Top Wok

Okay with a name like Top Wok, one might assume it is a food stall at a food court.  Well, it is not but they do have some 3-item combos on their menu.  So what is this place really?  Well, first of all, it is located on Marine Way in Burnaby near some industrial parks.  Second, the food is freshly prepared to order, not like the aforementioned food court stalls.  Third, they offer dim sum combos as well.  On top of that, they have frozen dim sum for you to take home and steam yourself.

So yeah, the place is somewhat one-of-a-kind.  Let's get to the classic Stir-Fried Combo first with three items including Sweet & Sour Pork, Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli Beef atop fried rice.  For another $2.50, you can add a Hot & Sour Soup.  I have to say that the food was pretty legit.  The pork was tender with just enough sauce that was plenty tangy and sweet.  The chicken was also good where it was more garlicky than sweet.  Broccoli was crunchy and not overdone.  The soup on the side was excellent with the proper viscosity and sporting quite the spiciness.

Here we are with the aforementioned Dim Sum Combo featuring Ha Gau, Siu Mai, Potstickers and a side of Lo Mei Gai (instead of rice or noodles, this is a $3.00 upcharge).  I thought the potstickers were on point with a relatively thin wrapper that was seared well.  Inside, the meat filling was juicy and tender.  Siu mai were solid too with bouncy pork that was well-seasoned.  Ha gau were so-so due to the thick dumpling skin and soft filling.  The sticky rice was excellent being moist and glutinous.  Plenty of ingredients and hence, some good umaminess.

Continuing with Dim Sum, we tried a selection of Baos including the BBQ Pork Bun, Chicken Bun, Veggie Bun and Custard Bun.  All of the buns were fluffy and light, especially the veggie one.  Actually, I enjoyed that one the most as the veggies were tender but not mushy while completely seasoned.  I found the BBQ pork bun and chicken bun to feature enough filling.  The custard bun was sweet and aromatic.  On the side, we had some veggie spring rolls which were crunchy and featured the same filling as the veggie bun.

Something new on the menu is their $8.00 Go Bowls including the Dim Sum Bowl with 1 Ha Gau, Siu Mai and Beef Meatball each on Soy Sauce Chow Mein.  The Stir-Fried Bowl features stir-fried veggies, Fried Garlic Chicken Leg and Egg Fried Rice.  For those who do not want meat, the Veggie Bowl sports Veggie Dumplings and a Veggie Spring Roll.  These are fantastic deals because there is nothing small about these.  I found the beef ball to be soft and bouncy while the veggie dumpling had a slightly thicker wrapper with tender vegetables.  The chicken leg was super juicy and well-brined.

We also had the Spicy Wontons that were delicious.  The wontons themselves featured juicy pork with shrimp.  Unlike some versions that are bland, this was not.  There was a balanced amount of spice to go with the saltiness.  We finished off with a freshly-made Bubble Waffle and it was also quite good.  It was aromatic and purposefully sweet while the exterior was crispy yielding to a soft and chewy interior.  Overall, the food was more-than-acceptable at Top Wok given the type of restaurant and the reasonable-pricing.  Definitely a good option for take-out or a quick meal.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Overall good food
- Made-to-order
- Reasonably priced and large portions

The Bad:
- Location is not very central
- Ha Gau could be better