Lunch #62: King's Barbecue House

Today's MSG150 target was King's Barbecue House, a meat-in-window joint on 6th Avenue just north of Shanghai Garden and Yummy House Bakery. We skipped Yummy House Bakery since it didn't seem to offer much in the way of lunch food. Michael chided us for the decision and again said we would have to rename the blog to MSG149. We compromised and bought some desserts to have after lunch. Rob and Wayne bailed out again for the lack of meatless options.

Immediately next door to King's is the Green Village which has been closed for months. There is a sign in the window saying they will be back soon. Since they apparently won't be back before our next lunch, our next stop is Fort St. George. This will be the LAST restaurant in the DLZ!!!

King's Barbecue House, Seattle
Address: 518 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 2.8 chopsticks
Lunch date: 7/22/2008 @ 12:10:00
Time taken to be seated: N/A minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 2 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 4 minutes
Chopstix quality: Plastic Fork
Do they use MSG?: Didn't Ask
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 0
Number of occupied tables: 0
Number of business lunch tables: 0
Number of "local" tables: 0
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Roast Pork and BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $6.30
Rating:

Geary's Review

King's Barbecue House is the most focused of the meat-in-window joints in the DLZ. You can either buy meat by the pound or a Lunch Box with white rice and your choice of meat. That's it. No noodles. No fried rice. Just meat and rice. I chose a combination of duck and roast pork. (I always start with duck.) The couple running the place were friendly and efficient. She took orders and scooped rice while he chopped the meat.

There are no tables for eating in at King's Barbecue House, so we took our styrofoam lunch boxes across the street to the Uwajimaya Food Court to eat. The duck was good, but not as tender and flavorful as Asia BBQ or even what's available in the UFC. The roast pork was tender and delicious. In the end, though, meat on rice is pretty much an average meal unless my socks are knocked off. Socks still on, 3 chopsticks.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $6.30
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Sixty-one down, two to go. King reminded us that we're in the home stretch. We can literally see Fort St. George from where we stand. Our quest is nearing completion.

King's got a couple of nice people working the area behind the counter. There's not too much going on in this place - there's a little table where real estate agents, PETA activists, and Northwest Asian Weekly delivery people can drop their reading materials. Not a chair to be seen. The window's got a nice glistening set of chops dangling there, a nice sight. The guy in front of me placed his order, and check this: you can pick which piece you want. "Naw gimme that pork with the fuzz on it -- yeah that piece." Nice! I wasn't as picky, asked for a combo of duck and pork. The man chopped it up, ladled a big soup spoonful of brown sauce onto it. Off I went to the food court.

The meat just wasn't all that, though it wasn't bad. The pork couldn't compare to Ocean City II, the duck wasn't much better than Asia BBQ. Merely average. I would have liked some veggies to go with my rice and meat, but straight up you get meat and rice.

Like Samurai, I'm docking points for making me take my food and go to the food court or something. I'm not one of those slow food peeps, but dangit I want at least a place I can set my meat down before eating it.

Next.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $6.30
Rating:

Adam's Review

There aren't any actual seats in King's, so we ordered the food to-go, and headed over to the Uwajimaya Food Court.

This is Meat in Window distilled down to its essence: when you order their "lunch box," you get a styrofoam to-go container full of white rice with whatever meat you ordered (in my case, pork and duck). That's it. No vegetables. No chow mein. Just meat and rice.

Unfortunately, for my first serious foray into the world of meats since my aforementioned medical affliction... the food left me wanting. Neither the duck or the pork were anything special. I didn't feel like the pork was overly salty... but I don't think it had much flavor. The duck was on par with other BBQ Duck we've had, but didn't taste quite fresh.

Nothing special. If you're looking for run of the mill Chinese BBQ, this place'll do.

Luncher: Ben the Intern

Lunch: BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $6.30
Rating:

Ben the Intern's Review

So, I'm not sure how to rate this bbq joint. I liked the food, the sauce was tasty and the meat -- duck and beef -- was of good quality. It was a bit of a letdown as we weren't able to sit down and eat, instead finding refuge in the local Asian food-mart. 3/5 for the food, don't go there for a lunch experience, but it's worth it for an on-the-go meal.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck Lunch Box - $6.30
Rating:

Michael's Review

Meat. Rice. Meat and Rice. Tasty Tasty Meat and Rice.

btw: the bakery next door had some darn good fruit custard tart things. Very tasty.

