Wong’s Wok

I have passed Wong’s Wok countless times over the past three years on walks to and from the Loop, but had never stepped inside until this past week.
Recently, I had seen on their Unilocal page a lot of photos of beef noodle soup and lu rou fan, which looked really delicious.
In my quest to find delicious Taiwanese/​Chinese food in STL following my study abroad journeys last semester in Hong Kong & Taiwan, I have been trying a few places’ beef noodle soups.
Wong’s Wok beef noodle soup is $ 9.50 for a decently sized bowl that I split with my girlfriend for a midday snack/​light dinner. It looks like a pretty authentic bowl of beef noodle soup. The beef was a little chewy and hearty, just like I had in Taiwan. The noodles were think and a little chewy which I enjoyed much more than all the other noodles I’ve tried in STL (way better than Corner 17’s noodles). The broth was the only disappointing part; it tasted much more like soy sauce than like thick beef broth, and not so much flavor overall even though the color is very dark.
Overall, I would come again to try a couple dishes including the eggplant and lu rou fan. I would eat the beef noodles mostly for the noodles and not really for the soup base. The prices here are quite cheap and it’s a pretty small place, but food is served pretty quickly.

Love it! If they delivered (which I don’t believe they do) it would be 5 stars. Inexpensive, delicious Chinese food. The service is great, and quick, I’ve only done pickup but you just call it in and they have it ready relatively fast. The fried rice and crap rangoon is my favorite. I would eat here everyday if it didn’t require me getting out of my car. Also they are closed on Sunday’s but that’s no biggie.

Go-​to Chinese in St. Louis. I have yet to find a Chinese eggplant dish as good as the one here. Beef stew noodle is also very good on a cold, rainy day. It’s on the Chinese menu, however, so you’d have to ask it. Only downside is that it’s cash only, but the prices are cheap

Awesome. Really cheap. Super fast service. Please be open later and on sundays!
FYI — cash only

Real good fried rice this time less greasy than last time. I give 5 stars because of the good crab Rangoon, fried rice and great location. 4 stars last time 5 stars this time.

Pro: When I go for any type of international cuisine, I usually get excited when the menus are written in English as well as in the language native to the food. After all, foreign foods should be an indication/​identification of peoples and cultures, not just commercialism. (Are you listening, Panda Express?) Such was the case with Wong’s Wok! Seeing the entrée options written in (what I believe is) Taiwanese (although it could be Mandarin) got me optimistic about the quality of foods I was about to consume. AND THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT! The Triple Delight (w/​beef, chicken, and shrimp) was seasoned and cooked to perfection, while the Beef & Broccoli was another sure hit. Fun Fact: I actually met rock music legend Chuck Berry on a visit here. I’m not sure what he ordered, but I’m sure he enjoyed it too!
Con: Cash only. No credit cards accepted.
Bottom Line: Great Chinese food! I will repeat this offense with zero remorse!

Honestly, this is a tiny and dingy Chinese (Chinese and NOT Cantonese) restraurant. CASH ONLY. This is the deal, there are two menus (1 in English and 1 in Chinese). And my Chinese (well Mandarin) is horrendous. So, if you point to something in Chinese on the wall– I think it might be good.
1) Yai Yin Noodles aka Chinese Spaghetti (it’s good but something is missing for me
2) I had to do it. I got myself some General Gao’s Chicken and it’s honestly not bad here
3) Service is horrible, especially if you don’t speak Chinese. It’s just not polite, but that’s the deal if you want some authentic Northern affair.
4) Dingy place/​atmosphere
All and all, I get those Chinese-​American and general Dirty Chinese cravings and this is the place. But, I don’t think I’ll eat here everyday– it’s just too heavy and greasy.

Highly recommend Lu Rou Fan and Zha Jiang Mian. Reasonable price, large amount, authentic. Yummy!

