The hong kong style soup (with wonton) is the best! Also try the beef and broccoli chow fun! read more

I tried to change my order to congee because I haven't had it in sooooo long, but the guy would not even let me change my order. I swear, it wasn't even two minutes but he said I can't change my order since he put it in already. Do they have some stone-age technology that doesn't allow you to cancel a previous order? This place is pricey and it is not worth the price. I ordered a noodle dish for $12 and it could easily be half the price elsewhere!! My dish was good, but it was a bit greasy and salty. The decor is lacking and the plates looked very used and worn out. The waitress and owner was arguing with a customer about a check dispute and it was unprofessional because it was infront of the customers. I felt rushed in my meal because I didn't even ask for the check and my waiter drops the bill. I can always get good Chinese food elsewhere for half the price and better service. This place is just not worth it at all. read more

Full Kee is under new management and whatever they're doing, I approve. Shared a sizzling fish in pepper sauce dish and it was delish - came out promptly (but not too fast!) and was piping hot, seasoned well, and just hit the spot. Chinese food is hit or miss in DC, so I'm glad to have this place on standby - will definitely be back. read more

If this is the best place in Chinatown, then clearly we aren't granting enough H-1B visas. Seriously. A place with "Pig's Skin and Duck Blood" and "Jelly Fish with Persevered Hock" on the menu should be good. Should be GREAT. Should be super-authentic and packed to the gills with expats who appreciate the full extraordinariness of the delicacies they're ordering. Full Kee is none of these things. They can get fairly busy at lunchtime, but their food has been almost uniformly awful on the two occasions I've eaten there. Soups and sauces are mucusy with cornstarch and bland even after liberal dosing with vinegar, oily chili pepper mash and soy sauce. The hot and sour soup was neither hot nor sour. Sauteed string beans were weak and absurdly greasy for a dish that requires next to no cooking fat. The vegetables in my scallops in black pepper sauce were fresh, at least, but the scallops themselves tasted like papier-mache paste. In fairness, my cousin's fried (pork?) dumplings did not totally suck. The Engrish menu is one of the most hilarious things I've read in a long time. And the orange slices they served us with the check were so luscious and sweet that I was left wondering why oranges always taste so much better in Chinese restaurants than when you buy them at the grocery store. But then the restaurant wouldn't accept credit cards, my lame fortune read "You are kind and caring," and the brief moment of appreciation passed. Please, Chinatown, if you're at all worthy of the moniker you should be able to do better than this. read more

I am determined to find a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown that doesn't completely blow. I figure that has to be at least one good place that can redeem Chinatown from the culinary waste it generally produces. Right?? Maybe?? Either way, Full Kee is not it. I have been told to stick with noodle dishes here so I went with the beef and Chinese broccoli chow foon and some hot and sour soup. I thought it seemed safe enough but apparently I was wrong. The hot and sour soup wasn't bad. It was sour but not hot but I am starting to get sick so it was definitely needed. The beef and broccoli chow foon was just a no go. I love Chinese broccoli but for some reason I hated the Chinese broccoli in this dish. The beef and chow foon part were not bad. I'm glad it actually had other veggies in it (unlike China Boy which did not) but it just didn't do it for me. The meal just made me feel greasy and fat. You are what you eat right? I don't think I will be back, what with all the other shitty options in Chinatown to try out. read more

Instructions for Use: Go with someone who speaks Mandarin and knows more about Chinese food than beef and broccoli and general tso's. Apply these good friends to order your whole meal for you. If you do not have said friends at least ask what the fresh vegetables they have are, as they WILL be fresh. Eat whatever is put in front of you and learn cultural tricks (like opening the lid of the tea pot when it is empty). Repeat liberally as needed. -------------- I learned that i liked fish salt, but didn't like frog. And I wouldn't have known unless I tried. I mean-- I love beef jerky, why wouldn't I love what is practically fish jerky sprinkled over my fried rice? It seemed like there were a lot of tourist there, getting the "Chinatown" experience (hahaha! what city are they in?!?) What they got instead was a interesting conversation nearby that went all over the map--I think we got a few scowls. 5 dishes split between 7 people for a price of $11 makes a great lunch indeed. read more

