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Category: Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: East VillageCome join us for Little Plates!
20+ Asian Tapas served daily from 11am-2pm.
Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Asian Fusion Cuisine
What we have here is Asian Fusion food at a great price. Some of a rarity in the downtown area of San Diego. I've ordered the sweet and sour chicken and the Korean BBQ Philly sandwich off the menu. Both items were done very well. My friends have tried other menu items and they all liked it. The eggroll shell orders are really interesting and very big for a meal, but great tasting.
It's really hard to find good asian food, but this is a place to frequent for some. Good tasting food and great value.
If you are ever located on the south side of Market street, not at the intersection in between 7th and 8th Ave. , do yourself a favor and jay-walk yourself into this restaurant.
This spot is relatively close to the ballpark so in memory of the both the Padre's and my beloved Cubs biting it hard this year, I'm going to adopt a baseball themed review....
I had an early lunch so basically had the entire restaurant to myself. Started out with a thai tea, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Sweet yet milky--the perfect combination of refreshment. BALL 1
They just started a new small plates menu, which they are promoting by giving a full serving sample with every entrée order. For this I went with the seaweed salad and it was pretty magnificent. BALL 2
My server recommended I go with the salmon with panang curry which is not currently on the menu. Wowsers! One of the best pieces of salmon I think I have ever had. It was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of pink but charred a bit on the outside for a nice layer of crispiness. BALL 3
Between the tea, the seaweed salad, a massive piece of salmon, the side regular salad, the side veggies, the side of brown rice, and the panang sauce; my bill was only $20 dollars. That is including a much deserved over average tip. BALL 4!
Now J-WOK yourself down towards the ballpark and in to this amazing spot!
Heard about this place from my friends who originally found it on Yelp. The food is relatively inexpensive and place is really cute. I ordered the korean bbq philly, tom kha soup and korean date iced tea. The tom kha was alright, not exactly my favorite. The korean bbq philly cheesesteak was tasty. The korean date iced tea was really really good. I was originally going to order the thai punch but when I asked the server for his recommendation, he said the korean date iced tea.
Service was a bit slow, but they were on top of refills. Our party wanted to know what the J-Omg dessert is. The lady wouldn't tell us what it is - their concept was that if you enjoyed your food, you would trust them enough on dessert. So we were feeling ballsy and the six of us decided to split the J-Omg dessert. It was yummy, not necessarily orgasmic though.
Toward the end of our meal there was some group meeting or something. There were like 30 to 40 high school kids at the restaurant which got a bit distracting. They were just standing around and blocking the entrance. I hope they ordered because that would just suck if they were taking up space. It was really odd for a Sunday night.
However, I look forward to coming back to JWok and try out other items on the menu. Hopefully next time there won't be another group meeting.
Actually a 4.5.
This place is great. I just happened to stumble upon while walking in East Village this weekend and I really enjoyed. The staff is very friendly and helpful in making menu selections. I had the burger...Awesome!!! I know curry on a burger sounds a little eclectic, but it was great! I also tried my companions Shrimp Pad Thai, very good, and the we shared the Spring Rolls with a delicious peanut sauce. I am a bit of a peanut sauce snob, so I would say it was very good, but not great.
Best of all: Two meals, an appetizer, and some tasty waters for less than $25.00
I will definitely return and recommend you give it a try!
Not that this place needs another screaming hot five star review but I just couldn't resist. I only popped in for a very light lunch and completely enjoyed my dim sum style plates of papaya salad and fried tofu. The perfect mix of light, tasty, sweet, and sour. The atmosphere is comfortable, natural, and professional and the servers are very friendly.
I'm definitely going back until I've tried everything on the menu - especially the burger with house-made chips. I saw one go out to another table and it looked fabulous. I'm also curious to try all their asian desserts. A very rare place in a sea of gaslamp mediocrity!
good and cheap, always a good combo! now i was there the same night as cindy g. so i'll try not to repeat anything she's already mentioned. i had the red curry with shrimp, which came with a side salad with peanut dressing and a choice of white, brown or fried rice (i felt like a fat kid and went for the fried rice). mmmm, the fried rice is good! so is the peanut dressing on the salad!! the red curry on the other hand i think could've had more bite, then again it didn't say it was spicy. good flavor overall and you can bet that plate had no more food on it when it was taken away. as for the j-omg dessert, not worthy of omg status. not even close. i can make that ish with both hands tied behind my back. probably not, but it seamed simple enough. don't claim something is omg status when it's not. for that, i'm expecting something to blow my mind, not just tickle my taste buds.
big ups to our server, ong bak look-a-like, aka tony jaa look-a-like. it was busy in there and i think he did pretty well considering the group of kids there for a birthday celebration i believe it was. can't help but eavesdrop on them when they're all you can hear.
