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This place is no Yea's Wok....and its in a weird location - in the middle of a Wallingford neighborhood in a old duplex converted into a restaurant...but thats not even a big deal if the food was good -- the food was just OK.
We ordered the onion pancake, hand shaved beef noodle, braised pork shank, San-Bay-G (basil infused chicken hot pot). The onion pancake and hand shaved noodle were pretty good...tasty and decent portions. The rest of the dishes were just alright. The service however was EXCELLENT...our waitress was the proprietors daughter and she was great in answering all of our questions and recommended a few dishes -- very friendly and nice. The menu had lots of options so I'm sure there are other dishes that they do well...
If you're in the area and craving some authentic Taiwanese eats I'd recommend this place...you just have to know what to order.
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
I like to think of myself as someone who will eat anything and everything (I offer as evidence my annual Eat-off Challenge at the Happy Family Buffet with my brother), but what I ate here...ugh.
It was an odd gelatin, jiggly, grossly translucent dish. I had three bites and could barely keep it down. It was the most disgusting food I have ever eaten in my entire life.
The service was below average (i.e. we got our water, we got our food, and we got our bill). The ambiance is non-existent except for a few obligatory decorations.
There's a reason people tell you to avoid the restaurant oddly located in a residential district on a corner across from a school. Heed that advice and don't go here!
Updating and adding a star because I went back and the service was great...don't know her name but the young women that helped me was very nice and explained several menu items to me that I hadn't tried.
Sadly this placed changed owners a litte while back and with it lost what made it a fourstar… Read more »
I am so glad that I stumbled upon this little place in the middle of a neighborhood in Wallingford! They have some yummy authentic Taiwanese dishes that I long for. Fried squid, cold jelly fish, tofu salad. NOM nom nom nom nom! They even have stinky tofu (not the best in the city, but will do). I also enjoy their squid soups and beef noodle soup.
I've brought two friends there and they both enjoyed it quite a bit!
Not the cleanest place so don't look around too much. :)
thank you, Yelp! I found this place because of you!
i ate here tonight with my dad. We made reservations, and i suggest you do the same. And come bearing patience, because there was only one guy serving the place, and, despite his friendly and accommodating nature, he could only do so much.
The menu is huge...there's something for everybody. If you're adventurous, you can order some blood cubes and intestines. If you're into the norm, you can find some basic Asian dishes. I took some pictures of the appetizer/dim sum sides of the menu. I thought the restaurant was a traditional dim sum cart deal, but it was tapas-style, not cart-style....still, cheap prices!
What Pops and i ordered:
* eggplant in nice, fat juicy pieces sauteed in a garlicky sauce (one of the dishes in the $6.95 price range). This was a perfect size to split. It was the perfect texture and flavor which didn't have me reaching for the salt.
* jellyfish. This was a $3.95 app and was perfect to pick at between the two of us. It came in little noodle-ish strips and had the texture of firmly cooked rice noodles. I salted it a little on my own to spruce it up, but the mild flavor and fun texture made it enjoyable. Next time, I would ask for this to come out first, rather than with the other dishes, so that it doesn't seem flavorless and boring alongside the strong flavors of the other dishes.
* seafood congee. MY FIRST CONGEE EXPERIENCE! They had about 5 different types of congee, from $3-5.95. I ordered the seafood congee with shrimp, scallops, squid, and what i thought might have been little bits of oysters or mushrooms. I had to salt it a little for my very desensitized palate, but i would gladly order it again. Maybe the pork liver congee next time.
* baby bamboo shoots ($2.95). I cannot compare the flavor to anything really, but i can just say that they had a nice brown, garlicky, nutty flavor. These didn't come out hot, so they were nice to snack on after all the hot stuff was finished. They had a texture that would appeal to anybody.
*tofu in brown sauce ($6.95). My dad ordered this. It didn't sound crazy or unique enough to me, and it didn't taste like it either. I enjoyed the giant firm tofu cubes that came inside the little metal hot pot, but wasn't super-excited about the dish. I still ate it, but tofu hot pot dishes don't do much for me. Order some rice along with it, because it's not included.