Located in the neighborhood formerly known as Chinatown, Full Kee is a holdover from the pre-Verizon/MCI/soulless telecom conglomerate Center era. While the restaurant is not as whimsically named like its neighbors, such as Wok n' Roll and New Big Wong, it is one of the few remaining Chinese restaurants in the area that still attempts to prepare a semblance of non-Americanized Chinese food. While it has several species of roasted fowl hanging in the window, it isn't really a "hole in the wall" Chinese restaurant. It has several rooms and is actually fairly spacious inside. Since I was with a relatively large group and we were seated at a table with a lazy susan, one of those circular trays which allow you to spin different platters of food around the table, we decided to share our entrees family style. The menu is fairly Cantonese, although there are many Americanized dishes intermingled in the selection, so you have to know what to order. For appetizers, I ordered crab rangoon with duck sauce, an Americanized dish, while others ordered steamed dumplings and a corn soup. The crab rangoon was as expected: a delectable fried wonton stuffed with cream cheese and very little imitation crab, just as I like it. The duck sauce however was obnoxiously cloying even for duck sauce. I didn't get to try the steamed dumplings, but people at the table seemed to enjoy them. I also tried the corn soup, which was basically egg drop soup with some kernels of corn tossed in...it was extremely bland and forgettable. We also ordered several dishes for entrees. I ordered the eggplant "casserole" with minced chicken and salt fish, which I thought was well prepared. The eggplant was steaming hot and the protein acted as accompaniments rather than the main players. Nonetheless, I thought it was well-seasoned and harmonious and would order it again. Someone else ordered a white fish dish with peppers and onion which was also quite tasty. The sauteed snow pea leaves were serviceable, if a little bland and undistinguished. It could have used a little garlic. The peking duck was also well done. The skin was crispy and the meat moist, and when wrapped in the pancakes, worked beautifully with the earthy, tangy hoisin and the brightness of the green onions. The Americanized dishes were a bit more mixed. The barbecue pork dish was nauseatingly cloying. The sauce tasted like corn syrup and tomato paste, though the pork was pleasantly crispy, I suppose. The shrimp with walnut in mayonnaise was far more successful, and really good. It did a better job balancing the sweetness with the savory and was probably one of my favorite dishes of the day. All in all, if you want authentic Chinese food, you are better off trying to find something in either Fairfax or Rockville. Those restaurants are far more consistent and inexpensive (though they tend to be either Taiwanese or Sichuan, and not Cantonese). But, if you are in Gallery Place and you want to try some Chinese food, Full Kee isn't the worst option. At least it hasn't transmogrified itself into a Panda Express. read more

**Updates: As I continue going to Full Kee, I keep discovering some great dishes. I'll update continually below for those interested... ** Others have said it before me: Best restaurant in DC Chinatown? Mmmm, yes. Is that saying much? Mmmm, no. If you are looking for the real deal in terrific Chinese food, best headed off to the ethnic suburbs in MD or VA. That said, Full Kee is a solid bet if you're in Gallery Place-Chinatown and wondering, "Hey, why do they call this Chinatown?" It actually does serve up some really consistently nice Cantonese-style dishes, if you know what to order -- some of them "authentic" (for those who care about that type of thing) and are quite tasty (I certainly hope you care about that type of thing). This is much more than I can say for Chinatown Express down the street (run away!). A quick (dine-in) guide that may assist those interested in maximizing "good meal" potential at Full Kee. (1) Noodle soups (various varieties). If you're in the mood for it (beef noodle, shrimp dumpling, etc.) and can't get out of town, it'll do. One friend put it this way: "Well, it tastes exactly as I would expect it to taste from looking at it." It's not spectacular, but it's salty and made with factory-standard, Hong Kong-style wonton noodles. (2) Pan-fried noodles. These are a pretty good bet, with the sauce and veggies that top off the crispy noodles being quite tasty. The meat is where you must be careful! I've had sad seafood, maybe-past-expiration-chicken, but the beef and Chinese broccoli has actually been the best, in my opinion. (3) My sister has reported that the Chimerican/Americanese items like General Tsos chicken are actually very tasty and good. I thought the fried dumplings were Chinese-American tasty! As the daughters of former (and pretty darn good, methinks) Chimerican/Americanese restauranteurs (we really like eating it, too!), I hope you can trust us on that. Go at that General Tsos, champs. (4) While the Crispy Spicy Pork Chop (should really be Salt and Pepper Pork Chop) is not so spicy (bordering on downright bland sometimes), but it's a fair choice if you're looking for a meat dish or something crispy. The Sweet and Sour Rib Hong Kong Style and Crispy Pork Chop Kingdom Style (a kind of Sweet and Sour variation) are pretty good.) (5) Strangely (as a lover of all things pig parts), I think it's the vegetarian dishes that are the tastiest at Full Kee! A lot of the standard stuff (eggplant and garlic sauce, Sichuan string beans) are actually quite bland, but there are some standouts. The hongshao tofu (fried tofu, mushrooms, Chinese broccoli in a flavorful brown sauce) is very tasty (I just ask the waitress for it...not sure what it's called on the menu). If you're not afraid of thousand-year old egg (you can barely taste it anyway...or just pick it out), try the "Two Kind of Preserved Egg and Egg and Snow Pea Leaves". It's quite (dare I say it) delicious. **UPDATES** Recent discoveries that push Full Kee towards the 4-star range. (6) The Jumbo Oyster Ginger Scallion Casserole is very delicious...terrific sauce and shockingly large oysters (for those who like/aren't totally freaked out by them). (7) Not on the menu, but on the wall menu: Sizzling flounder in black pepper sauce - seriously delicious, with thumbs up from my parents (excellent judges of authenticity and deliciousness). Battered pieces of fried flounder with pepper and onions in a very tasty sauce. You'll be glad you got it. Makes me think that all of the flounder (and other fish dishes) dishes on the wall menu would be worth trying. ** Do the sad looking roasted ducks and barbeque pork in Full Kee's windows make me sad? Yeaaahhhh. Do I think that paying $1.50 per bowl of extra rice is kinda ridonk (and do I think the whole menu is too overpriced for what it is)? Yepppp. But Full Kee's always my choice for go-to Chinese dining within vicinity. The staff are efficient, give great recommendations, and speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin...sometimes in one service! They might speak Vietnamese, too, although my friends and I have never been able to test that last language. Double plus: open til 2 AM every night! Not. Too. Shabby! So it's not all sad for ethnic dining in DC Chinatown. I mean, it is, but chin(s) up and head to Full Kee to enjoy the dining experience with minimized sorrow. It's worth the extra few block's neon-colored walk. And you know you really didn't want Fuddruckers anyway. read more

