First Wok Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in West Windsor

When I was a young man I loved Chinese restaurants. Over the past twenty years, it seemed to me like it had gotten harder and harder to find a good one. Many places these days serve bland, overly sweet dishes. I wondered if it was only my tastes which had changed, perhaps I just didn't like Chinese food anymore

First Wok brought me back to the days of Chinese food I remembered from so long ago. The food here is outstanding, and outside of two other places in Washington DC near where I live and work, I haven't had anything like it in more than 20 years.

They have the old familiar Chinese American staples, executed to a very high level, plus there are more traditional dishes available for those that know and love them. They accommodate special requests within reason. The atmosphere was pleasant, the restaurant is clean and neat and the service is quick, attentive and friendly without being obtrusive.

We had General Tso's Chicken, Crispy Beef, Lamb with Spinach in Hot Sauce, and my friend had Beef Fried rice, which I didn't sample

The General Tso's was a nearly perfect rendition of the dish. Crispy flavorful, dark meat chicken chunks, delicious sauce that was sweet, but not cloying or one-dimensional. I could have stood for just a bit less sauce, and just a bit more heat, though it was anything but bland. I'll ask for extra spicy next time.

Crispy Shredded beef is an easy dish to do well, but First Wok does it very, very well, an essentially flawless example of a dish that's usually at least decent anywhere, elevated beyond the ordinary.

But the star of the show for me was the Lamb and Spinach in Hot Sauce. This was probably the best thing I'll eat this month. This was spicier than the other dishes, but I have a decent threshold for heat. I found it to be warm but very manageable, others may find it fairly hot, but it probably won't overwhelm any but the most tender-tongued diners. Perfumed with szechuan peppercorn, which gives a pleasant tingling or numbing sensation on top of the kick of the peppers, this dish was so good I would have eaten it off of the floor ! Unless you can't stand lamb, spinach, peppers or delicious food, get this.

This is a restaurant I will definitely return to, you owe it to yourself to...

Full disclosure: wwp resident for 20+ years. Have tried all the Chinese spots old and new.

Food: Average/ good

Service: Utterly horrendous.

On a Wed night, my family and I (5 of us) entered the restaurant 20 min before closing. We asked if they were still serving and would we be able to eat after they "closed"; we were told yes. Once seated, the service suddenly tanked. I understand that the restaurant was closing but it was our understanding that if you are willing to seat customers, then don't run them ten minutes into their meal. I asked for water with out ice for my motherinlaw and they were reluctant to do even that. Then finally when the bill came I thought no tip should be given as they were literally tossing food on the table, speaking rudely, and would not bring out basic requests like soy sauce, fried noodle chips, etc. We paid in full and the owner came out asking why we did not tip (we usually go between 15 and 20%). In all my years I have never had anyone have the audacity to ask me for a tip. We kindly explained that the service was lacking and though it was past closing, we were still seated and served. The manager/ owner threatened to tack on 18%. At that point we were appalled how any owner/ manager could even say that let alone ask why his workers were not tipped to his liking. In the future we hope this establishment straightens up its act otherwise other wwp citizens will flock to the other wonderful Chinese restaurants in the area (Little Schezuan, Elements of Asia, etc.) I hope no one deals with this rude behavior at this establishment...

Excellent food, prices are steep, and very small portions. Though the prices may or may not have gone down — not 100% on that, unless their prices on their website are obsolete.

EDIT — Update: just ordered scallops with mixed vegetables on their menu and they provided me with mixed vegetables w/some weird bean curd alternative. The man on the phone is new, spoke English well, had a very long conversation with him as he seemed to have just seen a Chinese menu for the first time in his entire life (what’s mind boggling is he actually repeated what I ordered at the time I said, I assume to make sure), but then slurred my entire order in the end and I was in rush so I confirmed because the entire call took like 25 mins because of his comprehension level. He seemed surprised after I confirmed (and now I know why). He charged me for scallops, but served me a vegetarian version of the dish. Really in bad taste if I say so myself. The food had no taste at all....