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"The dim sum is amazing. It's hot, it's plentiful, it's cheap, and most importantly, it's GOOD. There are a few places in the ID that are…" read more »
I'm a big dim sum fan...can eat it any time of the day - so that's why I like Duk Li - they serve (nothing but) dim sum from 7am to 7pm!!!
The selection is small, but the food tastes authentic and good, and relative cheap :) The restaurant is quite small, so big gatherings of family/friends wouldn't work. Unlike larger Chinese restaurants where they push around carts, you order from a menu by indicating the quantity of the entrees you want...great for take-outs!
Yes, this place has the cheapest dim sum in Seattle. Well, I haven't exactly been to EVERY single dim sum joint in town but I'm pretty sure this place is it.
Duk Li deserves five stars because it feels the most authentic out of the other places in Chinatown. The place is tiny, service is crappy and they don't charge tea per person. They're also CASH ONLY. Sounds like Asia to me. But hey, I appreciate a real Chinese dining experience once in awhile. Or twice in a week, I guess. (My mom was visiting Seattle from Maryland and she LOVED this place.)
The menu doesn't have very many items but simplicity is good. Everything is so freaking cheap too. I think their thousand year old egg + shredded pork congee is like $2.50. AND it's a HUGE flavorful bowl unlike other places where you have to pour pepper in to add more taste. LOVE IT.
Their buns are definitely cheap, I noticed a lot of people come in and out just to buy their buns. Their dim sum is also very tasty. The shrimp in the ha gow is SO FRESH... YUMMY. They're generally pretty quick about serving the dishes too.
One more thing, their steamed radish (or is it turnip?) cake is really good too. It's also a huge portion. Anyway, bottom line is, the first time my mom and I came here, our bill was like $16 or something and we ordered like 5-6 items. We were definitely greedy. The second time, there were five of us and the bill was like $32... that's about $6 per person , everyone was full and there were leftovers to spare! Need I say more? EAT AT DUK LI INSTEAD OF WAITING FOREVER AT JADE GARDEN.
This is the cheapest dim sum place in Seattle, and one of the best.
While some reviewers here will give it just-ok marks for quality, it excels compared to all the major Chinese restaurants in the area (with the exception of Jade Garden).
There is no better value - the hom bow are fantastic, the rice rolls are moist and fresh, the congee is quality.
The only, *only* reason I only give it four stars is that so much of the menu tends to be sold out later in the day.
Names can be misleading. In this case, Duk Li Dim Sum sounds as though they do dim sum and they do it well (or else why dub your restaurant that name). Unfortunately, their dim sum is just ok.
But what is more than ok are their CHEAP BUNS! My favorite is their bbq pork bun (which are baked, with a sweet glaze on top). Seriously, go here and get a bun - you won't be disappointed!
One of the great things about dim sum is that it is generally so inexpensive, I don't tend to "value" shop for alternatives. But if I did, Duk Li would be a top choice.
Though small, there were plenty of seats available on a morning where the line wrapped around outside my usual dim sum favorite haunt. Duk Li appeared clean and the staff were efficient, with two exceptions: reports from my roving crack reviewers (7 and 10 years old) claimed the bathroom "stunk"; and our humbows seemed to have been created in the streets of Shanghai, with attendant wait.
Having said that, they were the highlight of a meal that was pretty good, but not great. Shumai and spareribs were very nice, steamed gyoza were weak and over garlicked. Rice rolls with cilantro were also only OK. The "footballs", however, were great.
Despite all the unevenness, a man can forgive a lot when the total bill for a well fed family of four totals out at $17.10.
OK 7am Dim Sum - WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus the prices are right. This is how it should be. Steamed ribs were good. Shu Mi was above average. Had the Congee with salted egg. Spring rolls were pretty good. Sticky rice was average but really good.
The fact that I can get a good hot Chinese breakfast for two people for less then $10 makes me so happy. Overall they use a bit too much MSG but hey this is the real deal.
The staff was much friendlier then the place next door even though we were the only ones in there who weren't Chinese.
Don't come to this place expecting great service, a large expansive menu, squeaky-clean environment or a lovely ambience.
Do come here to get cheap, quality dim sum, sweet pastries, hot baos and tasty other dishes.