Gripe: Even though i ordered the congee first, everything came out at once. Next time, i will request that my items come out in my preferred order, so that i don't feel rushed to slurp down soup before it gets cold while scarfing eggplant down while it's still hot.
Service: The owner's daughter came to our table and introduced herself. She really sealed the deal on the whole evening. This is the kind of service that makes me feel included, not a bother. She apologized for it being so busy (and considering the great service, food, and prices, i realize that comes with the territory).
Oh my god, i have so many more things to plow through on the menu before i can move on to new restaurant adventures. This means i have to put of trying Paseo and Quinn's a little longer. Oh, well.
Oh, and there's free tea. I'll throw that in there.
This place is one of my new favorites.
*joy
p.s. this place is right across the street from Hamilton Middle School on the Interlake Ave. side of the street.
Changed ownership, and that's sad because it's not as good anymore (ex. Green Bean Delight).
No more delivery. :(
Couldn't they just bike deliver local, instead of nixing it all together?
When the wok's a'rockin, don't come a'knockin!!
This place... wow. I would have gotten lost if I wasn't being driven there. It's off the beaten path if you're not familiar with the neighborhood. The restaurant is basically a renovated house with a lot of pink... I mean, a lot of pink.
The food? I'm not going to lie to you... I was a little scared. It was really good though! I actually tried Jellyfish and.... well... it's not for me, but for people who would like it, I would say it's good too. :)
One word to the wise... I would suggest using the bathroom at home before you go. I felt a bit awkward having to walk through the kitchen to use it and, though I'm in awe of the use of 1970's vinyl flooring on the walls AND ceiling, it was a bit awkward using the bathroom too.
Quick review- Delicious and Highly Recommended
Full Review- My friend and I tried this after we that found Fu Shen was closed. I had been wanting to eat here but kept forgetting. We were greeted by the hostess/server (Staci) at the door and seated immediately. I asked what was recommended and this prompted Staci to qualify my question with additional questions (spicy, noodle based, traditional, etc). She was very helpful and seemed genuinely eager to answer any questions we had. Plus you have to love a place that uses "assorted goodies" in multiple dishes.
We decided to order the Squid- Salt and Pepper and the Green Garden (Chinese broccoli in a light garlic sauce). They were both very good and the calamari was in larger pieces than I expected (not rings) and were flash-fried so they weren't at all greasy. The flavor and spice balance were perfect and this was some of the best calamari that I have had. The Green Garden was as described and seemed very fresh.
The service throughout the meal was wonderful and Staci is a cutie!!! If I lived in Fremont or Wallingford I would eat here weekly.
- Greeting: Polite, friendly (maybe I speak Cantonese and it might help =P)
- Wait time: Usually got table right away.
- Price: Everything pretty much around $10
- Ambiance: Hole in a wall type of place, I'd suggest you not go use their restroom if possible. You won't even notice the environment once you find out how good the food is.
- Food: Definitely the best and authentic Taiwanese food I've had in Puget Sound. Personally I am a stinky tofu fan, so I'd recommend stinky tofu, pork blood cubes, intestines. But that's an acquired taste, not for everyone's appetite. Their spicy beef soup noodle is great too!
- Payment: Takes Visa/Master/Cash.
- Parking: Street parking only, usually not a problem finding parking nearby.
I'll go with 3.5 Star
Service = bad, its the chinese way
Ambiance = just as bad
Food = Enough to offset to two bad to get 3.5
Crowd = Taiwanese mostly
Personal favorite = Wine chicken, salt and pepper pork chops
Worst = bathroom
Meal for two = 25
Final Say = if your taiwanese your use to it by now!
My star rating tells it all
My Disclaimer: I must be honest. I have no idea what good Taiwanese cuisine should taste like. If this is good Taiwanese, I guess I just don't like Taiwanese cuisine.
The stinky tofu was just ok. My server was trying to convince me I wouldn't like it so maybe I should have listened to her. The tofu tasted overly fried (hard to chew) and for "stinky" tofu the food was surprisingly bland. My husband got a dish with some sorta runny gelatin consistency. Both of us didn't like that very much either. The texture was just a bit much.
We both did like the layered pancakes. Fried dough with salt and pepper. Can't beat it. Service and prices were excellent too.
All in all see my disclaimer above.
