The Wok Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in Reno

There is no better Chinese food in Reno - and China?

I've been coming to The Wok for years, whenever I'm home from China (where I've lived for the last 23). There is hands-down no better, more authentic Chinese food not only in Reno, but that I've had anywhere in the States - and to a large extent, even in China.

The first time I brought my (Chinese) wife here on a visit, I sang its praises and even said it would rival Chinese food from China, to which she scoffed. After she ate there, however, she did nothing but talk about it the rest of her trip - and all the way back to China, where she proceeded to tell everyone that would listen that some of the best Chinese food she'd ever had was in a run-down shopping center in Reno, NV.

It's that good.

Yeah the "ambiance" isn't much. Who cares. You come for the food. Amazing food, fantastic service, even more fantastic staff who remember you every time and treat you like old friends. It's not cheap per se, but the portions are massive and totally worth it.

I not only come here myself all the time, but have brought countless friends and guests from Reno, other areas, and abroad, and every single person says it's some of if not the best Chinese food they've ever had. Worth it every time and unlike most restaurants, I have never walked away unhappy.

If you like "American" Chinese food, they've got it. If you want as real Chinese as it gets that you've never even heard of, they've got it.

There's a reason why even in its less than scenic location way out of the way of every possible thing, they always have a steady stream of customers, most of whom are regulars.

Can't recommend The Wok enough. I miss it whenever I'm in China. Yes, you read that right.

Never leave us, The Wok

I never expected to find such authentic szechuan cuisine in Reno, Nevada - but that’s exactly what we got here at The Wok Chinese Cuisine.

If you’re truly looking for authentic chinese food, I highly recommend checking it out, but don’t be deceived by the generic name or the classic American Chinese Takeout items on the first few pages of the menu (which I’m sure also taste great if you’re craving it - which sometimes I am). But if you’re looking for a genuine szechuan dinner (numbing spice and all) SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE LAST PAGE; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

What we got: Garlic cucumber: super garlicky, and lips definitely started to feel that iconic numbing Szechuan twice-cooked pork: big portions, mild spice, really great black bean sauce Boiled fish with pickled veggies: we got it medium spicy which was perfect if you don’t want it overwhelmingly hot, and there was loads of white pepper flavour (my favourite)

(EDIT 2023-07-22) Came back and was still delicious, but wanted to give honourable mentions to some new dishes that were approved by my girlfriend’s chinese chef-father. Bitter melon black bean sauce pork spare ribs Salt and pepper fried tofu Dried fried chili chicken wings (they even cut the chicken wings in half to absorb more flavour - don’t accidentally think its boneless) and the usual boiled fish with...

Szeuchan king prawns tasted like honey and sweet rather than anything remotely to Szeuchan. Felt like I was eating honey shrimp. That tells me all about this place. Never have I had sweet food for something that was supposed to be spicy. What I ordered wasnt even close to authentic, I have had better at Panda Express and even to me that was just about passable - not somewhere I would go again. Maybe they think people in Reno dont know what authentic chinese flavour there is, must have assumed I was an American when I ordered off Doordash. The reviews have me confused. If I was to order in person, maybe I would have got a more resemblance of what they promise to deliver. The shrimp fried rice was a large portion, but once again bland. I wanted a dish that was fragrant and aromatic not bland American imitation of Chinese food. Might as well remove Szeuchan and replace it with Sweet honey Shrimp. Very dissapointed. The only good thing was the quick delivery time, but that is useless to me as I would not order again unless you can deliver what I thought I was ordering. I wanted pungency and spiciness from garlic and chili peppers, not sweet...