So, you’ve tried Nam Kee and were underwhelmed (except, possibly, by the oysters); you’ve checked out Kam Kee and were even less whelmed (that is surely a word, right?); and then everyone told you that actually you should have been at Wing Kee all along. Sound familiar? Ok, just me then…
Another post-koopavond (Thursday night shopping) trip led me back to Chinatown, and this time I was adamant that the third Kee would fit. And it did – sort of. The roast pork was jaw-tinglingly crispy of skin and steeped in five-spice flavour. The stir-fried veges tasted surprisingly good (and kept their bite) despite the pond of beige MSG-thickened sauce.
I was less impressed by the King Bo spareribs, which were deep fried and a bit too sweet on the sweet-and-sour spectrum for me. The roast duck also paled in comparison to the pork… But then came the crunch: “Can we get two beers please?” “No, we don’t serve alcohol.” Oh, the horror.
Two glasses of water and €32 later (paid in cash, as they didn’t have a pin machine either – “No beer?! No pin machine?!” cried the Honey Badger in disbelief, no doubt wondering why he always lets me pick the restaurant), we headed to Molly Malone’s to debrief over an Irish beer.
The verdict? Probably the best of the three Kees for food (especially the roast pork) but alcoholics need not leave the comfort of their wine rack to make the trip…
