Magic Wok

*** This place is now called Xing Yuan ***
The restaurant has been remodeled and much better service than the previous Magic Wok. Nice red carpet and more two staff waiting tables instead of only one.
The lunch special is a great deal. Includes soup.
I’m not sure if it is a Valentine’s day special, but they were giving Guirardelli Squares alongside with the fortune cookie as they slip you the bill. Nice touch!
I’ve updated the new menu at the photos.

The place is now called Xing Yuan. Still has the magic wok sign out front, so if you’re looking for the restaurant it still has the same sign from previous management as well as a grand opening sign. Can’t miss it once you’re driving through the parking lot.
Food is pretty good. We liked the wor won ton. Soup flavor was delicious! Also tried their curry beef chow mein which was good. Wouldn’t quite classify it as great. Their house chow fun was very good. Not a plethera of meats and veggies like I’ve had at other restaurants, but what was on the plate was yummy. Noodles cooked just right for the chow fun. Serving size is decent. 3 dishes including the soup fed 5 of us for lunch. Do note that we are not huge eaters, so if you are you’ll probably want to order more like 1 plate per person.
Owners are very nice & easy to talk to. This is their first restaurant, and after tasting their food I say they’re off to a good start!

Under new Mgmt again. Food is family style chinese cooking, which means nothing fancy. They are trying really hard to do well, so try it out…
Free parking

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this place. I went with my family yesterday afternoon and, as we were the only ones in the place, were seated immediately by the very friendly waitress. The restaurant is pretty tiny, a hole in the wall without being a dive, but very welcoming.
My mom ordered the bbq pork chow fun, and I have to honestly say it was the best chow fun I’ve ever had; the noodles were light, not greasy, and the pork was tender and so flavorful. My brother’s broccoli beef was cooked in a delicious sauce, and the broccoli was tender, not almost raw like in the broccoli beef of a lot of other places. I ordered the fiery beef, which was slices of tender beef in a spicy sauce, with a variety of fresh veggies. Absolutely perfect, as the sauce was hot without being so overwhelming that you lose your sense of flavor. My dad’s chow mein was good, but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had.
Portions are sizable here, and very capable of being shared with more than one person, for reasonable prices. Service was also friendly and fast. I was impressed by my first visit here and will most definitely be willing to come back and sample more of the menu.

This was a good lunch spot for dine in or take out, but they must have a new cook. Everything is way way way too salty. I had take out today with a friend and we both experienced the over abundence of salt: Mongolian Beef with plain rice, Wor Won Ton, and potstickers.
I tried to call them but there was no answer so I’ll just stop by on my way home tonight.
And I do like salt… but this was seriously way too much.

This was some tasty Chinese food. The lunch menu was decent and the food appeared to be cooked and prepared with a bit of care. The waiter was very pleasant and the bill was quite affordable. I’d say give it a shot. The vegetable chicken was really tasty. The sesame chicken was only so-​so. The fried rice was pretty good, too.

Haven’t eaten here in years and decided to give it another try since we know they changed it up.
Used to the love the lunch special but this time we ordered al a carte items since we were feeding multiple people.
I thought the food quality was better than the last time — but it still falls into the «fast» Chinese category for me… Wasn’t expecting it to be as good as say, Panda, on the other side of the island but thought since it was close we would give it a try. For about the same price as Panda we thought the food wasn’t nearly as good. The lemon chicken, especially was a bit of a disappointment… everything lacked that extra flavor punch and seemed kind of flat.
Would probably only go back if we were pushed for time or if we wanted an easy lunch. Definitely not something you want if you are looking for really good and tasty Chinese.

Just had lunch here with a friend. Had sweet and sour chicken and she had the garlic chicken. Both dishes were cooked perfectly. Chicken was golden brown and tender breast meat. Very high quality. Restaurant is small, but clean. Interior is very classy and bright. Food was amazing!

I work in Marina Village and for years this place was not very good … but it must have recently changed owners because it is really good now.
I’ve been frustrated trying to find good chinese food in Alameda. I’ve tried them all and most are terrible and a few are barely tolerable. So I’m very happy to discover that Magic Wok is now serving some really great food.
They do seem to be a bit understaffed at lunchtime so I suggest getting there early. It’s very small so at lunchtime you can expect a bunch of people standing in line waiting to order or pickup takeout — and there really is no place for them to stand. So the people waiting end up standing in the same limited space that the help needs to walk through to serve the people seated at the few tables.

I’m giving this place the benefit of the doubt by giving them even two stars. I only had the egg rolls, but they were the worst egg rolls of my entire life, bar none: just stock shells filled with slimy, gross cabbage.
I can’t comment about their other food, but bad egg rolls are certainly a strong indicator.

Went there the other night. Place was clean the people were friendly and the moo shu chicken I ordered was good. Prices seem real reasonable too.

