Chef Lee’s Element, located at 520 Quince Orchard Rd in Gaithersburg, is temporarily closed until the end of August.
The restaurant, known for its Asian fusion dishes and traditional Szechuan cuisine, currently has its windows covered, suggesting that renovations may be underway.
About Chef Lee: Li Li, originally from Chongqing—considered the gourmet capital of Chinese food—began his culinary career in 2000. Trained by Mr. Libin Yang, a master and national judge of Chinese cuisine, Li became the head chef of a three-star hotel in Chongqing at just 24 years old and later served as the executive chef of Chinese cuisine at the Marriott Hotel in Chongqing. After moving to the U.S. in 2016, he gained a following for his professional cooking skills and, in 2021, founded Chef Lee’s Element. His goal is to combine traditional Chinese cooking techniques with diverse ingredients to create dishes that represent both culinary innovation and cultural heritage.
According to the restaurant’s website, Szechuan cuisine—originating in the Sichuan Province of southwestern China—is known for its bold flavors, garlic and chili heat, and the distinctive numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns. While famous for its spiciness, the essence of the cuisine lies in its artful blending of flavors, which inspired the restaurant’s name, “Element.”
