Doong Kong Lau Hakka - CLOSED

Elite '08

140

343

terrell m.

Seattle, WA

My experience was better than I expected given the dive location and somewhat scary fish that greets you as you walk in the door. Mr. Fish (I didn't catch his real name) is huge and has buggy eyes and appears to be floating in his own excrement. His siblings can be found in a similarly filthy tank near the kitchen.

Once I got used to sitting under the unsettling gaze of the aforementioned fish, I got down to the business at hand.  I perused the super long menu and decided to go with a combo, mostly because I didn't have the patience to read over all 300 menu items. My combo came with won ton soup, shrimp in lobster sauce, fried rice, tea and some pork slices. I would've chosen something from the vegetarian menu, but I didn't see it until after I'd already ordered. It isn't actually part of the real menu, it's a separate piece of paper shoved between a sheet of glass and the table.

My shrimp and rice was very good and I almost polished off the entire plate. I didn't really touch the pork, as I'm not a good judge of what is or isn't considered good Chinese pork. My soup was satisfying too, but I would've been pleased with almost anything warm at that point.

Overall, I would go here again. It is a nice break from the usual crappy places I go to for lunch. I liked the fact that the servers seemed to know most of the people dining. And it was quite crowded inside, which gives me confidence that they're doing something right. The price was quite nice too. With tax and tip included, all three of us ate for about $20.

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Elite '08

172

225

Stephanie P.

Seattle, WA

I don't really believe in getting up before noon on Sundays, but if I do, it has to be with a tangible goal in mind.  Dim sum, for example.  Sitting in a comfy booth while dozens of tiny plates of greasy, nameless food are set in front of me sounds like an ideal use of my time.  So I was happy to discover a dim sum joint more or less in my neighborhood --- i.e., close enough to roll out of bed, put on some sweats, and be stuffing my face within ten minutes.

Doong Kong Lau does use the metal carts (which, I find, are essential to the dim sum experience), but in a weird and kind of inefficient way.  They bring the cart by and you point at what you want, fine; but instead of giving it to you, they line up the plates you selected on the counter and then take them to the back --- to heat them up, I guess?  But then, why bring them out cold?  It just seems cruel to be presented with a delicious array of meaty dumplings, only to have the ones you want spirited away to the kitchen with no explanation while you gaze wistfully after them.

Anyway, once they finally arrive, the dim sum is pretty good.  Their shrimp dumplings were tasty, as were the ribs in black bean sauce.  The hombow was worth getting, but not the best I've ever had, by any stretch.  We didn't try the desserts, but they offered the usual wobbly custard things and some sesame buns.  

If you prefer not to get up until dinnertime on Sundays (a commendable choice), they also serve regular Chinese food during non-dim-sum hours.  They bill it as "Hakka cuisine," and I don't know what that means, but it seems like pretty standard fare.  Their General Tso's chicken is fairly spicy, but the spinach and garlic dish was disappointingly flavorless and limp.  The sizzling rice soup was hearty and full o' meat --- a bowl contained three servings, plenty for two people.  Given how spicy the food is, I wish they had been a little more on top of the drink refills, especially considering that we were there late in the evening and were one of only two tables.

I've had better dim sum, and I've been to more memorable places, but Doong Kong Lau is a solid choice for quick and reasonably priced food.  Dim sum will run you about $10-15 each total, and dinner entrees range from $9-12, with most around $10.  If you agree that getting up before noon is for suckers, and that dim sum is delicious, then grab your sweatpants and head over to Doong Kong Lau this weekend.

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0

10

J P.

Seattle, WA

The new place (open about a year) in this location is excellent!  I'll try to figure out its full name and post a proper review.  Something about bean curd, as I remember.

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Elite '08

56

174

Andrea D.

Seattle, WA

I feel guilty admitting it, but my favorite dish here is a shrimp dish that features canned pineapple and mayonnaise.

Second favorite - the mochi duck. You have to order it a day in advance, and it's oily as a politician, but delicious as can be. Sticky, slightly sweet and salty rice is stuffed inside a deboned duck, which is then deep fried.

Your arteries will not thank you, but your tastebuds will.

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Elite '08

135

529

D.J. Y.

Shoreline, WA

Everyone please, a moment of silence......

The original owners have shuttered the windows of this once fine crown jewel of Chinese cuisine in north Seattle.

Sniff sniff.....

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5

25

Ulric D.

Seattle, WA

My favorite Seattle Chinese restaurant

Their you tiao (chinese crueller) and dou xia su bin (red bean cake) are excellent and the red bean cake is very unique. I've never seen anyone else make it anything like they do.

