Manchu Wok

What was I thinking… often eat lunch in the Rockefeller Center Concourse and just could not bear the long lines of the other decent places… no waiting at Manchu Wok and I now know why. It is miserable. Actually worse than «Mall Food Court» type food as it seems it was sitting around for hours. Price was different than advertised and when questioned why the cashier/​server/​cook would only shrug his shoulders.
This was my first and my last visit to Manchu Work.
Update 2-​9-​2015
I emailed the company multiple times about my experience and they never responded, not even with a generic «thank you for your feedback, we will use it to improve our company» or «we are sorry that you had a less than great experience at our shop.» I did not ask for anything, not even my money back for the horrible dog food they served me. Clearly they have developed a business that does not care about repeat business or building customer loyalty. Their business model is based on the principal of that there is a sucker born every minute… and they intend to take some of their money.

I would say 2.5 stars. If you want greasy mall/​food court Chinese, this is a good choice. Cheap and decent portions. Some of the dishes can be tasty, but it is kinda hit or miss so ask to try before you buy.
Sometimes I’m jonesing this type of «Chinese food» and this place does the trick.
Pro tip: You get to pick either fried rice or lo mein… but you can ask for half and half.

It was an accident that I ended up at this place. It was empty even though everything else was busy, a sign I should have acknowledged and kept walking.
The fried rice was extremely dry, especially the peas, indicating it had been reheated numerous times. It was definitely old. I didn’t see any cooks there. In fact there were only two employees.
There is now this weird phlem in my throat.

This is by far the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had, and I’ve eaten some questionable Chinese food. I’m so appalled I’m spending the rest of my lunch hour writing this review over the sad goopy remains of my meal. I got the orange chicken, which I can only assume was a small collection of chicken fetuses covered in corn syrup. The noodles somehow managed to be dry and slimy at the same time, a feat I was impressed by until I tried the rice — somehow overcooked and undercooked at the same time. The employees were nice, but now I realize it might be because they knew they were serving me the slop of Satan.

I walk in to this veritable abandoned restaurant after a while of searching for lunch. Not knowing what exactly I wanted I stumbled in and perused the menu and thought to myself what could go wrong…
The concept is phenomenal and the service and menu were great. We got our food quickly and even found a spot to sit albeit a bit cramped even though the place was not crowded.
The food was cheap that was about all it had going for it, I got the combo meal which included 3 «choices» and there was a fair selection its just that the food was not good. How badly can you mess up orange chicken well they did, it was so hard that it broke my plastic fork and crunchy to the point of it resembling chewing a pine cone. The rest of the meal was sub par as well which included the Mongolian beef and garlic ribs which were small and divided in the middle by a large bone on each rib which was 80% of the «meat.» The brown rice was even off maybe spoiled by the repulsive garlic rib they slathered into the box over top the rice.
Normally in my experience these types of fast Chinese places have a pretty standard and bearable nay edible taste but this was an exception. How it still is in business is a mystery probably because of its location in a heavy traffic area ensnaring a few unsuspecting victims every lunch to stay afloat

This place deserves a 5-​star rating for it awfulness. Head down to the Rockfeller Concourse during any normal lunch hour and you’ll notice that it is next to impossible to walk anywhere because the place is chock-​full of people. But for some strange reason, Manchu Wok is EMPTY! Its a ghost-​town in there. Sometimes the Just Salad line two stores over wraps down to hall so far that it actually eclipses the Manchu Wok entrance. Maybe this is a sign to the owners that they should just close up shop and call it a day. Or maybe the lack of clientele can be explained by the fact that the Just Salad line confuses Manch Wok-​hungry people because they cant find the entrance???
I used to believe that anything fried was delicious. You could fry Rocky Mountain Oysters, put it on a stick, and I would probably love it. Manchu Wok has simultaneously turned this maxim on its head and destroyed my faith in most of humanity.
I am also pretty convinced that the fried chicken is made of reconstituted cardboard. The only tasty thing at Machu Wok is the fortune cookie. The fortune I got said something to the effect of «an empty stomach is your worst enemy»… But in this case I’d rather go hungry.

