After the Round – Wok Star Chinese
We’ve all had standard take-out Chinese. I would guess that most of us order delivery or take-out Chinese at least a couple times a month. Generally speaking, Chinese cuisine has something for everyone … from egg rolls and soups, to fried rice and dishes featuring all sorts of proteins, veggies and noodles.
Well, in North Dallas, there is a spot that will change the way you think about Asian food. Wok Star is located in The Hill at Walnut Hill, just a few minutes north of Downtown. The Hill is a great place for a night out, with grass courtyards, shopping and salons, should you want to enjoy a ladies’ day followed by drinks and dinner. Dine-in is perfect for a power lunch or evening out, and take-out is also available for your next gathering or football-watching house party.
The dining area at Wok Star is cozy, well-lighted and has a great Asian flair. There is a fun mural on the back wall featuring pop icons like David Bowie and Mick Jagger, and the disco ball hanging from the ceiling really sets a playful mood as you settle in to dine. Pop music plays over the speakers, offering a great ambiance without being too loud that you can’t carry on casual conversation. Tables and booths are comfortable and roomy, and their outdoor seating area is pet-friendly, so you are free to bring along your pooch for the experience. The staff is friendly and welcoming. Our server was knowledgeable and gave us all the intel we needed to make our selections on drinks, apps and main courses. They also recently launched over 10 new menu items and revamped their entire cocktail menu, which keeps Wok Star on the cutting edge of the new trends for food and cocktail programs.
The cocktails at Wok Star are as unique as any you will find in Dallas. Craft cocktails are all the rage these days, with bartenders trying to come up with new flavors and drinks in an ongoing arms race. Wok Star is no different, with some standard cocktails with a twist and a few combinations you may not have seen. The Get Lucky is a fairly straightforward frozen margarita, with silver tequila, Cointreau, passion fruit, lime and agave. It’s perfect to extinguish some of the burn from one of Wok Star’s spicy dishes.
If you are interested in something more tropical, go for the Mr. Brightside, which is Malibu rum, Barrow’s ginger liqueur, pineapple juice, honey simple syrup and a splash of soda for some added fizz. It’s a bright and sweet cocktail that is sure to impress someone special and lighten the mood for your upcoming meal.
With all due respect to that other chain place that slings lettuce wraps, the wraps at Wok Star aren’t even in the same league. Wok Star’s wraps are fresh and packed with the Asian flair you would expect. The chicken, which can typically be dry in ground form, is still juicy, and the sauce and veggies compliment the chicken to perfection. Carrots and peas add an earthy note, and water chestnuts soak up the great sauce and add some crunch. These come served with some rice vermicelli and crispy cool iceberg lettuce. Spoon some of the mixture on the lettuce, and not only are you in for a flavor explosion, but one that won’t weigh you down. I mentioned to my wife I believe I could eat these several times a week and not tire of them.
There are plenty of other appetizers, like traditional edamame, crab rangoons or beef egg rolls, each of which will set your table up for the rest of the meal. If you are someone who loves a great egg drop, hot and sour or wonton soup, you’re in for a treat, as Wok Star features all three and they are all wonderful to begin your meal, especially now that temperatures are cooling off.
Although not on the appetizer portion of the menu, I should direct you to another fantastic option to share among the table, or for your main course if you are looking for something a little less substantial should you be heading back to the office after lunch. The dumplings are sublime, from the chicken or veggie varieties to my personal favorite, the Xiao Long Bao version, which come steamed and packed with pork, ginger and scallion. They are a must-order for every visit.
As we embark on a tour of the entrée menu, it should be noted that any of the main selections can be altered with different proteins. So, if you happen to see something under the chicken portion of the menu, but would like to try it with beef instead, the Wok Stars in the kitchen will be happy to accommodate.
As with most Chinese dining experiences, you will find some of the usual suspects on the menu, like Moo Goo Gai Pan or Pepper Steak. But each of the dishes you may have heard of come with a fresh take packed with flavor profiles that dazzle your palate and will change the way you think about eating Chinese. If you like spice, then I recommend the Kung Pao Chicken, which is tender chicken breast, chilis and scallions covered in a garlicy sauce and topped with some peanuts for some crunch. The main difference here between your standard takeout and this dish is the chicken. It is moist and flavorful. Most takeout or delivery Kung Pao I have tasted over the years offers rubbery, dry chicken that is only edible because of the flavorful sauce. Not here; the chicken really shines even among the other great flavors.
Other chicken selections include their best-selling General Tso’s, which is a spicy, battered chicken, chilis, garlic and scallions with a great, rib-sticking sauce that offers a touch of sweet followed by a little heat on the back end that trickles in as you finish each bite. The spice isn’t overwhelming but offers just enough heat to produce some tiny beads of sweat on your forehead.
If you aren’t a fan of spice, then the Crispy Honey Chicken is a player, with some of that lightly battered chicken paired with a sticky sweet honey sauce. It pairs perfectly with steamed, brown or fried rice, your choice of which comes with each entrée.
Beef dishes aren’t as plentiful as the chicken selections, but they are every bit as delicious. The Mongolian Beef is a Chinese menu staple, but at Wok Star, the quality of beef sets it apart. The flank steak is marinated to juicy perfection, and the onion and scallion combination in the brown sauce add an earthy flavor that can’t compare to other versions of this dish you may have tried at other establishments. Another can’t-miss beef entrée is the Pepper Steak. This flank steak comes with red and green bell pepper, onion and a sauce that offers a great black pepper bite you will want to try again and again.
There are also a handful of selections that come with seafood under Wok Star’s Sea & Turf portion of the menu. I recommend their Dragon and Phoenix offering, which is the General Tso’s chicken with shrimp served with assorted veggies in a white sauce. The spicy house prawns will also knock your socks off if you are one who loves sea fare.
If you are a fan of noodle dishes, don’t sleep on the hand-pulled La Mian or the Lo Mein, each of which features delicious fresh noodles. The Chicken Dan Dan La Mian comes equipped with flat noodles, ground chicken, cucumber, carrot and cabbage in a sweet and spicy Dan Dan sauce. You better believe this dish has come flavor profiles you won’t forget.
One other menu section needs to be mentioned, and that is the selection of fried rice. As mentioned, one can select standard fried rice to accompany your entrée, but there are several specialty fried rice options that are great for kids or those who might be picky eaters. The house fried rice can be ordered with chicken, beef or shrimp. Each one is simple, but delicious. If you don’t care for proteins, then you can choose the veggie fried rice, which comes with snow peas, carrot, green peas, broccoli cabbage and corn. There is also the bacon and egg fried rice, which I highly recommend for something a little different.
If you need something post-meal to satisfy your sweet tooth, try the cookie dough egg rolls. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like … chocolate chip cookie dough, fried in an egg roll wrap and then drizzled with chocolate syrup, topped with whipped cream and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is undoubtedly one of the most unique sweet treats I have tried in a long time, and if you are someone who loves sweets, you need to give it a shot.
As we left Wok Star, I found myself a bit sad. Sad that this restaurant is almost 40 minutes from where I live. I will definitely be back to Wok Star soon, but if it were a little closer, I would easily be in there at least once a week. It’s that good. If you are within a short drive of Wok Star, don’t take it for granted. There are plenty of Chinese food fans around DFW who would love to have a place like this close. From top to bottom, everything is delicious. Now, if we can just get one in Arlington.