Hot Wok — Restaurant in Edmonton

When someone from out of town suggests they would like Chinese food, Edmonton has no shortage of offerings. My wife and I have several places we like to go to but when someone, like my dad in this case, wants to eat Chinese for dinner you have to assess certain perimeters of what would be considered a good dining experience. We'll, like my wife and I, the quality of the food is what's important to us, and it is very important to my dad as well. Yes, we could have taken him to a place where the food was good and the atmosphere (decor) being inviting and interesting, but it will be the food my dad will remember, not the art on the walls. So from several places to chose from we opted for the Hot Wok. As of late we still see the many restaurants still being affected by low turn out at dinner time caused by Covid, and unfortunately Hot Wok was no exception. At 6pm (right at the time the dinner rush should been) there were only 2 tables that were having dinner...and this is a Saturday night...not good. We felt bad but we knew we were in for some good eats. There were 4 of us going for dinner. My wife and our family friend (who are both vegetarians), and my dad and I who are not. So, with my experience of being there several times before, I ordered several things of the meat variety and the girls ordered what they wanted even though we would share everything. There are certain signature dishes that each restaurant may be remembered for, and Hot Wok doesn't disappoint. For us carnivores, I ordered Pekinese Sweet and Sour Pork Chop, Crispy Chicken with seasoning salt on the side, and House Special fried rice (it has BBQ pork in it). The girls ordered Jumbo Shrimp with black bean sauce, Chinese Mushrooms with baby Bok Choy, Fish Fillet with vegetables and Shrimp Ball Tofu Hotpot. Every dish was absolutely amazing, but the Peking Pork Chop is my absolute favorite. They do it so well. When it comes to service, I have to be honest and say it could be improved. I could give an excuse by saying it was a lack of staff, but we were the only 2 tables being served. I guess my only complaint would be communication. For instance, my friend (having been with us the previous month) loved the deep fried Squid and so she ordered it first before anything else was ordered so we could start with an appetizer. When we finally ordered and I told the waitress I wanted the Crispy Chicken. Just then she up and ran off, coming back to us a few minutes later. We found out that the Crispy Chicken takes 30 minutes so she wanted to order it right away. We found it funny, but went back to ordering our list of dishes we wanted. As the food started to arrive, we asked about the Squid appetizer and she said " Did you want Deep Fried Squid?" I was a bit perturbed about it but shut my mouth. I then said I believe our appetizer will be after the 30 minute Chicken. And low and behold, it was our last dish to arrive to the table. We all had a chuckle about it. When we dug into the delectable dishes, the slight drama we encountered was overshadowed by all the incredible flavors Hit Wok is known for. We honestly have never left there disappointed. We all ate very well and we even had several boxes to take home for the next day. I asked my dad what dish he liked and he said "All of it!" So if you're looking to find excellent and authentic Chinese Cuisine at a reasonable price, then Hot Wok will fill the ticket. I don't go there for the decor and I don't go there for the atmosphere...I go there because it gives me and the people that come with me, the best Chinese Food experience in town....

Monday late evening August 21st 2017 I googled what Chinese restaurants are open late and this restaurant is open until 1 am

I ordered the jumbo shrimp vegetables chowmein my order arrived in few minutes the dish is tasty noodles are crispy plenty of jumbo shrimps and vegetables the shrimps taste fresh the vegetables are crispy too

2nd dish I ordered is ginger beef the dish arrived in minutes it's crispy in the outside and soft beef in the inside, very tasty

both dishes have good serving portions the owner/chef was friendly and the one who took my order

it's a family run business I came in when the whole family was having dinner and they just looked at me, no hi or hello

I find it strange as I don't know what to feel that moment i entered the restaurant whether I'm welcome or disturbing their dinner time based on their poker faces

it was the chef who stood up and attended to me. I got sitted at a dirty table in which the owner/chef cleaned it with a wet towel, not sure if it was sanitary

I was asked what drink I want and ordered green tea the chef brought me a teapot but forgot to provide a tea cup so I had to get his attention from his family dining table

it's a casual place similar to double greetings restaurant, nothing fancy about the place the setting is catered to group than dining alone

the chef provided take out containers right from the beginning while I'm having my dinner forgot to bring me a plastic bag so I had to ask for one

I'm the one who packed my own left overs no big deal, typical of your average casual Chinese restaurant

At least this way, I don't feel bad not leaving a tip coz there was really no waiting done except for taking my order and delivering it to my table

I wouldn't recommend this place if you're dining alone as the 2 smallest table are meant for 4 person dining the rest of the dining tables are for groups of 8-10 people

I'll probably won't come back here to dine but only for take out order if ever that happens which I doubt it

the location is off stony plain road in a less desirable avenue which I wouldn't recommend to go late at night as I did on my first visit

I'm giving this restaurant a 2 star rating for the 2 delicious dishes and that's about it

These 2 dishes didn't come cheap my total bill came to almost $30 including the tea for a $1.

I could have eaten the same dishes for the same price at a newer restaurant and much desirable location and someone...

RUDE WAITRESS. It is -13 degrees and im with two little ones ordered take-out foods from this restaurant. We were all happy when I stepped out the place with the food until plan suddenly changed - we have another event within 1 hour in that area. So I decided to go back to the restaurant and sit down for the food. I knew it may be an offend to the restaurant and it will bring extra work for them so I took the purse with me in the outwear pocket for paying tips and extra. I was politely explain to them what happened. The waitress lady (looks like hostess) threw "you cannot eat here because you have paid everything" with an angry face and turned away to her dinner table with family waiting for her, left me standing there. I was so shocked and awkward by her attitude. I had to ask (cause she left already) excuse me what was the reason I cannot sit down? She kept repeating you'd paid for the food, not even stop walking around, staring at my eyes and "talking" to me. I asked is it because of money? I was ready to pay for the service. She said to me unpatiently "stop talking, you can sit down this table and eat". Another gentleman came out from the kitchen, with smile at least, said the food were packed to take out, asked me if we mind to open up boxes and eat there. I was not able to stay and enjoy the food after all this. And also she seemed to eager for food so much so I dont wanna bother. Now we have no place to eat the food. The waitress is EXTREME RUDE, worst...