Great value, great price. Very friendly staff. The J-OMG dessert was definitely good. The Koreann BBQ Phili Sandwich was great. Overall, great meal. Too bad I don't live in San Diego.
I walked into this place and was surprised. Based on the price range on Yelp, I was expecting a somewhat ghetto atmosphere. Instead, I was greeted with highly sophisticated decor and friendly service. Both my partner in dining and I agreed to go crazy and try the fusion-style food. I was really apprehensive, because most fusion sucks, but I ended up having the Philly Cheesesteak Korean BBQ sandwich, and he ordered the Basil Chicken Crispy Roll. I had a Thai iced tea while we waited and it was decent, if not the best I'd ever had.
The food, however, was just plain wow. The meat in my sammich was tender, with just the right amount of cheese melted on top, and the bread was soft and fresh-tasting; the crispy, mild-tasting, and thin potato chips on the side were a lovely complement. The Basil Chicken Roll was extremely flavorful. Both our meals were beautifully presented. Overall, I was blown away by the quality. I would have expected to pay a lot more at a place like this for the portions and food quality that we got.
Looks like this spot finally got an owner that put a lot of thought to the place's branding, its food, the service and overall environs. I thought this corner spot was doomed to any budding or seasoned restaurateur hoping to exploit the new residents of East Village and the downtown nomads. It looks like the owner has cultivating his eatery's image not just on Yelp but through his restaurant by ensuring that its not just fluff testimonials posts but what he offers is the real deal.
The menu is short, albeit complete for what it specializes in, so you wont blow a blood vessel trying to decide what to get. The menu is short enough to print it on the back of their business card too.
I ordered the red curry dish with brown rice and a side of veggies and my g/f ordered the yellow curry chicken with fried rice coupled with her side of veggies. It wasn't long to get our meal out and the portions turned out to be more than we anticipated.
Now for the drum roll to give my verdict on the main course...
Verdict: Fantastico! A great meal for a great bargain.
I know. That sounded like a contrived tagline from an ad agency shmuck, but it speaks the truth about JWok. I'm sure to make continuing future visits.
Good job Justin C!
From their creative menu selections to their decor, jwok pleases my taste buds and eyes. During my first visit, after much deliberation, I decided on the Kung Pao Crispy Roll. It was one of the most delicious and creative dishes I've had in a while. I also recommend the egg rolls, potstickers, and Pad Thai. The second time I went, I got the Korean BBQ cheese steak. It was probably the best cheese steak I've ever had, even though it wasn't a Philly cheese steak. Don't forget to get the J-omg for dessert. It's really delicious & the description is a secret.
A friend who serves at JWok invited me in as I was passing by on the street and as hungry as I was (and I usually am) I ordered to go. The atmosphere and environment was pleasant and the fusion asian cuisine was tasty. I ordered the Korean BBQ Philly Cheese Sandwich and left happy.
Lesson of the day: Mixed asians are the best. Say hi to Kris for me.
Amazingly fresh and delightful Asian food in the heart of the gritty East Village. Hearty portions, extreme value and friendly service.
This place gets 3 stars, primarily because of the Korean BBQ Philly. If not for that, I'd give it 2. I always try Pad Thai as the standard for good Thai and theirs was not good. It was greasy and didn't have nearly enough Tamarind in my opinion, which is what makes pad thai so good. It wasn't horrible, but just not the best I've had. The Thai iced tea was very good and the service was ok.
My pastor has been RAVING about this place for over a month now. He loves is so much, I think one week he went here 4 or 5 times in a row. The joy of being a pastor - you can pick where you want to having meetings with people and pick your favorite places! :)
Anyway, a new group of us finally got down to JWok with him after church one night. The place is new, and the space isn't quite finished (at least I don't think it is - there was NOTHING on the walls, but maybe they're going for the simple look. Not sure). Also, funny tid-bit, their silverware doesn't match. However, the place is cozy and fun.
