Yung Kee Restaurant

I have been eating Chinese food here in Chi-​Town (and all over the East Bay) for over 50 years. I am not Chinese. (3^rd gen. Japanese-​American BTW) I DO however, know what good Chinese food is. While Yung Kee is not fancy, nor does it have nice linen covered tables, and neatly dressed well quaffed service staff, nor spotless, odorless, spic-​and-​span bathrooms, I will dine here whenever I have to get my Yung Kee fix on. It can get serious too.
I have been coming here for maybe 15 years. The food has been very consistent, as is the staff. I am a very experienced cook, however I cannot ‘do’ what they ‘do’ here at YK. I often am in tow with my GF who has been to the best restaurants in the world, and who might just be a picky princess (if you know what I mean… and I think you do!). However, she is deeply appreciative when we travel to Yung Kee for a bowl of their won ton soup. We both like ours topped with the roast duck… this dish would be just as good with a topping of charshu (BBQ pork) instead. Oh, did I mention that their won tons are the size of golf balls, and are made the ‘old school’ way, filled full with a lot of very delectable and tasty morsels of goodness. Watch out: they are roof of the mouth scalding hot when they come to your table.
Yeah…All you Hipsters can keep bragging about the newest and best-​ist bowl of $ 12 Ramen, and stand in line for 45 minutes for it. However, there is NOTHING that can match the down-​to-​the-​bone hearth warming aroma and flavor of Kung Kee’s soup broth in their bowl of Won Ton. N-​O-​T-​H-​I-​N-​G! Deeply satisfying! Oh yeah… I forgot to mention that their bowl of steaming goodness will set you back less than $ 7.00.
When I am on my own, I will often get their Charshu & Roasted Duck over rice dish. The roast duck and slices of BBQ pork comes layered over a big hill of hot steaming rice, with a side of boiled cabbage. This big ol’ plate-​o-​food meal cannot be beat for $ 7.00!
This past Winter, our little family has come in for a late (after 10PM) night snack, and are grateful for such a warm spot to warm our bellies with soul-​satisfying food. While the staff may not win the ass-​kissing contest for satisfying demanding prima donna-​white-​wonderbread-​eating 20 or 30 somethings, they are very respectful to respectful diners.
Big disclaimer: NO BEER & CASH ONLY! I don’t let that get in my way of enjoying the food that they have to offer those of us diners who are fortunate enough to have such a place within our midst. It’s only a matter of time when Anthony Bourdain finally ‘discovers’ this place… it is his kinda place. If you wanted to know.
ENUFF SED!

Yung kee, I use to come here a lot as it opens late with decent food. Their wontons are good and the prices are favorable. It is their service that is incredibly horrible, I am usually not the one to complain but let me tell you my experience. I went in the restaurant to order to go. I grabbed the menu knowing what I want and asked for recommendation, she just said she doesnt have any and just look at the menu then left. The attitude was unbearable as customers were there. I felt so embarassed putting up with such attitude as a customer. Sadly I will not be returning.

I’ve been going here since 2000, but lately their service have gotten worse (I really don’t care because I always Togo) but the food. The food is old and the owner the tall guy always give as little as possible even though I paid extra meat. Anyway the meat is old and dried (roasted pork) and the duck is oily and smelly. This is my last time, Oakland Chinatown has a lot more to offer.

always great taste food forget it if you want frufru fancy… Yung Kee is just good olé chinese cantonese style food… great for late night eat in or take out… lightening fast cooked out of a wok… my fave is Black Bean Sauce Beef over Hong Kong crispy wok fried noodles .off menu but always cooked to my likings. If you want fancy and want to be impressed by atmosphere, décor or fancy plates don’t come here lol! Just enjoy the show

Great for a late night fix for barbecued meats, jook (rice porridge), wonton noodle soup, mei fun (rice noodles) so this is where we went one night when it was after 10 pm and looking for a late night snack! We ordered roast duck wonton noodle soup, cha siu (pork) wonton noodle soup, minced beef jook (rice porridge) and mei fun. Ok for getting your late night snack (siew yeah) but they like to season their food so you might be a bit thirsty afterwards.

I grew up in Oakland Chinatown and I went to this place a lot with my mom. We always go there and buy their chicken and BBQ pork to go. Everyone loves it. One time we went there at like 12 am and their food tasted good. I love this restaurant. It is like my landmark in Oakland.

Descent spot for some cheap late night Chinese. I probably come here at least 3 times a week. I don’t cook ever. Go with the soy sauce chicken, roast pork or pork fried rice. You won’t be disappointed. The service is non-​existent but so what. Food always beats service

After Chef Lau closed, I was trying in that neighborhood for so long, finally Yun Kee came out, even though it’s cash only, food quality is superb.

Coming here reminded me of my childhood going to dinner in Chinatown with my family… the only eating out we really did.
The pros:
–open late
–cheap
–fried and delicious
–consistent
The cons:
–the occasional homeless person trying to sit down at your table, the staff aren’t quite assertive enough to deter this.
–small inside so hard to find a table sometimes
–I’m no expert but my guess is the health code score of this place isn’t tip top but the food is good and life is short lol
Bottom line: Good cheap after drinking/​dancing food in Oakland Chinatown

Decent late night Chinese food to satisfy your post-​going out cravings. We ordered BBQ pork (was tasty), Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce (steamed; healthy!), and sizzling rice soup (fine). Total cost: $ 23. Not bad for a casual munchie outing. Tip: Bathroom was acceptably useable.

