MSG150: Seattle International District Lunch Food: Chinese: Congee

Friday, April 18, 2008

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: 4 Chopsticks

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: 4 Chopsticks

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: 5 Chopsticks

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: 5 Chopsticks

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: 5 Chopsticks

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: 3 Chopsticks

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Beef and Fresh Vegetables on Rice - $5.75
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

663 Bistro Photos

663 Bistro

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

Monday, March 17, 2008

Lunch #39: Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine

Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine is no longer in business. It has been replaced by King Noodle.

WE ARE FREE! No longer are we trapped in the sterile confines of the UFC. We are back on the street experiencing a real Chinatown, not a Disney version of one. To be fair, Uwajimaya is not quite that bad, but when there is so much to offer from independent, owner operated establishments with table service there is little that will take me back to the food court again.

Today the MSG150 crew headed out with a new spring in our step. We passed by the Oasis Tea Zone since it fails the test of Rule #1. They offer a couple of snack items, including Popcorn Chicken Bites and Fried Tofu, but not really enough to call it primarily a restaurant. Following our preordained path, took us back onto the south side of King and under the awning of Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine. Although we have passed by many a time, but this was the first visit for each of us.

Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine, Seattle
Address: 612 S. King St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Congee, Chinese: Noodles
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 3/17/2008 @ 12:05:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 16 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: We didn't ask, but it feels like there was.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 8
Number of occupied tables: 8 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (25%)
Number of "local" tables: 7 (87%)
Healthcode Score: 35
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Beef and Chicken Congee - $4.75
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

FREEEEEDOMMMMMMM!! We're out of the UFC, and it feels damn good. I wanted something that was the opposite of what I could get in the UFC, so I ordered Beef and Chicken Congee.

My bowl of Congee came out BOILING hot. It definitely hadn't been sitting on a steam table or under a heat lamp. There was plenty of delicious chunks of beef and chicken that were flavorful and not from Uwajimaya. Every bite of this congee was delicious. Half-way through the bowl, I decided to throw some hot-sauce on there... and that perked it up a little bit more too.

Just before we finished eating, the table next to us leaned over and asked: "Hey... are you those MSG guys?" ZOMG!! We are famous! Random people in a restaurant know who we are!

Good Food. Good Prices. This one is a keeper.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Pork Chop with Salted Fish Rice Stone Pot - $7.80
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

Though crowded, we quickly scored an occupied table that sat the six of us comfortably. (I love it when you show up to a place and the owner makes some poor couple move to make way for you.) Menu: full of chinese stuff - lots of congee, rice, etc. I'm still not won over by Congee, so I went for the rice dishes in a Stone Pot. Stone Pot! This has gots to be good. Lots of options, hmm, pork chop salt fish -- done.

It took awhile to come, but the result was good. My one complaint - it was pretty ordinary. The rice was okay, well cooked in the stone but, but not conveying any intriguing blends of flavor. The pork was good, had some decent flavor, and the salt fish was super salty, and not plentiful.

I did have a taste of the congee, it was quite good. I'll have to try it next time. Good service, nice selection. I'll come back.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Minced Pork with Chinese Sausage Rice Stone Pot - $7.20
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

H₂KC is a tiny restaurant. It is similar to Mike's Noodle House, but is even smaller. And like Mike's, it always seems to be full. When we arrived, they were able to move a few folks around and quickly free up a six top for us. The staff was friendly and efficient, but didn't quite have the rhythm of Mike's.

H₂KC has a huge menu for such a tiny place. The largest sections are the Stone Pot Congee and the Stone Pot Rice Bowls. Each has multiple pages of meat options including frog and thousand year old egg. Others were ordering congee, so I went with a Shredded Pork and Chinese Sausage Rice Stone Pot. We also ordered steamed pork dumplings to share.

The congee orders arrived first still boiling in the super heated stone bowls. Each person is given a extra, small bowl that makes it possible to ladle the molten soup into smaller portion that will eventually cool to an palatable temperature. It's also handy for sharing. Next time I come I will order family style. As it was, I was able to get some tastes of other's congee. It was delicious. The steamed dumplings were also good and worth ordering again.

My rice bowl was good, but nothing spectacular. I would not go with the rice bowl next time since the congee was so much better. Both the pork and sausage were good, but in the end it was just meat on rice. The fiery hot stone bowl is a nice touch and makes all of the rice on the bottom all brown and crunchy. Yum!

Even though my meal was on the average side, the tastes of congee I had and the delicious dumplings bring H₂KC up to four chopsticks for me. Plus, it's not in a food court. Yay!

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: House Special Cart Noodle with Vegetables and Tofu - $6.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Rob's Review

Vegetarian Warning! There really is nothing to eat here if you're a strict vegetarian. I still chow down on egg, dairy, and some fish, so I thought I'd be able to find something to my liking, but that turned out to be difficult because most of the seafood items included shrimp and the like, and I don't do shellfish. Sigh. Maybe I should take a chance and try those mysterious "fish balls" some time. One of the two women dining at the neighboring table who had heard of our little lunch blog (not quite MSG150 groupies, but close enough in my book) recommended the curry fish balls. Anyway, after perusing the incredibly long menu, I finally went with the Cart Noodle with vegetables and tofu. It looked good when it showed up: lots of bok choy, cubes of fried tofu, and a generous helping of skinny rice noodles. The skin of the soup, however, sported small circles of what looked like animal fat, and a quick slurp revealed a fairly strong chicken broth taste. Harumph. I ladled in some hot sauce to mask that flavor and did my best to ignore it. The soup needed the extra kick, regardless, I thought. So, aside from my moral chicken soup dilemma, I thought my lunch was all right, but until the last few remnants of my veggie principles (such as they are) become completely compromised, I won't be going back.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Seafood Congee - $5.25
Rating: 4 Chopsticks

Joey's Review

The animated gif says it all. This was probably the hottest congee I’ve ever had. In Cantonese cuisine hot = good, but it’s still gotta have good taste to go along with it, which this did. I’m pretty sure they used msg , because the flavor was too good to not have msg. :-)