King's Barbecue House Photos

King's Barbecue House


The King & Queen


Chopping Block


Lunch Box preparation


Lunch Box with Duck & BBQ Pork


Lunch Box with Duck & Roast Pork


Yummy House Bakery


Yummy House Bakery treats


Green Village


Sign on Green Village's door

Lunch #52: Wing Wah B.B.Q.

We were thwarted by a "closed on Tuesday" sign on our last attempt, so today the MSG150 crew headed out again for Wing Wah Barbecue. We arrived to find a fairly typical meat-in-window joint with a big yellow sign and, of course, meat hanging in the window. We entered with carnivorous anticipation, except for Rob who just entered.

Wing Wah B.B.Q., Seattle
Address: 668 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 3.2 chopsticks
Lunch date: 5/9/2008 @ 12:30:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 12 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Only in chicken powder
Where is the owner/chef from?: South China
Number of tables: 6
Number of occupied tables: 3 (50%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 3 (100%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Roast Duck
• BBQ Pork
• Ma-Po Tofu (sans pork)
• 2 x Sticky Rice
• Fish Fillet with Vegetable
• Non-veggie Soup for 4
• Spicy Green Beans

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

We were greeted warmly upon entering the small restaurant and seated at a large table (the only large table) tucked between the kitchen and the meat chopping area up front. After reaching over and turning off* the poorly tuned clock radio, c. 1982, it was a pleasant spot. As we eyed the menu the waitress/meat-chopper suggested that we order family style so we could all get tastes. We chose a large selection of both meated and non-meated items. We spied two large bowls of leaf-wrapped sticky rice on the counter, so we threw in one of each for tastes.

The starter was a hot pork broth in a bowl from the Hong Kong Restaurant. The broth was simple, but very rich. The food arrived soon after the soup. The BBQ duck was great (as it most always is) but the pork was a bit dry. I always prefer the duck anyway. The green beans were a bit limp, but flavorful. The Ma-Po tofu was fine, but nothing special. The fish was great. It had a nice tangy, garlicky sauce and fresh, crisp dark-leafed bok choy. The two selections of sticky rice were described as one with peanuts and one with beans. I honestly couldn't tell the difference. They were both mushy and bland. However, it struck me how amazingly similar to tamales these were. Both consist of a small amount of meat at the core surrounded by the predominant local starch (rice or corn) and then conveniently wrapped for portability. I suspect they evolved in their respective cultures in a similar manner. Anyhoo, these hadn't evolved** quite enough for our tastes and went mostly uneaten.

Wing Wah is not one of the best spots we've been, but it has some gems and uses nice fresh ingredients. That plus the very friendly service gets four chopsticks from me.

* I turned it back on before we left.
** It's likely, however, that we are the ones who hadn't done the evolving.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

This little block has a pretty diverse set of food, as we found out by completing our fifth and final restaurant - Wing Wah. For starters, there's 663 - with high quality meats, good all-around food. Sandie's, probably closed now, serving authentic Taiwanese dishes. J Sushi, where you get your raw seafood fix. A & B, where you go if you just hate yourself. Now Wing Wah, which surprised with some good BBQ meats, comfortable relaxed atmosphere.

This place seems frozen in time. The clock radio next to our table was the old style, where the numbers rotated on an axle. There was a TV from 1968 or something. The lady recommended we split some dishes and go family style. I'm always game for that. We got some pork, duck, seafood, some green beans, tofu for Rob, and sticky rice.

The soup was good, the pork was kind of bland - not as good as Ocean City nor particularly fatty or fresh. The duck was tasty, on par with other meat-in-window duck. The fish was kind of nice, deep fried with some bok choy. The rice was a little bit of a disappointment.