Time of Review: *May 15 @ 7:30pm, dinner for 5 Full Kee Restaurant is located in Chinatown, and one of the few authentic Chinese restaurants. It's your typical, unglamorous looking place that serves great food at a low price, so don't expect any of that modern, fusion decor here! Service: * The service was fast. Even though the place appeared packed, we were seated within 5 minutes, and everything from ordering to the food appearing at the table went quickly. Food Quality/Selection: * The seafood dumpling was well streamed, and contained a decent amount of stuffing in it. The Hong Kong noodles with roast pork was also a good portion size, not too much or too little in terms of ingredients. It was also a good balance between the pork and noodles - sometimes restaurants will try to skimp on the meat, but I did not find that here. Cost: * Cheap - especially for Chinatown. Our total was around $25 for 1 appetizer and 2 entrees. Parking: There are nearby metered parking, however, parking in Chinatown can be a pain especially if there is an event going on (e.g. Caps game, concert, etc.). read more

Five times I've taken people here and I've been embarassed. Their food, as a whole, is not good. How this place is so highly rated by Yelpers is beyond me. I'm not even a New Yorker with the pre-programmed "New York has the best Chinese food in the world, including China!" response. The standard issue items on the menu are, at best, average. I love duck and I've ordered it twice here to the tune of "meh." So, what gives? Well, the congee is good. I'll give them that. It's not great or anything, but it's probably the best thing on the menu. And the items are well-priced--no sticker shock anywhere. The service, as with anywhere else in Chinatown DC, is quick and sterile. And that's it, that's all the good things I have to say about Full Kee. read more

Full Kee is a fantastic restaurant. The food here is authentic, and even better, it is really, really cheap. It goes along with the whole idea that I'm being ruined by DC prices; at Full Kee, lunch specials are 6 dollars. 6 dollars? Is this the '90s? Sure, the 6 dollar specials are dishes like General Tso's, but hey, for those seeking non-authentic food, this is a fantastic deal. Actually, the General Tso's is good. As an Asian-American, I like it a lot. But, I am not here to talk about General Tso's. When you sit down at Full Kee, order from the card that is on the table. It has their more authentic dishes on it, namely egg noodle soups and rice dishes. I am a huge fan of the congee, especially the one with pork and thousand year old egg. The roast duck rice and beef brisket are great as well. For noodles, they all work. I like the wonton and roast duck noodle soups. This restaurant is a gem. It is located in what remains of Chinatown, and they have another branch in Falls Church. I will try that one someday to compare. I am fortunate to work in the area so that I can come everyday for a cheap and good lunch. Hole in a wall? Kinda. A great place for Asian food in DC? Definitely. read more

Chinese restaurants in this cluster. . . .are all starting to seem relatively the same to me. The difference at Full Kee, however, is that it's the friendliest of the service I've experienced. I had the Full Kee Seafood Fried Rice and some egg drop soup and was comfortably on my way. The place is pretty dumpy looking, which I think is charming. If you're trying to impress a date, however, might want to keep looking. read more

