A blogging break, or a restaurant review

My favorite restaurant in DC's Chinatown reopened a few weeks ago. So, after giving the servers at Full Kee some time to settle in, me and Mrs. Datanerd went there for dinner. Its about a block up from Chinatown Garden, the restaurant that Greg Mankiew was at when he explained to the National Economists Club that he didn't mean his comments about outsourcing jobs, except he did and that it was ok. [Note to self: need to renew membership. If nothing else, I miss the long lunch breaks.]

Full Kee closed for a month-long renovation 10 months ago. The place didn't look that much different, new paint inside, tile floor instead of uneven carpet that was both faded and stained, new ceiling tiles pristine and unstained. We shared a large bowl of shrimp dumpling soup to start. Yum. At minimum, the soup station in the front of the restaurant hadn't forgotten how to make good soup. Then, an order of stir-fried vegetables and deep-fried spicy squid. Just as good as always, this is the squid to feed to people who don't like squid. People who don't like squid haven't had it cooked right. Likely they only had the rings from Red Lobster, overcooked and as rubbery as a Goodyear. These were splendid, tender, deep-fried with a light coating of flour and cornstarch, then chased around a wok with hot peppers and shallots. Wow. Transcendent. The stir-fried veggies were good too, with the broccoli perfectly crisp-tender. I can't wait until soft-shell crab season. These guys do magic with soft-shells.

We finished that off, then went across the street to the Irish Channel Pub in the Red Roof Inn. They have the Bulmer's Cider (Sold as Magner's outside of Ireland) that Mrs. Datanerd likes so well. I had a Smithwick's and a Boddington's. And a good time was had by all.