Well, the food was always terrible, and it turns out the DOH agreed. 60 violation points & CLOSED on 8-​April. Including…
2) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/​or non-​food areas.
3) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/​or non-​food areas.
4) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-​drying device not provided.
5) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Eww. Am glad I’ve not eaten there in a while, and I won’t be anytime soon.

Seriously, I never thought it was possible to screw up Chinese food… I mean I have eaten in plenty of dives with certain health hazards, but at the least the food was edible. I ordered plain white rice… it must have been sitting in that pot for a couple of weeks because it was soggy and they even managed to drop in a clump that matched the shape of the bottom of the pot. the ribs were chunks of bone with a light coating of tasteless meat. Truly the grossest Chinese food I have ever had. No wonder it is the one place in the Concourse that never has a line. They must survive on the never ending flow of unsuspecting tourists.

Not sure why this place has such bad reviews. I ate lunch there today and it was great. Service was fast and friendly. I ordered noodles, which were pretty good, with orange chicken and mixed veg. The orange chicken had a great orange flavor and was nice and crispy, and the mixed veg was really good. I anticipated the broccoli being over cooked but it was not and it had great flavor. Also the price was very reasonable considering the portion. It was cheaper than lunch the day before where I just got a salad.

Continuing the trek through Rockefeller Center, Manchu Wok offers a little bit of the old-​school mall-​style Chinese fast-​food experience. This implies all the positives and the negatives of mall-​style fast food.
On the plus side, this is cheap and portions are reasonably large. When you get the platter, most of the weight is dominated by the rice, though — much more rice than the entrée warrants. In the end there is no choice but to try to inject the rice with the chemical-​style soy sauce they provide.
On the minus side, well, there are many better food options here, even at the $ 7-​or-​less price point.
When I am desiring some greasy MSG goodness, I go here. For a more authentic experience with loads more variety at the same price point, I would go across the street to Hing Won.

We definitely need better Chinese/​Asian restuarants on the concourse. This place was a complete disappointment when it comes to food. I walked hoping an average meal if not an exceptional meal here. I got the combo meal, which was definitely below average. The food was so bland, the chicken was undercooked and rice was pathetic. I will stick to other good resturants on the concourse. Avoid this place and save your money!

Really poor food, bland and oily. If you are a vegetarian, forget it. There is not a choice. No flavor, oil cannot sell for such prices. Poor restaurant and experience

I don’t know why but out of all the many restaurants in the Rock Center concourse, this is the one I always go to. Probably because there’s hardly a line and there’s a reason for that: it’s not very good. For some reason, when I first started working in the area, the food was great. It would’ve been my go-​to place if it wasn’t for the many times I’ve been too lazy to step out of the office to dodge tourists. I recently came back after a long hiatus and well, it sucked. The fried rice was fine, but the orange chicken was too orange-​y. And the General Tso’s chicken was too salty. The mixed vegetables… well, I wish people would stop cooking celery. It just doesn’t taste right cooked. I don’t think I’ve eaten a cooked celery that I liked yet.
But alas, I still come back. Because really, I don’t want to spend $ 10+ on a salad at ‘Just Salad’ or almost $ 20 for a small tray of sushi. Maybe I should start bringing lunch from home more often.

THEY GIVE YOU A FORTUNE COOKIE if you ask for one. That’s the only good part.
I thought I would be able to get some plain rice & veggies, like how hard is that to screw up? The Kung Pao chicken was slimy slimy slimy. And not spicy! Half the thing was onions, which I had to pick out. Bleh. Panda Express would have at least had some flavor, and more options.

This place is awful. Coworkers and I were attempting to go to a different place that had too long of a line, so we all branched out. I’d been here once long ago and honestly couldn’t remember much about it, so when one suggested we go to Manchu Wok, I didn’t protest. I should have… never again.
First off, I was literally STUNNED at how cheap they were with my entrees. I had the pepper steak and the orange chicken because they both looked fresh. I think the woman gave me a half of a spoon of each one. I actually asked for a couple more pieces of orange chicken and she begrudgingly obliged.
$ 7+ for what was effectively a plate of rice and some samples. Ridiculous. But nothing was worse than biting into the orange «chicken» which may have been orange «fat» for all I could tell.
It’s just not a place that should be surviving in NYC. Tourists must be the only reason it does, and even then I bet 90% of them would never go back. Sigh.

