China Wok

I suppose that after getting lunch from here on average twice a week for about 5 months, I should write a review of the place.

Frankly, the only reasons why I got lunch from here in the first place are 1) that I'm daring and 2) that most of the other places for lunch in a 3-block walking radius from the office were closed down for "renovations".  So when Jazzy Bean bit the big one a while back, I walked a little farther and found this place.  And I'm frankly never going back to Papa Freddie's if I can help it.

Being a Fat American, this place has all of the staple "this is what 'Chinese food' is to Fat American" menu choices, and they offer a lunch special that comes with shrimp fried rice and an eggroll.  Done deal.

The first time I got food here, I was dismayed that there was no Governor's Chicken lunch special here.  So I went with my backup, Sesame Chicken.  Which was pretty much 60% chicken, 10% watery sauce, and 30% broccoli.  Now I'm not at all a fan of vegetables.  When I get chicken, I want chicken.  I didn't ask for a salad.  That being said, the chicken was satisfactory and the broccoli was not so satisfactory.

Next time, I tried the Mongolian Beef.  This was 30% beef, 20% sauce and 50% vegetables.  Not at all beneficial. in my mind.

I bounced around the menu, invited co-workers to adventure with me, and finally I hit upon Lunch Special #21: Orange Chicken.  0% vegetables.  The sauce was not at all watery, and had good flavor.  The chicken was... well, what you would expect from a hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint.  But it got the job DONE.  And I've never turned my nose down at the heaping pile of fried rice with the little tiny shrimpies.  And they make a darn fine eggroll to boot.

So that's my go-to now.  It's lunch (and occasionally there's enough leftovers for a 2nd lunch the next day) and it's quick and painless.  In fact, my "lunch bunch" and I will stop in, order up our lunch specials, pay the guy (who now recognizes us on sight and remembers that one of us always requests white rice instead of fried), and then head over to Walgreens for some drinks and whatever else we need - then we head right back to pick up our completed lunches and head back to the office to chow down.

Why only 3 stars?  Well, they're inconsistent.  I finally hit upon The Lunch for me, and yet randomly the sauce would change in flavor or viscosity, or the chicken would taste like it was far more sub-par bits o' meat, or it would be overcooked and stringy.  It's like they have 4 difference chefs back there and you never which one is gonna make your food (or one chef with wild mood swings or multiple personality disorder).  And then next week, back to the stuff I like and it tastes fine again.

But it's not enough to deter me.  The food is really not great.  But the Orange Chicken Lunch Special has gotten me through some very stressful days, and I admit that it re-heats well (or rather that re-heating it doesn't affect the flavor/texture very much).

Only other major problem?  They're closed on Mondays.

Too bad - sometimes Mondays are the days I MOST need some Orange Chicken Lunch Special...

We work in Pilsen and has a lot of choices around us. Yet we order Chinese from here for a few reasons:

Huge portions even the lunch specials!! You can get two meals out of it!
Fresh and hot when delivered and ON TIME. We work in a school with so little lunch time, they are always on time.
and so far I like what I ordered: orange chicken, beef and brocoli, beef over pan friend rice noodle, mongolian beef, and szechuan dish. egg rolls are huge and one last thing, the special came with SHRIMP fried rice!!!

Pretty good food. Fast delivery. Reasonable prices. Still reliable for hot Chinese food at home. The service is fast and the staff is helpful: willing to accomodate special orders or instructions. You won't be disappointed for the price.