Duk Li Dim Sum

First time in Seattle and had to check out the international district. Came upon this place and was also craving dim sum so why not.
Typical Asian restaurant but when we walked in, it was empty so we decided to eat in. Maybe it’s not that popular? Well anyways got seated and this is a dim sum place so there isn’t necessary full course meals. But when I looked at the menu, I must say that the food here is like SUPER cheap. I am from SF and the prices here do not even come close. $ 2.50 for an order is a steal. The buns and stuff cost .70 cents apiece also. Super cheap food and it came out super quick. Had to get the salt pepper wings and the classic dim sum such as Siu Mai, shrimp dumpling etc. The highlight tho was probably the rice rolls. They offer egg with them and I must say that it was the best decision here. It made the dish so much more fluffier and better. Would recommend the egg if you do get the rice rolls. Nothing here is over $ 5 which is such a bargain.
The food quality is average. A bit more on the blander side but not super oily either. Can’t complain tho for the price comparison. Lots of ppl come here for to go orders and order their onion bread which is super popular I assume.
Good spot for some cheap dim sum in the International district.

My friend insisted on us coming here. I didn’t find anything special about the dim sum. I came in the late afternoon and they cooked our dim sum when we marked it on the sheet. I’m not sure if its like that all day. The customer service is nice, but nothing stuck out to me except for the cock roach hanging out on the seat next to me.

Duk Li is a great place to go if you’re looking for an affordable, fast, and not-​too-​bad dim sum.
The service at times is very chaotic and at others, rather rude, but perhaps it is all part of the experience to have someone yelling at you in Chinese?!
In all seriousness, my favorite is the shrimp dim sum and their shu mai. Their green onion buns are also very popular! Avoid the chinese «donut» at all costs, unless you want a long stick of 90% oil and 10% tasteless, empty carbs.

We went in there today on Xmas night there was nobody in there. The old short hair lady was very rude the whole time, she pretty much yelled at us to move our stroller away because our baby was in her way. That was very unnecessary and pretty much ruined our dinner mood tonight. When I asked for water she ignored us. When my husband asked for to go box she gave him a nasty look for no reason. We should have got up and left. Horrible and terrible experience. We will never go back there.

The dim sum was good. Not spectacular like some other popular places in Chinatown but we didn’t have to wait which was a plus. The typical dishes like the spare ribs, sticky rice, tripe, etc were good. The fried sticky rice was delicious! I love that they had a crunchy pork bun. It was my favorite out of everything we ordered. The beef meatballs were a bit soft and needed some firmer texture. The rice noodles with shrimp were a bit overcooked and too soft. It was good traditional dim sum sans crunchy pork buns which I love and would come back here for! Lots of BBQ pork filling inside as well. The place is odd and the chairs and furniture needs updating but it’s a family runner business and I respect that for a mom and pops place in the ID.

Awesome little dim sum house. Fresh from the kitchen dim sum. Open late into the evening. The staff is very friendly. There’s a decent amount of food to choose from on the menu. Great for big groups.

Food was cold.
Food was tasteless.
I can’t expect more than cheap food if it’s super cheap.
The disappointing part is they’ve been great before, and the service was worth tipping. Nowadays nothing tastes good unless you get it fresh at 7am, aka when they open. You can tell when the food has been sitting out from its temperature. There is also a 50 cent extra charge on credit cards if the amount is under $ 10, but the lady charged me 70 cents. Not cool.

Good, dirt cheap dim sum, buns, etc. Very basic, but tasty. I am so glad I decided to try the chicken feet. They were delicious. One of the best values I have found in any major Chinatown. I’ll take my $ 6.75 bill from this place over plush push cart service anytime.

So I love dim sum… In fact have been considered a dim sum snob in some circles (definitely not something I am or should brag about) but I believe good dim sum should be simple delicious, flavorful food, that can be enjoyed among friends and a bright and pleasant environment. This place meets all those expectations. Customer service is great and aren’t afraid to have fun with their customers in reason. This place has become my go to place for dine in or take out dim sum!

