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Chef Lee's Element

4.3 (204 reviews)
Open 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
Updated 2 months ago

Order Chef Lee's Element Takeout or Delivery

Chef Lee's Element Chinese Restaurant Photos

CHEF LEE'S ELEMENT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Trendy
Good for groups
Dogs allowed

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New interior
Philip L.

I think this place has improved since the last time I visited. We were passing by and we decided to give this place another try. Some dishes were good, some fell flat, but overall, the experience is better than the last time we were here. Love the updated interior and they have better seating and ambiance. When we were here, there were people in more intimate settings. It works and everyone seems to be doing their own thing. Service could be faster, but the wait staff had to deal with customers and to-go orders at the same time so they were running around a lot. I think it's worth a try.

什锦炒饭/Combination Fried Rice
Vivian K.

Great food, good ambiance, service was good too. It did start to get a little busy after we walked in but they were able to handle it.

Peiling C.

Great dining experience here. We made a reservation in advance for the party room because we had a large party. They only have one table available with some extra privacy though there are tables in the main area that could have seated all 10 of us too. The party room table is rectangular so a bit harder to share food as opposed to round table in the main dining area. The food was great. The service was fast. Ambiance was nice too ; I think it looked newly renovated.

Sliced Beef & Tripe
Stella L.

I was in DC for work, and on my last night, my brother and his family took me to their favorite spot. This is their go-to place for out-of-town guests, and I totally get why! We showed up just before 8 PM, got seated right away, and were greeted with a smile. The menu is impressive - tons of variety with proteins, veggies, starches, and flavor combos that make it hard to choose. Everything we ordered was amazing. The Szechuan flavors packed a punch without being overwhelming, and I loved that the menu clearly marked spice levels (super helpful if you're not a fan of too much heat). We went all in and ordered a mix of proteins: conch, frog, pork, chicken, and beef. My top picks? The Sliced Beef & Tripe, Chongqing Spicy Chicken, and the Green Beans with Eggplant. Absolute winners. The portions were massive - we left stuffed and still had plenty of leftovers to take home. Bottom line: great flavors, generous portions, and a fun spot to share with family. Next time I'm in DC, I'm definitely coming back for round two!

lo 什锦捞面/Combination Fried Noodle
Lily C.

Great service and best food!Marcia and Remi helped a lot. I really like the pickle frog. Everything was fresh and flavorful. I would come back to and recommend to others.

the top Chinese restaurant in the DMV area. Marcia's service is outstanding, and the foods are incredibly delicious.
Huang Z.

It's absolutely the top Chinese restaurant in the DMV area. Marcia's service is outstanding, and the shredded potatoes with salted egg yolk are incredibly delicious. highly recommend this restaurant to everyone.

@ chef lees restaurant gaithersburg.
Waren O.

We dined at Chef Lee's Restaurant in Gaithersburg, and it was an amazing experience from start to finish. Highly recommended--you should definitely come and try it! The food was outstanding; everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. The service was truly high-class and made the whole experience even better. Special appreciation to Masha, our server. She was incredibly kind, always smiling, and very attentive to our needs. She made us feel welcome and well taken care of throughout our meal. We will absolutely be coming back again!

Squid dish. The real thing and done well and spicy.
Mike C.

We visited at the recommendation of a friend and overall was a good experience. The layout was not something we expected but was a nice modern style that was open with comfortable table and booth settings. Food was tasty overall and portions overall decent. We ordered some of our usual dishes to compare to other restaurants we patronize regularly. Some dishes were fine, but my barometer for the real Sichuan is MaPo Tofu. Just not enough of the numb oily spices and more of a brown flavorful sauce without much zip to it. 7/10 overall.

粉皮牛腩煲/Beef Brisket & Bean Noodle Casserole, eggplant
Yimei C.

The food is of high quality as always. Been coming here for years. Absolutely love the appetizer sea snail dish! Service is also amazing. Maggie and Marcia are super friendly, helpful and considerate.

Haibin W.

The food was super authentic and delicious! Marcia was excellent serving us tonight! Definitely will recommend all my friends over again.