On to the food: there was a plethora of items ordered at our table - the Korean beef philly cheesesteak had some way tasty beef; the chicken satay sandwich (pastor's fav) was by far the best item on the table, in my opinion (and that's not to just get holy points!). Also ordered was the Yellow Curry Chicken Crispy Roll and it was a little overwhelming for me so late at night.
Pastor has gone in so many times the owner knows him by name, and we got to meet him that night as well. Really nice guy.
We all had fried bananas for dessert, and they were really sweet and excellent.
I would like to go back and give this place another try - I have a hard time eating such heavy food late at night, and only had little tastes of everything on the table. I don't think I'll be frequenting the place as much as my pastor, but it's a nice, different twist on the normal Asian Fusion options in San Diego.
Since my order was takeout, my review is only on the food alone. I had never been to this place before, so when I walked in on Saturday around dinner time (5pm), I was a little skeptical of the quality since I was the ONLY customer in the restaurant. I ordered vegetable pad thai and a side of house fried rice. The pad thai was a large portion (maybe enough for two), but the rice was a little on the smaller side. Overall I thought both should of had a more flavor. The price was very reasonable (10 bucks) , and my order was ready in time as promised.
I have to give this place 4 stars. What a welcome change to the previous estab...what was the name?...so unforgettable...
Tasty & inexpensive dishes...from their Pad Thai to their Yellow Curry Chicken.
Their desserts...fried banana (which is more of a banana filled spring roll) and best of all, their Roti (a crepe filled with some magical sweetness)...pure perfection.
Their Thai Iced tea was just right.
Stop on in to get a decent meal.
First time dining at J Wok. Very pleased. C omfortable atmosphere. Authentic asian flavors in Thai dishes- we had the Thai Basil Chicken and the Yellow Chicken Curry (although they offer Chinese dishes as well). Great value- meal came with a small tasty salad, and your choice of brown/white/fried rice. Excellent service. Justin, the owner, is very gracious. You gotta try the "roti" dessert..it may not be on the menu yet- but Justin said he'd be adding it once he comes up with a name for it..it's scrumptious!
FYI we also heard that they'll have a liquor license in a few months..they'll also be updating the decor with some cool Asian-inspired art. My boyfriend and I look forward to coming back to J Wok real soon! Overall, great deal, terrific food, and ultra-friendly service.
Don't waste any more time or money on Rama..my boyfriend and I use to be regular patrons there, but they've seriously gone downhill. For a fun, casual, yummy Thai/Chinese meal during these tough economic times, J Wok is the place to go.
"HERE'S THE BRAND NEW FLAVA IN YA EAR"
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I am amazed by the myriad reasons for which I am continually thankful for my strikingly beautiful fiancee Emily! In this case she suggested we try J WOK which at the time I wasn't sure if it was still East Village Sushi (see my review...yuck).
It turns out it wasn't--it was J WOK (they had a delay in when they were legally able to put up a sign due to the transfer of ownership)--look for the sign to be up this month.
Emily and I popped in here for lunch and were immediately greeted by the youthful owner Justin. We sat on one of the cozy leather couches to eat (they also have normal tables) They are still renovating and revamping and he preemptively apologized for the noise which was no big deal to us.
He took the time to guide us through the menu, actually bringing his laptop over to our table to show us pictures of the different dishes.
HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE MAKER IN BUSINESS:
PASSION.
Justin has it in spades. J WOK WILL be a success.
Oh, and the food is great too.
We had:
- the sweet basil chicken with brown rice- chopped chicken, basil, red and green pepper slices...mmmm, it had a a wonderful spice to it (and they made it without onions for me!) .
-the kung pao chicken with brown rice (you have a choice of sides) which was good but not as flavorful as the basil chicken.
-the wings which were peppery with a sweetness that seeps into your mouth as you chew. Hmmm, that sounded really weird, but trust me, its a very safe tasty seepage!
-the spring rolls which were mmm-mmm-mmm-good
-the THAI ice tea (it's red) which was refreshing and unique (it has a certain spice in it that we couldn't place)
-the diet coke which tasted like America on ice.
All of that and our bill was less than 30 bucks! The entrees themselves were only 7.75 each! That's with a side and salad!
I am excited to eat here again once all the renovations are done!
I could totally see it being a great place for asian fusion, sake and maybe a low key DJ mixing old Jackson-5 and Craig Mack records in the corner...
