Wok-Inn Noodle

Great place for Chinese. House chicken was fantastic, nice and crispy and not sweet. All too often chinese places seem to sweeten dishes that need no sweetness.
Chow mein was also great, will keep coming back to this place.

Love this place! It may take awhile because it is run by one person in the kitchen! It is worth the wait!

This to offset my wife’s review who gave it a 1. I think the food was authentic Chinese and very good. It was an untidy restaurant that is why she rated so low. My son-​in-​law thought the food was good too but we have both lived in Asia.

I went in since the door said it was a Unilocal favorite. I looked to the right and I saw nothing but trash and tons of newspaper on the floor. I got concerned and walked out. Noticed that from outside i could see how dirty the place where appeared to store food was. Hello Health Department!!! Check out the photo, cigarette butt and trash.

I recently had lunch here 2 days in a row because it’s so close to where I work. First time I had the House Noodle. It was great! I’m a fan of spicy food and I ordered 2 stars out of 5. I might have to go with 3 stars next time. The sauce was just the right taste & consistency, and it was poured over the noodles. You will get all protein you can think of: chicken, beef, shrimp. And you will also get generous amount of veggies. I think it was a good deal for around $ 8 lunch.
The second time (which was the next day) I had chicken pad thai. Sad to say, it’s not my favorite. The noodle was a little different, not the usual pad thai noodles. It was too ‘wet’ (not sure how to describe it) for pad thai. Maybe too much sauce?
The place might look a little old from the outside, especially with tons of random stuffs they just put in the entrance of the store. Not sure what those are, some cardboard boxes, newspaper, etc. And plants are just all over the restaurant.
But overall — I think I will be back for some more of their House Noodle, and I also want to try the House Garlic Chicken!

Don’t let the, ahem, unassuming (read: divey) surroundings of this seedy strip mall location deter you. The Wok-​Inn Noodle serves up some pretty tasty fare.
The menu is limited but that is because everything is made fresh to order… I mean FRESH. I had the sweet and sour chicken with noodles. Erase from your mind that image of standard S&S chicken slathered with orange glop. Wok-​Inn’ version is small cubes of the most tender white chicken sealed in a crispy coating, set atop ramen style noodles and drizzled with a mild sweet and tart golden sauce.
We also shared an order of our usual favorite: crispy egg rolls. (why not? it’s crispy, it’s deep fried, what’s not to love?)
We will definitely be back to try a few more dishes.

Delicious home made food! You can taste the love. Great things take time, but this is no doubt a hidden gem!

Sadly, the service was slow, no one asked if we wanted drinks, we had to ask for the soup… which was terrible. When my iced tea came, it was a plastic pitcher of hot water with two tea bags. 20 minutes later, the waitress poured ice in the pitcher and gave me a cup of ice. The taste of plastic was too strong.
She came to refill my husband’s soda and proceeded to dump ice in our soup! She then poured soda on the table and our phones. Her response was «Oops. Sorry». She never brought us napkins for that.
After 35 min, food came. Mind you, there were only two other tables!!! My curry had burnt vegetables and black charcoal/​dust around the edge of the bowl. There was no spoon to eat with. She realized I didn’t have rice and brought a small plate with dried out, hard rice. The flavor was ok, but the burnt vegetables overpowered it.
The space by the front door/​window has junk piled up. The tables were sticky, the menus were sticky. Sadly, we will not be back. :-(

Here in Boise on business, found this place and was a little hesitant, the look of the place is ran down and kinda dirty, the bathrooms were not super clean, and they were swatting flys right and left. However, the food was remarkable the best Chinese food in Boise by far!
Get past the look and try this place!!!

Gr8 chinese food in the area near I stay.
I used to take the Pad-​thai/​Fried chicken rice as a to-​go every alternate Friday and it tastes amazing — the quantity is enough to make you feel full.

Funky little place in a strip mall, but don’t let that fool you! We came in on a Friday evening and it was pretty empty at first. The server was very sweet and made sure we were taken care of. We ordered an egg roll, the chicken chow mein, and the house special fried rice. While it took a little while to come out, all of the food tasted really fresh and included lots of fresh veggies! It was worth the wait and we will be back.

Yum! Loved the house noodles! Subbed tofu for the meat. The crispy tofu was made in house! Awesome for vegetarians.