The best dish here is the pork spare ribs with rice. The small morsels of pork and sauce you get in this dish is absolutely worth the wait if you have to. They tend to run out of this fairly quickly and often.
You can eat like a king here for under five bucks. Don't let the busy, usually crowded small restaurant scare you. Get in there and wait your turn and just enjoy the food, folk and staff.
I would dine-in and take-out at Duk Li Dim Sum. This restaurant emphasizes on the customary selection of steamed and baked tapas-like Hong Kong specialties. The prices are so right for the 2009 budgeted pockets. Open for business from 7 AM to 7 PM. Closed on Tuesday. Since the items are of somewhat small portion, please eat and leave so that other customers could be seated after you.
This was our first dim sum, and yayy! I'm a fan! This place seemed safe enough, with large menus posted with clear English, and nice photos of a lot of the dishes. So it wasn't too scary walking in. ;)
The prices were really low, so we ordered close to the entire menu, ha! We didn't realize the portions would be so generous; our table was covered with dishes of new things to try. And I have to say, I really liked just about everything we got. The dumplings were good, the "salty chicken rice" was reeeally tasty (and salty! :D), and I LOVED every type of "bun" we got. The pork buns were just insanely delicious.
I tried chicken feet for the first time, and hrmm... those were weird. But I have nothing to compare it to, and was very aware that I had a foot in my mouth. But it was fun to try, and super cheap!
We also ordered 3 or 4 desserts, all VERY tasty. The egg tart was really nice, and the pineapple bun was super sweet and yummy. I don't recall a ton of pineapple flavor, but it was really good.
So this was a really great experience. And it doesn't hurt that we got an entire TABLE of food for less than $30 for the 2 of us. Awesome. We'll be back!
*I added some photos of some of the dishes on here. :)
I've been here 3 times in the month. Such a nice family feeling about the place. Twice, the older lady got my order wrong...but who can blame her..she has a great smile and you have to be patient with us old folks!
Besides, both times she brought me something that I probably wouldn't have ordered, and ended up loving. I ordered the steamed rice noodles with bbq pork and she brought them with shrimp. The best I've tasted. The only thing I didn't like was the steamed turnip cake. Most dim sum places quickly fry it so it has a crispy crust, but they steam in in a very large container and slide it out on the plate. My palate didn't care for that. I especially like the egg tarts and the coconut donut/humbow thingies. Mmmmmm. My tummy happy when I leave Duk Li!
So far, I've been here twice to pick up some egg tarts, roast pork buns, and a pineapple bun.
I've eaten my fair share of the above in my lifetime as I grew up in Chinatown in NYC for the early half of my life. When my family first moved out here, I was sadly disappointed by the number of bakeries in Chinatown and the quality of the items. I was also shocked at the prices as buns in NYC were about 50 cents each over ten years ago. They were about 80 cents here. Lack of competition.
Through the years, there have been a few more bakeries added to the mix. I was glad to see Duk Li jump in with fresh baked pastries and the prices are cheap. Egg tarts and buns were both 60 cents each. I would probably say that the egg tarts were more worth it. The egg custard was just right. I thought the tart portion was alright, but that's because I favor the flaky crust. The buns were nice and fluffy, but the contents of the bun was a little lacking. I think I had a few small bits of roast pork spread in a very thin layer inside of the bun I ate. Most of my inside consisted of air. My coworker ate the pineapple bun, which contained a custard filling. However, that custard filling was also on the thin side.
Yes, I would go back because the price is right. You kind of get what you pay for (considering that buns at some of the other bakeries are over $1) and it is tasty.
Duk Li is one of my new favorite spots in the ID. The space is a bit small and the dim sum options are a bit limited. Unlike the other dim sum restaurants around, they strictly serve dim sum. All of the items are priced excellently as no dish costs more than $2.25. You can order some individual items by the piece including several buns and egg tarts!
Going back to the limited items, they seem to focus on the classic dim sum items like shu mai and har gao, as opposed to pea pod dumplings. Of their options, I would recommend their dumplings, look funn (rice noodle), rice bowls. The turnip cake was good too. It came as a surpise the first time I ordered it since I thought I was going to get some fried pieces of turnip cakes, but instead got a globlike cube. But it is all good, just add some chili oil.
