Mandarin Wok Restaurant

There’s just something about their beef stew and I love eating their shell on shrimp

I had an utterly horrible experience here. We arrived at lunchtime on a Sunday and there were only 2 other tables with diners and both those tables had already been served. After waiting a good ½ hour a party of about 8 arrived and were seated and immediately fed. Although the waiter told me that these people had ordered in advance, it is still ridiculous that they were unable to cook our order in a reasonable amount of time. After about 40 minutes the waiter came back and told me that I would not enjoy the dish I had ordered (Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup) because I am an American (I suspect he meant not of Asian extraction). He explained that the beef is too fatty for «American» tastes. I asked if he could substitute leaner beef in the same dish. He said yes and came back about 20 minutes later with a totally different and quite bland dish — chicken broth with some lean but nearly inedibly tough beef, some veggies and lo mein noodles. It was horrible but I didn’t want to wait another hour for them to prepare something else. When it came time to pay I pointed out that I had not received what was promised but rather a totally different dish. The waiter told me that even with leaner beef I would not have liked the Szechuan Noodle soup so he decided to give me something else. I explained that he should not have done this without asking and he was defensive and seemingly uncomprehending of why I found this to be problematic. This ranks up there as one of the very worst restaurant experiences of my life.

Good portion but shrimp taste old/​weird very disappointed. Since my dishes were very basic combination dishes both had shrimp and well i had to pick all of them out. This is my second order from here, first time was ok, this time went down hill. Unfortunately can’t say I will order from here again :(

I was expecting a delicious Chinese dinner, or maybe I should say that I was hoping for a delicious Chinese dinner. Perhaps the mistake was in ordering it too early and to go. My husband wanted sweet and sour and I wanted Double Happiness. We ordered the pre-​priced dinners at $ 15.95 each. We selected the hot and sour soup which was loaded with vinegar of poor quality. The appetizers of shrimp tempura were mealy and the egg rolls were so greasy that they left a puddle of grease on the plate. The sweet and sour offered was pork and the meat was dry and tough. The Double Happiness had plenty of good broccoli and enough shrimp and small pieces of scallops, but unfortunately they were both in a soggy and unappealing flour coating. The sauce was unflavorful too.

What a hidden gem! I have lived closeby for years and never came here. Cheaper than other local Chinese and very good food. Everyone thought it was hands down better Chinese food than we had locally. Very impressed.

One thing you can’t complain about is the authenticity of this restaurant. The place was almost completely full of Asians when I came, and the menu on the wall was in Chinese with no English translation. Still, I found the food, though solid, to be unexciting. We had a set meal for four which included soup, poached chicken, lobster, some veggie, and a whole steamed tilapia. The standout was the chicken, which was beautifully moist and light in flavor. The garlic/​green onion sauce that went with it was more pungent and salty and was a perfect complement to the chicken. I would come back and order an entire entrée of just that chicken with rice. I think dessert was supposed to be included but forgotten. No matter, we were quite full. Overall, a nice meal.

It’s alright. There’s more carrots in my Szechuan chicken than chicken itself! Lol. The salt and pepper squid was mediocre and was rubbery… Kinda tastes like gas or something. The price is cheaper compared to others but if rather pay for a good quality of food. Not coming back again

Satisfy your Chinese food craving here! i got the Thai Chicken lunch special for a little over $ 6! It tasted just like the flat noodles you get at a thai place. Very good with value and great tasting

My coworkers and I have been going here for a few years, specifically for the Thai basil chicken which USEd To BE amazing. This review is based on a handful of people of Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian backgrounds. I just had it today and found it to now be mediocre. Less chicken present, outweighed by ¾ onions (and the few that were present had an odd fake taste and chewy texture) quality and quantity both went down and the price was about the same. Disappointed, I guess no more cravings for this dish or this place from us :(

definitely a hole in the wall type of restaurant but it’s great! i luv that their lunch special is only $ 6.35 including tax. I always get the beef brocoli with egg rolls or hot and sour soup. Cant beat that price around here.

my coworkers come here every now and then for lunch. the lunch specials are pretty decently priced for what you get. food isn’t to greasy which is always a plus.

