Wok-Inn Noodle — Restaurant in Garden City

One man, one wok, one KING. Wok-Inn Noodle is everything I’ve looked for in a restaurant in Boise for YEARS. I spent my younger years in Singapore eating the freshest, most delicious Asian cuisine and I had yet to find anything in the area that was close to comparing until today.

I want to start with the owner and sole wok-master, Chan (or as some know him by, Chef Jimmy). This man is so genuine and kind! I placed an order for take-out and arrived a little too early. He didn’t seem annoyed at all. He thanked me several times. I had no problem waiting, knowing it’d be worth it.

My order included 2 egg rolls, house noodles (house made noodles, chicken, beef, shrimp, and mixed veggies), house fried rice (chicken, BBQ pork, shrimp, egg, green onion) and BBQ pork and seeds with hot mustard - $32.78. It took everything in me to not dig in immediately - had to grab some pics first. Everything was phenomenal. The fried rice was authentic, perfectly seasoned and completely cooked through. I found it paired so well with the spicy chili sauce served with the egg rolls. Them egg rolls, WOW. Generously packed with goods, heavenly crunchy and surprisingly not greasy at all. The pork and seeds were a great addition. The small comes with about ten good-sized pieces of char siu. The house noodles were everything I hoped for. Piping hot, mildly flavorful, loaded with the freshest veggies, meat cooked to perfection and incredible, mouthwatering noodles that are reminiscent of my days in SG. I cannot recommend this dish, and this restaurant, enough. I will be returning again and again as long as it’s open. I’m so excited to try the rest of the menu!

NOTE: THIS IS A TRUE HOLE-IN-A-WALL. You come here for the food and the man who runs the restaurant. If you feel like whining about the dated decor, don’t. Trust me, no one cares. Wok-Inn Noodle is so much more than that. Also, everything is FRESH made when you order so expect a wait. Your patience will be rewarded.

I just read a review from 8 years ago that mentioned the seventy-six year old owner…so you’re tellin’ me he’s now EIGHTY-FOUR and still slinging house-made noodles and dishes all by himself?! I’ll end my review the way I began....

I have lived in the valley for a long time and I have never made me way into this local joint. Stopped in for lunch today. After reading the reviews, the one thing I got out of them was patience. It literally is one man, one wok. My family had owned a couple restaurants in the valley. We were always fully staffed. It's amazing that it's a one man show. If you're on a time crunch or you're extra hungry I would recommend going somewhere else. You're waiting for a hot minute for your food to be prepared.

The chef/ owner was cooking when I walked in. Another patron came in after me. He told me just to grab a table. We both waited for a bit but we finally got menus and water.

I ordered an egg roll and beef with broad rice noodles with a light gravy. I have been creeping out the menu for a couple days so I'm excited to eat!

The egg roll (made to order) came out hot! That baby was packing heat. The exterior was fried golden and crunchy. The inside was savory with a good punch of pepper. I dipped that baby in the sweet and sour sauce. I love the sweet and savory combo. My beef with noodles looked so good! I like the veggies in it. Zucchini, broccoli and bok choy. The beef was nice and tender. The flavoring of the sauce was tasty! I would have liked more gravy, it was very dry. And unfortunately, my noodles were still very hard. They could have been cooked longer. They were hard to eat.

I'm happy I got to try the place out. You can tell it's been around for a long time. Everything in the venue is dated. There were several customers there who told me they have been eating there for over 40 years, I love that kind of loyalty. The owner is up there in age so who knows how much longer this joint would be up and running. I'm just happy I got to...

We ordered 4 egg rolls, 2 orders of House noodles and 1 order Mongolian chicken. The egg rolls had a old fish taste and were served warm not hot as others reviews mentioned.

The noodles were not like those shown in photos and did not appear to be homemade as some suggested. All 3 dishes were served luke warm at best. This confused as as there were only 5 other people in the restaurant and he supposedly cooked eack order fresh. It was as if he cooked the veggies and protein then added pre-made sauce/gravy over pre cooked could noodles.

The portions served were average not large as others have suggested.

FYI, the menu prices shown is not what he charges. The egg rolls were $2.25 not $1.50 as stated on the menue and the other dishes were $9.95 and we were charged $12.00. The bill should have been around $35.00 and we paid over $45.00.

We didn't inquire about the pricing as we took pitty on the elderly man who was the cook, waiter, and buss boy. In all we arrived at 11:00 am, we were not greated, we just found a table and sat down. About 20 minutes later after elderly gentlemen appeared with a menu. We were served much later around 12 noon and left at 12:30. Only 2 other people came in after us for a total of 9 customers. The last 2 came in around 12 noon and were still waiting for food when we left.

We will likely not go back, although the gentlemen running the restaurant was very nice...