dough). Everything else is also great, and there's just a great atmosphere there. It's always packed but never too packed that you're forced to leave. Solid, good food that's all I can say. read more

my go-to place in chinatown when i go with friends who don't eat and breathe spicy food. things to order: salt and pepper fried smelt fish fu-king tofu (yes. that is the actual name.) stir fried lotus root and chinese sausage frog legs and chives either pea shoots or chinese broccoli with garlic those are my staples, but i frequently branch out and have never had anything bad. the great thing about ken kee is that each item is pictured on the menu, and the pictures are all accurate. although you might not always know what's in each dish, at the very least you'll know what your food will look like when it arrives. this is a fairly safe place to be adventurous and try new menu items rather than your tried-and-true staples. also, don't forget the dessert. no matter where we go to eat, my mom always comes back to ken kee for a red bean freeze. at around 2 dollars, it's much cheaper than the fancy smoothies at joy yee. honestly, when i get bubble tea at joy yee and my mom gets a freeze from ken kee, i always end up stealing sips from her. read more

Every time I walk through the new plaza I always tell myself that I should try this place out, and so finally I got my opportunity. This place cracks me up because my friend told me that he took his coworker from China here and they ordered Duck Chins and I've never heard of such a food item. It is confirmed that they are in the menu and pictured as so. I believe it's supposed to be a popular item here. I did want to have duck, but not the chins. This place is definitley a Hong Kong family style restaurant. They also serve bubble tea here, but I didn't see a display of fruit and didn't want to chance a powdered drink even though it looked like tons of people were ordering drinks here. My friend and I went with rice noodles with chicken and chinese broccoli and bean sprouts. It was pretty good, but hard to judge considering I was starving. We also had the Korean BBQ style ribs that were pretty chewy and slightly crispy. I like the sauce and the carmelized onions. The portions are huge, and normally I'll eat half and have to take it home - but this time my friend and I finished everything! It's a small place that looked much bigger as I was passing by. It's definitely a Cantonese Restaurant, as it seems to be spoken all around. I was disappointed with the service. We finished our first dish by the time the second one came around. Plus, we had to ask them for rice which didn't seem to get to our table until we had to wave someone down to get them. Nor were we given hot tea, which really surprised me considering all the other tables seemed to have gotten it. Anyways, despite the service I'd probably even bring my family to eat here because it was pretty damn good. Next time I'm getting the salty and spicy squid and the lobster with ginger and onions damn it! I'm going to openly admit that I had to unbutton my pants after eating here today... read more

With so many restaurants in the area, there is not really anything that makes this place stand out. The salt and pepper fish filet was very tasty, but salt and pepper fish is tasty at all Chinese joints. My husband loved the pork-chop-in-udon-noodle-soup, and we both enjoyed the sake ribs, especially with the piping hot white rice, yum. Prices are cheap, but I'd rather go to Three Happiness (the little one) or Lao Sze Chuan. read more

Dishes here are ok. I felt the dishes were overly sauced. The food came out very quickly and service here was good also.

Not your typical fried rice... I am torn about how to rate this place...The food here is SOOOO tasty!!! And cheap! But the service lacks a lot. There is always a line out front, but it is worth the wait. We showed up at 1ish on Saturday and added our name to the waiting list (which is literally just a legal pad at the front) and waited...and waited... In the meantime, I got in a great conversation with a woman in line who is getting her degree in Finance at the U of C. She is originally from Hong Kong and said that this food was indistinguishable from food she can get in China. That is why the service sucks, she said. They have it all...great food, lots of customers coming in and out, and cheap prices. They probably don't bother with making sure that their customers are taken care of with top notch service...we still waited and still thoroughly enjoyed our food. And the food, Like someone else yelped, don't bother with the typical Chinese dishes here. I had the fried fish with sweet sake sauce (a rec from my friend I met while waiting in line to sit) and it was REALLY good. My boyfriend had the Beef brisket with fat noodles. It was a smaller entree and there was a lot of fat on the meat. So after he picked through the fatty parts there wasn't much left. The sauce was delicious and when he got his white rice he poured that over it. My friend Dan had the wonton soup, which he really enjoyed as well. I will definitely have the fish dish again...highly recommended. They brought out each dish at a different time, which made it difficult for us to feel as though we were actually eating together. But other than the crappy service, I will definitely go back and will recommend it to anyone traveling to Chinatown in hopes for some authentic and tasty food. read more

