Ming Kee Restaurant

I live in the neighbor and have been here for many times. The food is 4 – 5 stars. However the service is only 1 star. They speak to customers in a impatient manner in store or by the phone. They told me I can call to order in advance and pick up when I get off from work. Today, I called to order at 6pm and let them know I would pick it up before they close at 7pm. They said they won’t wait for me because they can sell the last two ducks to others and close the store earlier than 7pm. So what’s the point to call to order? They don’t know or don’t want to develop long term customers.

If you like chinese bbq, i would recommended this place. Their roast duck is the bomb. The meat is nice and juice. The skin is crisp.

I ordered pork and soy chicken lunch box. The chicken was Stinky. I told the female boss (The old lady) she was so rude. She had very Terrible service. I won’t go back anymore. I suggest health department should come to check this restaurant because many students and workers buy lunch here often.

I’m a student of City College at Ocean. I always come here for lunch since I really like Chinese food, especially in the cold and rainy day. I give five starts based on their yummy food and affordable price. Even though the environment is not so nice. I like their roast duck so much! To me their roast duck and chicken are number one in the city.
The service is pretty quickly. If you want to take out, you have to wait in line, otherwise you just need to have a seat and wait for ordering your meal. So far, food to go, only the chicken legs and dirk wings are kind too much soft and too much less salted, others are pretty taste.
By the way, no tip is required if you eat there. That’s pretty cool! You also can call to order your meal!

Went and order a box of duck over rice to go, Ming Kee asked me what I want again, I told him I wanted duck over rice to go. He said I don’t understand you, so I said how do you like
me to explain, draw a duck over the while rice. He went quite. I go there when he is not there, if he is tired then he should work in the kitchen. Poor customer service…

Ok. This review is for the BBQ pork (char Sui). I was searching for a place where I can get some really good meats that was from a clean place with a health score higher than 80. Lol– I hate walking into a place where they chop meat and the environment is a bit sketchy.
Any who, I have to say-​the BBQ pork here is really, really, really good! I couldn’t stop eating it. I bought 2 small slabs of it and ate it– fat and all. Yum !
I will be heading back for the Peking duck and their soy sauce chicken. Can’t wait !

This place has the best soy sauce chicken. Every time we are going to SF, we will find a way to stop by this place to order soy sauce chicken to take home. We like their cold duck tongues, wings and feet as well. We have been going there over 20 year and never make you disappointed.

If you want quick, simple, affordable, huge rice plates with duck, chicken, and Bbq pork piled on top, then this place is a must see. It took no more than 5 mins for us to get our food. All the meats were absolutely delicious, especially eaten with large scoops of white rice! Fed 5 for under $ 50. And, we were on our way, albeit a little heavier, within 35 mins. It’s no wonder these people have a continuous line going out the door. Interior décor was not a priority, but that makes the food taste that much better. NOTE: If you think Pandas is good Chinese, then this place is not for you.

Came here for lunch and got the roast duck to go. Service was fast, though you could have some problems ordering if you don’t speak any Chinese! The roast duck was delicious and fatty! Definitely a great alternative to Cheung Hing if you live near here and don’t want to drive that far! Though the duck is pretty good, the price was a bit expensive for the amount of duck they gave me. Which leads me to docking off one star. Other than that, great place to grab takeout!

My family used to purchase whole ducks from here on a regular basis. Their booming business hasn’t changed, but I feel their quality has slightly. The plates range from $ 7-​$ 9 roughly, though the chicken and duck pieces given are more bony and meaty. Maybe I’ll request for more meaty parts as other reviewers have mentioned. $ 20 for an entire duck though?! I can definitely get cheaper elsewhere and for a bigger duck as well. Too bad as I used to love their duck growing up. Also, the duck is a bit too salty now for my taste.
This is more of a to-​go place. If you choose to dine in, don’t expect much service, especially during peak dining hours. Street parking around the area is decent. All in all, decent to get your craving fixed if you don’t want to venture to the sunset!

Pros
Good duck
Good chicken
Good pork
Cons
Almost $ 20 for a duck, WTFuc
Rice plates not cheap
Service cutters grumpy
Quit cutting in front of me in line, lady A-​moo
Place was better before it burned down. Now it’s more expensive and less friendly. Food still makes it happen.

