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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Mr. Wok - Peking Duck!

I went to Mr. Wok over the weekend...finally. I've had many people tell me to go there and get the Peking Duck! So a group of my friends made a reservation and went on Saturday night.

Mr. Wok Asian Bistro
2600 14th St.
Plano, TX 75074
(972) 881-1888
http://www.mr-wok.com
Price: $-$$$$

It is a pretty small restaurant. Definitely make a reservation on Saturday nights. It was packed!! I noticed that the car that parked before we did were still waiting for a table when we were finishing up our meal!

They are known for their Peking Duck. You need to order it at least 24 hours in advance. And oh yea, its BYOB! :)

Kang's Peking Duck (2 courses) (A whole duck with crispy skin carved tableside and served with steamed pancakes, sliced scallions and hoisin sauce. The bones are then sauteed with garlic, ginger and sour mustard leaves or prepared as a soup) $32.95~ It was carved tableside and I have to say they do a good job with the carving. The skin was sliced super thin and the meat was cut separately. That's how it should be done, the skin separate from the meat. The duck was really nicely cooked. The skin was crispy and not too greasy. The meat was tender and flavorful. Personally I prefer the steamed buns instead of "pancakes" to wrap the duck. You can actually order the steamed buns for the duck. An order of 10 pieces is $5~ For the 2nd course you can choose stir-fry or soup. We went with stir-fry since the soup is usually the norm. I wanted to try something different. They basically take the rest of the duck and bones and sautee it with onions and mustard greens. I loved the stir-fry! The sour mustard greens added that sourness to contrast the richness of the duck and it was wonderful on steamed rice!

It's a Chinese restaurant so of course everything was family style.

We also got...
Ma Po Tofu (cubes of soft tofu simmered in a chili sauce) $5.95~ The price was great for the portion. The tofu was nice and soft but it was definitely not traditional Ma Po Tofu. A bit too much corn starch in the sauce in my opinion...very gooey. And it was not spicy. A big no-no for Ma Po. Some of my friends really liked it but just eh for me.

Honey Walnut Chicken (flash fried white meat chicken quickly tossed with homemade candied walnuts in a honey sauce) $8.25~ This wasn't what I expected. I was actually thinking like those chunks of battered chicken like orange chicken from an Asian fusion place or something. Which I actually like... haha. :P The dish was probably my least favorite. I only had one piece of chicken. However, it was one of my friend's favorite dish...cuz it was sweet. haha. Just depends on your preference.

Twice Cooked Pork (roast pork stir-fried with cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers in a spicy-sweet sauce) $7.95~ This wasn't very authentic either. Twice Cooked Pork is one of my favorite Chinese dishes of all time. This just didn't measure up. :( The meat should be sliced thinner and it didn't have enough fat that it should typically have. I did like that it had lots of veggies in the dish. But again, it wasn't spicy... and it's supposed to be! Sigh~

Lastly we got a Sauteed Water Spinach (with garlic) $7.95? I love love love Water Spinach. One of my favorite veggies ever! This was pretty normal. The spinach was slightly older so it's not as tender as it should be. We don't get it enough in Dallas so I'll take it when I can! haha. I ate a lot of this.

So to sum up. Peking Duck was great, it's definitely one of the best I've had in Dallas (I try not to compare Dallas Chinese food to food in Asia..haha..it's just not fair). Everything else was just so-so. Nothing was traditional (other than the duck). I think Shabu Shabu in Plano has wayy better Twice Cooked Pork. It's a cool experience to have the duck carved tableside and might be good for a family gathering or something. For better Chinese food go to Jeng Chi Bakery or Genroku in Chinatown...

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

2 comments:

  1. Hi. I randomly found your site through a search. I see that you mentioned Mr. Shabu Shabu, have you ever reviewed that restaurant?

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  2. Hi there~

    I've never written a review of Mr. Shabu Shabu but I've been there many times. My dad is an acquaintance of the head chef. Their taiwanese food is pretty good (pork cutlet & rice, beef noodle soup, etc.). Doesn't compare to eating in Taiwan, but it'll do in Dallas. hehe. I also like their Twice Cooked Pork dish. The shabu shabu (or hotpot) is done individually. You get your own pot of broth and you cook your own meats and veggies. It's a great thing to do on a cold day! I personally prefer the spicy hotpot since I love spicy foods, but I think their spicy hotpot isn't spicy enough! :P Feel free to contact me if you want to know more about that place. :)

    ~~ CHOMP!

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