Full Key

2227 University Blvd West
Wheaton, MD  20902
301.933.8388


One of my fondest memories while growing up in Toronto was going down to Chinatown and eating some authentic Chinese noodle soup from some hole-in-the wall restaurant.  When my family moved down to Maryland in the 80s, we searched for that same soup and short of going to Chinatown (which, sadly, does not exist anymore) in DC, we found it at Full Key.  So, in my culinary walk down memory lane, I decided to stop by there on my way to my parents' house for Christmas.


They have a variety of noodle soups to choose from and since it had been a while, I ordered four of them:  Roast Pork, Roast Duck, Brisket, and Fish Balls.  Now, I've had all of them before years ago except for the brisket.  Upon opening them up and thoroughly mixing the noodles, broth and protein together, I was pleasantly relieved that the noodle soup was everything that I remembered.  The noodles were traditional thin, egg noodles that were flavorful and plentiful.  The broth (with some scallions) was rich, deep in flavor, and could probably be sold as a standalone product.  Each different protein, as one would expect, gives the soup another distinct level of flavor.  My preference is either the roast duck or the roast pork.  Both ingredients increase the sweetness of the dish and the fattiness enhances the richness.  I've tried the roast duck on rice and some of the other dishes which were tasty but if you want a truly authentic, good tasting experience, I would stick to the noodle soups at Full Key and just cycle through all the different offerings.