I Recently moved into the wonderful Wallingford neighborhood and saw this place as I was driving by in an attempt to avoid the traffic on 45th. I was super excite after seeing Taiwanese cuisine blocks away from my new place. Since I'm asianese and from Taiwan, I was drawn to it like a fat kid is to chocolate cake.
Yes it's true, this place is rather unkempt and not much too look at, but isn't some of the best food served in hole in the walls anyways?
Ordered:
Preserved Egg with Tofu - It is what it was... had to order it tho... hadn't had it in a while. Simple subtle flavors, great textures, gotta love the gray yolk =)
Tea Smoked Duck - Salty and smokey... the duck must have been had an eating disorder... cuz it was not very meaty.
Pork Chop with Salt and Pepper - Super crispy (maybe too much breading) but it was porky and overall pretty delish
Eggplant with Basil - Didn't blow my socks off... but then again I wasn't wearing any.
Overall it was pretty decent meal for 25 bucks. When we left 3 more parties had come in and they were all asianese as well... which is a good sign =) I'll be back for you stinky tofu... it might not be today... or tomorrow... but your mine.
I went there with a big group (20) and shared many dishes include Taiwanese people. I felt some dishes were OK but some dishes were a little strange. Especially, squid omelet has a small amount of squid inside and their dim sum was disappointed.
Compare to real Taiwanese restaurants in Taiwan, I will put 2 stars but it was OK in Seattle area. So, I want to put 2.5 stars.
Reports of Rocking Wok's fall from (culinary) grace and impending doom seem unfounded. I got some food there this weekend and it's still good. The Pork Chop Over Rice, a Taiwanese classic, was as it should be. Nice tender pieces of pork served over rice with brown sauce and crumbled ground pork. Also present were the requisite boiled egg (cooked in the brown sauce) and diced pickled mustard greens. Mmmm! I also got the Cold Noodles with Chicken. Robust peanut sauce, nicely blanched noodles and sprouts and a decent portion of chicken. Not sure how the dish would have worked out cold - I like mine a bit warm and nuked the thing. Good, good, good! I daresay as good as Cafe Ori, Sandy's and Kung Ho (the other Taiwanese places around here).
A note about the interior. It is a bit unkempt and in need of an update. So don't go there if you're on a hot date or are Particular About Posh. But at the near street vendor prices they charge, go for the food, and endure the interior. Or just do take out.
I was pretty stoked about giving this place a try. It's definitely fitting that the Taiwanese place in the area was inconspicuously sitting in the middle of a residential area suitable for a dive bar.
We had the intestine with noodles which wasn't very flavorful. The oyster pancake was only ok. I guess it can't really work without the small oysters, as they took large oysters and sliced it up. The star of the meal, though, was the ma wan. The sauce had a bit of a kick and you really can't go wrong with the rice flour ball.
Too bad we were too full from cupcakes (yeah... in retrospect, it was a pretty stupid idea) and we didn't get to try anywhere near the number of dishes that we wanted to. I don't think we'll be coming by here again as future visits to this fine city will most likely yield attempts at some of the other Taiwanese places.
I heard of speak easy bars but a speak easy Taiwanese restaurant?
To get here you'll drive past a high school and enter a residential area in Wallingford. You'll think that there's no freaking way a restaurant is going to be holed up in one of these houses. Well guess again buddy and welcome to my world!
See I used to live near an area considered the Little Chinatown in San Francisco. With earth shattering awesome restaurants down the street and eating out ever night maybe you can understand why I had to get rid of my favorite Marky Mark http://www.youtube.com... and EMF http://www.youtube.com... medium sized T-shirts from 90's to transition to my fattie XL sized wardrobe that I wear today.
But don't let the looks fool you. The food here is excellent. Seriously great tasting and not absolutely greasy messes that some other places are. Here's are the dishes I tried.
Bamboo shoot appetizers - Sounds disgusting but was the absolute best part of the meal. Perfectly seasoned and only $3 I could have easily ordered nine more servings.
1,000 layer pancake - If you never had this you have to try it. You won't be disappointed and for $3 I'll even give you your money back if you don't like it.
Pork chops - I'm not a fan of pork chops but this was perfectly seasoned.
