Chef Lee's Element

We paid Chef Lee's a visit after seeing our Yelp Elite friends Amy S and Carroll had visited! The food was fresh and flavorful.

We started with the blueberry and mashed yams. It was unique as we had never tried something like this before. We are so happy we ordered the Flavored Cauliflower after Amy's glowing recommendation. My husband loved the Kung Pao Chicken and I enjoyed the Pork with bean sauce and steamed buns.

The portions were large and prices affordable. The service was great and they packaged up our leftovers to take home. Nice decor for Lunar New Year.

I would have never come to Chef Lee's because I am never in the area. But my colleague who is Taiwanese suggested we go. It was a good experience. I felt like I was immersed in another culture, which I love.

Their menu is in Mandarine (I think) and English and the food is authentic. I haven't seen most of the items listed at other Chinese Restaurants I've been to. With that said, I wouldn't come to this restaurant and try to make adjustments and request substitutions, etc. If you are particular/picky this isn't the spot for you. You can definitely ask them for little spice but outside of that take what they have on the menu or leave it.

The cauliflower tasted good and seasoned with msg or something similar and a little spicy. Stir-fried beef was flavorful, tender, and spicy. The Braised beef noodles were different, and spicy. The broth was basically chili oil and probably some kind of broth. The beef was seasoned (again with msg or something similar) and was super tender. The noodles were good I loved the texture; soft and light. I believe they are homemade.

Aesthetically, there is nothing that pops. It's VERY basic. The service wasn't the best, the waiters don't really check on you, you have to get their attention. At one point they ran out of serving spoons for our soup (the dishes are large and shareable) and gave us a fork. We also waited a long time just to get menus.

I don't think I would go to sit down solo but I would order to go. I would probably choose the dishes I am more familiar with and some of the shrimp dishes. There are some other authentic dishes I would try but with the guidance of someone more familiar with the food. I give it two stars because what I tried has the same flavor with the exception of the noodles. The amount of oil in the noodles, isn't something I can/want to eat often. I can also see if you're ignorant to the food options and language how you may not have the best experience. The stars may change if I go back a try other food options.

4*Steamed Fish Fillet 清蒸鱼排: light and healthy.

3.8*Dragon Eggplant 盘龙茄子: the eggplants were cut like a dragon, it was amazing. The dish tasted sweet and greasy.

Having grown up in the area, my family was always keeping track of which of our favorite Chinese restaurants changed owners or chefs. Restaurants would move up on our family's favorite spots list and sometimes disappear altogether.

Chef's Lee Element changed owners a couple years back and we decided to come check it out for Christmas dinner (interestingly enough, we had gone to the prior iteration for Christmas dinner 2 years ago). Going to any Chinese restaurant in the area for Christmas is a bold move and Chef Lee's was no exception. The place was PACKED! We luckily made a reservation for 6 PM but we kept seeing endless streams of people coming in to pick up food or wait for a table.

The food here was great! We feasted on a medley of foods: eggplant, stir fried pea shoots, pork belly with abalone, two different types of fish, lamb, shrimp, and tofu. It was all really good! Great flavors, not too oily, good portion sizes, and just what you would want for a nice group dinner. Food took a little longer than usual (by Chinese restaurant standards), but that's to be expected given how crazy packed it was. The service was friendly and responsive! All in all, we had a great time and Chef Lee's Element has earned a spot high up on our go to dinner spots list!

Ironically, even though I'm Chinese, I don't go to Chinese restaurants as frequently as one would expect. However, I'm happy I came here with my family because it was a good time.

We had to wait for about 15-20 minutes to get a table, as it was a Saturday evening (12/30 actually). However, once we got seated, everything was super smooth. I really wish that I knew the English names for a lot of the dishes we ordered (I know their Chinese ones), but I've attached some pictures of everything we got below. Honestly, it was all great and the portions were also super filling.

This has been on my list of restaurants to try. The reviews have been mixed, but I had to try it for myself. It exceeded my expectations. My only complaint was that they were not very accommodating. Any requests for a deviation from the dish, it was a short and quick "No!".
However, all three dishes that we ordered were excellent.
Kung Pao Shrimp- delicious but a little on the sweet side. It was like eating candy.
Spicy Tufo- very fragrant. Delicious.
Flavored Cauliflower- AMAZING. Must have.
Overall, great food. Looking forward to trying other dishes.

This place used to be the best around for authentic Szechuan Food. When they first opened, we were there once weekly and then frequented it often for the first half year. It was where we could show off authentic ChongQing cuisine. I haven't been back as much since the Chef left but I guess now they changed ownership too. I ordered takeout yesterday - 2 appetizers, 4 soups, and 3 entrees, including one of their giant shareable dishes. Not only are the flavors watered down, the portions were downright pathetic. At first I thought my Door Dasher ate half my food

Heartbreaking for a place that had such potential! It's one thing if they maintained the quality, but everything is just sad now

Don't go. Go to Rockville, Yu Zhou, or the new Fish Hot Pot place in Montgomery Village.

The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive, making sure every guest feels welcome and well taken care of throughout their meal. In addition to this, the Hunan Beef is tender, flavorful, and perfectly spiced, while their Mapo Tofu boasts silky tofu in a spicy, aromatic sauce. Both dishes are must-try highlights of their menu.

I heard about this restaurant and thought I'd give it a try. While some of the food were quite tasty, the high prices, inconsistent quality and taste of the dishes, and the questionable integrity of some of the staff and unpredictable nature of when the food would arrive ultimately leaves me not wanting to come back again.

I ordered 9 dishes for a lunch party. First I called ahead the night before to place my order and was told they don't take future orders, and for me to call back again the next day. Strange since this implied my business wasn't important to them, but I went with it so I can try the restaurant out.

The following day I placed a mobile order on their website ~9:30am for pick up at 11:45am. I get a text message at 11:05 am telling me my order is processing and it will be ready by 11:50 am. I get to the store ~11:45am and was told my order is not ready yet, which I get. Upon asking how much longer it would take for the food to be ready, I was told ~20 minutes.

I was shocked and asked for more details. I was told the restaurant opens at 11:30 am and even though my order was 1st in line, they are cooking as fast as possible and only made 3 dishes. Later I learned this was just not true as other carry out orders were ready and waiting to be picked up. I also saw several people arrive to ask about their carry out order, only to be told it will take longer than what was promised. From talking to some of the staff I learned that delayed orders are a common practice at this restaurant, and the owner knows it but doesn't want to do anything about it for fear of the chef leaving for another restaurant. I did get compensated with a free drink and some soup, so it was nice to see the staff try to make some ammends.

This could all be overlooked if the food was spectacular. Unfortunately, it's not. Most of the dishes were average with some notable highlights, both good and bad. Let's start with the bad: the Kung Pao chicken tasted bland (I can get a better Kung Pao chicken at Panda Express), braised pork balls did not look like the photo at all and were too soft and mushy, and Green Beans with Minced Pork did not have any minced pork and were cooked too soft. Now the good: the Sauteed Diced Chicken is very good - I highly recommend it if you can overlook the high price and ridiculous wait, and the Crispy Pig Feet is worth a try - but be warned portions are tiny for the exorbitant price, and the sauteed fish fillet was cooked nicely with decent price for a fish dish.

Overall I think this is an overpriced chinese restaurant that tries to be like Peter Chang but fails to deliver.

Chef kisses amazing. Food was so good words CANNOT explain. Do not fumble this is the place to go. Service was good and bathrooms were clean aswell.