Viola Y.

Nice environment, great service from Marcia and Maggie, and super delicious food! Will definitely come back. If u want authentic Chinese food, u don't want to miss this one.

Eggplant with garlic sauce, dry pot fish, 红糖冰粉/Chengdu Brown Sugar Jelly

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1 month ago

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5 days ago

Extremely authentic Chinese food. Marcia and Maggie provided very good service too. Will definitely come again!

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2 months ago

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5 months ago

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7 days ago

Marcia did an amazing service loved it very much the food was delicious I recommend coming here for a nice outing with family

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5 months ago

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4 months ago

The service is best, the server called Marcia was amazing, so sweet. The food makes me feel like home.

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2 months ago

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26 days ago

This is the best sichuan food I've ever had ! Very good services from Marcia and Maggie , they all kind person

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3 months ago

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1 month ago

Very good food and very good service! The server Marcia and Maggie are really good! The restaurant is also very clean

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2 years ago

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Chef Lee's Element Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Chef Lee's Element

Do they have any noodle dishes?

Yes housemade noodles and Baos. Not a big noodles selection tho

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Chuan Tian Xia - Chongqing La Zi Ji

Chuan Tian Xia

4.4(62 reviews)
7.9 mi

This is a short review based on my first (but definitely not last!) visit. Will update in the…read morefuture. Was heading home from airport after a long flight. Was feeling hangry because I had planned on stopping at Hard Times for a bowl of chili -and found out they were closed on Mondays. So, pretty much pulled a name out of a hat and would up at Chuan Tian Xia because, well, Szechuan cooking uses chiles, no? Yesssss! I ordered Signature Dumplings and a bowl of Beijing-style Beijing-style Zhajiang Noodles. The dumplings were outstanding: a mix of shrimp, pork, and chive that were plump, juicy, fragrant with the herbaceous flavor of chives. The accompanying sauce was not too sweet, not too hot, just right as a complement to the dumplings. Yowza. I was a happy camper... ...and then I dug into my noodles. Double yowza! Thick wheat noodles topped with a rich sauce made from (I think) fermented soybean paste and braised pork belly, garnished with cucumbers. The portion was way to big for me to eat after my flight, but I really, really enjoyed it (and the remaining dumplings) for lunch today. Did I say yowza? I'm an adventurous eater so the menu's less Americanized items were what I would have ordered given more time (like Maoxuewang: can you say "pig's tongue, spam, pork intestine, and beef tripe"? Protein is protein, baby!). Just means I need to come back, and I will, as quickly as I can.

Came here after a long day from a convention. My friends and I were hungry and wanted to give this…read morea try and it did not disappoint! Everything was so flavorful and was great! We had the Ma Po Tofu, chive dumplings, sesame chicken, and noodles and out of all of those, the noodles and Ma po tofu were our favorites! Service was quick and the restaurant was very spacious and accommodating.

Photos
Chuan Tian Xia - Inside

Inside

Chuan Tian Xia - Fish with Hot Chili Oil 水煮活鱼(徹鱼/龙利鱼)

Fish with Hot Chili Oil 水煮活鱼(徹鱼/龙利鱼)

Chuan Tian Xia - 木耳炒牛肉

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木耳炒牛肉

Peter Chang Gaithersburg - Peking duck

Peter Chang Gaithersburg

4.0(208 reviews)
0.8 mi

We went on a busy Saturday night and were pleasantly surprised that we were seated right away. They…read morehave a nice little parking lot as well, which made everything super convenient. Our waitress was lovely and very attentive throughout the meal, and the service was impressively fast. The food came out almost immediately. Everything we tried was delicious. The chili oil handmade noodles and the signature pork soup dumplings were definite standouts and absolutely worth ordering. The firecracker salmon spring rolls were a little different than the typical spring rolls we're used to seeing, thinner and more delicate, but still incredibly flavorful and delicious. Overall, a great experience with fast service, excellent food, and a welcoming atmosphere.

