GOLDEN WOK Restaurants
Finest Cantonese & Mandarin
Cuisine at Reasonable prices

Good Bet: The Golden Wok

This restaurant is one of those hole-in-the-wall delights you discover from time to time and just hope doesn't succumb to the economic pressures that break most small businesses.

A few decorative overhead lamps and some simple tablecloths are the extent of the decor, but don't let the simplicity convey the wrong impression. Something considerably more elegant takes place in the kitchen.

Egg drop soup usually consists of chicken broth with a scrambled egg dripped in at the last moment. This version seemed a pleasant variation, a deeper golden broth with a richer taste. Another staple, egg rolls, are substantial here - plenty of meat, shrimp, and vegetables within the crunchy crust.

But if the meal's prelude was enjoyable, the main course stepped beyond that cautious adjective.

Dishes are of the mild Cantonese variety, but are as good as you'll find anywhere. The beef pepper tomatoes dish was a very reasonably-priced entree featuring thin slices of beef nestled with peppers and tomatoes (predictably) in a rich dark gravy. The meat almost literaly melts in your mouth and tasted delicious.

Oriental Combination wasn't the most exotic label on the menu, but its catalogue of ingredients is irresistible: chicken, shrimp, barbecued pork with pea pods, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and bok choy. It proved as tasty as it was intriguing, and as with any well-prepared Oriental dish, allowed its high-quality main ingredients to retain their distictiveness. The chicken and shrimp were plump and tender, but the flavor of the pork came through particularly well over the more subtle flavors of the vegetables.

Other meals on the Golden Wok menu include chicken kow, Hong Sue chicken, chicken almond ding, shrimp kow, shrimp garlic sauce, Hong Sue shrimp, and Hong Kong steak.

The Golden Wok also offers a wide variety of combination meals for parties of two to five or more. Dinner for two, for instance, costs $8.95 and features egg drop soup, chicken almond ding, egg foo young, fried rice, dessert, and beverage. The moderately priced menu lists entrees from $4.35 to $8.35. For the budget-minded, chow mein and chop suey dishes run from $2.00 to $4.65. --Michael Pehanich, Suburban Trib

1180 Roosevelt Rd
2 blocks east of I-355
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
Mon-Thu 11:30am- 9:30pm
Fri 11:30am-10:30pm
Sat 12:00pm-10:30pm
Sun 12:00pm- 9:00pm
Tel: (630) 691-8828
Fax: (630) 691-8831
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