Crispy Duck - It was surprising crispy and without the greasy oils you'd expect. The only disappointment was that there's no sauce. But being prepared so well unless you have a MSG addiction you probably don't want to mask the flavor.
The interior is pretty drab. It can get hot inside and the seats decor looks like they picked it up from a garage sale. I looked at their website and had to do a double take because they have a supposed photo of the interior http://www.rockingwok.... but this isn't Chef Francois in Belltown.
But still it's absolutely the best food I've eaten in Seattle. Am I going back for more? Hell's yeah! I'm going back for seconds, thirds and not stopping because it's cheap, good and I'm a plain fattie! It took me three years to get this gummy bear physique, do you think I'm going to lose all it all now?
So what are you waiting for? LET'S EAT!
This hole in the wall is one of very few places I will dine at (other than my mom's) for chinese/taiwanese food. I grew up eating the authentic stuff and the food here is pretty damn good. It is also inexpensive and the service is fast. What more could you want?
This place is such a shack, I would never have gone inside if my fiance didn't tell me that it was good and that they have stinky tofu. Plus the name conjures images of chop suey, lemon chicken, and egg rolls served mainly for the enjoyment of the lao-wai (old foreigner aka. white folk).
It's authentic for sure! The waitress barely spoke english. I tried my pathetic chinese and for the most part it worked. The fried stinky tofu, onion pancake, taiwanese rice cake, and friend intestines were good. YUMMIE STINKY TOFU! However, the dumplings and small steamed pork buns were very bland. The latter looked and tasted like they were probably bought from a store frozen and simply steamed to serve.
I would definately come back here to try more Taiwanese specialities. Just avoid those dumplings and buns at all cost!
Went to Rocking Wok with three Taiwanese people (being main land Chinese myself...) I have to say that the owner is very personable. My friend is a rather attractive Stanford grad student, and it turns out that the owners son also goes to Stanford for grad school, and the during the entire meal he was trying to get them hooked up. Very funny guy. If we didn't have a good sense of humor, it would almost be annoying.
Now to the food: I think it was OK. Personally I think Taiwanese food is more bland than Chinese food and everything we had there reinforced that believe. Like the other reviewer, we also tried the stinky tofu. Not stinky at all. Fun place to go with your asian friends maybe.
This place is OK for Taiwanese eats. Having spent time living abroad in Asia (Taiwan & Hong Kong), I know what good Taiwanese food is. The Rocking Wok has your staples like beef noodle soup, scallion pancakes, steamed dumplings, et al. but doesn't do anything exceptional with any of these. The problem is that they are basically the only place in town and I feel as though management knows this.
The restaurant is a total hole-in-the-wall, which you might suspect and is located in a residential neighborhood just south of Wallingford's main drag on 45th Street.
If you're pressing for some mediocre Taiwanese food, take a shot here.
Excellent! Highly recommend the beef noodle soup as well as the fried squid. Though I live in Spokane, I make it a point to eat here at least once or twice when I visit Seattle.
Don't let the simple decor distract you. The food is great!
Note - The place is under new management and is even better than before.
This place is a dump. I mean, really a dump. I'm sure this place would make the top 20 hole in the wall Asian food in Seattle. But at least they got the ambiance just right for Taiwanese food. A few rats and roaches would make this place feel just like southern Taiwan.(being from there myself)
My advice: A lot of the food is authentic but some of the food isn't so much so. Don't go for the Americanized Chinese fare and order everything else you've never seen before. You'll be pleasantly surprised..... or you'll be running to the bathroom soon afterwards. It's like Russian Roulette but with Taiwanese food.
Pretty good food and quite a Seattle value.
They do deliver (with a $15 order minimum), but it may be that they deliver exclusively to U Wash dorms.
It's not the best venue in the universe, but it's decent cheap chinese food. You don't get goad leaf on the bowls in such a place.
They mention dim sum, and I just might try it based on their awesome lunch special for $4.95 that I partook of earlier today.
OK.. For me, 4 stars is pretty damn good, and Rocking Wok isn't quite in that strata, but they are better than 3, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.
I eat here fairly regularly since its only a mile or so from home and I enjoy the staff, their willingness to substitute and that you get a pretty good meal cheap!