Been coming here since I was a kid!
Menu hasn’t changed at all. Plenty of dishes to choose from and they all taste really authentic. Best place to eat when you’re in China Town if you want real Chinese food. Not the stuff drenched in soy sauce
Some of my favourite dishes are BBQ pork over braised noodles, BBQ pork fried rice, wor wonton soup (any wonton soup is good!), and the beef chow fun dry.
Also, try the soy sauce chicken! It’s tasty :)

Great duck and friendly service. Also the BEST yang chow fried rice. Its something about the green onion in it.

Was really craving some wontons and egg noodles, so Unilocal led me to this restaurant. The place is not very large, but I think there’s more seating upstairs? I had wonton with duck and egg noodles soup. The wontons were quite good with large pieces of shrimp. The duck was tasty, but didn’t have a lot of meat on it. Some of Steven C.‘s pieces had fat/​skin. The soup wasn’t super flavorful but I feel like wonton soup usually isn’t anyway.
The service was pretty good, with our tea being refilled when we left the top open. I was pretty happy with my meal!

Straight out of China. These people are amazing to watch working… Job well done!
Look, the food, the quality and the price cannot be beat so anybody that’s a hater of this place is just an idiot. My dumplings were the size of an egg and not only were they filled with so much meat, I couldn’t even finish them. The wonton and BBQ pork noodle soup was HUGE in terms of content.
This place is open late so make sure you drive by to see if they’re open when extremely late at night because depending on business, they could close early.

Out of two of the Bay Area’s Chinatown (San Francisco and Oakland) and with San Francisco being one of the bigger Chinatowns domestically, I have to give the nod to Oakland’s Chinatown for having plenty of restaurants for late night eats. «It is not like I would travel across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to gnaw on something after midnight!»
But this corner restaurant is also one of the restaurants that close at 2am seven nights a week. And as many of you have read from my «Check in», I also liked the address of the restaurant, «888». Speaking of Chinese wealth and prosperity, I often wondered about the waiting list to get these numbers as an address.
For dinner, I ordered the grilled chicken and American broccoli over pan fried noodles. For $ 7.50, I get a generous portion of the meat and vegetable over a greasy nest of the fried pasta. No matter what occasion, this is one of my satisfying Chinese pasta dish I enjoyed eating. And this restaurant’s version is very delicate, tasty and affordable too.
The restaurant is also a deli too with weighed cooked items by the pound.
Oakland Chinatown is very quiet and safe in the evening. This place is another option for late night eats!

Came here for late night dinner and yes, it’s quite like «home» in Asia where the place isn’t clean and the service isn’t the best «A» quality. I must say the food wasn’t bad… it hits thr spot when you miss fast Chinese food. Got the bbq plate of roasted duck and soy sauce chicken. Plus a clay pot of beef tendon with their special sauce.
However I like their service. The chefs and waiter were outside and announced to the customers that a car gt broken in. And sadly mine was. It suck that that happened. I mean, what do you expect — but I’m thankful for their announcement and consideration.

You can’t miss this place when walking through Chinatown because they’re at the corner of one of the diagonal intersections by the plaza. Sometimes you’ll see several tourists standing outside just staring at the roasted animals hanging in the window.
Despite how big this place seems from the outside, there really isn’t that much inside. Just a few tables hugging the walls, and most of the focus is at the counter. Most people come here to order boxes of meat to bring home. This probably isn’t the best place for dining in anyway, since the service is pretty apathetic about its customers and basically completely focus on the people at the counter.
Places like this specialize in Cantonese BBQ. My favorite items are roast duck and roast pork. I tried the wonton noodle soup with roast duck here once and I wasn’t too impressed. Meat was decent despite soaking in a bland broth.
This would be a good place if you’re just here to make a to-​go order for roast meat, but if you want a place to dine in, there are similar places in Chinatown which are better.

Review for their barbecue pork… one of the best in chinatown. Flavorful, nicely lacquered with sweetness, and always perfectly cooked.
Great place to get won ton noodle soup for reasonable price!

I’m salivating just thinking about this place. The pictures do not help…
The place is kind of like a hole in the wall but oh my gosh, best duck soup ever. I got bbq pork and duck while my bf got the duck. We were both ecstatic with our choice and cannot wait to go back. I’m sad about the MSG but if my tastebuds are in heaven, who cares? I deserve a treat every once in a while right: D

Came here to buy some BBQ items and well let’s just say I didn’t particularly like any of the 2 items we purchased.
1 Roast Duck
Some Roast Pork
I didn’t like the duck at all really, the duck had some weird taste to it, didn’t prefer it. The duck was small, like when we were eating it there was hardly any meat! The Roast Pork was okay but I mean meh, I’ve had better.
If it were me, I would stick to either New Gold Medal Restaurant or Gum Kuo Restaurant in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza still in Oakland Chinatown.