'here's the brand new flava in ya ear' over 'gimme one more chance' instrumentals...luhjit
In downtown, there is a distinct lack of Asian cuisines (some sushi restaurants and Thai restaurants) so then came JWok a small restaurant with unique idea: what if Asian food was made to be like finger foods...you know since the ball park is right down the street?
Well- they accomplished it and much more. My friends and I have a weekly dining club in San Diego rightfully named "Finder Dining for the Glutton." It was my week to pick and JWok was on my list of places to try.
When we got there, there were few people there so we were skeptical at first- has Yelp failed us? NO NO, Yelp did not fail us. We knew this when we ordered the food and they came out exactly like how they look in the pictures. Not only did they look good, the food tasted FANTASTIC and ORGASMIC. I could not stop scarfing down the plate that was in front of me. I'm sure it was quite a scene seeing a petite 5'2" woman scarfing down these foods.
If you go there, they have a Traditional Menu and a Modern Menu. Be daring- order from the modern side. That's where we ordered from and we all were very happy with our choices. Don't be fooled that their menu is small- they make sure they perfect each dish before creating new ones. I like this model...very much like In-N-Out, you do a few things well and stick to it.
Now, if only this place had alcohol to go with my Korrean BBQ Cheese Steak...
Korean BBQ Beef Philly Style - yummo, even with the cheese $7.75
Red Curry Beef Crispy Roll - good, not overly greasy, maybe a little bland $6.75, will try yellow curry chicken next time
Chicken Pad Thai - tasty good $7.75
Good food, great wait staff, owner didn't come out to chat, not sure if he was there or not, maybe next time? Menu isn't huge, but ample variety.
Decent prices and food, will be back to try more. Good place to also bring some friends.
Awesome new joint on Market St. in East Village. Menu isn't huge but in return you get generous portions for bargain prices and the quality is excellent. I've had the chicken fried rice and the Sweet and Sour Chicken and both were excellent. Entrees come with a very tasty salad on the plate as well, which is appreciated while downing a (relatively) greasy plate of chicken and rice. Next up on my to-try list: The Korean Philly BBQ Steak Sandwich... mmm.
JWok is awesome, but dangerously close to my apartment for late night bad decision-making. Alas.
Very unique fusion menu. It is like eating a Thai curry burrito - well they called it a crispy roll. It was good though. I also like their chicken wings. They are small but tasty. I hope to go back to try a few more items on the menu.
This restaurant is in the same space as the old East Village Sushi, and it's a huge improvement. (Well, that's not saying much because the old place was pretty bad.)
One of the first things I noticed was that the prices on the menu were really reasonable. Most of the dishes were like $7-9, even for dinner. Sweet!
The owner, I believe his name was Justin, took the time to explain the menu to us. The menu is pretty short because they don't want to offer a ton of things and not do them well. He also explained how some of the offerings are traditional, and others are a more modern or fusion-y take on Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese food. They also offer Thai iced tea and some other teas, with or without boba. They are working on getting their beer license.
We orderd the Korean BBQ Philly cheesesteak-style sandwich. The meat was very tender and tasty. Very good and what an interesting take on Korean BBQ. Yum!!
They offer some traditional curry entrees but also the same curries in *rolls*. The roll was cool - it looked like a giant burrito size eggroll. Read that sentence again - a giant burrito size eggroll, but filled with yellow chicken curry. The pastry shell was perfectly crispy, like a phyllo dough almost, and not oily like a regular egg roll would be. It came with a small salad and was something like $7-8.
The owner was super cool and spent time chatting with us about the place and other good places to eat in SD. I am so glad this place is near me and hope it does well. If you are in the area, def check it out! What a find!
P.S. They DON'T offer delivery at this time.... Just FYI.
Off the heezy!
Cheap, good, and chill.
I ordered their yellow curry chicken wrap and the spring roll app. So good! Everything was fresh and tasty. I recommend this place. I actually want to try everything on the menu! I def will be going back...
9/15/2009-So after reading the Tin Fork review in the Reader I had to try this place out. I love Thai food. The menu is very simple, maybe too simple, some explanations of never-heard-of-items could be displayed. But service was friendly and great and it was dead on a saturday afternoon. All four of us liked the location, biked here after taking a ride along harbor, and sleek, yet casual feel. we ordered kung pao chicken, sweet and sour chicken and green curry chicken. right away everyone was saying how good the flavors were. the veggies were cooked perfectly too, still a crunch and not soggy. I tried my wife's kung pao and it was so good. My sweet and sour was a little too much on the sweet side, i knew I should've got the Pad Thai. I always get Pad Thai at new Thai Restaraunts as the benchmark to see how the measure up. If they get the Pad Thai right, i know it's a great Thai place. Next time I'll try the Pad Thai and maybe change to five stars if it's that good. The Thai Iced Tea is excellent. As is the spicy peanut salad and fried rice served with entree. I haven't had fried riced this good in years! We used to go to a Teppan place in Temecula that's amazing, kills Benni-Hana's. They have the best fried rice I've ever had, but I think J. Wok's is just as good!