I've wanted to try this restaurant for a while, and it turns out that I ended up eating there twice in one day. I went there for lunch and then the people I was going to have dinner with ended up taking me there again. Both lunch and dinner were satisfying meals that were easy on the budget, and one of the better Chinese places in Chinablock. I had the shrimp dumpling and noodle soup for lunch. Their dumplings are by far superior to that of Chinatown Express. The dumpling wrap was thinner and the shrimp and shitake filling was delicious. Their broth was also a lot more flavorful than Chinatown Express. For less than $6, it was a deal. For dinner, we shared hot and sour soup, chinese broccoli, General Tso's chicken, kung pao chicken, and veggie lo mein. All were really good, and it came to less than $50. read more

Maybe for the casual patron, Full Kee is one great Chinese restaurant, but people, I walk by it nearly every day to get to/from my condo and I just have to say once and for all... the SCENT coming out of the ventilation system directly above the entrance is absolutely nauseating!! Any notion I'd ever have of eating there is instantly turned off the second I get within scent range of that foul odor! I don't even know how to describe it, old dish rags that have wiped up food since the place has existed? Ugh... With that off my chest, I have actually made it passed the foul odor zone and eaten there once or twice and, with all the hype of this place, the food didn't live up expectation... especially for having to endure that lovely smell!! The least Full Kee could have is a back exit so you don't have to loose your meal when leaving. Sorry Full Kee lovers out there, obviously the place serves up some good food, but I can't do it... thankfully I have Chinatown Express a few steps away! read more

I order the same thing every time I go to a 'chinese' restaurant: beef and broccoli and an egg roll. Its not that hard. Its not that complex. Its terrible here, over salted, and under flavored. The bus boys walk around with their iphones blasting music from their pockets as they 'clean' the tables. Its a dive, I won't be back. I took it all boxed up to go for pups, and I'm doubtful she will eat it. read more

Ok, a dying Chinatown that has been taken over by the MCI/Verizon Center and corporate chains with Chinese Characters on the sign..... A little history: I remember coming here in the 1970's and the numerous restaurants made you yearn for those Sundays where you came down with family to do dim sum...REAL dim sum....... For the most part, Chinese restaurants were far and few in Montgomery County...... I remember how the Chinese hostesses in some of the old Chinatown restaurants used to wear those fancy red dresses! Very alluring....almost "geisha-like"? *Wake up now Fast forward 25+ years later..... Much safer to walk around after dark, but all of the restaurants, grocery stores, OLD Chinatown......a distant memory....save the "arch" over H Street. Ok to the review of Full Kee: Order from the CARD on the table, forget the regular menu... Hong Kong Style Shrimp Dumplings & Noodles SOUP.... you will NOT regret it.... Roast Duck: I usually like duck with crispy skin, but this is prepared oh so nicely...the skin is moist and falls off the bone, showing that it was cooked for many many hours and done right! No parking directly in front, but you can usually find parking around the corner by the church or the hotel, but watch out for the vagrants! Oh yeah: CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! Everything on the menu (uhh the CARD) is under $10 and the portions are enough to share! They used to only take cash, but now take VISA/MC read more

I am from the San Francisco Bay area and I am Asian so I know my Chinese food. This place has the real deal. We had the beef and broccoli noodles and the congee with peanuts. Both were absolutely delicious! in fact, their congee is better than what I usually get in near home: nice and thick and full of flavor. Although the decor is a little old, in my experience, good Chinese food tends to be best in these little hole in the wall places; and this one is actually a pretty nice hole in the wall. Added bonus, the service was far nicer than the service I usually get back in California from these hole in the wall places. Absolutely must eat here if you go to Chinatown, and I'll be making a special trip back before I go home just to eat at Full Kee again read more

My late night snack usually consists of a) greasy, cheesy, deep-fried goodness or b) Mexican food, which usually qualifies as the former. But Chinese food? Never. I only eat Chinese food with my parents for some reason. Tonight was an exception when we entered Full Kee. Basically it comes down to this: it gets you full pretty fast and cheap. After seeing pictures of their noodle soups on their window, I knew what I was in the mood for. The shrimp dumplings with HK noodles caught my eye, especially for the price of five dollars. We poured our tea and chatted and before I knew it a bowl with six plump shrimp dumplings and a mass of noodles submerged in steaming broth sat in front of me. I barely made a dent, except for the fact that I finished off all my dumplings. This dish could've been easily shared between two friends or a whole family, we joked. Great way to keep your belly full and warm. read more