They are a family run business and very friendly and welcoming. It's like being a friend of the family when you come there to eat.  Which is very cool except that like family it can have its downsides  too. For instance,  they'll often joke around about how they haven't seen us in a while and then the girl I'm with  (who's never been there before) will realize they think she's someone else and then  she's pissed and I have to explain myself out of that one (again).  Hmmm, maybe I need to just keep Doong Kong Lau  in the loop on my dating schedule - but the food and homey atmosphere are great and prices are cheap- reasonable.

And as a bonus  you can always watch the people across the street at Gold's gym working out so its almost like getting a workout yourself while you are chowing down.

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Elite '08

32

383

John H.

San Francisco, CA

Scary neighborhood, but don't let that scare you.  This is some of the better chinese food on the north side, and the service is fast and super friendly.  

As mentioned, the chicken and seafood dishes are the best, although the Mongolian beef was very good.  The sizzling seafood platter was excellent, and the best I've had here so far.

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2

26

Stu S.

Seattle, WA

2/10/2007 -- Yikes, just passed the location and it's become a Salvadoran restaurant. What will I do -- where will I go?

------------------------
Somehow, this great place has two separate entries on Yelp!

See http://www.yelp.com/bi...

A wonderful wonderful restaurant. My sweetie and I have been coming here since we first came to Seattle in 1990, and it is still our favorite Chinese restaurant. We always get a big smile and hello when we come in -- this family-run place is very welcoming, and especially when it's dim sum time.

We introduced our many friends in the science fiction community to the restaurant, and now it's a favorite of theirs too. The large menu embraces the usual suspects of Mandarin and Szechuan cuisines as well as many Hakka specialties. They do duck, seafood, vegetarian dishes and noodles very well. An excellent Peking Duck (order 24 hours in advance).

They have my favorite hot and sour soup too. So is their eggplant with garlic sauce and sauteed string or long beans. We've also had the boneless, stuffed, mochi rice duck; brown and crispy.

It IS handicap accessible (an issue for my sweetie) through the front Aurora Ave N entrance. The parking lot entrance has steps.

Seattle Weekly said: "The flavorful cuisine and massive menu here allow for some serious eating adventures. On weekends, this family-run spot serves not only the familiar cartloads of dumplings, but also the Northern peasant breakfast of scallion pancakes, egg tarts, steamed baby buns, stir-fried rice cakes, boiled dumplings, crullers, and congee."

AOL Cityguide succinctly got it down to: "In the Seattle universe, Aurora Avenue North is the landscape of a mid-20th-century transient culture, and the perfect spot for this purveyor of Haaka cuisine. The Haaka people have been on the move in China for two millennia; the family behind Doong Kong Lau arrived here from Hawaii 15 years ago. What distinguishes Haaka cooking is its amalgamation of almost every other Chinese style -- casseroles and sizzling platters abound, as do stir-fries of various types and spicings. It's heartier than classic Cantonese or Mandarin cuisine; milder than Szechuan; closest to native Formosan cooking, which you never find in the States. Sauces tend to have a hint of sweetness, as in the seafood sizzling platter; the hot-pots are thick and savory. There's even fried chicken, which is an amber-skinned delight magnitudes richer than American versions. Nothing's fancy--a good thing, as the neighborhood would eject it like a virus. Dinner reservations are a good idea; lunch is wide open. -- Eric Lucas "

The Hakka (according to http://asianwind.com) "... are a unique ethnic group of "Han" Chinese originally active around the Yellow River area. They are thought to be one of the earliest "Han" settlers in China. One theory has it that many of the early Hakkas were affiliated with the "royal bloods". The truth may be more complicated than that.  It is highly likely that while Hakka may be a stronghold of Han culture, Hakka people also have married other ethnic groups and adopted their cultures during the long migration history of 2000 years. Due to the infusion of other ethnic groups from the northwest, north and northeast, these original settlers gradually migrated south and settled in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. They were called Hakka by the locals when they first settled in. This term has been used since by non-Hakka and Hakka people, and in international publications. The spelling "Hakka" is derived from the pronunciation in Hakka dialect ( pronounced as "haagga" in Hakka and "kejia" in Mandarin).
Hakka people are noted for their preservation of certain cultural characteristics that could be traced to pre-Qin period (about 2200 years ago) as expressed in the custom, foods, spoken language, etc."  

"Hakka people are also known to be very adamant in defending their cultural heritage, which was the reason for their migration to flee from the "northern" influence at that time. "

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