House of Wu 胡家園 — Restaurant in West Warwick

Before I even stepped foot in the state of Rhode Island, I had heard countless stories about the legend of House of Wu. Decades-long patrons would find ways to casually share their favorite memories, favorite dishes, and of course, share the fact that their scorpion bowls are a MUST.

Unfortunately, my first trips to RI occurred during peak pandemic times when HoW was serving pick up/delivery only. Normally this would not have been an issue but, I was STRONGLY advised to dine in for my first Wuperience. I took this advice and after patiently waiting (6 months and 3 trips to RI later), I can say that I am very glad that I did.

While I am positive that take out/delivery is fantastic, dining in is an experience not to be missed, especially for a first timer. The restaurant itself is unassuming and simple. Quiet, casual, cozy. They have a good sized bar with a TV for when you want to get out to watch a game but also want to avoid crowds and headaches. ]

The food is familiar (they even have a section of American cuisine for those who may just be having a fries and chicken tenders day) but, elevated. Unlike the typical "too bland, too salty, too greasy, flavorless, ect." food you typically find at take outs, House of Wu dishes are packed with flavor, and packed in general! OVERFLOWING portions of meat/veggie-heavy (generous main ingredient-to-rice/noods ratio). Every bite is diving in-house but, leftovers taste next-level even when they come straight from your fridge the next morning.

And Fannie. She is what makes this dine-in experience legendary. One of the hardest working, kindest, most energetic and personable women in the business, she can serve multiple tables and still make it feel as if you are the only table in the building. We don't patron as frequently as we'd like to (only when we make out trek to Rhode Island, although each of those visits includes a trip to Wu) but even with those "few and far between" meals that we are fortunate enough to get, Fannie remembers us and treats us as if we are daily customers. She is simply amazing.

And yes, the scorpion bowls...

If I could give no stars I would. Let me begin by saying this was my go to spot in high school, some 7 years ago. Things have changed. We came in, ordered our food. Before it arrived, I looked to my left and noticed the duck sauce comes is stored in uncovered containers, and ours had a few fruit flies in it. I look around at the tables next to us and they seemed to have the same problem. When the waitress came with our food, I told her about the flies, put the duck sauce on the edge of the table, and asked if they had packets of duck sauce. She said no, they fill all Togo containers and the containers on the table from one big container of it in the back. I didn't eat, we asked for the check and got some boxes. However, the worst part? The waitress never took the duck sauce away. She cleaned our table as we were walking out, and I can only assume the poor guy who sits in my seat next is going to eat more than enough fruit flies. This is not about a language barrier, she understood exactly what I was saying. This is a sanitary issue and a training issue. I will be passing on to the necessary authorizaties, but in the mean time...dont eat...

The juice isn't worth the squeeze. The hot and sour soup was very subpar. That is a dish that keeps similarities through all different forms of Chinese cooking. This was not only lacking common ingredients like mushrooms, sesame oil, soy or black fungus, it also was unbalanced and extremely heavy on vinegar giving it an undesirable taste. The teriyaki was tender but extremely bland to the point of no taste. The boneless spareribs were borderline dry and also lacked flavor. The sauce on the wings had no dominate flavors, it wasn't garlicky and the wings past the sauce lacked flavor. The pork fried rice was very good. The egg rolls lacked about a third of the filling. They had a hollow point throughout. The lobster sauce had such a strange taste I couldn't eat it. Sometimes a dive will have great food. The walls throughout the restaurant had old food stains. Staff was friendly and attentive. I...