Wok Inn — Restaurant in San Antonio

As one trips and stumbles down the path of life, there are certain realizations that should not go unheeded. For example, there are certain things one should never wok; e.g., Never, ever wok your dog, don't try to wok a mile in someone else's stinky shoes, resist the urge to jay-wok, don't try to wok on the wild side without a good cleaver, don't wok in the park or on the grass, and finally, don't have expectations of gourmet Chinese if you choose to Wok Inn.

Wok Inn is a fast food place that lies somewhere in the zone between the summit of man's culinary knowledge and the pit of man's fast food fears, between a Mama Fu's and a Panda Express. nearer Panda Express I think. To their credit, the ingredients seem to be fresh and are prepared to order. Also, the price of the meal selections are very reasonable which should please the nearby UTSA students especially when you consider that the meal comes with a drink and bottomless soup selections of hot 'n sour, egg drop and chicken corn chowder with all the fried wonton crunchies your care to load up.

The moo goo gai pan lunch special came with an egg roll or crab rangoon and flied lice. I chose the egg roll which was not unlike the Minh brand frozen variety which we keep in the freezer for one of those Friday night's when it gets to be 10:30 pm and lunch is a distant memory, but you don't want a lot of food or a big meal. They are actually pretty decent for frozen. Ours had seen the inside of an oven for a couple minutes too long and the wrapper was overly browned. Strike 1. The moo was small in portion and probably a B- overall. The rice was the star of the plate with its smoky wok flavor. It reminded us of how good the same from Golden Wok on Wurzbach used to be.

The other plate of shrimp and broccoli set my wife's rejection meter to the on position. When we go to a Chinese food restaurant she always wants the vegetables to be cooked way past their normal crunchy state. Ordering the vegetables to be cooked until crunchless at an oriental restaurant is like trying to find refried beans around here without lard (not that I ever try to do that). The short of it is that the redone broccoli was still crunchy and the reject meter got pegged. Such is life. The shrimp were fresh and purchased from Tim's Oriental groceries on Bandera Road which probably means they were farm raised in Viet Nam. Strike 2.

There were a couple of selections of fish on the menu. Also curious about the type, expecting tilapia, we were told that they use swai, probably from Tim's as well. Swai is a bottom-feeder from the Mekong Delta and cheap like tilapia and basa which set off my rejection meter this time. Strike 3. None for me thanks.

For a quick Chi-fix, Wok Inn will probably massage your msg craving, but it's a budget oriented fast food shop so set your expectations accordingly and leave your reject meter at home along with all...

Arrived at Wok Inn 8338 W Haussmann Road, San Antonio, Texas 78249 on January 14, 2025 at about 6:00 pm having placed our order at 5:25 pm. Transaction number 80833518229. Ordered the Teriyaki Chicken, Fried Rice, Hot Mustard, two Egg Rolls and Hot Mustard. My mistake was in not checking the order before taking it back to our house 10 miles away! Darn! What We DIDN’T get was the Fried Rice (White instead) and didn’t get our Hot Mustard. We did get one packet of Soy Sauce, teriyaki chicken that looked like it was boiled and was tough as a boot, vegetables that were overdone and limp as a wet noodle, Egg Rolls that were nearly burnt and also tough to chew. The Egg Drop Soup was tasteless and terrible. We are regular Customers at the Wok Inn on Potranco and have never experienced such bad food! The good part is that the restaurant appeared New and clean and the staff seemed to be experiencing some sort of stress! They looked nervous! Like a Hamster on a wheel, everyone was moving but nobody was going anywhere or doing anything. Further when I looked at the kitchen area I SAW only ONE Person (Tall Man) working in the kitchen. Wow! Customers, please check your to go orders before you leave. After all, it’s your fault if you don’t catch kitchen mistakes (Not)! Terrible meal!

My qualifications as an Expert and Experienced Food and Service Critic; I have over 65 years of Management Experience. I have a College Degree with a BS in Management and have been trained in two Culinary Schools, to include on the job training at other venues. I’ve managed full service as well as fast food restaurants and have had my own successful Catering business. As a Culinary Trainer, I have trained personnel on how to provide superb cuisine and customer service. At the age of 78, I am now retired and enjoy being on the other side...

Never coming here again. We used to come here all the time before covid and after covid this place went downhill. Thought we'd give it another shot and it only got worse from the last time.

The cleared table we sat at, was sticky from staff wiping the table with a dirty rag, and upon bringing us our food and watching us wiping down the table with some of my water and the horribly thin napkins supplied, didn't bother asking if they could re-wipe the table for us with a clean rag or anything. Dirty tables that were there when we walked in, weren't cleaned by the time we left over 45 minutes later. Disgusting. They got rid of green onions for the soup bar during covid, but never brought them back. You could at least ask for green onion... Well, at this location you can't anymore. You can't even ask to buy some. Supposedly they're "only for use in cooking". Green onions aren't even expensive, and other Chinese places will either give them to you free if you buy soup, or they're a little extra. It's ridiculous that they won't even sell you green onion if you ask. Their computer descriptions for dishes, needs to be updated. I asked what veggies came with the meal, a list was given to me, I added stuff not listed, and then proceeded to receive a dish with some veggies missing cause the computer description needs an update on a change they made to the dish. Asked for the missing veggies and they mentioned an extra charge.... Which we refused to pay because we were told it came with those veggies already! It was made right without a charge, but it was a hassle I shouldn't have had to deal with if the company was on top of things.

The food is decent flavored as always, although way too salty at this location which is normal, but that's the only positive. Again, won't be back to...