I almost always order from the noodle column. (This will come as no surprise to those that have read my other reviews and recognize my noodle fetish.) The noodle soup bowls are simple, yet really satisfying. I wish they wouldn't do me such a big favor and give me great chunks of tendon & fat, though. I have learned this is a delicacy in beef dishes, but I'm not such a huge fan. I know they were trying to be nice.
The very personable owner has recently gone off to take care of other business, so the chef and his family are currently in charge. I think the food has actually improved.
My ideal restaurant experience is where I know the staff well enough to just say: "Make me something good. Umm. seafood (or whatever)" Tonight they gave me Rice Cake soup with chicken. Nothing fancy, but tasty, cheap & filling ($5.95). Rice cake is like a big oval chewy noodle, maybe 1/2" in diameter and its sliced thin. I've had it in a sauce, but never before in soup. It was served with Napa cabbage, carrot (that was a surprise), chicken chunks and lots of minced garlic. They also serve you a pot of tea as soon as you're seated, which I really appreciate.
There's always Chinese TV going, which is totally out of my ability to understand.
I've tried a few other Taiwanese specialties and generally enjoyed everything. Not haute cuisine, but healthy, tasty food. For a unique experience, have the oyster in egg. VERY curious, but I liked it.
The place itself is in one of those old neighborhood stores with an apartment upstairs. Funky and simple, yet comfortable. Its right across the street from the temporary Garfield High site in Wallingford, just a block up from Stone Way.
Its pretty close to a home cooked meal kind of experience, if your mom happens to be Chinese (mine isn't), and worth your time & patronage.
Try the stuff in the last section of the menu -- those are authentic Taiwanese food.
This place is really inexpensive, fast, and good!
This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants on the north side of town. I had green onion pancake, stinky tofu and wonton soup today and everything was excellent. I've tried many things on the menu; there's a lot of variety, and while the dishes aren't entirely consistent in quality the prices are extremely reasonable and I've found the service to be very good. I support this restaurant.
random update: I've eaten here quite a few times now. I don't think it could be described as authentic, but it certainly strays from the conventional Seattle Chinese restaurant format. They're very cheap, very fast and I think the majority of the food here is actually really good. I eat here a lot before I go to work, I usually get a bowl of pork chop noodle soup and it's like $6 after tax. There's a big menu if you like to try new stuff, typically a good experience here, but I've gotten a little too adventurous before and left feeling shamefully Caucasian and a little bit hungry.
Food is decent and is quite authentic Taiwanese food. Unfortunately the service was beyond ridiculous and the attitude I received basically told me to go take my money elsewhere. After tipping heavily at lunch (over 20%), I was told that I would not be helped to a plastic bag and that the server "can't help you like this, you have got to help yourself". I was not even presented with a check and I walked to the server to pay my bill. Do note that my bill was over $20 (me alone) and seeing that the other "customers" coming in where just school kids coming in with a few dollars per ticket. I was the ONLY sit-in customer at the time, I deserved much better.
I always believe that unless it is a fast food place, a meal should be an experience dictated by more than just the food. I will take my money elsewhere and take my friends with me. This kind of place needs to be shut down. Absolutely disgusted by my experience.
Ever since the change in ownership, I've never been back. Not as good as it used to be.
Order the 1000 Layer Pancakes or Taiwanese style Pork Chops!
I get my quick lunch here, and they're done in about 2 minutes. the prices there are really cheap and affordable. it's like $3 for a box of noodles, and $5 for a box of noodles/rice, and 4 chicken wings, including spicy ones, to top that, a can of soda, for only 5 dollars, where elsewhere you can get for about 10 bucks.
I went here for Valentines day with a friend and for a treat I tried the stinky tofu. I really didn't stink all that much but it wasn't the tastiest dish as well (kind of like fine cheeses you have to acquire the taste for). Staff was very nice and asking us how were.
