First Wok

Before I review First Wok, I’m going to let you in on the deep, dark secret of Chinese food in the BloNo: you ain’t in NYC, LA, or even Chicago anymore. There is *no* top-​notch Chinese around here, nor within an hour’s drive of here; the places that everyone raves about as being «the best in town» are expensive without being good. I say this as a guy who prefers Asian food to almost any other kind, and who travels constantly: the best here wouldn’t rate a second look anywhere else. The places with Fu dogs outside, or terracotta warrior statues inside will charge you $ 50 for dinner that’s worth $ 5 at most, and have waitresses that will automatically ask you «is that *AAALLL*?» when you order and sneer at you if you refuse their suggested foofy alcoholic drinks. You’ve been warned.
Having said that, there is a way to get your money’s worth of food — and that experience *is* similar to what you’ll find in the big city. The trick is, go downscale. Don’t think «Upper West Side»; think «Bed-​Stuy». Think of that skanky-​looking Chinese place with the broken yellow sign — the one between the Jamaican oxtail shack and the African hair-​weave shop — where the cook is three times bigger than you, always has a cleaver in his hand, never smiles, and will make you a HUGE container of pretty damn good roast pork or a pile of crispy, still smokin’-hot chicken wings for a couple of bucks.
Got the picture? That’s First Wok.
I got their honey boneless ribs; since I was extra hungry tonight, I ordered two of those plus chicken wings with pork fried rice. That was a mistake, because I’m only in town for the week — and I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it all! Maybe if I pack a lunch… all that came to under $ 20 — and literally filled a shopping bag. Call it four, maybe five good meals for that price. All three containers were bulging at the seams, and the rice was stuffed in between all the chicken wings that were jam-​packed in the big foam box. Yowza!
Was it good? I’ll tell you what: if you add «…for the money», then it was freakin’ outstanding — I don’t think you can get any more value for your buck. Judged on some imaginary absolute scale of Chinese food? Well, I’ve had some pretty incredible Chinese, so that’s not really a good question to ask me — but for the average person, I’d say that it’s about like eating at Denny’s: nothing incredible, but pretty decent. A good solid 6 on a 10 scale.
I don’t know that I’ll come back here — I’m an occasional visitor to BloNo, and there’s a number of other places here that I’d like to try — but overall, First Wok left a good impression on me. (Pro tip, though: get it delivered. Looking at their, um, décor will not add anything to your enjoyment.)

Get the black pepper chicken, extra spicy or house angel hair. Those are don’t miss! Grab a Pepsi to cool off because when you order extra spicy, they MEAN it!

Ordered 3 people worth of food and got it delivered in less than 15 mins! All of it piping hot and delicious as usual!

Love this place. Order from here regularly and it’s always good and made fresh. Owners are nice and we order a lot of dishes with special requests and they are always happy to make it however we ask. Highly recommend

I come here for lunch about once a week. Pretty tasty. I get the lunch special with fried rice and sweet & sour chicken sub eggroll for crab ragoon. Total 6.30… Fast good affordable (got eggroll once. Not good)

I’m a biz traveler who sometimes likes to forego the Bloomington «night life» in favor of watching cable in the hotel room. As such, this is my go-​to place for Chinese. They have good food and give you a bunch of it for not a ton of money, and the delivery is always fast (maybe I am just used to Chicago). Recommended.

This is the best Chinese food in Bloomington Normal. Everything I have ever ordered has been hot and authentic!

The food is nothing to write home about, and the prices are what you’d expect, but if you’re craving Chinese, then First Wok is not a bad place to turn to.

I’m updating my review to «Yay! I’m a fan» of a new order that I discovered, in part, thanks to Unilocal.If you’re looking for an order for 2 people (or you love leftovers, or you are a man with twice my appetite) read on.
When I reviewed First Wok back in 2009, I believe I was the first and I’m glad to see that many people have given it very favorable reviews. Brad E’s review caught my attention so my wife and I took a break from General Tso’s chicken and ordered the Sesame Chicken instead ($ 7.15 w/​fried rice). We also ordered a small vegetable lo mein, which put our total over $ 10 and — thanks to a Unilocal offer — meant we received 4 crab rangoon for free! And just like that, we found a new favorite order.

We wanted to try a few things, so we ordered the following:
Sweet and sour shrimp (small size)
Beef with broccoli with regular fried rice (large size)
Black pepper chicken with beef lo mein (large size)
Pork egg roll
Sweet and sour chicken (small size) (came free with the meal because we spent more than $ 20 — if you spent $ 10, $ 15, $ 20 or $ 30 you get a choice between three free things)
The sweet and sour shrimp and chicken came with the sauce on the side, so you can add as much or as little as you want. Everything was really good! I was surprised as I’m usually disappointed by at least one thing when trying out a new Chinese place.
The prices were very reasonable — we paid a bit less than $ 30 for all that food tax and all.
They have a convenient online ordering system that allows you to really customize your meals and add what you want. They also have delivery in a 7 mile radius for an extra $ 2. We picked ours up, but it was hot and ready when we got there (in about 15 mins).
Will definitely be eating here again!

extremely mediocre.

As far as inexpensive chinese goes this place is great! Generous portion sizes and actually cooked well. I didn’t feel totally disgusting after eating it… just a little disgusting! ;) Will definitely be eating here again when the craving hits. (bonus…any order over 10 bucks gets you 4 free rangoons!)

Fast, cheap, and large portions for those with a big appetite or wanting left overs. I have yet to be disappointed with their food or their service. Yummy every time.

I was impressed as I walked into the restaurant, that the kitchen was open, and looked like a Chinese restaurant that you would walk upon in the streets of Downtown Chicago or NYC. The sesame chicken portion was double, what I was expecting. It was near perfection and exceeded my expectations. The fried rice was moist and well-​balanced. The price was fair, but could deter folks before they even try the food. The folks of Bloomington are lucky to have this restaurant, too bad I was only passing through.

big portions & cheap price: I didn’t know much about this place until a co worker told me about it. I also found out that my girlfriend really enjoys this place too. I have had a lot of great meals out of here and I enjoy there crab Rangoon. They also have hot & sour soup that’s good. I like the sweet & sour chicken as they give you quite a bit to eat. All in all this is a Chinese carryout place worth checking out. You can dine in also although I noticed that the dining area can sometimes be a little dirty.

My favorite chinese quick food. I eat here atleast once a week. Love the boiled dumplings. They have a variety of specials that are all well priced. Was very happy with the fried catfish I got last week, atleast a pound for five bucks. Got a funny look when I asked for tarter sauce. The people are always kind and happy.

First Wok is fast, cheap, and delivers consistent quality. It’s chinese takeout, so don’t expect anything fancy, but they do a good job within that parameter.

Usually has decent food, it’s the best Chinese I’ve found in the city so far, and we always finish it all (no leftovers) even though they have large portions.
We have only ordered delivery, so I can’t speak for the actual place, but they are always super fast with the food and all of the delivery men have been incredibly nice (especially since we tend to order in the worst weather).
The chicken fried rice is delicious (I didn’t really enjoy the house fried rice) and crab Rangoon is not too cream-​cheesy. Look for their menu, it has coupons on the front, including one for a free crab Rangoon for any order over $ 10.