Checklist for being a quality, hole-​in-​wall Taiwanese restaurant:
— quality, authentic Taiwanese food including beef noodle soup, lu rou fan (braised pork rice), etc — CHECK
— large portions, affordably priced — CHECK
— «secret» menu written in Chinese on the side wall for those who know — CHECK
— quick, efficient service instead of the «friendly» but actually incompetent service all too present in non-​Asian restaurants — CHECK
I was all too thrilled to have found this gem of a place when I used to live in Saint Louis. It was a reminder of the places I frequent in LA, SF, Taiwan, etc, and definitely kept me sane during an otherwise tough four-​years of medical school. Highly recommended!

A hole in the wall Chinese place in delmar loop area. Second time here, beef noodle soup + dumplings. Gave it a second chance because my friends continue to love this place and come here. Little more pricey than other hole in the wall Chinese foods, but this place is a bit more authentic.
Not sure what else to say about this place, its a mediocre hole in the wall Chinese place with a bit higher prices. Guess you pay a little more for Chinese food that isn’t General Tsos or Beef and Broccoli.
The beef noodle soup, both times, had more soy sauce taste than to my liking. Maybe others like it that way but for me, I wasn’t that big of a fan of that type of taste /​soup broth.

My favorite cheap Chinese. The environment isn’t great and they only take cash, but they’re always really fast about food. I love the pork over rice on the Chinese menu.

Tastes pretty decent for midwest Asian food. Kind of pricy.

This place is the best thing ever. I’m Taiwanese and a lot of these dishes taste exactly like how my mom would make it. Their beaf noodle soup is to die for if you order it spicy. Their Chinese spaghetti, sauteed with meat and sauces, is wonderful as well. My personal favorite would definitely have to be the ma po tofu. They use silk tofu which is so soft, then sautéing it with a tasty sauce. Of course I like to order that spicy as well. Their Hunan chicken is really good and their meats are always really fresh, unlike Hon’s Wok which gave me beef that literally melted in your mouth in a bad way. I would definitely recommend this to everyone as I am Taiwanese and these dishes are definitely beyond authentic.

Quick service and great prices. They serve a wide variety of Chinese culinary delights. Loo Roe Fan is a must have.
A family themed type restaurant with the semi-​open kitchen right behind the cashier counter. The lady is very nice and friendly (and fun).
The only complaint is cash only.

Awesome food. Best Chinese ive had in st louis. Get the beef soup it is so good. Its cheap also. But they only take cash.

Beef noodle soup is good. We are not the fans for their pork chop over rice. Will try something else next time.

I don’t really know what authentic Chinese food is but this place is good enough for my Chinese food craving. The special lomein is delicious. At least it doesn’t give me sore throat after eating the food here. (I got sore throat and coughing after eating food with lots of MSG or cooked with really old oil).
The price is really cheap too. You can get two meals from each portion.

Small restaurant, run by a family from Republic of China. That lady is the chef’s wife, and the chef’s brother is the second cook. She’s a bit cynical and sometimes looks tense and impatient but a nice lady.
Food are like homemade, but really good! I visit them when I do not want to cook myself. Recently prices got higher so I did not frequent there as before but it is a good place.
No tips.
I hope one day they will accept credit cards so I can go there more frequently.

I love using Wong’s Wok for Chinese take-​out, especially when I need something substantial studying for exams. The food is delicious (they also have a Chinese menu — which I unfortunately couldn’t read, so this place must be traditional). You do get tons of food for your money — I think I ordered a chicken dish for about 8 bucks and had enough for two meals!
Last time I went there, the cashier was great at making recommendations. I asked for something filled with flavor, chicken-​based, and spicy. What I got was the most incredible Schezuan chicken I have had. It was bursting with flavor, spicy without being over powering. Can’t wait to order something else next time!

This is my go-​to local Chinese take-​out. The food is super fast and cheap, and the quality is what you should expect for the price. With that said though, I have also eaten at tons of other Chinese places in St. Louis where the quality is abysmal for the price, so I would say you’re certainly getting more bang for your buck here.
I usually order from their Chinese menu: my favorites are their «lu rou fan» (minced pork over rice with a braised egg and steamed veggies), their «niu rou mian» or beef noodle soup (ask for it spicy!), and their stir fry beef with turnip. The cooking style reminds me of what I’d expect at home. The portions are also very generous. The half portion on the English menu is enough as a full entrée, and I often find myself find myself not being able to finish all the food. Seating is limited (only a few tables), but if you live in the area, I recommend ordering take-​out.