My friend Ian wrote a blog about San Francisco Taiwanese cuisine recently, in which he introduced me to Chou Dofu, or "Stinky Tofu". I had never heard of such a thing. Immediately my curiosity overwhelmed me. I wrote and asked him to tell me more about Stinky Tofu, specifically what made it stinky and why it was so good. He explained that it is a fermented tofu that has a stench which can be offensive to those unfamiliar with the pungency of dishes such as Kim Chi. Ian has a rather adventurous palate for a white boy, having eaten grasshoppers in Thailand, tripe and other guts in Vietnam, and he regularly consumes things like jellyfish with glee.
Since the day i got his reply to my message, i have had Chou Dofu on the brain. I don't know why! For some reason, i have been simply compelled to try it. So i got online and searched for Taiwanese restaurants in Seattle. What i came up with is a listing for the Rocking Wok in Wallingford. I read a few reviews, most of which indicated that while the food was excellent, the service was way under par. Well, that is not enough to deter me from trying a new place, as i am a low-maintenance diner when spending less than $20 for a meal. Late in the evening on a Sunday, i decided to give it a try.
Rocking Wok is located in a residential neighborhood, several blocks from the main drag in Wallingford and across from a high school. I can only hope for their survival that their rent is low, because foot traffic is not going to be good for them in this location unless the high school students prefer their food to whatever they get at school. However, if the food is as good as people are saying it is, then their reputation will bring people from outside the neighborhood. I was the only person other than the staff and their family eating at that time of day. The hostess was, as expected from other reviews somewhat brusque, however, the server was extremely kind and helpful. He explained several of the dishes, made some recommendations, and was very reassuring that they would not add any MSG to my food if i didn't want it. The place is decorated in typical chinese fashion, pink walls with red good luck items, generic lighting and furniture, really nothing special. The TV was on rather loud broadcasting a Taiwanese news station, but i was able to tune it out once the food arrived. The green tea they served me was excellent--probably just your average green tea, but it was made perfectly.
The Stinky Tofu was mouth wateringly good. Not stinky at all, actually, just a bit off from the flavor of regular fried tofu. The sauce was a light brown gravy and the tofu was served with some freshly made Kim Chi on the side which i thought was far stinkier than the tofu. I couldn't stop eating it until it was all gone. This made me too full to eat more than a third of the Three-flavored House Special noodle soup ($5.75) i ordered as a main dish. The Stinky Tofu is not listed as an appetizer but at $3.50 it's hard not to order something else. The noodle soup was spicy and strong-flavored even without the MSG. I had them leave out the pork and just use seafood, which was of decent quality and included chunks of fresh fish, squid and shrimp. They use big fat udon-style noodles in this soup, which i don't normally like. But the rainy day helped me appreciate the heartiness of this soup. The flavor was good enough, with just the right amount of chili oil, to tempt me to eat more than i could reasonably stuff into my belly. With some willpower, i decided to save the rest for the next day's lunch.
Overall, i would not gush over this food and tell all my friends that they MUST go eat at the Rocking Wok. But the menu is uniquely authentic and a refreshing departure from typical Chinese food which i often find is drenched ad nauseum in boogery goo . I would like to return and try the Thousand Layered pancake, which was sold out this time. They have a small dim sum menu with a couple of vegetarian options, and the rest of the menu contains about a dozen veggie dishes. They seem open to substitutions, however, so don't be afraid to ask. They also deliver to the University district and surrounding areas with only a $13 minimum so i will be ordering at work in the near future.
Rocking Wok was our one place that we can get decent Taiwanese style food in Seattle. We used to drive 30 minutes just to get our fix. Alas, the original owner sold out to a Cantonese owner, and the food looks similar, but the taste was all gone.
We tried a few simple dishes, che-ah mien, stinky tofu, and pork chop rice.
Che-Ah mien was done with the wrong type of noodles, with little flavor. We took a bite and left the rest.
Stinky Tofu was a disaster. The taste was not there, and the texture was wrong.
Pork Chop Rice was tolerable, but the pork chop was greasy and not crunchy, and the cut of meat was really bad.
Overall, they've lost us as customers.
love this place and can't wait to crawl back into this hole in the wall!! authentic food, courteous staff, unbelievable price for the excellent quality and generous amount of food. just simply the best if ambience is not a priority at all. fit for appetites of kings & hippos alike.
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: International District
Category: Chinese
Bellevue, WA
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Roosevelt
Category: Chinese
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