I finally went here after passing it for years. I've actually been twice now. I've had their…read moredumplings, combination lo mein, and house basil chicken. The dumplings were delicious on both occasions. The basil chicken was flavorful, but the lomein was very bland. They did not include any sauce in the to go bag (you have to request it). Therefore, I had to eat dry lo mein. The customer service was lovely. The restaurant is beautifully decorated. I look forward to eating in on my next visit. There are many menu items that I would like to try. Overall, I think it's worth a visit. It's conveniently located and the prices are fairly reasonable.

Photos
Peter Chang Gaithersburg - Busy busy. Main dining room and I think they have two private rooms.

Busy busy. Main dining room and I think they have two private rooms.

Peter Chang Gaithersburg - Eggplant w. Spicy Garlic Basil Sauce

Eggplant w. Spicy Garlic Basil Sauce

Peter Chang Gaithersburg - Bubble Pancake

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Bubble Pancake

B2J Fish Soup - Small combo sized spicy sour fish soup

B2J Fish Soup

4.7(203 reviews)
1.4 mi

Have been meaning to come here after hearing so much about it, and we're definitely coming back…read moresoon! When entering the restaurant was a lot smaller than I expected, but it didn't feel small once we sat. The interior is cute, clean, and cozy. Came with the wifey and got their signature spicy and sour soup with fish. Their for 2 combo was massive. We had to take half of it home I'm not the biggest fan of sour flavors but I found this dish to be delicious. It wasn't overwhelming, it was savory and comforting. Next time we're trying their Szechuan base!

Gotta give credit where it's due--the century eggs were actually really tasty, and the crispy fried…read morefish skin was pretty good too. Those were probably the highlights of the meal. That said, I probably wouldn't come back. I felt extremely thirsty after getting home, which made me think the dishes were pretty heavy on MSG. They also forgot the wide noodles we ordered and only brought them out later. By then, they hadn't been cooked together with the tomato broth, so it completely missed the essence. In terms of value, we only ordered three set meals plus one extra wide noodles, and the total came out to over a hundred. For what we got, the value felt pretty average. We then went to another restaurant in the next day, ordered six dishes plus drinks, and still spent less --with much more variety in flavors.

Photos
B2J Fish Soup - Interiors

Interiors

B2J Fish Soup - Spicy and Sour Fern Starch Noodles

Spicy and Sour Fern Starch Noodles

B2J Fish Soup - Cooling jelly dessert

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Cooling jelly dessert

George's Hot pot & bbq - Udon Sliced Beef Bulgogi

George's Hot pot & bbq

4.4(170 reviews)
0.1 mi
$$

This is the kind of place you want to frequent and become a regular…read more The service here is a second to none. The owners here are also waiters and I've seen them take great care not only of us, but other guests too. The food here is also amazing. The Peking duck here is some of the best in the area- the wraps are soft and the duck is delicious. The grilled meat they have here is of really high quality as well. 10/10 I would recommend!

Versatile Chinese restaurant living up to its name. They have tables set aside for barbecue…read more(complete with ceramic table grills and over head ventilation). If not in the mood for it there is a hot pot menu (with table side burners for individual pots with broth that one cooks protein and veggies in). They also have a classic Chinese food menu one orders à la carte, where the dishes are made to order in the staff kitchen. One of the signature dishes is their Peking Duck. We didn't get the Duck, hotpot or bbq this time. Got 3 different entrees: jumbo salt shrimp, fried bean curd with vegetables and spicy chili fish filet. The fish had plenty of chili oil, dried chili, Napa cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, bean thread noodles and scallions accompanying. Was flavorful and numbing. The tofu dish was a solid vegetarian source, with fried soy braised tofu triangles, broccoli, mushrooms s, cabbage and carrots. The best dish is their shrimp. Large prawns with the shells on were fried in salt, pepper and chili powder. The shells were crispy and edible and absorbed the flavoring well. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and succulent. Great place, will need to try other dishes.

Photos
George's Hot pot & bbq
George's Hot pot & bbq - Spicy Chili Fish Fillet and Pork Bulgogi (3.14.25)

Spicy Chili Fish Fillet and Pork Bulgogi (3.14.25)

George's Hot pot & bbq - The Menu

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The Menu

Sichuan Jin River - Fish!!

