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Best Bargain Restaurants: Full Kee

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Full Kee
Washington

Despite spirited competition from newer arrivals Eat First and Tai Shan, Full Kee remains unmatched for its meal-size Hong Kong soups. You have the option of ordering the shrimp dumpling soup with a generous garnish of noodles, but once you've tasted these dumplings--whose envelopes of paper-thin dough strain to contain chunks of shrimp, fresh ginger, and slivers of woot mushrooms--you'll want to save the noodles for brothy bowls topped with a portion of roast duck or red-stewed beef brisket. For an even more soothing alternative, order a bowl of congee--also known as jook--a gruel of long-boiled rice whose natural sweetness is given a welcome savoriness by such garnishes as salty slivers of Chinese pickles, ground pork, or preserved eggs.

Couples should follow the ordering strategy of Full Kee's avid Chinese clientele: Order a bowl of the soup of your choice apiece plus one of the seasonal specials listed on back of the menu or on the table card. Recommended choices include stir-fried clams with black-bean sauce; Singapore-style rice noodles; Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce; honey-glazed roast pork tenderloin; thin slices of boned pig's knuckle with a vinegar dipping sauce; and a sparely sauced stir-fry of shredded pork and bean sprouts.

Full Kee , 509 H Street NW, Washington; 202/371-2233. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 am to 1 am, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 3 am. No credit cards. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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