Yung Kee Restaurant

1/18/2025 Time: 3:30 PM 53° Cool, sunnyOakland Chinatown has its Chinese Lunar New Year Bazaar this weekend. After walking around to visit the many vendors, I decided to have lunch at Yung Kee on the corner of 9th & Webster Streets.One of my friends has dined here and recommended this restaurant for lunch. After perusing the menu, the choices were narrowed to chicken congee or shrimp and scrambled eggs over rice. The congee would have been good and the weather was cool. However, the last time I had shrimp and scrambled eggs over rice was at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco near my job in the Civic Center area over 12 years ago.Eats: shrimp and scrambled eggs over rice and a pot of hot tea. Drizzled with some soy sauce, my dish was delicious. The hot tea was perfect, flavorful and soothing when I drank about 5 cups. This was total comfort food and beverage that I almost doze off in the restaurant. For $15, it was a good deal. The only drawback was one of the employees was mopping the floor when I was eating my lunch. I will return in the future to have lunch again. I might even order food to go for dinner.

Yung Kee has been around in Oakland Chinatown for decades. Pre-COVID it was also open late for dependable late night eats, however that hasn't been the case for a while. It's a nice family that runs it.Yung Kee has the classic Hong Kong/Cantonese restaurant.I've had their bbq (roast pork, bbq pork, roast duck, etc.) before over rice which has been tasty and not too salty.I've also had their noodles, including their Tomato Beef Pan Fried Noodles which are saucy and crispy at the same time.Their staff works hard and turns around orders within a reasonable timeframe.People get takeout and there is some seating inside. They used to have an upstairs, I hope their business grows back to being able to offer the upstairs.

We were wanting to get some Chinese roast pork (pork belly) before we headed home, and we came across this shop and decided to give it a try. So we got about 1.5 pounds of their roast pork, which was quite delicious and tasty. Flavor was spot on, and the meat was pretty tender and juicy. The skin on the pork was still crunchy but, since we bought it at around 3 PM, it wasn't as crunchy as if we had bought it earlier in the day. But, regardless, it was still delicious. Price as of September of 2024 was either $16 or $17 per pound, I can't fully recall. So, I think the price was reasonable and decent.

Good food but pricey for a hole in the wall spot in Oakland Chinatown.I came here for lunch Saturday afternoon around noon and expected it to be busy. Surprisingly it was almost empty with only one other diner.I seated myself as the sole employee in the restaurant didn't look up or acknowledge me as I walked in and stood around for ~30 seconds. No one else came out from the back either until a few minutes later.Menus were already placed at some of the tables, so I grabbed one to peruse. They have a huge selection of rice and noodle dishes. I went with the barbecue duck leg and wonton in noodle soup for $15.15.My noodle came out within 10 minutes, which was pretty quick. Both the duck leg and the wontons were delicious and the noodles have the springiness to them that I expected, so food was good. I just don't know if it's worth the price as after tax and tip it was close to $19 for the bowl. It initially didn't look like that much food, but I was stuffed by the time I finished eating and didn't get that hungry even around dinnertime, so portions are good here.While I was eating, a bunch of customers came in to buy their bbq duck and pork to go, among other things. It costs $35 for a whole duck, and both the bbq pork and roast pork costs ($15.95/lb) at the time of this review. I haven't bought bbq duck in a while, but man prices have really gone up!This is a hole in the wall spot. Tables looked and felt a bit sticky when I touched them. The menu looked dirty. So know what you're in for if you're planning to dine here.

Yung kee has some good fried rice. Very tasteful. Very fulfilling. Their BBQ pork is mummy too. Well seasoned and great bbq taste. Looks can be deceiving but as a true helper and leaving reviews this place has good food. I haven't had any other menu items in awhile besides the fried rice and BBQ pork. But my other half likes the roasted pork. The lady and guy in the front are nice and kind. If you're looking for some good Chinese food give them a try. Like the portions that they give out too.

I had the Won Ton & Barbecued Duck Noodle, where the combination of wonton, duck, and noodles was great. The broth was clear and didn't leave that overly salty aftertaste. The Barbecued Duck Rice was also delicious, with tender duck that paired well with the rice. However, the Fried Cabbage fell short of expectations--it looked fried but tasted like boiled cabbage. Additionally, waiting 20 minutes for these simple dishes was a letdown. Yung Kee accepts cash only, so be prepared.

Just a short update from my review last year - in person dining is available. Be mindful that this is a very small space - maybe 6 small tables - so it can be busy. Takeout seems like a more popular option but I like to sit here and eat. They also sell bbq pork and Peking duck if you want something to take home for dinner! They cut and package it up for you!

Reviewing again! My previous review needs to be redeemed! I love this place! It always bring back memories especially considering my mom went here while she was young. Their duck is always so juicy and flavorful. My go-to place for sure. At this point the owners knows our usual owners before asking us. Ask for their duck sauce while you're at it, it enhances the flavor even more!

Huge portions that'll definitely hit the spot. Detailed breakdown below:**Service, 5/5** Nothing fancy, but they're efficient. They seated a big group of us, got us all hot tea, and all our food came out within 20 minutes. **Price & portion, 5/5** All the rice plates were huge and piled with glistening BBQ. With most dishes priced at about $12 and the most expensive thing on the menu at $16.90, you'll definitely fill up and might even have enough rice to bring home for lunch the next day.**Taste of the food, 4.5/5**- Duck leg and wonton soup with wide noodles, 4.5/5: The broth was light but had great flavor and the wontons were juicy and packed full of meat. The duck leg was perfectly fatty, had phenomenal flavor, and was really well seasoned. The rice noodles themselves were just alright, so I'll probably go for a rice plate next time.- Duck and roast pork rice plate, 4.5/5: The duck was amazing, and chili oil added to the plate gave everything a savory and spicy kick. The roast pork was juicy and had great flavor but the skin wasn't crispy.**Other notes** Cash only. Free street parking in the evenings or a parking garage near the library that's only $3/hour and pretty safe. Hours on here might not be accurate so maybe call to check if they're open if you plan on coming after 6pm.

I decided to explore Oakland Chinatown a bit more after discovering Shandong restaurant last week. This restaurant is another one that looks intimidating from the outside but has decent reviews.The inside is very small with very few seatings. I believe most people order to-go from here than actually dinning here. The restaurant takes cash only, which is very annoying since I rarely even carry wallet anymore after getting used to Apple Pay. Luckily I was prepared and had some cash on me.The food was alright but not outstanding. I was happy to find some exotic dishes that I couldn't find in other Chinese restaurants such as pig tongue. The fried rice was very oily and the noodle tasted instant.I probably won't return unless I want to to-go some exotic dishes.