4.5 STARS This restaurant is one of the best in Chinatown Square and constantly has a line of people waiting out the door to prove it. My family went here for my very last Chicago meal before I head off to college. We waited about 20 minutes and was quickly seated. Ken Kee's dining area is pretty small especially when it gets crowded. There are booths lining the walls and table and chair seating in the middle. Their menu is extensive and even includes pictures with some of the dishes. Pictures are good, because it makes the ordering process much easier. The dishes we ordered that night were very tasty. Full of flavor! After we finished our meal, we all agreed that we didn't mind the long wait, crowded seating (our chairs were practically touching the chairs of the tables behind and next to us), and the so-so waitering service, because we all left with full stomachs filled with delicious Chinese food. Interesting Note - While waiting for a table you can go to Aji Ichiban, candy and dried snack store, just a couple of stores down. You can sample a variety of Asian candies and dried snacks before eating your Ken Kee meal. read more

This is my favorite Chinatown restaurant, and I've been to very many of them in the area. I've been here many times, and each time I've had a consistent experience: tasty food, inexpensive prices, and extremely fast service. read more

When I'm craving Chinese food, Ken Kee is where I go to in order to indulge in my craving. I've been going here since I've been in high school. We use to go here 3-4 times a week! It was bad enough that the wait staff knew who we were and how much food we could eat. We're talking about 2-3 girls ordering 5-6 courses. We're some small girls but every time we go, we clean up! It was quite frightening at first to see but when you go yourself to see what I'm talking about, you'll understand. The portions are perfect for family style and dishes tasty. Don't be surprise when you see me and and my friends there ordering the entire menu. I hope that doesn't keep you away but encourage you to try something that will keep you coming back for more. read more

ok, went here as an alternative to my usual secret spot in c-town. We got the beef pepper w/ rice noodle dish. Not too bad, just a little greasy. I felt like I'd just applied lip gloss!! The flavor was good and the quality of meat was not as bad as Joy Yee's beef. We also got the salt and pepper shrimp (no shell....and if you'd like no shell, make sure you specify as such). and it was REALLY GOOD!!!! we were pleasantly surprised since that is one of our favorites and weren't expecting it to be half as good as our usual. but it was really a good rendition of it! we got orange chicken. Trust me, being asian.....this was NOT my suggestion. and let's just say, it was DISGUSTING. just gross. terrible. the tea was very good. It was strained so there were no leaves in my cup. I must've had about 5 or 6 cups. I wouldn't mind coming back to ken kee. =) read more

Ken Kee is very good and cheap for chinese food. I am always fortunate to go with people who frequent this restaurant so I typically leave it to them to order. My favorites have been the Sake Fish, Japanese Tofu with mushrooms, and chicken wings (not buffalo style but with a chili sauce that is really tasty). Prices for dishes run about $4-$10. Service is not too bad - they are there when you need them. Wait it typically short since turnaround is fairly quick (so don't be detered by the amount of people waiting in the small doorway!) read more

I like this place because it reminds me of Asia (in a sense). Service isn't that great, you'll have to wait for a table for a long time especially if it's packed, everyone's loud, prices are not too expensive. I love the Japanese tofu with either the golden mushrooms or king mushrooms, any kind of vegetable that is stir-fried in garlic sauce, I like most of the fish fillet stuff (sake sauce, sweet and sour sauce, fried in garlic), calamari in thousand island sauce, and the red bean freeze with ice cream. These are the items I will most likely order. Of course I've had other things from Ken Kee that are pretty good so it's always worth it to try something new. Parking available in Chinatown Square parking lots and there is street parking as well. read more