Wakai's Asian Fusion — Restaurant in Mankato

Whenever I come here, I’d usually get the Pad Kra Pao. It’s understandable that sometimes ingredients are not always available for certain dishes. One time the cashier informed me that there was no bamboo for the dish (Pad Kra Pao) that I had ordered. Because I was informed quickly, it wasn’t a big issue. During that time, I was eating in with my family.

However, upon ordering this same dish to-go today, I was surprised upon opening my takeout box at my apartment. To my dismay the portion size of the dish (not the rice) barely filled the right side of the tray. The meat looked shriveled up & the over easy egg was almost a scrambled egg.

Being a Hmong person, I could tell right away from the looks & smell that the rice was a few days old. (The type of rice you leave in the cooker without refrigerating it). Yeah, it was mushy & yellow.

After just looking at it, I decided to taste it. I mixed the pad Kra pow & realized that there was no bamboos. (Disappointing again, I know). The initial taste of the dish itself was okay but somehow way saltier than previous orders.

Maybe the chef is new/ different? I don’t know. I hate to say it but the food is a hit or miss. Customer service on the other hand isn’t too bad. I’m not trying to put down anyone but I’m just sharing...

The food here has been great in the past, but our most recent order was... Disappointing. The orange chicken (pictured) was kinda flavorless and dry and soggy, like it was cooked hours before actually being served. The broccoli in it looked over-steamed, faded-green and mushy. The pot stickers (pictured) had evidence of freezer-burn, and we asked for regular and spicy sauce with it and only got regular. The Spring Rolls were served with some... partly-filled cup of unidentified orange sauce (pictured) instead of the regular peanut sauce it's supposed to come with. When I got home with the take out, I realized the server forgot to give us the pot stickers, so I returned to pick them up and ask for a cup of the regular peanut sauce that's supposed to come with the Spring Rolls. When I got home after picking them up, I realized he also never gave us the steamed rice that comes with the orange chicken... This place has been fine in the past, so I don't know if they changed management again recently or what's up with the sudden drop in quality, but needless to say we're disappointed this time... If you order take out from here, double triple check you have all your food...

Seems like service and food has been a lot better since they changed management a few months ago! I did get the orange chicken last time, and the pieces were kinda flat? 😅 VERY tasty, don't get me wrong, just very flat cuts of chicken; made me feel like I was eating a lot more fried breading than chicken but hey that might be someone's ideal chicken to bread ratio!

SOOOO glad they brought back boba tea! If you want a good ass meal I highly recommend the peanut curry with chicken (or your protein of choice) it's my go-to every single time I go. (Except for the last time where I tried the orange chicken. It was very tasty, but nothing beats that peanut curry imho)

Atmosphere's chill, really calm and quiet when I've been in there. Can't speak for the lunch rush. The music they play in there is always nice but there was the occasional ad in between songs haha. I think it might be a worthwhile investment for them to subscribe to a music streaming platform. Or at least download a good...