Let me start off by saying that I kinda love mall Chinese food (at least I did back in Michigan). It was hot, crispy, and cheap. So I was pretty psyched* when I saw there was a mall-​food style place in my building.
Then I tried it. Not the same. Not by a long shot. The chicken is not the best quality, and the food is not always freshly cooked, thus losing a lot of crispiness.
And yet, every couple months or so I find myself coming back, thinking «orange chicken would be ok.» Today was one of those days. The chicken was nicely crispy, but a few pieces in I bit into a lovely piece of orange fat/​gristle. I actually gagged at my desk and had to stop myself from throwing up. Eww.
But I reserve one star reviews for places that I’ll never go back to again, and I know that sooner or later I’ll succumb to my orange chicken cravings again, against my better judgment. So two stars it is.
*Talking about my teenage days at the mall brings back memories, okay?

Yes, I know it’s cheap for midtown but I got a 2-​item plate for almost $ 7 (noodles, orange chicken, and broccoli and beef) and seriously, I got 4 pieces of orange chicken and 3 pieces of broccoli (and maybe 5 slices of the tough beef). Also, I know americanized chinese food is supposed to greasy, but this stuff is TOO greasy… and the noodles are way mushy/​soggy/​overcooked/​taste only like oil.
Even though you can get a stamp card (11 meals gets you one free meal – I’m a sucker for stamp cards), I will not be coming back again.
I wish NYC had Panda Express.

A solid 2.5 stars. Bumped up to 3 starts because the people behind the counter were friendly and said «Hi» when I walked in. And the place was clean (very important).
I will be the first to admit that this is not gourmet Chinese food. That being said, they’re not pretending to be, nor are they charging you gourmet prices.
For $ 5.50 before tax (and $ 6.50 after tax), you get a one meat with rice and/​or noodles. I got the sesame chicken, and to be honest, for take-​out Chinese food… the majority of the chicken is actually pretty good. I judge the chicken based on how tender it is and I hate it when the chicken has been cooking for too long in a hot pan and gets chewy to the point of being inedible. The balance of the sauce is also decent. Straight-​up American style Chinese food flavors, but it’s solid.
I am disappointed with the fried rice. They needed more oil, otherwise, it becomes dry and flavorless. The noodles are basically the right texture, and were better than the fried rice, but they also didn’t have enough flavor.
I agree with Irene that there are sushi places and salad places right next door, but for ~$ 6 — you’re not going to be able to get much of a meal. The salad places average $ 9-​$ 11 and sushi? Well, I’ve personally never had any good experiences with sushi under $ 10, but I also haven’t tried the place next door. Then again. similar to Irene’s experience, I suspect that I may have a high probability of lowering my score in a subsequent review based on what may happen after eating the food… I will be sure to update.
For the budget conscious (who, like me, have an occasional craving for cheap take-​out American Chinese food — yes my parents would cry if they knew) this was not a bad option.
That being said, the chicken was a little bit on the greasy/​oily side. We’ll see in a few hours if my experience with the food worsens (don’t worry, I won’t go into detail if I do need to update my experience with the food).
This is not the kind of place you can go to very often, for several reasons including the inducement of nausea (ate too much greasy food) and adding to the waist line (yes, there are consequences to all that oil). Therefore, it has earned a solid 2.5 stars for being less than «A-​OK» but more than «Meh» since I have yet to experience better Chinese food of the same quantity for the same price in the Rockefeller area.

The chinese food at Manchu Wok is the kind that might seem delicious after a long night of drinking but is only just bearable in the light of day. You get a choice of 1, 2 or 3 items over white rice, fried rice or lo mein. I had the General Tso’s chicken, which was decent in a bad-​chinese-​food kinda way, but the noodles were pretty bad.
Despite the not great food, I’m giving it 2 stars because it’s one of the more affordable options in the Rockefeller Center dining area and because it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is — some quick, greasy take-​out for workers in a rush.

Manchu Wok always brings back memories of the days when I was a little teenage trouble maker, cruisin’ the mall and reaping havoc in the food court…
For $ 5 you can get 2 types of meat and either rice or lo mein with an eggroll… Yeah, this food sucks horribly… But back in high school it used to be so good… ah. how naïve my tastes once were…