Well technically this should be 3.5 stars, but I feel generous today. Basically, I'm a Chinese person from California, so I'm spoiled. Because of that, I'm also a bit snobby and discriminating on chinese food (well and Vietnamese and Korean food too). Now, unfortunately nothing in DC in my few months here has quite matched up to the vaunted restaurants in my native stomping grounds, but I found Full Kee to be close. Now I've only ever had the noodle soups here, but I found them to be as close as to what I could find at home here. The wontons are stuffed with shrimp (which is what they should be if they are Hong Kong style). The beef brisket was wonderfully tender. The noodles were cooked just right. The broth could have been a bit lighter, but it was still pretty good. Looking at the dishes ordered by other patrons though, it seems that Full Kee does other authentic Cantonese dishes justice. I'll definitely come back for some dinner with friends sometime. All in all, while Full Kee would be considered just average in California, it is a wonderful breath of fresh air in a city more known for Americanized Chinese take out (as seen in the West Wing) than authentic Chinese cuisine. Some of the dishes on the menu are a bit pricey, but now that I'm here I should probably adjust to DC prices on Asian food. Either way, I would definitely recommend Full Kee to a DCer that wants authentic Cantonese cuisine but doesn't want to trek on the Chinatown bus to Philly to NYC. read more

This has got to be the most rudest and meanest restaurant I have been to. I'm calling this place the "Soup Nazi" Restaurant. "No Moo Shu for You.!!" My bro in law and I decided to go here and eat after witnessing some a$$ whipping of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Soon as we walked in, the atmosphere was very dark. We were standing and walking around trying to get a waitstaff's attention to get us a table. As the waiter noticed us, he ordered us to move back and sit at the rows of chairs that was in the front by the door. When we didn't sit, he ordered again with a louder voice to sitdown. Ok, we sat and waited about 5 minutes even though there were several available tables. After 5 minutes the waiter pointed at us and hand gestured us to come here and sit. We walked over and I wasn't to happy with the table location and kindly asked if we can sit at the lower section of the restaurant. He angrily said "NO"! As we were looking at the menu, a guy walked in and started a loud angry verbal battle with the woman waitstaff. The man was happy about how they charged him $1.00 for the little container of hot pepper oil sauce. It was fun to watch the fight between the man and the several waitstaff, this went on about 7 minutes. After the fight was over and the man left, the waiter came to take our orders. We ordered the Hong Kong style shrimp dumpling soup, beef chow fun and the shrimp in hot garlic sauce. The food was mediocre not that very good in taste. The wide noodles in the beef chow fun was very dry and no chinese broccoli, just some spring beans. The shrimp in hot garlic sauce was very sweet in taste, it was so sweet it tasted like candy. Best was the shrimp dumpling soup. The dumpling had large ample minced shrimp and mushroom like dim sum in hot broth. We only ate half the plate of both dishes and finished all of the soup. While I was eating here, I learned you need to follow the rules. Once you walk in, first thing you need to do is sit your a$$ down on those chairs, quieting sit there and look for the finger and hand gestures of the waitstaff. Once they point at you, hurry up and sit down quietly. While eating, another customer entered and started walking towards the below section, as they were halfway down the stairs, they got caught and ordered them to go sit at the chairs. They got pi$$ed off and left the restaurant. There is another restaurant in Falls Church with the same name Full Kee. I asked the waiter is there any relations, he angrily replied "NO." Ok, no further questions asked, end of story. I dunno if they were having a bad day or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed or no sleep since Chinatown hardly closes, but this is the most rudest restaurant I ever been into. Not even a thank you for our patronage or have a nice day. I definitely will not be coming back again. read more

I must preface this by saying that I did not eat here. My buddy and I walked in after seeing some decent reviews on Yelp. Upon entering we were engulfed by a peculiar odor -- a combination of fish and bathroom. But we pressed on and I sat down and my buddy went to use the restroom. The menu IS extensive and there looked to be a lot of good choices (cold jellyfish caught my eye). But upon returning from the restroom my friend informed me that there was no soap in the restroom and he wasn't feeling great about the overall cleanliness of the place. I concurred and we bailed. I won't be back. read more

4*? Seriously? Seriously! Are these mTurkers paid by the restaurant to raise their ratings?! Soup here means salt+water+grease. Frozen wontons with freezer burn taste. Beef noodles with egg noodles that were remotely similar to the real thing. Somehow the flavor was lost somewhere. read more