As far as meats go, this place was good, but not quite on par with 663 across the street.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

Ahh... my favorite kind of restaurant, meat in window. Our server pushed us to do an ad-hoc family style lunch... and we obliged.

We've got several Roast Duck lovers on this excursion... so we order half of a duck. Delicious as always. We ordered BBQ pork. Delicious as always, and wasn't too salty. They also served the BBQ pork with some spicy mustard. The fish fillet with vegetables was good. Basically everything we had was good. Unfortunately we had the Vegetarian Rob, so we had to have more non-meat than I would have liked. We lived, though.

A solid Chinese BBQ joint with good service.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Rob's Review

Decisions, decisions. Wing Wah had its pluses and minuses. Friendly service, and they were very accommodating for fussy eaters like me. The string bean dish was quite good, and I usually don't like string beans. The Ma-Po Tofu was middling to average. The Fish Fillet with Vegetable was mixed: the fish itself (saba) was very good, but I'm getting pretty tired of the "[blank] with vegetable" dish that comes out with the singular vegetable being bok choy. So, I'd like to rate Wing Wah a 3.5, but I can't because that would make Adam whine more than usual. If we'd eaten here after A & B I would probably round up to a 4, but after Sandie's I think I'm going to round down. So it goes.

This may or may not be my last post for the original DLZ -- I'm going on vacation for a bit. It's too bad that I'll be missing Hing Loon and Tropics and Shanghai Garden (I'd probably give them all 4 chopsticks), but not quite bad enough for me to cancel my trip. If my fellow lunchers lunch slowly enough, I may be back in time for the last stop, Fort St. George, for better or for worse. At least they have a full bar.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family Style - $10.00
Rating:

Wing Wah B.B.Q. Photos

Wing Wah Barbecue


Wing Wah Specials Menu


Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf


Broth (in stolen bowl)


BBQ Duck


BBQ Pork


Fish with Vegetable


Spicy Green Beans


Sticky Rice out of Lotus Leaf


Ma-Po Tofu

Lunch #48: 663 Bistro

The MSG150 crew was seven lunchers strong today as we headed back past the intersection of Weller and Maynard to find our next spot in the Heart of the DLZ. Just next door to Ho Ho is the simply named 663 Bistro (at 663 Weller). Program note: Semi-vegetarian Rob is back with us after an extended battle with the flu. Welcome back Rob!

663 Bistro, Seattle
Address: 663 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Congee, Chinese: Noodles, Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 4.3 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/18/2008 @ 12:17:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 8 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 53 minutes
Chopstix quality: Really Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 18
Number of occupied tables: 11 (61%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (18%)
Number of "local" tables: 9 (81%)
Healthcode Score: 20
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons - $5.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

The first time I came here, Geary and I tag-teamed an entire duck. For some reason we thought we could put it away ourselves. But they brought this humongous piece of fowl against which we had no chance. It was delicious, I looked forward to our return.

663 is another bright Cantonese spot with an extensive menu covering soups, noodles, congee, etc. We had a good crew, affording us the opportunity to try a few different things. I wanted to do soup, cause I had such a good experience at Ocean City II with their soup. I ordered the Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons.

They offered three different types of noodles - Cantonese noodles, wide rice Noodles, and thin rice noodles. I opted for the Cantonese, which are the standard. Their soup was fantastic, and the pork was as savory as Ocean City II. It held up well to Mike's Noodle House. I also got to sample some of Rob's Curried Fish Fillet, which was fantastic, and the other assorted Beef and Noodle dishes.

Everything was solid. I'll return.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish + Pea Vine Greens - $7.95 + $9.95
Rating:

Geary's Review

663 Bistro has a medium-sized dining area that is clean with appealing, but muted, decor. Even though it isn't much of a name, it is unusual for a Chinese restaurant to have a name that doesn't immediately identify it as Chinese. And it puts them in the same neighborhood as Travis Shred and his neighbor, The Beast. 663 has a sizable menu and no specific lunch specials (YAY!). The menu selections include noodles, soups, congee, BBQ meats, and various other southern Chinese favorites. I was in the mood for noodles so went with the XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish. I noticed our waitress delivering a plate of greens to a neighboring table, so threw in an order for some Pea Vine Greens of our own.

