China Wok — Restaurant in Tampa

I had forgotten how good the food is at China Wok. After getting home from golf with friends, I ordered and picked up garlic beef, vegetable fried rice and hot & sour soup for me and my wife. They had their restaurant on lock down because of COVID, sealing off the staff from customers, and using a couple slots to take payment and give you your food. It was interesting, but not really off-putting. The staff was super-nice and courteous. You cannot dine in at China Wok currently, but hopefully 2022 will be different. I was starving, and got home and plated the garlic beef over my veggie fried rice, and served my wife a bowl of her hot & sour soup. First of all, my meal tasted GREAT. What really stuck out was how big the chunks of beef were, and also the vegetables. Usually, Chinese restaurants serve thin slices of beef or chicken, and small pieces of the veggies. Not at China Wok. It looked like something we'd prepare at home. My wife is Vietnamese and Chinese-Cambodian, and she was impressed. After eating a nice sized plate, I went back for seconds, which I never do. It was that good. My total was $23 and change for the garlic beef with a pint of white rice, a pint of veggie fried rice, and a large hot & sour soup. Easily enough for 2 meals for me and my wife. Don't expect anything fancy when going to pick up your food at China Wok. It's a simple place that is only set up for take-out now, and in a strip center down south of Euclid on MacDill on the left past Mad Dogs. China Wok will be on our regular take-out rotation...

We’ve been frequent customers of this restaurant for a long time, both dining in and ordering takeout, and have never had an experience like this — unfortunately, it will be our last.

The food we picked up was shockingly bad. The chicken had a grainy, slimy texture, clearly not held at a safe temperature. The beef was even worse — it had an odd, rubbery consistency with a layer of fat congealed on top, like it had been stored improperly. The rice was undercooked and crunchy, and the noodles were completely flavorless. Everything was inedible.

When we called to share our concerns, the owner was shockingly rude and combative. She refused to issue a refund and instead told us we just have “bad taste.” I explained that we’ve had this exact dish many times before and know what it’s supposed to taste like — this was clearly not it. She dismissed that and said no one has ever complained before, and then accused me of being a thief trying to trick her.

We were told to drive 20 minutes back to return the spoiled food, just so they could have the kitchen staff taste it themselves to “prove” it wasn’t bad — a practice that’s not only unprofessional, but a major food safety violation.

This whole experience left us not just disappointed, but seriously concerned about the kitchen’s cleanliness and handling practices — and even more disturbed by how poorly we were treated. After being loyal customers for years, this was the final straw. We will absolutely not...

I swung by here after a certain BlackJack owner needed me to pay off a Bookie that was late and I had time to kill. And man was I lucky degenerate Matt has a gambling addiction, because it led to some AMAZING food.

First off the atmosphere... LOVE IT! The old school gold fish tank to greet you on the right and the dimly lit but welcoming lobby that is screaming for a game of Mahjong and cigars on the left!

But we don't come here to admire the old school, we come for the somewhat healthy and affordable food. I got the quart of Chicken Lo mein (old school price of $9.95 FTW) and split some Eggrolls with Matt's Bookie. After I paid off Matt's losses, I got to go balls deep in that Lo mein and it tasted better than the price. Full of flavor, veggies, chicken neck, and as always packed to the brim to impress us Fat Americans.

As usual it's family run, where the Mother is in the back running the kitchen and screaming Mandarin, Dad is slaying the dishes out, and the teenage son working 50 hours a week and going to Harvard at the age of 14 is working the register.

Knowing "Big Sucker" Matt always needs a bookie to payoff, I prob will be coming by here to split some egg rolls with no neck Eddie.

Mǎ tè...