As said by my roommates Chinese girlfriend, China Street is a farr cry from any other legitimate China Town that is lined with authentic tastes from the far east. Our China Street in DC may be called China Town, but the three block neighborhood is laden with cheap, MSG-laden, bad Asian food. So, when I came across a pleasant meal on H street, I headed straight for YELP! Full Kee has an extensive menu of some of the most authentic tastes I have seen in DC. Fresh seafood, white meat chicken, and flavorful sauces are a must on the dishes I sampled. The service is pleasant, speedy, with no frills, and can be completed without a major in a Mandarin Chinese. I highly the suggest the Pork-Schzewan style, steamed dumplings, BBQ pork, Hong Kong soup, and the duck dish. You are sure to get enough food for the right price and taste and you will be out in time for Entourage on Sunday night, the bar scene on Saturdays, or a movie on Friday. BRING CASH! read more

After taking a gander at the fantastic member submitted photos, I will have to try this place again. (I REALLY wish I had pics alongside the menu when I ordered my dish. SMH) Ok...my Full Kee experience: I went on the SUPERB review of my boyfriend who LOVES this place. But he ONLY eats one dish. The Wonton Noodle Soup. It looked delicious, but I could not eat it because I asked the waitress what kind of broth was used and she she said seafood or pork. SMH Yeah. Whatever. (I don't eat pork so this is important to me) I ordered the beef and veggie dish over rice. SIGH My rice was overcooked. I'm African. I KNOW rice. Needless to say, I only ate the beef and veggies (Chinese broccoli and carrot slices). It was good. I was still hungry. Added to my order the shrimp rolls. Crispy. Greasy. Chock full of shrimp. My kind of eats. The mustard damn near put me in the hospital though. WHEW! It was good. Cleared my sinuses RIGHT up! Anyway, like I said. I will go again. Ask the cook what the broth is and try the Beef Chow Fun or something. Looks delicious. read more

2.5-3 star food 3.5-4 star value 1.5-2 star service Best to sit downstairs if you can. It gets busy and you can attract quite a crowd watching you eat up front -- and if it is cold outside there is a significant draft upstairs. They don't have much of a system for waiting for tables, it is kind of an honor's system where patrons are tasked with figuring out who is next -- and then staff yell for the next group -- certainly could use some work but seems as that is part of the charm. I had the Hong Kong Shrimp Dumpling Soup with Noodles -- a very generous portion for less than 6 dollars, it was ok but what most impressed me was the price. We also had dumplings which were ok, the skins were quite thick -- filling was nicely flavored. Pan fried noodles and chow fun were probably the best items -- and the black pepper flounder was decent enough but made me miss the flounder at Bob's Noodle. Service a bit uneven. The food is decent and better prepared than expected -- food was not very greasy or oily -- and certainly a very good value. Unfortunately there are not many options for decent Chinese in Chinatown, but this might be one. read more

HK style wonton noodle soup with BBQ pork here is legit. Came here on a chilly DC morning and the soup was perfect to warm me up at a great price. We ordered a side of fried dumplings that were good but nothing special. Service is fast and efficient. read more

Full Kee - Wonton noodle soup with bbq pork - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

If you work downtown, or find yourself there around lunch time, this is a fantastic place for a delicious sit-down lunch for less than $10. The best options here are the noodle (or wonton and noodle) soups--authentic Hong Kong-style soups with roasted pork, duck, or chicken. Much more flavorful and delicious than Chinatown Express (the place where the dude makes the noodles in the window). Full Kee gets very crowded at lunch time, so sometimes, they will seat you at a table with strangers, but this adds to the fun and the authenticity (in China or Hong Kong, a single diner or pair are ALWAYS placed at tables with others--there's not enough space to leave empty seats!). The best soup is the roast pork, but the duck is good too. You can also add greens to the soups for like $1, and can choose from several different types of noodles. If you want more American-style Chinese food, the kung pao is good, and the crab rangoon is far above average. The clay pot items look very good, but I haven't tried them--the noodle soups are too good to order anything else! read more

Food was pretty decent. It's a hole in the wall area. I enjoyed the pork.. too bad i didnt order it. my friend did. i ate a lot of hers lol. my dish must have been 'eh' cause i dont remember it lol read more

