just arrived in dallas and had enough time to get to the hotel and put our bags down before heading out to eat. my sister lives in plano and my family had nothing but glowing reviews about mr. wok, so we were excited to go.
we arrived travel weary but ok, and we were thinking to ourselves, if we could have a drink or two with dinner, we would be ok, right? wrong........no one in my family was kind enough to tell my wife or myself that it was a byob restaurant and no one had bothered to stop and get anything, so no relaxing mixed drink before dinner, or good wine to complement the dinner, just water or sodas in cans.........ok deep breath, and carry on. its family after all.
i had already read the menu in the car on the wav from the airport, and knew that i wanted to try the steamed dumplings, and the cinnamon beef egg roll (i know it----mind blown!). we saw that they hadpekingduck on the menu and that they made a few extra, and asked if they had one and did, yes!
i wanted to try something different or exotic for my entree since i was traveling and decided to break my rule of avoiding ordering seafood away from the coast, and went with the red snapper fillet with black bean sauce. my wife ordered the whole tilapia (see pictures, sorry they are so bad but it was really dark, and did not want to disturb the diners with a flash) and both were ok, maybe better than ok, but both had a fishy taste, which i really have an issue with, and i know that it was fish, but really fresh fish does not taste like it is fishy, and my wife's fish had a very sweet sauce covering it and sweet on meat is not part of our flavor profile.
i am glad that i tried that cinnamon egg roll, but it was strange, and overpowering with cinnamon, but i like to look for the odd things on the menu and try them, most of the time i find it was a good choice. it would not be something that i would eat again, when you gamble, sometimes you loose.
i almost forgot to mention the steamed dumplings which i thought were amazing, and way better than anything that i can get here in pensacola. the dough was superbly thin and delicate, almost noodle like, and the filling was packed with flavor.
the duck was fantastic and perhaps the highlight of the meal. the duck was carved at table side and then what was left over was taken back to the kitchen and stir fried (bones and all) and brought back to the table for us us gnaw off the bone and it was good, even really good with lots of garlicky and savory flavor.
i really had a great time eating here, and the food was ok, i think that if i go back sometime, i will order more classic chinese dishes and not go so far off the radar. i also relearned once again that ordering seafood so far from the coast, is not a good idea for me.