The food here is superrr! The owner is the main chef and he works 7 days a week so at any given time, you always get the best food. I wish they will have more business so I can still be able to come since it’s my favorite Cantonese restaurant in our area. Must try dishes: steam chicken with garlic and onion sauce, deep fried eggplants, deep fried shredded pork, hong kong pork chop, string bean with chicken, soy sauce noodle, grouper with vegetables…
Everything here represents authentic Cantonese food. Ohh, their prices are way cheaper than other restaurants in the area.

Good food takes time … remember that when you order from Mandarin Wok in White Flint Plaza (Rockville/​Kensington).
My Chinese friends like this place and I am always happy with the food: it is flavorful but not greasy and heavy.
Delivery, carry-​out or dining in takes patience, but your wait will be worth it.

We ordered two appetizers, the Cream Cheese & Crab wontons and spring rolls, followed by two entrees, lemon chicken and curried chicken. The friend wontons were okay, not much filling. The spring rolls were piping hot on the outside, but ice cold on the inside. They must’ve gone directly from the freezer to the deep fryer. The lemon chicken tasted fine, if you could get over the fact that you couldn’t cut it with your fork and there weren’t any knives. The curried chicken was mostly onions and previously frozen peas & little cubed carrots. It was definitely «curry in a hurry” — the flavors lacked the complexity you usually find with curries. We did tell the manager that we didn’t care for the food, but she offered nothing but a, «Oh, you don’t like it? Sorry.» I definitely won’t be going back.

The first thing I have to say is value… Danggggg lotta o’ food for so little money. We ordered 9 dishes for 3 grown adults for $ 87 plus tip. We had almost 6 dishes leftover. What my mom had to comment was that we would have spent the same or more money at another restaurant and not have leftovers for the 3 of us.
Ok, who cares about cheap if the food blows? HOWEVER, the food is great. Not over the top seasoned nor salted yet flavorful. The «Crispy Eggplant» is a must try — even if you don’t like eggplant, you won’t even know. I enjoyed the Beef Chow Foon also… our dish came out so piping hot. I apologize for not providing my usual pictures but we were hungry and my camera was in the car.
The ambiance needs sprucing up and the from the outside, it ain’t no dazzler. Getting to this outskirt shopping center is a bit confusing as well. The food didn’t come out super fast neither but the service is friendly. But if you like authentic, it will certainly feel that way… as the owner/​chef couldn’t be anything but and the chinese written dishes on the wall.
More like a 3.5 star in my book rounded up for unique value which in our starved economy (no pun intended) is really refreshing. Don’t look for fast service, just good food at a great price.

Came in here to order a late carry out dinner. I was the only person there besides an old couple eating dinner. I sit at one of the tables to wait for my order when another couple entered to dine in. The restaurant owner says to me, «ma’am, can you sit at another table?,» pointing to one in the corner next to the drafty door. Both myself and the new couple stare at her, and then look around at the empty restaurant. The gentleman of the couple says, «but why??!» I replied with, «yea.not sure why.» So I remained seated. It’s one thing when the place is bustling with diners… I wouldn’t mind sitting out of the way then. This just made me feel like a second class citizen. Sorry I’m sullying your empty dining room. If you are particular about carry out customers not taking seats away, then create a separate seating area for them.
She then forgot half of my order. The sesame chicken is fine, but nothing to write home about. Not visiting this place again.

Food is usually good. They seem shortstaffed because during a busy lunch you’re lucky to get your order in a decent amount of time.

I’ve had much better. It was ok. Wouldn’t go back.

Please Note: The low rating given is primarily due to obscenely slow delivery service. For starters, they have a fifteen dollar minimum for delivery, and that seems to be a bit high for a Chinese take-​out place. The time between my initial call for delivery and the time the delivery man showed up was over ninety minutes. I even received a call from an employee encouraging me to cancel my order due to the driver not being able to find my address. However, in the hope of a delicious cantonese/​thai fare, I told him that I’d continue to wait.
I ordered two lunch portions of «Chicken Schezuan Style» and one lunch portion of «Thai Basil Chicken» to be used over three meals. The Thai basil chicken was very flavorful, and Schezuan-​style chicken was pretty tasty too (though not as good as the Thai Basil Chicken. Judging on food alone, I’d give the place four stars.