Frankly, this restaurant is astonishingly overrated on Yelp. DC food in general is overpriced and overrated. Full Kee is different. It is cheap, but it is still shockingly overrated. We had two cheap lunch dishes (fried rice, and low mein ~$6 each) along with fried wontons and some (disgusting) hot and sour soup. The tea was served barely luke warm. When informed, the staff was happy to exchange it, which they did by pouring my "used" tea back into the pot, which then disappeared back into the kitchen. We were then provided with a fresh, hot pot. The soup was astonishingly bad. It could not even be properly called soup. Instead of "dipping" into it, the surface was more accurately "punctured," because the "soup" had the consistency of a bad jello. WTF? The fried wontons were a sickening, indescribably bright yellow color. They were fried to a crisp, left out to become stale, and contained no *identifiable* meat. The fried rice and low mein were unremarkable. Salty, overflavored. Certainly not good, but not horrendously bad either. OK as greasy drunk food? The service was fast, but it really only served to prove that the food had been sitting ready long long before we arrived or ordered (or were born?). read more

My husband wanted Chinese food from Chinatown. A surprisingly tall order! We heard good things about Full Kee, so decided to stop there for our dinner. I ordered a soup/noodle bowl and he had some sort of beef and pepper dish. Waited a little longer than expected for a restaurant so empty, but the food tasted fine enough. The waitress, who we saw literally three times (to take our order, to bring our food, and to leave the check) came to our table as we were leaving, shoved the credit card receipt back in my face, and told us we had to give more money! Since we saw her only 3 times, I tipped 12%, which came to be a tip of something like $4. I understand the plight of the food service workers, but she was distant the entire night. She demanded 15%, so I scrambled around for a few dollar bills and threw them on the table. No thank you or explanation from her; she just put the credit card receipt in her pocket and then grabbed the extra money and walked away. I was left utterly shocked! There's one thing to their credit: the portions were sizeable, and we did have leftovers to take home for a late night snack. Otherwise, not worth the time and money read more

3.75 Stars. Although Tony Cheng's dim sum will always have a special place in my heart (you try finding a better dim sum place within the district limits!), Full Kee is a good option for a quick and authentic Chinese meal. I first heard about the place from a friend who, despite being from Iowa, seems to have tried every Chinese joint in the entire district. He told me Full Kee was the real McCoy and it doesn't disappoint. Side Note: C-R-N.Com (Chinese Restaurant News) has rated Full Kee in the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the USA for 3 years running. It was decent but this surprises me. I'm guessing your experience there depends on how good you are at ordering. Becoming a black-belt orderer at some places requires dedication, patience, and skill. Like kung fu, but more satisfying for your stomach. Anyway, the place has an extensive menu that ranges from American favorites (General Tso's, sweet & sour pork) to more authentic grub (fish maw, sizzling conch, cold jellyfish). This probably explains why the place clearly appeals to westerners and Asians alike. Anyway, although I'd been here a couple times before, I most recently came with a group of Yelpers and we ordered 5 dishes to split between us (the price was right at $11 each): Sauteed Frog w/ Chives (There are a lot of bones to work around but the meat is light and flavorful. Only Kevin L. and I seemed to enjoy this dish but I think it's just a matter of taste. I think it was well executed but would have much preferred if it had just been frog legs with no other parts). Fried Dumplings (I prefer steamed but these were meh..okay for fried and came with a tasty sauce). Roast Pork w/ Bean Curd (I liked this - the pork was lip smacking good). Chicken & Salt Fish Flavor Fried Rice (This was much enjoyed by the entire table). Stir Fried Snow Pea Shoots (Kevin was smart enough to simply order whatever vegetables were fresh and this was what we got. Fresh they were, and also delicious). I'd like to come back to sample the rest of the menu. In particular the Shrimp Balls Stuffed with Scallop and Steamed Flounder w/ Ginger sounded yummy. Also - I noticed they have lunch specials ranging from $5 -$5.75. What a great fit for my recession-sized wallet. read more

I went with a group of 8 at midnight. The place was empty but we had all been working and were starving. Another large group of Asian descent came in after we ordered and somehow they got all their food before us. The waitress also seemed to be generally put off by our presence. The place was last decorated in the late 70's. Mauve tables and even a Nutone wall mount CD player on the back wall. I had kung pao chicken. It had too many peanuts in it. The sauce was really good though. Everyone elses food looked really good, tasted good, and seemed of decent quality. All of us traded each others main courses. I'm on day two of recovery from food poisoning. Three of us got it. Unfortunately we couldn't figure out which dish it was. Needless to say I won't be back. They don't accept AMEX. read more

They make fresh dumplings and wantons that taste darn good. I also sampled their barbecued pork (the reddish pork also sometimes known as roast pork). It had the sweet tangy flavor I enjoy. However, the barbecued pork was a tad greasy. The interior is of the classic inexpensive and run down theme; the same interior that many of the finest eateries use. read more