Rob's fish arrived first and was a clear winner. He was kind and shared bites. The curry was thick and flavorful. The fish was fresh, moist, and flaky. My XO Noodles were also great. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. It was similar to beef chow fun, except with fish. The fish wasn't deep fried, like Rob's curry. It was just stir-fried in with the noodles, onions, and sprouts. The sprouts and onions gave it a nice crunch and the XO sauce added a tangy flavor. Yum! The Pea Vine Greens were cooked perfectly and were a welcome companion to the heavily noodled main course. The fish balls, however, were a bit too fishy for my taste.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with Roast Duck and BBQ Pork - $5.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

The menu for 663 Bistro was pretty damn huge... so I was having a hard time deciding what to get. I thought the 663 was because of their address, but it turns out it's the number of items on their menu... <groan>. I saw some Meat in the Window, so I knew I wanted to get something with that. I opted for the Noodle Soup with Roast Pork and Roast Duck.

I didn't actually get roast pork in my soup, there was a bit of a miscommunication, and I got the Honey BBQ Pork. This little mishap ended up being quite a little pig-tastic blessing. The Honey BBQ Pork is sweet and salty (as opposed to just salty like BBQ pork from some other MIWs), and lent a nice flavor to the soup that it was in. The roast duck was good, but I wish there had been more.

I was going to give this place a solid 4-chopsticks review, until I tasted the Curry Fish Fillet on Rice. The curry sauce was very flavorful and creamy. The bowl that contained the curry was nearly overflowing with fish... they crammed-in at least 2 servings of fish. This is one of the best lunches I've ever tasted, and I'm heading back to this place to specifically get this dish! It was so good, I didn't even mind that the Vegetarian Rob ordered it.

Great prices. Great food. One of the International District Gems.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Curry Fish Fillet on Rice - $6.50
Rating:

Rob's Review

I'd been to 663 Bistro once before well over a year ago (and I sat at the same table in almost the same seat), and the dish I had was fairly unremarkable (what Joey got, but sans beef). This time, however, I went with the curry fish fillet, in no small part to Joey telling me, "The curry is pretty good here," and I must say that I won today's lunch lottery (they even served me first!). The curry is actually pretty great -- creamy, flavorful, with a decent kick (didn't need any extra hot sauce) -- generously poured over an ample amount of breaded, tender, and moist flounder, onions, bell peppers, and potatoes. One of the best curries I've had in quite a while, in fact. The pea vines in garlic sauce was a great side dish to the curry -- the garlic sauce was nice and light (a smidge too salty on first taste, but fine on subsequent ones). So, there are great things here at the 663, but you have to choose wisely. Today was my first msg150 lunch in three weeks (I was out sick with a horrible, horrible flu and what have you), and it felt so good to be back that I didn't even mind Adam's feeble attempts at humor.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Tossed Noodles with BBQ Pork and Roast Duck - $6.25
Rating:

Michael's Review

I had the opportunity to sample most of the dishes on the table and with the exception of Joey's RMV everything was far above average. My noodles with duck and pork, Rob's curry, and Geary's pan fried noodles were all spectacular.

This isn't your usual boring lunch fare with breaded chicken covered in sugar. Fresh noodles, tasty broth, juicy barbeque, and the most awesome pea vines in garlic sauce make this bistro a big improvement over the usual 'lunch special'.

If you consider that this feast cost maybe 10 bucks including tax and tip you will have to agree that this is one of the best lunch spots we've found in the ID.

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wide Rice Noodles - $4.95
Rating:

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Beef and Fresh Vegetables on Rice - $5.75
Rating:

663 Bistro Photos

663 Bistro


Menu


Curry Fish Fillet on Rice


XO Sauce Pan-Fried Noodles with Sliced Fish + Pea Vine Greens


Tossed Noodles with BBQ Pork and Roast Duck


Noodles in Soup with Roast Duck and BBQ Pork


Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wide Rice Noodles


Pea Vine Greens


Beef and Fresh Vegetables on Rice


Noodles in Soup with BBQ Pork and Wontons


Curried Fish Balls