Second Best BBQ on Argyle: Hon Kee [Past Event}

Sun Wah is a recognized (and deserved) board favorite, but it is not the only Chinese BBQ on Argyle. Hon Kee has also received praise on the board (Comments on Hon Kee), and I have never been. So a friend of mine and I thought we would give Hon Kee a try, and as with all Chinese meals, ordering power is desired. So, I am planning a dinner next Thursday, June 10th at 6:30. If we have enough response, I will call the restaurant and see if we can arrange something in advance. On the agenda will be roast pork, BBQ duck, noodle soup, wontons, and congee. Like Sun Wah, Hon Kee serves South Chinese/Cantonese cuisine.

Attendees:
GAF+1
nr706
moetchandon
tarte tatin
Panther in the Den +1
LAZ +1
Dansch
EvA
Cabbagehead

Hon Kee
1064 W. Argyle
Chicago, IL 60640
773-878-66650

yum--count me in!!

Add moetchandon and me - looking forward to it.

Please add me to the list. Thanks for setting this up, Gary!

Put My Bride and I down for this one. Sounds Great!

There might be two more and I will post ASAP about their status...

Thanks!

With eight diners already, it looks as if I will need to call ahead to make plans. I will wait a day or two to get a better sense of the number we will have. If there is a maximum number, I will let everyone know, but I suspect that we are not near that number.

If there's room for two more, Rhes and I would like to attend. I will be celebrating the end of post-hospital dietary restrictions.

As long as you're calling ahead, if you could find out about how much cash we'll need to bring, that will be helpful.

I'd love to join if there's room. I have the good fortune of living one block from Sun Wah, so if I wander to the other side of the El tracks, it's usually for Pho Xua or Patisserie P.

I did try it once (while Sun Wah was moving), but grabbed BBQ carryout, which isn't a fair sample size.

Cabbagehead and I would love to join you. We ate at Hon Kee some years ago and liked it but like others here became Sun Wah groupies.

Gary--Do you know Hon Kee's policy on BYO? Corkage fees?

I will ask when I call.

Panther in the Den wrote:Put My Bride and I down for this one. Sounds Great!

There might be two more and I will post ASAP about their status...

Thanks!

Just My Bride and I.

See ya Thursday!

I called Hon Kee and told them that we would have a party of about 13 on Thursday at 6:30 (we could probably have more than that). I asked about the Roast Duck and BBQ pork and was told that we could order those dishes without ordering in advance. Since the reservation policy was somewhat casual (although friendly), I will call again on Thursday, but it doesn't seem that there will be a problem.

For those who might want to imbibe along with their duck and pork, Hon Kee does not serve alcohol, but you can BYO. I was told there was no charge for doing so.

Good to know!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Thanks to everyone who attended. I expect the photos will be available soon.

I was very glad to have had the opportunity to dine at Hon Kee. It was the kind of dinner that LTH does so well: allow us to try about a dozen things on the menu in close succession, and with an embarrassing reasonable price ($12, including tax and a large tip). First, the consensus was that Hon Kee, while a worthy dining experience, did not outshine Sun Wah. The difference was particularly noticeable in the barbeque duck. I particularly missed the crispiness of the skin that Sun Wah does so well. And of course Hon Kee lacks Kelly who serves as a cultural translator.

Still, there were several things that made Hon Kee impressive. I particularly enjoyed the three soups. The pork pickled cabbage soup was a particularly pleasant surprise (they do pickling well), as were two noodle soups - won ton and dumpling. The soups were the high point of the meal.

Also on the positive side, the roast pork with crispy skin was tender and crunchy both. And the barbeque pork with scrambled egg was quite good as well. The cuttle fish with salted pickle was an unusual and evocative dish and was worth ordering. Some of the other dishes were more pedestrian, such as granulated beef, green peas with rice, which was reminiscent of a solid Midwest ground beef casserole, and not a molecular cuisine experiment. The curried chicken was rather bland, whereas the prawns and bitter melon were overwhelmed by the very bitter melon.

Hon Kee, being less popular than Sun Wah, is quieter and certainly provides a pleasant, inexpensive meal. I was glad that we didn't stick to traditional favorites, but tried dishes "off the beaten path."

GAF wrote:Also on the positive side, the roast pork with crispy skin was tender and crunchy both. And the barbeque pork with scrambled egg was quite good as well.

These are the two dishes I would return for. The roast pork was pleasantly flavored with five-spice powder, which also made it outshine the somewhat bland duck. And the scrambled eggs were nicely moist.

The company was most pleasant as well. Thanks for organizing, GAF!

After fighting typical Chicago traffic the meal was a delight for My Bride and I. It was great to sample such a wide variety of 'other' items that would of taken months to sample solo.

Great company and plenty of food. Just the way it should be.

Thanks for setting this up!

Hon Kee was a worthwhile last night; if nothing else, it helped me get past my Sun-Wah tunnel vision when it comes to BBQ on Argyle. And it makes me want to try the third Chinese BBQ in the area:

Vinh Phat BBQ
4940 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60640-3865
773-878-8688

I agree with others that the duck didn't quite live up to the high standards of Sun Wah (slightly flabby skin), although I've never met a duck I didn't like.

Hon Kee Roast Duck

I'm not a big soup person, but the dumpling soup was flavorful, with a variety of different textures.

Dumpling Soup

Looks like Ramen noodles you get for 25¢ at the supermarket; tastes so much better:


I thought the roast pork was the highlighlight of the evening - succulent pig, with a great crisp skin.


Pork and egg offered a good textural contrast, too.


The granulated beef didn't do as much for me, but as someone noted, it's a bit novel to see peas in an Asian dish.


I wish I'd gotten a photo of the cuttlefish with salted pickle - maybe someone else has one.

Thanks to GAF for organizing, and best of luck to him with his new book.

I made some good duck fried rice with the leftover duck in nr706's picture above (thanks, folks). I dealt with the flabby skin by separating the skin from the meat and frying cut-small pieces of skin and fat to make duck cracklings (or gribenes) and rendered duck fat to cook my veggies and rice. Family was pretty happy with the results .

Maybe it's just the photo, but the duck looks dry to me.