My family’s only choice for good. .real chinese food in the area. My wife and I are chefs… and she is Asian. Needless to say, we are picky. This place is slow (don’t expect fast food), their service is friendly but sub par… but the food is fresh, and delish!
Small menu, but everything is great. House noodles/​3 stars for spice/​extra vegetables. Yum!
I hope this Boise treasure is passed on… may many generations eat fresh house made noodles. …

If you’re in Bosie make sure to check this place out. We came here twice on our last visit. The deep fried chicken with house made noodles was fantastic.

We visited on a Saturday night. It was not too busy, and the waitress was very attentive.
We started with their Hot & Sour soup, which I thought was tasty, though not hot or sour enough for my preference. Our entrees consisted of the Cashew Chicken, the Mongolian Beef, Pad Thai with vegetables, along with rice and their homemade noodles.
I think all of their food is quite decent, and for the price, they offer great value. I highly recommend people pay them a visit.

I have gone here a few times and have had the same consistency in the food tasting good. When I go I usually get the house noodles and Thai curry chicken. I haven’t branched out and tried other stuff on the menu yet, so will keep updated when that happens.
Friendly staff and good experiences so far.

Wok-​Inn Noodle was rated the best Chinese food in Boise. What a disappointment!
Pad Thai was ordered medium heat. It arrived with zero heat or taste and was swimming in what tasted like cream of mushroom soup. Thumbs down for the Pad Thai!
House chicken with noodles was decent but nothing exciting.
I stand by my original statement… there isn’t good Chinese food available in Boise :(

One man. One wok. One dish at a time. That’s what the server told us. It is true. The seventy-​six year old owner /​cook is the one man. When he retires, so will the restaurant I assume. If you haven’t been in yet, what are you waiting for?
We peeked in to the kitchen. But for one young woman assisting to put food into containers for to go orders and moving the plates for dine in customers from kitchen to server, it was a one man show. Sometimes in evenings or at busy lunch hours there is a line of customers or longer waits for food. Knowing how hard this cook /​owner works to produce the dishes all week long should help make one patient and then some.
FOOD & MENU
Not all execution is ‘chef perfect’. For example, the shrimp in the shrimp and veggie noodles were served with veins still in.
My husband and I seldom eat poultry, in particular at a restaurant, but the House Special chicken and noodles with ginger sauce sounded delicious. The sauce was addictively good but we might have appreciated the dish more had the chicken pieces been skinned before the cooking since for us they had an odd texture.
But the house made noodles are wonderful, the vegetables are wok cooked perfection, and the sauces on our dishes were not only delicious with distinctive flavors but not over applied. In many American focused Chinese restaurants it seems the trend is to drown food in sauce when it should really be only smooched by it. Like this.
The noodles are fresh made every day. The cook makes the dough, it gets run through an ancient looking noodle machine six times to stretch it out (our server’s daughter runs that machine and it looks pretty labor intensive) and then noodles are cut to use.
Order any Chinese noodle dish and you’ll be happy. Order noodles with vegetables included and you’ll be even happier. This food is clearly cooked in a hot wok by a person with the experience to get that very difficult to achieve skill right!
A note worth sharing is this: you’ll have a choice of heat levels. Medium was just right from two hot dried chilis being part of the cooking.
Also note: Pad Thai is on menu That is a Thai dish using rice noodles. It may be good. But the house made Chinese style noodles are «it».
THE DRILL
Take a seat at a table and order from the laminated menu. A pot of tea and a cup of soup is offered with your meals. The soup was a delicious one of vegetables cooked only in the broth created by their cooking. That is the Tuesday /​Thursday soup. On Monday /​Wednesday /​Friday Hot and Sour soup is served with «cook’s choice» on weekends.
Forks are on table and diners are offered chopsticks. These are noodles perfect for eating with chopsticks. Even my hubby, chopsticks skill challenged as he is, had fun with it.
VALUE
Portion sizes are ample, we had leftovers to take with us, and the price is a bargain. I think our lunches clocked in at under $ 9 /​each.
THE VIBE
The window in front looks into a hodepodge area of chair and table stacked high with food magazines and dusty cookbooks and plants. I’m thinking this might be the cook’s retreat as it didn’t seem to be seating.
The dining space itself has black and white lino floors and red topped tables with paper parasols hanging on the ceiling. The space is an old one but clean and inviting. But expectations in synch for what this is, it is bare bones.
As you walk in you are greeted by the aroma of a hot wok and fresh food. Further sensory delight was provided on our visit by ability to hear the «chop, chop, chop…» rapid fire of knife on block and the sizzle of food hitting the wok. We could hear all that thanks to no music in the dining room. Hooray! There were strains of classical music (like Scheherazade) wafting from the kitchen. The nuances of sound made this even better.
SERVICE
Our server, although clearly over busy as the dining room started to fill up, was very friendly and refilled the tea pot for us too without us needing to ask. She checked in with us during the meal and thanked us for coming in.
She also paid attention when one of the two women at the table next to us didn’t finish her noodles. She asked if something was wrong. No, said the diner, it was a large serving and she couldn’t eat that much at one time. Good to know, said the server, because the cook does not like plates with uneaten food coming back to the kitchen. If that happens, he expects her to know if there was a problem and what can be done to make the guest happy.
Delightful.
THIS N THAT:
1) PARKING: In private, aging, poorly maintained strip mall lot.
2) ACCESSIBILITY: Level in door and throughout. All seating is standard height. Enough clear floor space to get to most tables. Accessible parking in the lot does not meet Federal Law and State Codes.
3) NEIGHBORS: Chiang Mai is next door. Outpost of Asia Market at far end of lot.