If my dad knew how to use the internet, or speak English for that matter, he would seriously be the ultimate Unilocaler. If there is a new Chinese restaurant out there, he won’t rest until he’s tried it, reviewed it (sometimes, rant about it), and ranked it in his personal list of «good eats».
In the case of Mandarin Wok, it was definitely «good eats», but the food came out soooooooo sloooooowly that neither my dad nor I felt comfortable giving it anything higher then 3 stars (the food was definitely 4 to 5 stars — but the service was really *JUST* that slow!). While I often joke that the more horrific the décor of a Chinese restaurant, the better the food, the atmosphere at Mandarin Wok even tried my considerable ability to carouse. It wasn’t just the blank, boring walls, nor the lack of music of any kind. It seemed as if the entire restaurant was run by librarians, everything was so quiet and hush-​hush (in the «so oppressively quiet so you feel guilty when you chew too loudly» sort of way).
Mandarin Wok is under new management. Originally it was mediocre Taiwanese cuisine, and the new owners has switched it up and made it yummy Cantonese food. Although they have a 3-​dishes for $ 25 dinner deal — my family of voracious locusts sneered at that deal and went straight to the menu (please note that since my dad and uncle did the ordering — in Chinese — I may be mangling the English translation of some of these dishes).
We started off with a cold platter. Which took nearly 15 minutes to get to us. Now a Chinese cold platter is just as it sounds. It’s a platter of 2 or 3 roasted meats — thinly sliced, seasoned jelly-​fish, and a small garnish of pickled veggies. All of this stuff has been pre-​made, and all the chef needs to do is slice and plate. At this point, there were only 2 other tables in the restaurant with us — all toward the end of their meal — so there was no reason why it should have taken 15 minutes to get our appetizer. However, once we did get it — it was MARVELOUS! The spicy vinaigrette off-​set the cold sliced pork to perfection!
With this wonderful opening salvo, we quickly forgot about how long it took to get the platter…
…but was quickly reminded again, when it took another 15 — 20 minutes before we got the seafood soup, which was rich and hearty without being heavy. Of course, my brother had to ask the waitress to bring us some white pepper and vinegar (should have been «red vinegar», instead we got balsamic vinegar), which are the traditional seasonings that one is supposed to put on the soup after being served.
And then we waited again for the next dish. And waited. And waited.
Now here is where my dad does the Unilocaling (I’m just the translator): while waiting between dishes isn’t bad — especially when one is making the transition from the appetizer to the main courses — waiting *this* long in a restaurant that has absolutely no atmosphere can be torturous. Especially if one is out with a less congenial group of friends. Fortunately, dinner was with my parents, aunt and uncle, my husband, and my über hilarious brother — so there were plenty of hijinx, but for a less rambunctious crowd, conversation would quickly peter out and the evening — regardless of how delicious the food was — would be a wash.
I think the chef overheard us, because almost immediately the next dish — Cantonese Lobster — came out. Although the 2 lobsters were desperately small (were they in actuality large prawns in disguise?), the flavors were spot on! Fresh, tender, and with a judicious amount of ginger (my husband roundly approves), this dish was one of the highlights of the evening.
After another long wait, the next few dishes came out in quick succession (I think my dad made enough loud and pointed comments that the waitress and the chef got the message), and each one was delicious! The sweet and sour beef was so incredibly tender and flavorful that I wish I didn’t eat all of it, so I could have it for lunch today. The walnut shrimp was oddly tasty (I have a morbid fear of mayonnaise on seafood), and the steamed chicken with the ginger sauce was *perfection*.
As a note of how long the service took, right about when we got the sweet and sour beef, a party (that knew my brother, which is why I noticed this), came in and sat behind us. We got about 5 or 6 more dishes after the sweet and sour beef, and by the time we were ready to leave (about 50 –60 minutes later), this table behind us had *JUST* received their first dish.
The food is great, but the speed in which the food comes out (but the food comes out hot and steaming), is just too arduous. You will find yourself hungrily eyeing the kitchen, and every time the wait staff comes out with a dish, you quickly pray that it’s for your table. Just too painful if you ask me. The food is delicious, but not quite tasty enough for me to suffer for.