Sherman's Food Adventures: Manchu Wok

Manchu Wok

Okay, go ahead. Hurl out the obscenities. Hang on, let me save you the trouble - what the heck are you doing Sherman??? Manchu Wok??? What's next? New China Kitchen? Hmmm... That sounds like an idea... Okay, the reason I'm blogging about Manchu Wok is not because I've run out of ideas. Rather, due to the fact I mention it so much in my posts, I felt it would be a good idea to do a whole post dedicated to one of the most well-known North Americanized Chinese food court outlets. Honestly, if one went in with the right expectations, Manchu Wok could actually be alright. As much as I enjoy authentic Chinese food, I do the occasional meal at Manchu Wok and I accept it for what it is. Now, in a perfect world, if there was a Kent's Kitchen in every shopping mall, I would probably choose it over Manchu Wok, not necessarily that it makes better sweet & sour pork; but it has a wider range of items to choose from. Hey, one can only take so much fried meat in multi-coloured sauces.

After a few unsatisfying Americanized Chinese meals, I have a new found appreciation for Manchu Wok. No joke! Due to the generally high-turnover, the food is usually (and I say usually) fresh. Yes, they do take shortcuts which in turn makes their food greasy, but with KFC flanking them on one side, you really can't win anyways. These 2 separate meals from Manchu Wok yield crispy veggies, moist meats with plenty of flavour. Yes, my ancestors are probably rolling over right now... And yah, I'm sure some people are rolling their eyes. I frankly don't give a damn. I accept it for what it is and no, I really do not mind eating it. You can't hate something because everyone else wants you to.

The Good:
- You know what to expect, which is generally decent eats
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Yes, it's true, this is not real Chinese food
- Heavy on the sodium

Manchu Wok (Lougheed Mall) on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Better you than me is all I can say about Manchu Wok.

Perhaps if I were desperate enough for chinese food and I couldn't drive anywhere within a 20 km radius like Nunavit to find decent chinese food?

KimHo said...

In a hurry, I myself would hit places like this for a quick meal. Hey, it is said that, between eating NOW vs. risking a rage because you have low sugar, I think this is a better approach!

I was under the impression Panda Express would be even more famous than Manchu Wok!

Unrelated, yet at the same time related: There is a show in CityTV called The Quon Dynasty, which claims to make "authentic" Chinese food. If you look at Urbanspoon Edmonton (where their restaurant, The Lingnan is located), their ratings seem quite decent. But, once you look at their menu, from a Chinese (either born or X generations) perspective... However, since their customers are non-Chinese, it certainly explain a LOT of things!

LotusRapper said...

I'd eat at MW if the other options are all fast-food. But my beef with places like MW is even their plain white rice (which I ask over fried rice) seems kinda Uncle Ben(-nie), that is, too fluffy and not starchy enough. And that is hard to swallow, for a banana'd "loh fan" like myself.

Sherman Chan said...

@holly LOL. Well, as I said, it was for blog purposes. But then again, if there was that and some other generic fast food joint, I'd still choose MW.

@KimHo Yah, I don't mind PE either. I'm not a food snob. Food is food and expectations have to be reasonable. The Quon family... LOL...

@LR Yes, their fried rice is sorta like that eh? For sure it is to satisfy the non-Asian palate. And yes, like the above comment to @holly, I'd eat at MW over a variety of other FF joints.

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