Vinh Kee - Late Night Chinese Restaurant That Smells Like the Zoo

Vinh Kee
3103 Graham Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
http://www.vinhkeerestaurant.com/

Hot and Sour Soup

After eating yogurt bingsoo at Shilla Bakery a couple of people were hungry so we went to Vinh Kee to eat.  I had never been here before, but I have driven by here almost everyday on the way to work.  Vinh Kee is not to be confused with Miu Kee and Full Kee, both of which I also drive by on an almost daily basis.  I had always wanted to try Vinh Kee.  The first thing I noticed when I walked in was a terrible smell.  I guess it smelled like a cross between a nasty seafood department and an animal exhibit at the zoo.  We ordered hot and sour soup, one of the standards by which I judge a chinese restaurant.  There's only one large size for the soup for a staggering $6.95 and it's not even a seafood hot and sour soup.  We also ordered the Vinh Kee chicken - a dish they are well known for.  it's basically crispy fried chicken.  We got a half sized portion.  The hot and sour soup came out first.  When the waiter brought it out it didn't even look like soup.  The serving container looked more like a chaffing dish than a soup terrine.

Vinh Kee Chicken

The consistency was very thick.  Maybe it had been over reduced after being kept warm all day long, but even so the soup was extremely sour.  The bits of chopped up red pepper skin were tough and hard to swallow.  This probably the second worst hot and sour soup that I've ever eaten.  The worst was from Peking Village II.  That soup was actually sweet tasting which is worse than being overly acidic.  The hot and sour soup did have lily flower buds in it, something that most chinese restaurants omit.  Too bad the rest of the soup was no good.  The Vinh Kee chicken was very crispy with bits of crunchy minced garlic on top.  The chicken was fairly moist, especially considering how crispy the skin was.  The problem was the chicken didn't have any flavor.  Some marinading or some sauce would have made the dish a lot better.  Another person at the table ordered wonton noodle soup.  I got to try a little of the broth, but it was waaaaaay too salty!  Anita said it too was caused from over-reducing.  Beef and cabbage was the final dish that someone else ordered.  I thought it was pretty average.  Nothing to write  home about.

The verdict?  If you're in the Falls Church area and it's late at night I'd probably recommend you go to IHOP next door!  Don't bother with Vinh Kee.