This place is insanely delicious. I don’t even like Chashu and this place has me constantly thinking about whether I can cop an order before they sell out. Not to mention that their ginger sauce is off the hook.

I LOVE IT. It has the best CHASHU I have had compared to other places. I ate the whole CHASHU on my own. I couldn’t stop eating it! I LOVE IT. I ordered #1, the Chashu & Chicken Plate.
CHASHU: the meat is freshly roasted. I can tell because it is not hard and dry. The meat is quite flushed and soft so this is good meat. The honey glazed on top is pretty good. It can be a bit more because certain parts of the meat is sweeter than some. But definitely it is good because most places will roast it… leave it there… no one buys… then re-​roast to make it hot again. That makes the meat dry + more dry and the honey is kind of no more. MING KEE makes it good :)
Chicken: The chicken is not too dry either which is pleasant to me. I usually do not eat chicken very much but this is quite delicious, especially that ginger sauce they make.
THUMBS UP! TRY IT!

This place use to be excellent in terms of the meat they sell. Since the place burned down, the owners moved to Irving St and recently relocated back to Ocean Avenue.
For some reason, the products are not as good as it use to be but still better than most spots when it comes to BBQ pork, soy sauce chicken, quail, regular chicken and duck! All the meats are flavorful and tender!
This is great place for take out meats to bring home and enjoy but there are seating for people who choose to eat there. Although most of their business comes from customers who buy to go more than sit down service.
They are pretty well known for their chicken and bbq pork and most of the time sells out before dinner time. They are also a bit pricier than most bbq pork places but thats because their quality is better.
Be careful especially on special holidays, they tend to sell out even faster!
Also be careful to phone in orders, I have been there in line and here many customers complain that they phone in order but their order was given to other customers.
Tip: try to get there before 7pm since most nights they sell out of certain meats.

Came here because after watching The God of Cookery by Stephen Chow, I crave for the same 黯然销魂饭(barbecued pork over rice), hahaha.
I was seated pretty quickly at 1pm on a Saturday. Barbecued pork was good, not too sweet like a lot of other places, it comes with vegies on the side, I was full after finishing it and satisfied.
Now that I have been here a couple more times, I think it deserves four stars.

Praised by some of my mother’s friends as one of the best butcher shops in SF (competition would be fierce among all the options in Chinatown, Sunset, and Richmond district), I figured I’d fulfill my filial and Unilocal duties by actually giving this place a try.
Prices are a little higher (I believe) than some other butcher places, but I’m more than willing to pay extra for the cleanliness and sanitary interior of this place. A whole chicken was 18.00 and half a roasted duck was 8.50, both butchered for me on the spot.
The chicken was juicy and tender, excellent on its own, but what really brought this over the top was the minced-​pureed garlic/​ginger dipping sauce it came with. The sauce was amazing, scrumptious paired with the chicken or even just mixed with rice. (makes more sense why they would charge extra if additional «concoction» was requested– since it was offered as an option for me, but I kindly declined)
The roasted duck was equally delicious (although way more fatty– dripping with oil). Highly recommend microwaving this for 30 seconds or so for the extra grease to come out before consuming. Overall, equally impressed by the goods and hygienics of Ming Kee.

They don’t have roast pork! My family and I came and each got a rice plate, can substitute the rice for egg noodles in soup. I had the soy sauce princess chicken and duck combo. Comes with the ginger onion side and cooked lettuce. Pretty good but I got a lot of bones. Tried the bbq pork and it was really moist, would get that next time. There are always people in line ordering take out.

Whenever I need something quick and flavorful for dinner, I can usually depend on Ming Kee deli.
My fave go-to’s are the soy sauce chicken and bbq pork.
This place is definitely more of a traditional Chinese deli. For those who are squeamish, just know that the head and feet are still attached to the ducks and chickens before serving. For those who are a bit more adventurous, they do sell boiled chicken feet by the pound.
Their line moves quickly. Service is pretty straightforward; not necessarily rude and not necessarily polite either. I guess you can kind of relate it to the Soup Nazi in the regimented way you have to order your food. I would recommend that indecisive people should not approach the counter until absolutely ready to order. I would hate to infuriate the stone-​faced man with the meat cleaver behind the glass case. Yowzas!
Point at what you want, bada bing bada boom, and you’re off to the register. There’s plenty of seating for dine-​in patrons. Prices are very reasonable. Orders usually come out to approximately $ 10. Keep in mind that this place is ca$h money onlyyyy.