So if you love thai food and don't wanna break the bank, check out J. Wok!
10/28/2009 Update: Well, I had to reluctantly bring JWok down to 3 stars. I went back and tried the Pad Thai, twice. It's too spicy. Plain and simple. Now I've had a ton of Pad Thai, it's my favorite Thai dish and as mentioned before I use it as a bench mark for how good a Thai restaurant is. The second time I even asked for it less spicy (feeling like a wuss), I think they just went lighter on the sauce, it was still spicy. I've never had such a spicy Pad Thai. I have a palate for spicy stuff too, I eat hot mexican salsas and think my palate is at the medium side of spicy. I've come to the conclusion that the Thai Iced Tea is too sweet, too. It's missing that woodsy flavor it's famous for, just really rich with sweet. I'll still vouch for they kung pao, which I'll be getting from now on and their fried rice is amazing! My friends really like the curry dish too, I'm not a curry fan, but they all say it's great. On the plus side, since they don't have their beer and wine license yet, they're open to letting you bring your own alcohol if you want.
This place rocks! I'm from San Francisco and was visiting one of my friends in SD and he took me to this place. I must say that I'm really jealous that SF doesn't have a JWok! Open one up here please!!!
The first thing you'll notice when you walk into this place is the cool, modern Asian ambiance. The HUMONGOUS Tiger mural is one of the coolest paintings I've ever seen. The artist did it all on separate panels that come together to form a really awesome picture. If I only had a large enough place to display it, that painting would be mine.
Anyways, there are a ton of cool looking restaurants in SD, but what separates this place from others is the food. My buddy and I were hungry and ordered a bunch of dishes to try. Words can't describe how good some of the dishes taste. You MUST MUST try the chicken wings. The flavor explosion in your mouth is quite an experience. I thought, how much different can a fried chicken wing be? JWok found a way. You also have to try the yellow curry chicken rolls. If you're a fan of Thai food, you'll appreciate the goodness of this. We also tried kung pao chicken and pad thai. Really good dishes.
The owner, Justin, is a really cool guy and came over to chat with us during our meal. You can tell by the passion in his voice and his demeanor that JWok is going to be successful. We even got to try some new dish they're working on...a burger. I have to say that it was one of the BEST burgers I've ever had. It truly blew away any $15 fancy burger you find at some high end restaurant. This burger tasted so magical, I'm salivating just thinking about it.
Then you have the desserts and again, it was another flavor explosion. JWok's take on fried bananas and roti...pure genius. Both desserts are really light, sweet and flavorful. I'm craving some right now.
Oh yeah, their thai ice tea is amazing. Nuff said.
Again, I'm quite jealous that SF doesn't have a JWok as I'd be here every week. San Diego is very lucky to have JWok, so definitely check it out when you get a chance.
Totally came across this place by accident, but I'm so glad I did! The food is delish and the staff were really friendly- appetizers and boba Thai tea were offered on the house, which is always appreciated. The prices are great, especially when you see the quality of the dishes.
Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the food. I'll be dropping by regularly for boba fixes!
So lucky to have this place across the street from where I live. Menu is creative but doesn't try too hard. And the flavors are absolutely incredible. Favorite dish is Chicken Satay Sandwich and JWok wings. You should also try the Yellow Curry Roll (like a chimichanga filled w/rice and yellow curry chicken) if you like heavy fare. For a little lighter meal, I recommend the chicken fried rice.
I'm actually eating beef phad thai from there as I type this. It's the perfect go-to place on any given night.
The boyfriend and I were contemplating on what to eat after our usual Downtown/Gaslamp route and stumbled across this place. We usually hit up The Armory, then 5 & A Dime, and lastly, Blends. On our way to Blends, we saw this place and were quite intrigued at the simplicity of their menu and their price range. $7-9? I'm down.
