Richmond VA Dining: Full Kee

Full Kee Restaurant
6400 Horsepen Rd, Richmond, VA 23226
(804) 673-2233

I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks in Richmond, Virginia. While not as ethnically diverse as Washington DC, its nearest major city, there are still some dining gems to be found. One of these is Full Kee, probably one of the best Cantonese restaurants I have ever been to outside of the New York Metropolitan or San Francisco Bay areas. This place is so outstanding that I’ve taken to eating there as much as twice a week in the month I’ve been traveling back and forth to Richmond.

Full Kee literally translated from Cantonese means “Magical” or “Prosperous” Place. From what I’ve experienced of this restaurant so far, it is indeed.

Full Kee has branches in the Washington DC area as well, which are apparently even more impressive. But there’s no doubt that this is the most serious Chinese restaurant in the Richmond area.

The taste of Hong Kong delights at Full Kee. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Full Kee’s Main Dining Room, early dinnertime. Full Kee apparently serves Dim Sum during the weekends and during the day during lunch hours, but I’ve only been there during the evenings.

The fancy Polynesian drinks menu. While this is clearly more of a Chinese-Am tradition than a Cantonese one, I got nothing against a good Mai Tai.

Full Kee has the full range of Hong Kong-style noodle soups, for those interested in going that route.

And for those of you who are into the more adventurous stuff, they got that too.

Want Chinese Roast Pork or Roast duck by the pound? The restaurant boasts its own Chinese BBQ chef.

The best stuff on the menu is on the “Chef’s Specials” page, but I found that the best stuff you can eat in the restaurant is completely off the menu entirely. In particular, ask your server about what fresh seafood and vegetables are in that day and how they can prepare it for you.

Aside from the noodle soups, I particularly like the full-sized specialty soups, such as this mushroom soup that features enoki, shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

The beef and cilantro soup has a very strong cilantro flavor, and was considered a sure winner by the other diners I brought to the restaurant.

I really liked this Shredded Pork with Seaweed soup, which had a delicate but savory broth.

The restaurant’s basic Hot and Sour soup is no slouch either.

Chicken and Corn Soup. One of the best versions I’ve ever had.

Tofu Stuffed with Shrimp Paste and Black Bean Sauce. An amazing dish. This was such a huge portion I ended up taking half of this home and eating it for breakfast.

The portions are generous, s0 it’s a good idea to bring a group.

Peking Duck

Steamed Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Oyster Sauce. One of my favorite Asian vegetables.

Full Kee’s signature Roast Pork (Char Siu).

Can’t get enough of it.

An order of Shrimp and Pork Steamed Dumplings. These are admittedly some of the best I’ve ever had.

Steamed Dumplings, closeup.

Garlic Chives sauteed with Fresh Garlic. You really gotta love garlic to order these, and they did not disappoint.

A Chicken and Chinese Eggplant Casserole with Garlic Sauce. This was excellent but a little bit oily.

Giant Prawns in Black Bean Sauce, one of the “Off Menu” items. These shrimps are absolutely massive.

And when I say massive I mean MASSIVE.

Here’s another black bean sauce preparation, with Giant Clams.

And a different preparation of the Giant Prawns, this time with Ginger and Scallion.

The giant prawns, prepared on a different night.

Sauteed Snow Pea Leaves (Dou Miu) with garlic. Another great green vegetable.

Lobster Cantonese, served banquet style, for a large dining party.

Black Pepper beef, another large plating.

An entire steamed live Dungeness crab, with garlic served over E-Fu noodles. Phenomenal.

Chinese Watercress with Fermented Tofu (Foo Yee). Pungent but tasty.

Curry Squid, in a Hong Kong style spicy yellow curry. Cooked perfectly.

Clams with Pork and Chile Pepper, sort of a Chinese take on Clams Casino. One of my favorites.

The  jumbo prawns again, this time in a simple stir fry with snap peas.

Ma Po Tofu. While Full Kee is a Hong Kong/Cantonese restaurant, this Sichuan dish is an authentic renditon.

Fried Calamari