Sichuan Jin River

3.9(510 reviews)
5.3 mi
$$

Authentic Sichuan Chinese food. Went here per rec of a md local. Very traditional Chinese interior,…read moreservice was simply ordering and bill, and the food is something I'll be thinking about got the next few days... sijidou -sichuan green beans: I don't know what they put in this - and was honestly very skeptical at first - but it was a huge flavor bomb and I ended up liking it a lot more than I expected. suancaiyu sour fish: this restaurant does the dish very well. The portions are huge and the sourness is on point. ziranyang cumin lamb - extremely tender lamb; it was super super cumin forward. Big fan of cumin personally but will say also a little on the overwhelming side if you didn't stagger it with rice Fuqifeipian cold tripe and beef - very solid cold appetizer. Would love more of the chili oil they put in this. Not too spicy but very aromatic's Overall made a super big impression on me asa first meal in Rockville. Coming from the west coast where it's predominantly canto food I really enjoyed how well season everything was. We will be going back especially for the beans

Sichuan Jin has easily become my most-visited restaurant since moving here from NYC--and that's…read moresaying a lot. As someone who truly loves authentic Sichuan cuisine, I came in with high expectations. Word of mouth brought me here, and I am pleasantly surprised. I knew it wouldn't be easy to find the same bold, complex flavors I was used to in Flushing and other NYC Chinatowns, but Sichuan Jin comes impressively close. I feel lucky to have a spot like this nearby. Kevin and Judy put so much care into what they do. It's the kind of place that feels both personal and consistent. My go-to dishes are the flounder with Sichuan peppercorns--satisfying and flavorful--and the eggplant with minced pork in garlic sauce, which is homey and comforting. Pro tip: skip the Americanized Chinese options and go straight for the Sichuan Specialty, Ordinary Home Style, or Chef's Specials sections of the menu. That's where this place truly shines.

Photos
Sichuan Jin River
Sichuan Jin River - Double cooked pork

Double cooked pork

Sichuan Jin River - Smoked duck

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Smoked duck

Kung Fu 12 Szechuan - Sizzling Teriyaki Beef

Kung Fu 12 Szechuan

3.9(78 reviews)
3.6 mi

Open late which is a plus. We arrived a bit after 9, wanted to order dine in quickly so to not be "…read morethose people". Had questions about a dish, a special which was called "asparagus lettuce ", with no photo. Waiter could not describe the dish ( and offered photos of both asparagus and lettuce from his iPad). We ordered, and it was a vegetable called celtuce; neither lettuce OR asparagus was in the dish. Was Ok but had we gotten a correct description we would not have ordered it. Wonton soup very bland, small tough wontons. Spoke to the woman at the front counter, she was very kind and was sorry to hear our experience wasn't the greatest. Super fast service, and friendly staff, but most likely won't be back.

This location is where Cheeburger cheeseburger used to be at Fallsgrove…read more The inside is quite spacious and a lot of tables. Still relatively new and clean. Bathroom needs work though. It's definitely a mom and pop feeling, but with a larger space. Interesting color palette combination of a place. The decor is minimal to.... I don't remember any decor, but what's the most important? Food. I was pleasantly surprised by the cost to amount ratio and the taste. They executed the dishes well. I like their Potato Eggplant dish which isn't prominent in other Chinese restaurants in the area. It wasn't busy at the time we were there on a Friday night so we had excellent service. Our servers spoke English and Chinese. Attentive and the food came out really quick. Overall, I would come back. It's not a spot to impress or to dress up to go, but if you're hungry and want a casual Chinese food spot, that's also authentic enough to bring a Chinese person, this is definitely worth a try.

Photos
Kung Fu 12 Szechuan
Kung Fu 12 Szechuan
Kung Fu 12 Szechuan - Falls Grove Shopping Center

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Falls Grove Shopping Center

Chef Lee's Element - szechuan - Updated May 2026

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