Come 12 – 12:15pm it’s standing room only. Every seat in the quaint and I mean quaint place is taken.
One of my fav’s is Lemon Chicken, but every Chinese Chef makes it different, some saturate the chicken in a sugary lemon sauce, or are skimpy on the sauce completely. Magic Wok has it perfected with an equal blend.
I always get reccomendations on a Good Chinese Food Restaurant. Magic Wok’s previous owners left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouth.
The new Management has turned that around, and I am also happy with my meal and the lunch portions are just perfect (not to much, and not to little).
Now if they could make the fortune’s from those cute cookies realistic and come true,

I love this place — their soups specifically. I always get their wonton soup or their hot & sour soup. The wonton soup has so many wontons and bok choy. For the price, of 5.50 — 6.60 you can’t beat the value. Ther servers are exceptionally nice, although I usualy take out the food. The egg roll dessert is delicious too. It has jack fruit and chocolate wrapped inside it,

My coworker told me they changed owners, so I gave this place another shot. I’ve been back twice and the food is definitely better than before. The food doesn’t seem as greasy. The prices slightly went up, but the quality has gone up as well.
I can take this place off my «do not eat here» list now.

Ya know. I should’ve read the Unilocal reviews before trying this place. I was at the Optometrist right next door and was hungry.
When I walked in, I waited at the counter for a little while before I was greeted by anyone. By the time the guy finally came out from the back, he went straight to «may I take your order?» For me, I’d usually do something to acknowledge the fact that I kept someone waiting, whether with a chuckle /​greeting, or «ahh, I’m sorry about the wait… what can I do ya for???»
I ordered the Chicken Garlic Noodles…
–Where was the garlic? I saw the garlic bits… but there was no flavor of garlic almost at all
–Chicken’s texture was like canned chicken
–Chicken was flavorless
–Flavor was overall bland
–Soy Sauce couldn’t save it
–I used tons of my own hot sauce (kinda saved it)
–Portions were okay
While I can’t say the food was repulsive… like I couldn’t say it was like eating mud… but the food was most definitely NOT good.
I may give this place another shot because I saw two items that «sound» good…
Mango Tofu and Pumpkin Chicken. I’ll try those, and if they suck… I’m done with this place… for good.
UPDATE: (I can’t write an update for some reason)
I was forced awake at 4am to RUN to the bathroom. It was not a pretty sight… and again at 7am.
Nevermind the Mango Tofu and Pumpkin Chicken. Farewell Magic Wok! We can never be friends! 1 Star for making me have poor sleep!

It’s in a mall, need I say more?
Yes, I only work a couple blocks away and the new ownership seems to be Burmese. So they added a few items of their own country to the Chinese menu. I can’t say I have tried anything from the Chinese menu because I am Chinese and I don’t like Americanized Chinese food.
So, I like the salads, they have Tea Leaf Salad that is below par of Burma Superstar but for 8 bucks it is fresh, cruchy and flavorful. They also have a Duck salad with a light dressing that makes a terrific meal.
This is a take out joint for a quick after work dinner. No frills. No high expectations.

This place once had the best, I mean best tasting Tomato Beef Chow Mein. It was the only dish i ever tasted and the only dish I would order. Unfortunately to my surprise last Sunday, ownership had changed and the once heralded Tomato Beef Chow Mein is now a mere memory.
The place definitley got an upgrade with the new tables and interior, but the food too changed, for the worse.
Ownership’s personal take on the old menu is hapless, I will sadly no longer be going here.

I’ll keep this short and sweet.
I once came here and placed an order to go. While i was sitting at the table near the cash register for my food to be ready, a DOG came running out from the back kitchen area into the dining area. The guy at the register looked up at me, laughed, and hurried the dog back into the kitchen.
I swear to god.

This place made me reflect upon what signs one should look for that a Chinese hole-​in-​the-​wall is going to be nasty. For example:
10. You order from an overhead menu.
9. It’s a backlit menu of the sort you find at a hot dog stand.
8. Nothing is in Chinese script.
7. They don’t call things by Chinese names, e.g. instead of Kung Pao Chicken they call it Spicy Chicken.
6. No Chinese customers are in the restaurant
5. There are a bunch of Chinese family staff milling around, not working, because they don’t give a rat’s ass.
4. You are served on paper plates and bowls.
3. Fried wontons with no filling.
2. They don’t trim the fat off the chicken.
1.The name has the word ‘Wok’ in it. Happy Wok, Magic Wok, etc. «Wok» means ‘bad food’ in Chinese.
This place went 10 for 10, and did not fail to disappoint.

When I first read reviews on this place, I wondered if it could be true that they were as bad as some said, It is all true, unfortunately. The food is very greasy and tasteless. The hot and sour soup was very bland and cold when I got it. The whole thing was just disappointing. I had to wait 20 minutes for an order of potstickers.
I wouldn’t waste my time on this place and go to Webster to the Chef’s wok. The food isn’t fantastically great there either, but 100% better than this stripmall dive.