So as quite a few of you know, I frequent the Asian grocery stores…
A LOT.
So it’s not much of a surprise that I run into some of the Asian restaurant owners in the area that are there for the mornings to pick up some supplies and gossip with the cashiers.
I run into the Wong’s Wok lady a lot. I always smile and say hi. She always looks at me funny and says hi back.
Finally, when I’m ordering my usual lu rou fan (braised ground pork on rice with hard braised egg and steamed veges) she finally asks the question that’s apparently been bugging her.
«You’re Chinese right?» (in Chinese)
«Yeah. You’re Taiwanese?» (in Chinese)
«How did you know?!» (in English)
«I’m Taiwanese too» (in English)
«I thought you were Korean!» (in Chinese)
I was specifically amused at how she asked me my ethnicity in Chinese. She knew that I spoke Chinese because I typically ordered in Chinese but I wonder how many Chinese speaking Koreans she runs into.
ANYWAY.
Lu Rou Fan. Cheap and super filling. The hard braised egg, is, if you haven’t guessed, is braised along with the pork so it’s soaked up all that goodness. If you’ve never had any sort of braised egg (tea, soy, curry), you’re seriously missing out.
Their beef noodle soup’s gone up in the rankings for me as Mandarin House’s has gone downhill for me. The soup isn’t as thick, nor the beef as tender as I would like, but this place is cheaper than most places.
This place remains the soy milk place of choice for me. You vegetarians seriously need to give this a try… and get the sesame tofu while you’re at it. It’s big enough for two. If you think that Silk shit is better. Well. NYAAAAAAAH. Charred sugar is the best flavoring for soy milk!
Oh apparently a lot of people aren’t familiar with tofu «gan.» It’s pressed tofu that’s been cooked with soy and spices so that it gets dense and savory. This place serves some dishes with it. You’d definitely see this at them Chinese Buddhist temples. The ja jiang noodles uses this but I… don’t think the lady would let you have a vegetarian version of it if you wanted to go that route… she vehemently didn’t let me when I asked one time (it won’t taste good!!!) but I’m sure she’s a lot nicer to people who aren’t… Chinese speaking Koreans…
ANYWAY TO THAT…
Now that I’ve broken the ice with the lady, I might bring up congee a couple more times. For serious.

Love this place. The prices are super cheap and the food is GOOD. I love their lo mein and crab wontons. It’s a really great casual place to get Chinese food from. It’s nearby where I live now which is a big plus. I’ve never eaten there, only ordered food to-​go. However, it always seems to be bustling with pick-​up orders and people eating in.
A couple downsides: cash only and parking in the Loop can be a nightmare

Really good Chinese food, for a fairly low price.
I am a big fan of the beef noodle soup! It’s great. I love the kung pao chicken too. They also were very reasonable when I ordered their food for a large party.
Ask the lady at the register to recommend a dish, I’ve never gone wrong there!

If you want dirty chinese, this is as good as it gets! The prices are cheap, the food greasy, and the atmosphere is fairly loud with sometimes sticky tables. It actually reminds me of random hole-​in-​the-​wall places in china. :) They only serve food on plastic (reusable plastic, but plastic nonetheless) but I know my parents would approve of the food they serve.
They have two menus — one exclusively in chinese, the other both english and chinese. I’ve had the mongolian beef from the bilingual menu (and it’s GOOD but be careful not to burn your tongue) and at least half the items from the chinese menu. Some of the food makes me think of my mom’s cooking. I especially love the kelp and pork with rice and their curry chicken. My friend loves the zha-​jiang noodles (which I have to admit are fairly good).
So if you want pretty close to REAL chinese food, go here and take a chinese friend with you!