Wok Box

Wok Box
Several locations in Western Canada and BC
1738 Davie Street (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC

A week and a half ago, I mentioned I wanted to visit Wok Box, an “Asian” chain restaurant. It had more to do with curiosity than anything else, specially considering feedback from other bloggers. The fact their new location is in English Bay, at a walking distance from my workplace, well, let’s just say it made things easy. After several failed attempts, mainly because they kept moving their opening day, I finally managed to pay a visit…

Since I had an idea of their menu – in my previous failed visit, I was able to grab their menu hanging outside their door – by the time I got there, I had an idea of what to order. When I approached the cashier, I felt some really odd vibes: Somehow, I felt all the staff was still in training, hence, things might go wrong. Still, I had to give them a chance… Regardless, while making my order, any preconceived notion of Asian food went out of the window when the cashier asked me: rice or noodles. OK, let’s rewind a little bit. In their menu, I was interested in their stir fry lunches and, out of the items available, I wanted to try the “dan dan”. See, in my head, when you say “dan dan”, I automatically associated “dan dan noodles”. So, when I was asked “rice or noodles”, I was totally confused. It is equivalent to being asked if I want my burger with a (beef?) patty or if I wanted a sausage in my hot dog… So, in a hesitant way, I said “noodles”…

Now, the story does not end there! I asked my lunch to go, as I wasn’t sure what to expect from the dining room (which, actually, is “nice”, more below). So, I sat there reading some news. About 20 minutes later (no typo!), my stomach started to make funny noises so I asked about my order. The reply I got was that: “Oh, they are still preparing it. This is not fast food, you know…”. OK, again, let’s rewind. When I arrived at the restaurant, it was 12:02 p.m. and there were only three other customers, all of them already eating. In other words, I was the first in the (empty) queue. Although I am hesitant sometimes to cook for others, at least I know about stir frying: aside from the prep work, stir frying is a really fast cooking method. You could have everything done in less than 10 minutes, if not 5, provided you have a really good heat source. And, yes, they had their woks and a gas range. So, when I did not receive my order until after 30 or so minutes after I made my order… Let’s just say I was not impressed…

At this point, the only saving grace would be the food. So, I walked to nearby English Bay and started unpacking everything. I can’t help myself ask about the container: I know these are called oyster pails because, well, they used to carry oysters in it. However, what I do not get is how these ended up being associated with Chinese cooking? It wasn’t until I watched them in some (US) TV shows, I would have never associated one with the other. Anyway, after stirring the noodles a little bit and taking the “authenticity” part out (broccoli in a noodle stir fry? Really?!), the food is actually not that bad. There was some garlic-y flavour and a slightly hot (as in spicy) feeling to it. The noodles had that starchy feeling which made the sauce cling to it quite well. There were a couple of pieces of pork but enough for this serving.

I couldn’t help at this point wonder myself: can I let them slip this time because the food was actually quite decent and my initial impression was because they just opened? Rather than “let it go”, instead, I chose to go there again later during week. This time, fortunately, the initial interaction was different, as if the team already started to catch up and learn the process. So, when I went to make my order that “vibe” wasn’t there. However, there was another problem: the cashier (it seemed it was a manager, as his uniform was different from the rest) was a bit too enthusiastic. While I was making my order, he greeted all the customers who walked in… From behind the cash register. Now, I do not mind this; however, is the fact that, hey, I am standing right there, you know. If you shout to somebody who is 3 metres away, what about the person in front of you? Anyway, I made my order and sat in the dining area.

As for my order, this time, I ordered “teriyaki”, again, with noodles. Along, I had their sping roll and drink. Just as last time, I checked the time I sat down and waited patiently. Unlike my first visit, however, I got my order on my table in ~10 minutes! Inconsistency? Anyway, here is my full order.

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Spring roll

Teriyaki stir fry bowl with pork

I will admit that I was slightly confused. OK, what is the deal with the lime wedge? To give it some contrast? It would have worked fine with something like the “dan dan” but not necessarily with teriyaki. And, unlike the “dan dan”, the noodles did not have a dry/starchy texture; instead, it felt a bit slippery (?). Probably as a result, in the end, there was a small puddle of “teriyaki” sauce at the bottom of the bowl – though, of course, it is possible they added a bit too much liquid while preparing it. The rest of the ingredients was similar to what I had previously, not that different from my previous visit. The roll was well fried but that was about it, no other redeeming quality on its own. While it did have some slight pork taste to it, it needed badly the side dipping sauce.

So, what are my closing thoughts on Wok Box? Rather than saying yeah/nah, the answer will depend on what is your understanding of Asian food and stir frying. If you consider this even close to authentic, you will most likely like it. If your concept is different, well, this is a total pass. Don’t get me wrong, the final result, depending on what you might order, has qualities of its own. However, due to several other factors (some of them not even directly related to food), I would rather go to Hon’s…

Tagged under: Asian • Lunch • Vancouver • West End