I ordered the yellow curry chicken and Thai iced tea while the boyfriend ordered the sweet and sour chicken and Asian lemonade. For the record, Asian lemonade is salted lemonade. It's a hit-or-miss at different places, so I end up steering away from it. The lemonade here, however, is ace.
The only gripe I had about it was the time it took to serve the food since we waited a good while before it was actually served to us. They're still fairly new, so they can fix a few kinks here and there.
Lastly, Justin, the owner, is very friendly and always came up to check up on us. Such a great guy!
I want to come back to try their rolls and sandwiches and get some more of that Thai iced tea. Until my next excursion to East Village!
First of all.. I don't think you should open up shop when someone is painting the wall. Smelled like paint. Took our food to go bc it smelled too much.
Ordered;
the Korean Philly sandwich.. it was ok... not worth.. $8.
the sweet and sour chicken ... Tasted like Panda Express
the kung pao chicken... tasted like Panda Express
the chicken salad with the spicy lime dressing.... this was good...
I don;t think I'll be coming back....
After reading the 5 star reviews I was anxious to try it. Obviously today wasn't a good day to check it out as they were furiously and noisily remodeling- constructing a new wall to separate kitchen view from dining area. At 4:30 it appeared to be closed, but the friendly server assured me they were open so I decided to give it a shot despite the layer of saw dust that was settling over the condiments and across the table tops. My bad.
Sampled the Korean BBQ Beef Philly Style sandwich $7.75 and a "starter" of Fresh Spring Rolls $3.75. The spring rolls consisted of very fresh crispy produce, mostly lettuce and basil, with a meager portion of very dry, chewy tofu and not much else- I missed the tang of pickled vegetables or cucumber. The dipping sauce was very mild, without the typical punch I enjoy from a good spicy peanut sauce. I had to ask for sriracha to give it a kick start. The "bulgogi" marinated BBQ beef sandwich had good flavor and was served on what appeared to be a typical torpedo roll Philly style, that was in actuality, a sweet soft roll reminiscent of an authentic baked bun. Note to owners this sandwich does not need the glob of gooey cheese, which does not compliment the delicious Korean BBQ flavor.
Negatives- tumbler of Chinese Iced Green Tea at $2.75 seemed a bit pricey. The server, although friendly and sweet did not seem familiar with the preparations. She enthusiastically endorsed the Crispy Rolls when I inquired, but couldn't tell me what they were wrapped with. Here's a conundrum- how come no hot sauce on the tables in an "Asian Modern Mix"?
Tried out this place suggested by my bro. Atmosphere was nice and clean, modern Asian vibe at the corner of 8th st. And market overlooking petco park. It was a hot day outside so me and bf ordered an Asian punch and Asian lemonade... If you love margaritas like I do, you will LOVE the Asian lemonade!! It was so refreshing! Next we ordered our food starting with some appetizer: jwok wings! Their wings are so delicious, a hint of sweetness and a bit of heat, plus crunchy goodness= heaven!! I ordered the shrimp pad thai while the bf ordered the Korean BBQ Philly cheesesteak. The padthai was yummy, the sauce was tasty and they put plenty of shrimp! Hhhmmmmmm.. The Korean BBQ cheesteak was awesome!! It was super tasty, comes on a French bread with green peppers and onions and melted cheese and fresh potato hips on the side! hhhmmmmmm.... Last, they served us free dessert that they were havin customers try to see how people liked it: shaved ice with fresh fruits and beans! Reminds of Japanese shaved ice or filipino halo halo. Delish!
Over all this place was awesome! Nice and clean, service was great, most importantly food was delicious and fresh! And of course the price was good too! All of the entrees were less than $10!! I went on a weekday during lunch time so it wasn't hard to find street parking but they do have a lot across the street.. I will definitely be back!
P.s.
Say hi to Kris!
Exactly what East Village needed...reasonably priced Asian Fusion. Kung Pao, Pad Thai, Red Curry, Korean BBQ, whatever you like JWok has it. They also have a terrific variety of drinks and all are good, I am especially glad to finally find someone downtown that serves Boba.
We are regulars and suggest that you become one too. The owner and chef are great and the artwork is outstanding.
Jwoks food is good they just need to work on their atmosphere. I usually get my food to go. Everyone that works here is really cool I just want more of a vibe. I am sure it will come in time.
Went into Jwok last night Monday and it was good. I live in east village and have been waiting for something good to break the funk of this great space. I never went into the restaurant before because i heard some horror stories and the restaurant before the last failure Padres cafe was officially the worst restaurant I have ever been too.