Came to Wok-​Inn hot on the heels of the Yahoo Food article that utilized Unilocal data to determine the best Chinese Restaurant in every state and which named Wok-​Inn the best Chinese Restaurant in all of Idaho.
Wok-​Inn Noodle is the perfect example of a hole in the wall. It’s in a run down strip mall on Emerald (next to dive bar spectacular, Navajo Room – if that helps to paint a picture of what you’re dealing with as far as location). As you approach, the front window displays a huge cluttered pile of discarded boxes.
Ok…
However, once you get past the eeek worthy entrance, the restaurant itself is tidy and the tables were all sparkling clean. I’m not saying the décor isn’t odd, though – it is. From the art on the wall to the flat screen TV with VHS cassettes piled in front of it – it’s definitely… eclectic.
We were seated immediately. I ordered the their Pad Thai, which was absolutely amazing. Everything tasted so incredibly fresh. I also tried their fried rice with beef and chicken and it was hands down the best fried rice I’ve enjoyed in Boise to date. Per the Unilocal check-​in deal, I also enjoyed one of their egg rolls (for free). It was fresh made and delicious. A quick heads up for vegetarians, though – the egg roll did have meat in it.
I was in a party of three and all of our meals came out at different times. I attributed this to the fact that it’s freshly made, they have one chef, and they get it to you the moment it’s done – but a little odd, none-​the-​less. Prices are right (less than $ 10 a plate).
I will definitely be back. Likely, for the fried rice.
Also likely? I’ll take my meal to go.
Get to it!

Sadly, there are few Asian restaurants left that make their own noodles. And that’s in Hong Kong, the culinary capital of China. So to have an eatery in Boise where owner Chan Chun-​Chung crafts his own egg noodles, that is pretty special.
The Noodle is a place where many potential first-​time visitors may be turned off by the clutter of plants inside the front door and the rather drab décor. However, this is authentic Hong Kong — where Chan grew up – at its best. It’s not about the building, it’s about the food.
If you think sauces dominate Chinese cooking and that a General Tso chicken is a real dish. you need to go to PF Chang’s, Panda Express and their ilk. However, if you want bright dishes where the ingredients themselves shine, Wok Inn Noodle is the place for you.
Three decades ago, I was introduced to the Wok Inn Noodle on Idaho Street. Sadly, it no longer exists, but the original Orchard Street location remains in a nondescript strip mall at Emerald street, wedged between a smoke shop and a bar.
Chan is getting older and it’s just him in the kitchen, so service may be slow, but oh, is it ever worth it.
I recommend the House Noodles, which includes chicken, beef and shrimp stir fried with an assortment of vegetables and noodles paired with a subtle sauce.
Hong Kong Chinese complain that in the United States sauces are too dominant and become the taste of the dish, rather than complement it. Chan sticks to the authentic style and it’s the reason he puts out the best Chinese food in Boise.