Still my favorite joint for Chinese roasties.
I was heartbroken when the fire burned em down two years ago. I slowly watched em rebuild from the ground up. MK had a temporary location on Irving during the remodel.
I’ve been coming here for ages. First, I don’t like char siu (Chinese BBQ pork). In fact, I hate char Siu baos (BBQ pork buns). Ming Kee’s char Siu is the only one I eat. Sounds snobbish of me but it’s true. They’ve got the marinade on lock. Only problem with MK is consistency ever since they reopened.
Secondly, I love their chicken. Soy sauce chicken, yellow hair chicken YUM. Extra ginger scallion sauce for me. I could eat that ginger scallion sauce with a bowl of rice on its own. You know what else? I don’t even actually like chicken!
If you’re in luck and MK has roast goose available, you should get it because it’s DAMN GOOD. Just the right amount of meat, fat, grease etc. mmmmmm. This is a rare thing though and it depends on availability.
Sometimes there’s a long line, especially before dinner. It’s best to plan on getting there a couple hours before the rush and taking it home for dinner. This also will most likely get you the better pieces and cuts of roasties. If not, it’s slim pickins for ya!

*Sits down at a table*
Lady #1: «We don’t serve chow mein here.»
Me *thinking*: «What the phuck – do I have ‘I want chow mein’ written on my forehead?’»
*Placed order with Lady #2*
Lady #1 yells at Lady #2 in canto: «The yellow free range chicken costs $ 2 more, ask the American couple if they still want it.»
Me: «Yes, that’s fine» to Lady #2.
*Received our rice plates*
Me: «Excuse me, we also ordered the chai siu, the neck portion.»
Lady #1 yells at Lady #2 in canto: «Tell the American couple it’s more expensive for that cut; it’s $ 8, ask them if they still want it.»
Dayam yo, not only do I look like an «American» (I’m ¾ths Chinese) but I look like a cheap American that wants chow mein?
*Le Sigh*
OTHER NOTES:
*Expect a line out the door on the weekends with aggressive and pushy customers. Beware of line cutters.
*Ming Kee (formerly named Happy Bakery & Deli) reopened last week after burning down from a fire 1.5 years ago (my review:
). They had a temporary location on Irving street for 8 months (my review:
).
*Ming Kee is a Chinese deli that sells your typical roast meats. For chicken, you have a choice of regular or «yellow» free range chicken which is a lot bonier but has more flavor.
*Signature items: Princess Chicken (free range steamed chicken w/​ginger & scallion sauce) & Soy Sauce Chicken.
*MUST ORDER the Cha Siu: BBQ Pork jowl/​neck portion ($ 8):
*Staff doesn’t speak or understand much English.
*6−7 tables for seating
*CASH ONLY
*Reason for downgrade from their previous locations?
A) Prices are 18−28% higher than their previous locations. For example, a whole duck was $ 15 and is now $ 19. Rice plate combos were $ 7ish and are now $ 9.50.
B) Quality seems to have declined and/​or we got a bad batch. I ordered the Princess Chicken & Soy Sauce Chicken Combo ($ 8.50 + $ 2 for free range «yellow» chicken):
. The free-​range princess chicken was not as good as I remembered it to be and the ginger-​scallion sauce needed more oil. The free-​range soy sauce chicken was horrible; it was like incredibly dry turkey breast meat and it was hella salty.
C) Unprofessional behavior. Lady #1 kept ordering Lady #2 around (to clear tables, take orders, and grab tea) and rudely yelled at her on multiple occasions in front of customers. Granted, I found some of her comments (about us) to be comical but I felt really bad for Lady #2 as she seemed bullied and embarrassed. Even if it’s a «culture» thing, unless your Gordon Ramsay, disrespecting your staff in front of customers just doesn’t fly.