Inexpensive tasty dim sum – expect meal under $ 20 for two.
Menu offers steamed, baked, and fried dumplings/​as to be expected yum cha dishes. Made tasty but without finesse.
Service is kind and the staff appears to enjoy working there – a family business with grandmother and children baking, cleaning, serving.
I like to come here with close friends for unassuming yum cha. The place offers a kind dining environment to catch up with pals and family.

Fast service, cheap food.
This is definitely not your «impress your friends» type of restaurant but they’ve been consistent turning out acceptable dimsum if you’re in a rush. They offer mostly just the basic plates and if you’re looking for the cart experience, this is not the place for you. However, their shu mai’s are the fried «football» dumplings are better than most quick in/​out places (and even some sit down places as well). Their milk tea is actually made from real tea rather than just the powder mix at most bubble tea places.

Duk Li is blessed for two weeks: Dim Sum King is closed for summer vacation.
Who I assume to be the owner is ill tempered and doesn’t know how to keep customers coming back. The guy who helped me was great, he was showing me a couple things out of the steamer. As the owner saw this, she said in Chinese to him, «She obviously doesn’t know what she’s getting and you’re letting all the steam out. Just show her the menu, jeez.» I felt the smile drop off of my face and I was ready to get out of this dingy place.
I bought less than I set out to buy. Two orders of Siu mai and three baked custard buns. I was too annoyed to eat any of it, but my family waiting in the car had a taste. «The Siu mai isn’t good. Just a hunk of un-​minced pork inside the wrapping.»
Duk Li, suck my D.

There are plenty of great dim sum restaurants in Seattle’s International District, aka Chinatown, but Duk Li is a personal favorite. While they don’t wheel carts full of steamer baskets around the restaurant, the food is served up fresh, fast, and piping hot — and you won’t believe how cheap it is.
Duk Li makes especially good buns, and the very best are the savory green onion buns: light and puffy, with green onions baked in and a sweet glaze. Tea is served as soon as you sit down, and you mark your selections on a slip of paper to order. I recently tried their congee for the first time, and it’s a steal of a deal for the big bowl you get. Other tried-​and-​true standbys include the short ribs, shrimp dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf, and steamed BBQ pork and chicken buns.
Service is fast and friendly, although they’re usually pretty busy on weekends. There’s often a line if you come in for takeout, but it moves quickly, so be ready to order when it’s your turn! If you’re seated at a table, dishes come out very quickly, but not necessarily all at once. We’ve never had to wait long for our food and they’ve never messed up our order.
Yes, it would be neat if they had the little carts, but if table service means they can pack more people in there and serve the dim sum cheaper, I’ll take it! Our go-​to spot for weekend dim sum and a fun place to take out-​of-​town visitors who have never tried dim sum.

This place is super cheap, which is its biggest draw. The dim sum is good but don’t expect the usual cart rolling around, they take orders and bring it all to your table like normal restaurants.
So you might be wondering why the 2-​star. I found a cockroach leg in my egg tart (see picture).

Beef ball is good here.
Thousand year old egg jok is super bland.
«Crunchy» bbq pork bao is very popular here but I don’t like the texture.
Try not to sit near the big table near the closed off entrance because you can smell the cigarettes smoke from outside if there is someone smoking outside!