Just went there tonight. My friend dragged me, almost literally! I did not want to go because I'd stepped inside one time and it seemed a hot mess. But I have changed my mind after eating there. Alrighty let's AAALLL start on the same page. Clearly NO ONE is rating this restaurant on the ambiance or visual appeal; we all saw the photos! Now, for the food. This is some straight up BAAAAAA-NGIN' Chinese food. I had the roasted pork ramen soup & my friend got the shrimp dumpling ramen soup. The roasted pork was amazing. It was tender, juicy & flavorful. We split the roasted pork chow fun & the spare ribs. All of it was great. I would recommend this place if you can get past the cheesy low-rent ambiance. read more

I regret picking this restaurant. The food taste was acceptable and edible but couldn't be described as "good" or "delicious." The barbeque pork and rice plate was too salty. They seem to generally drench all the rice in soy sauce. The portions were small and at $7, expensive. The roast duck and rice plate's duck was pretty flavorless. Worst of all was the service. Out of the three waitresses, only one was pleasant and smiled when talking to us. One of them spoke loudly (as if yelling) and rapidly to us without smiling as if she was angry at us. They also never refilled our tea and water. They also collect dishes of other nearby tables very noisily. The food also took ages to come out. If you're ordering some takeout to take home after a sit-down meal, you should order the takeout early to avoid standing awkwardly around the perimeter of the restaurant waiting for it. The atmosphere was ok. It looked a little better than "hole-in-the-wall." The location is in downtown Chinatown DC several blocks north of the National Mall. There were lots of Caucasians in the restaurant and a handful of Asians. There were lots of patrons standing or sitting in line near the entrance waiting for a table or takeout. They had barbequed animals hanging behind a glass display near the entrance, but after tasting the barbeque pork and duck, I wouldn't buy any of them. read more

DC Chinatown is a sad place. While urban renewal has brought in squeaky clean chain stores and made the area nicer to look at, the remnants of old Chinatown is dying. What remains of the old neighborhood is a handful of Chinese restaurants, all of which had seen better days. Full Key is one of those. Walking into this old Cantonese joint brings back some nostalgia, the table settings, menu, dishes, posters on the wall... still unchanged after all these years. What could be described as stubborn charm is quickly crossing that line into outdated drab. We sat down after a late night of crooning at a nearby karaoke hoping to re-live our Chinatown days. On order were roast duck over rice, wonton noodle soup, stir fried eggplant with chicken. The old standard fare. But whatever tired cook was putting our dishes together must have lost his passion long ago because what we ate lost that Chinatown flavor. It was barely passable food that left us missing the good old days. In the end we walked out full and paid less than $10 per person. Cheap? Of course but not quite the experience it used to be. read more

Ok two things, I have lived and traveled in Asia for years, I have recommended Full Kee for years. Generally solid place, will say $21 for a smaller then I remember bowl of dumpling soup, single breadstick and can of coke was a little high guys... read more

Unlike some of my other Yelp buddies, my experience at Full Kee was anything but good. My boss decided to take me to his favorite Chinese place a few blocks from the office when I joined the company in December. He's a regular: the staff immediately knew his order (+1 for service!) I ordered Cashew Chicken. Ouch. I'd like to say I enjoyed it, but instead ended up with a very serious case of food poisoning that knocked me out for 3 days. Sure, things happen, but I'm steering clear. read more

3.5 stars. Let's consider the context here. Despite it's name, there's a dismal amount of decent Chinese food in Chinatown. Most Chinese people don't even want to eat there, including yours truly. That said, Full Kee is probably the best of the group. It's above Chinese take-out, but below [insert major metropolitan] Chinatown. The key is know what to get here. Pass on the bbq pork or roast duck unless you are there when it comes out fresh, otherwise you will be disappointed. You can tell if the oil has cooled and turned white in the pan under the ducks. If you fancy some meats, get the soy sauce chicken. Don't get the wonton/dumplings - the skin is way too thick. Don't get choy suey, or sweet and sour/general tso/orange [insert mystery meat]. Do go for the beef brisket noodle dish. Probably the most legit dish this place has. I would also recommend their claypot dishes, stir-fry snow pea leaves, choy sum or watercress (if available). Their chow mien (canto-style) or beef chow ho (wide rice noodles) dishes are decent though on the greasier side. This place is a hidden gem, but you need to get the right dishes. read more

I came to this restaurant with high expectations. The food was ok but then I asked for my bill. The waitress demanded that I pay her 15% of gratiturity. I have no problem providing a tip for good service however, that is not something you demand. Definitely my last time there. It's sad that I had this type of experience my first time at the restaurant. She even pulled out a clipboard with the tip percentage as if I wouldn't know. Smh read more