Parking in the ID is a pain, so public transportation would be preferable in getting here, especially weekend mornings and sports gamedays. Oh and one big thing to note, this is a cash only establishment so bring the ka-ching.
+2 stars for ridiculously cheap prices ($1.80 per dish)
+1 star for being able to order individual items ($0.60 each)
Other than that, everything is just ok. The only thing that I really liked was the deep fried glutinous rice dumplings and that was because it was fried.
Stay away from the turnip cake. It's like a brick of flour.
This place is tiny and they don't do the traditional dim sum carts. You mark how many of each item you want on a checklist. The upside is the food arrives quickly and piping hot. Most items are priced at either $2.00 for 4 or $.60 each which is convenient for odd numbered groups. The menu is very small for a dum sum joint (30 items total and nothing deep fried) but everything we sampled was excellent. I'd pretty much given up on Shu Mai years ago but they're done well here.
The service here was fantastic and very friendly. They had no trouble accommodating the payment arrangement we came up with for our group of six. They also didn't seem to mind when I asked if we could cancel an order we were still waiting on when everyone was already full.
Not so many choices... :( Super cheap!! 2 people, 10 dishes, 18 bucks, including tip. Service so-so :-s, it's best if you have some Chinese friend to go with. The place is not so clean. I enjoyed watching the flies flying over my head, quite fun :)
I had been curious about Duk Li thanks to Yelpers, and got a chance to try it when we arrived in the ID one wintry day.
The first thing that struck me is cost. We ordered seven plates of dim sum and the bill came to $14.70. That is the lowest I've seen in this area. You can get your dim sum from 7am - 7pm (closed on Tues?) and everything is served hot & fresh. That last point is really welcome - since they don't push carts, baked and fried items are much hotter than usual.
We ordered siu mai, shrimp rolls, pork rolls (with veggies), baked pork buns, steamed chicken buns and fried spring rolls. Seven plates of food (2 of one plate), and the bill came to just $14.70.
The quality is overall decent - the baked and steamed buns have incredibly light and tasty dough, and the flavor of the chicken bun is excellent. The spring rolls were fresh & tasty. As for the pork bun filling - not a lot of it and I prefer it less sweet. Between our three diners, the siu mai and shrimp rolls were just OK. The pork rolls were decent - I liked the sharp taste of the veggies but the tapioca dough was a little too much. Service is good, not steller, but above a typical outing at Jade Garden.
Bottom line, this is pretty good. They get points for cost, consistency and flexibility (you can order 1 or 2 items if you don't want a whole plate of something). Taste is in the tongue of the beholder - some will really like Duk Li; others will prefer other options. Either way, you could do far, far worse. (BTW, cash only here)
I liked this place. I had standard shrimp dim-sum, pork shu-mai, and BBQ pork buns. All were piping hot and good. No it's not Jade Garden in taste, but it's not packed like sardines brinking on chaos either. If that's the experience you want, go for it. The bill was very reasonable for food quantity. This is a good 2nd option compared to China gate, Purple Dot, or Four Seas for sure.
I will really miss the Pork Chop Rice at Sandie's RIP.
However the new Duc Li Dim Sum restaurant is great! Clean flavors. Where some dim sum places are oily or are questionable, the dim sum here tastes fresh and hand made.
Case in point, the shrimp noodle dish's noodles had a slightly chewier consistency. I think Hong Kong Restaurant still has the best though.
The Shumai were very good and didn't have the discoloration of the wrapper that is indicative of having been strolled around for a few hours.
The Ribs had a very nice flavor and I think I tasted tea leaves?
The Steamed radish cake...this may be my favorite thing when I go out to eat Dim Sum, was fantastic! Some people pan sear a side, other places skimp, but this towering steaming loaf of steamed radish or daikon was the best I've ever had.
Service can be spotty from the single server (probably the owners daughter) and the menu is written up on a board and can be hard to see, but everything we had was tasty and cheap. No carts here, you figure out your order from reading what's on the board and wait for your items to be delivered to your table.
How cheap you may ask? We had 6 dishes + 10 baked bbq buns to share with people at the office and the total came out to under $20! We left the server a nice tip since she was doing a great job of serving, translating, and busing tables. Totally over worked but friendly and helpful.