I think people are scared of this location because of the crap restaurants that have plagued it in the past but I can tell you Jwok is different. They are in their transition stage right now they basically took the place over from the old owners and have to wait a few weeks before they can start their improvements and put their personal touch on it.
The food is priced right i spent 12 dollars on a huge pot of green tea the chicken curry wrap and some kinda rolls. I just said bring me some stuff didnt really know what I was eating but it was all good.
The ambience isn't there yet (i was the only person )and im sure if it wasn't Monday at 8:00 it would have been different. This will all be worked out soon im sure. The owner was very nice and gave me all the info on the place and even asked me for feedback. Showed me he wants to make sure hes pleasing his costumers and thats cool by me. Try it out wont be disappointed trying the wings and the chicken satay sando next time.
This place was a great find! In the downtown area where everything seems so expensive, this place is fighting back. The food was also very good. I went with a few friends for dinner and we were all very pleased. We tried all of the appetizers except the wings - and they were excellent. Dinner was also superb. They could have spiced things up a bit but the ingredients were fresh and very flavorful. My friend requested the Kung Pao to be "extra" spicy, but it was mild at best.
They still have quite a bit of work left to do to the place, but naturally things take time. Looking so new I expected some problems with service or the kitchen, but everything was excellent. Out waitress was very nice but didn't seem to know everything about the menu, should improve with time I suspect.
The location is amazing - we ate dinner and listened to the cheer of the crowd from the night baseball game (even though the Cubbies lost). Once they get everything put together this place should be packed.
Asian fusion? No. Making a few Korean, Thai and Chinese dishes doesn't make the place "fusion". Pan-Asian, yes - and excellent. But perhaps they should try to actually fuse some of the cuisine or drop the fancy sounding name. The spring rolls tasted like they had watercress in there, but nothing too surprising. The curry and Kung Pao were also very typical.
I'm hoping their low prices aren't pure strategy during construction - I'd be afraid after this place catches on the prices will shoot up.
Delicious!!!
What a difference from the previous place!
I had the chicken pad thai- it was spicy but not overboard.
They said they are going to have beer soon- I cannot wait! That will definitely make this place even better.
Try their Korean BBQ beef philly cheesesteak! It's great and a different take on the normal Philly Cheesesteak. Their pad thai is also very good although it does not have peanuts on it. The atmosphere is nice and they've done a good job with making the place look different than East Village Sushi. Will definitely come back here for cheap delicious Asian food.
I went to this place a couple of weeks ago. Its pretty good. Its a small restaurant right off of market. The servers are cute girls and are really friendly. I had the yellow chicken curry and my husband had the bbq philly sandwich, they were both pretty good.The only things I can say bad about this place is that it isn't open very late and they don't serve alcohol. I think they plan on getting beer on tap soon though.
I'm currently trying to convince the owner to add pho to his menu and repertoire; at which point I will upgrade this place to a 5 if it finally satiates the gaping hole in my soul caused by the lack of pho in downtown.
Until then, I have to say that I was VERY skeptical to even step foot in here based on what I heard about the previous restaurant but was VERY satisfied the couple times I've tried JWok.
Here's the play-by-play
- chicken wings: I've never had wings like this coated with tasty Thai (Tom Yum) flavoring. Wow. A must-have, although my only complaint is how tiny the wings are as they leave me wanting more.
- spicy chicken basil over rice: My go-to dish here. Love the ground chicken, basil, Thai chiles over brown rice (so I can feel somewhat justified about devouring the entire plate)
- super rolls: GIANT egg rolls / Asian chimichangas / Asian deep fried burritos. However you want to describe them, these are a unique yet perfect blend of fried goodness on the outside and your choice of rice and entree on the side (I personally like the red curry tofu option in the middle).
- pad thai: Had a taste of my friend's and thought it was pretty decent
- salad: I really like the peanut dressing drizzled over the salad (even though I don't generally like peanut dressings or sauces; this one is just peanuty enough)
And lastly, for drinkers, there's a secret about this place I'll only fill you in on if you message me. ;-)
Absolutely love this place! Super high quality food at very affordable prices.I ate the yellow chicken curry 2 days in a row now. The chicken is so succulent (i know, a weird word) and so flavorful. One of my favorites! There is also a coupon in the downtowner that is buy one get one free. YUMMMMY!
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
