We finally made it to Dining Wok after unsuccessfully try to visit twice in the afternoon -- apparently they aren't open in the daytime. We thought they had gone out of business, but thankfully our favourite provider of greasy Americanized Chinese is still going strong (ish).
Is it us, or did they secretly change chefs sometime in the past year that we haven't been? We ordered standard fare, the stuff we normally get, but a lot of it definitely fell victim to new recipes.
Starters began with a hot and sour soup, which was good. It wasn't too thick, wasn't too watery, it was juuust right for Goldilocks. (The chicken and corn soup, however, WAS a bit on the watery side, but if you're looking for something lighter, it could be an option). Thanks to our hand model here.
Chicken and vermicelli with cucumber, not your typical Shanghainese appetizer. This one seemed to made with Skippy's, plus sugar, it was a lot sweeter than your average gai see fun pei. From what I remember, the old version was similar, but even more gooey. Neither was great, but we were craving this, so it satisfied its purpose.
Again, the shrimp toast and crab rangoon had changed drastically. The Shrimp toast wasn't nearly as plump as before, and the crab rangoon seemed to be missing the cream-cheese element. Still, fried food is fried food, can't go much wrong there.
Moo Shu Beef. For some reason we can't remember much about this dish. Which probably means it wasn't anything to write home about.
Yowza, somebody hid the original recipe for General Tso's and replaced it with this Sichuan-inspired version! Holy caliente, it was spicy. For what it was supposed to be, that is. This came at the very end and we were already filled with various foods swimming in a sea of oil in our stomachs, so we didn't have much of it, but let it be known that General Tso's often tastes better when you take it home. Not sure why that is, but it's the cold pizza of ABC food.
For our one more adventurous dish, we elected the deep-friend prawn balls stuffed with goose liver. Verdict? Mixed. Our party was divided between being confused-slash-disgusted with this unlikely pairing, and being elated at the new taste combination. But let's just say that one of us popped them like popcorn and basically finished the whole plate without help.
The experience is complete with their signature takeout boxes (without the handles). Overall, if you're craving American Chinese food in Hong Kong, it's a good pit stop, especially in light of the fact that it has no competition in this area of cuisine. The quality tends to be hit or miss, but hey, you wouldn't expect anymore of a greasy Chinese takeout in the streets of New York, now would you?
Address:
12 St. Francis Street, Wanchai
Contact:
+852 2861 2722