If you've tried Jade Garden or one of the other 15 other Dim Sum places in Seattle, you'd do worse than to try out Duc Li's before the rest of the city figures it out and start massive lines out the door.
I just went again today... it seems to me maybe because of the competition... things are better. Quality is better and portions are pretty consistent. Two Thumbs up!
I liked it in the beginning, but I sort of hate it now. Cause over time, their portions shrunk on… Read more »
I am a firm believer of supporting small businesses, and this is one that you should definitely invest your money in. Their Dimsum portions are HUGE! and they taste really yummy. The people there are really nice. I ordered a large order for my birthday party, and the lady there gave me a nice baked humbow for free and greeted me happy birthday. She was so welcoming! The place is kind of small, but that's okay. If i were to improve one thing about this place, I'd make more variety in their menu, but... I'd choose quality over quantity. Everyone, go here! Support small businesses, our economy is in a sucky recession, so let's get our money circulating in smaller establishments like this one!
Good selection of cheap, authentic Dim Sum. Various desserts (cakes/pastries) as well as a few rice dishes. They give you a list of dim sum and the food arrived very quickly ( less than 5 minutes for all the food ).
We came; we sat; we left. The place has no charm and it was really cold (not figuratively). They have no carts for the dim sum and the menu is puny. There's no way we could choose dim sum without seeing and asking about it. I'll forsake cheap for a bit more of what I really want in a dim sum experience.
My mom and I visited Chinatown and we came across this place. We ordered Ha Gow (4), Shu Mai (4), 2 chicken steamed buns, and a large container of congee to-go. Total = $7.50! What a deal. It's small & they only accept cash.
This place is pretty good for cheap and fast delicious dim sum.I like the chicken feet(I like them anywhere)and the spare ribs.also everything else was good too!But the restaurant is a little bit small so it can get crowded but lucky for me the times I went it wasn't busy : )
This place rocks! The quality of the food is top-notch, but the prices are very low. My friend and I gorged ourselves for $19 for the both of us. From the rice congee to the shu mai to the shrimp dumplings, everything was great. As a bonus the people were very friendly and service was actually pretty decent. I highly recommend this place over the other dim sum options in the area!
Also, as a note, "Duc Li" is not the correct name for this establishment. It's called "Duk Li Dim Sum".
This place was great! Siu Mai and Ha Gow were fresh with large chunks of shrimp in them, radish cake was melt-in-your-mouth, and egg custard tart was big and delicious. Nothing fancy on the menu, but everything I had was good. Super cheap, too (I stuffed myself for $7+tip).
We went here based on fellow Yelpers and walking by one evening while we were on our way to Canton Wonton Noodle House. So anyways, we decided to do have some Dim Sum, it just seemed like a great morning to have it. Walking by, and about to walk in, we saw a sign on the cashier area that said CASH ONLY. Yes you read it right, this place only accepts cash. So hubby and I walked and then decided to walk over to Wamu to get some cash, and we walked back to Duc Li. Duc Li, is in a small place, only holding about 8 tables. There are about 2 round tables to hold 6 people, and the rest are 4 tops. The atmosphere and ambiance is not much, but it has it's own quirks. There is a board to let you know what they have, and they also give you a laminated menu too. You order off a piece of paper by marking the quantity . No carts. Since they were pretty busy , we marked our items off and the hubby took up the paper to the cashier since they seemed overwhelmed. Within 5 mintues, we got our order of Har Gow, Shui Mai (two orders each), they were good, and tasted fresh. The fillings were pretty decent. The shu mai wasn't greasy or heavy feeling. Then came out our turnip and taro cake! WOW, these things were big and shaped like a mini sand bucket. It wasn't cut into a square and fried. IT was actually steamed. These two dishes were some of my favorites too. SO good. We also had the steamed rice which had such a nice flavor thanks to being cooked broth and ginger, with salted chicken. The chicken was pretty good and flavorful. We also ordered sweet rice cakes or what I know as Banh Bo (in vietnamese), and two egg custard tarts. The rice cake was good and fresh. Finally out came the steamed shrimp rice roll. Like June said, the consistency is chewier but none the less very good. I wish there was more of the sweet soy sauce, but that's my preference. My hubby's favorite was the BBQ baked bun, he liked the glossy sweet coating on top. I didn't get to try it, but he said it was delicious. We got to try some cripsy rice dumpling with pork,but don't remember the name. We had enough food for leftovers!!! We took home enough for another meal. For our big feast for two ( and I am talking feast) was about $25!! That is hard to beat. The food was all freshly made and service was cordial and fast.