Ambience. C
Service. B
Food. B
Price. A
So cool that they’re all day dim sum. Breakfast/​Lunch/​Dinner! 7 a.m. — 7 p.m. Most kept hot in steamer trays until ordered. Or made fresh to order.
The place is little rundown and very bright. But looks somewhat clean in the ordering area.
Service was from Mr. Tung himself. I used my chinese to my best ability. But he way out talked me and got me to order differently and more than I wanted. But friendly in way to outwit me.
The dimsum is just okay. I took as a take out and it’s better to eat when they come out of the steamer and cooked fresh from kitchen. I’ve had better flavors and ingredients of the choices I chose. Hit and miss.
Shrimp with flat rice noodle. Was steamed with fold in scrambled eggs. This was different and gave a unique texture and taste.
Garlic jalepeno Chicken Wings were big tasty and nicely fried with slices of fried jalepeno and nice bites of fried garlic.
Tofu wrapped pork were nicely chopped grounds pork/​shrimp/​bamboo shoot.
The sticky rice leaves had some ground up meat and one piece of. Chinese sausage. It was okay for what it was.
Overall my bill came to $ 14.87. So, yes. Cheap for dim sum. I’ll come back if ever want late dim sum. But for the afternoon, I’ll choose others in the neighborhood.

If you want CHEAP CHEAP dim sum this is a great spot in Seattle! Did I mention it’s super affordable and cheap? It’s tiny and there’s no carts — you order off a menu. I’m a fan of their egg tarts. The food is good and it’s centrally located in the International District though you’ll have to look for street parking. That’s with most businesses in the area though. They’ve got a pretty decent variety too. You can also just order take out if the tables are all packed. They have a menu outside of the business so you can take a gander at what’s good.
IMHO for the price it’s 4 stars. For the quality it’s 3.

TWO WORDS: CHEAP DIM SUM!!! (just kidding, it’s 3 words unless you hyphenate ‘dim sum’)
This place has your typical dim sum items: the steamed buns and dumplings, sticky rice with chicken inside, the radish cakes, and the desserts items including egg tarts and those white spongy dessert things.
There is not that much variety here, so don’t expect too much. I like it here because once you order, they make it right then and there, so it’s FRESH! Also, it’s cheap — last time I went, I paid about $ 10 before tip.
Finally, contrary to what it says on the general info Unilocal page, I think this place DOES ACCEPT CREDIT/​DEBIT CARD — at least it did when I went!

It drives me nuts that the staff at Duk Li Dim Sum act like the to-​go boxes are made of precious gold. They would rather shove too many items into a box than to give you an extra box, which may cause someone to have a panic attack if they have issues with completely preventable imperfections with their food (e.g., broken shells on egg custard tarts), or the mixing of flavours from different types of food items (e.g. pork buns squirting red meat onto your pineapple buns) caused by the staff squishing and cramming too many items into a box.
The staff might offer to put your food items directly inside a paper bag, the type of paper bag that the guy loitering outside your local ⁷⁄₁₁ at midnight might be using to hold his Mad Dog 20÷20… but this may also panic someone who doesn’t like the idea of their food soaking into the thin unlined paper bag that probably was never meant to carry something as moist as steamed white sugar cake in it without any plastic wrap or other barrier.
The food here is very inexpensive, but I’d rather pay more to get an extra to-​go box. If the issue is with waste (although I highly doubt that it is), I’d gladly pay a $ 10 deposit on a reusable glass container that I can bring back next time (yes, I am aware that I’m in the international district, not the organic farmers market in Madison Park)…
In sum — Duk Li Dim Sum is simply not for me, but if you’re looking for cheap fast dim sum style food and couldn’t care less about the presentation or experience you might enjoy it!

Review is for dim sum catering. We ordered just about over $ 100 worth of party trays and picked items that were ideal finger food.
Char Siu Bao — Filled with a sweet-​savory filling of minced pork (and minimal fatty meat)! Bun wasn’t honey glazed, which is good since they don’t stick together and to napkins.
Hom Siu Gok — A fried dumpling with thick skin and puffy interior filled with minced pork and shrimp. Very good version, especially when eating hot.
Egg Tarts — Amazing! Perfectly round, large, and sweet and smooth topping with flaky crust.
Sesame Ball — These were okay… probably wasn’t as hot as I’d like, but filling was good.
Overall a pretty solid place for catering — price seemed reasonable given the portion size.