They offer congee, chicken feet, and others too. We were too full to get anymore.
If you are looking to go here here are some helpful tips:
* This is a cash only establishment, bring CASH
* Once you finish marking your items, you can bring it up to the front, this is helpful if it is crowded
* Arrive around 11:00 to ensure you get a spot
*They close at 7:00p.m. and CLOSE on Tuesdays
* This is very much a Mom and Pop joint, not your usual , big fan fare dim sum.
*Some items start at 60 cents up to I think 2.00 being the most. Cheap eats!
* If you need a quick Dim Sum fix, they do take out too!
Enjoy!
On our search for tasty Asian food delights, we came across this restaurant with great reviews. We had a mission, to go to Seattle this weekend to quench our craving for a hot steaming Szechuan Noodle Bowl. So we park, walk a block around the corner, see the red store front sign, and walk in. We are soon seated and given tea, so everything is pretty status quo. Then we're asked what we wanted, we order a Szechuan Noodle Bowl and a Green Onion Pancake, only to later receive a beef cheung fun and a green onion bun. hhmmm...was there a slight miscommunication?? My husband stands up and walks up to the front which is busy with orders. So I look around the room noticing that everything is dim sum, so I get up to call him back to sit down. "I think we're in the wrong place." Slightly embarrassed, we sit down and eat or order. Our waitress was concerned and asked if something was wrong or if we wanted to order more food. We decided to give this place a shot so we ordered the usual fare of dim sum: Haw Gao and Sui Mi. As we looked outside, we noticed that they were literally hanging up their grand opening sign for Duc Li's Dim Sum. We finished our meal, paid and laughed as we left the restaurant on how we walked into Sandie's and left from Duc Li's. The food was not what we expected, but it was decent for a small dim sum cafe. I give it 5 stars for the whole experience. On any other day, I'd give it 3.5-4 stars for its fast service and decent pricing for the food.
But we're still desperately in search for a good spicy beef noodle bowl. :(
This is NOT quality dim sum.. its cheap for a reason. i would suggest you head over to jade garden and pay th extra dollar or two for way better food and variety.. The skin on the steam shrimp ha gao is like a centimeter thick..EW..and its filled with a dab if this mushy crisco-like shrimp filling.. i really didn't like the way i had this waxy greasy coating in my mouth after eating them. I prefer my dumplings to have pieces of actual shrimp in them. I also ordered the cilantro rice roll which was the most decent thing i ordered. The turnip cake was DISGUSTING. it looks like big clay blob you could throw at someones big head.
dammit! mom dukes been holding out on me again! i just found out bout this place and asked my mom about it. i guess she's been coming here since they first opened up and actually gets take out there all the time cause she luvs it but didn't ever tell me bout it. d*mn you!!! i luvs the dim sums! haha. anyways, this place is tiny! they used to be sandie's gourmet but have (thankfully) remodelled it and now it's a bright, but a lil generic looking, dim sum spot in chinatown. i went on a late saturday afternoon with my buddy, his wife, and his father-in-law who just happened to be visiting them. menu selection is like the restaurant, small but has all the necessities. everything steamed to order and with the quickness too so it gets to you crazy hot still. we had several orders of each of the following to make up in quantity what they lacked in variety - har gow, shiu mai, chicken feets (which were OUTSTANDING!), taro cake, turnip (actually daikon) cake (please note the last 2 were both steamed, they don't offer the pan fried variety), sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf (that wasn't on the order sheet you fill out but on the menu), ha chong fun, and a couple other things i don't remember. they were outta the spare rib over rice which bummed me out but i understand if i come in late in the day stuff sells out. haha. out the door we were lookin' at about $12+ per person which ain't bad! i can't wait to go back.
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Barbeque
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Dim Sum
Seattle, WA
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Seafood
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