Wok 'n Fire

Our journey with Wok n'Fire didn't start out wonderfully, but ended beautifully.

Wok n'Fire is a Pan-Asian restaurant that specializes in Chinese, Thai, and Japanese food (including sushi) and is located at 108 Schiller St.in Elmhurst. It was nearly impossible to find on this particular night because the sign was covered by snow. We drove around downtown Elmhurst for close to 15 minutes trying to find it. Once we did, parking wasn't bad because there is street parking as well as a parking lot across the street that patrons can use.

The atmosphere inside was cozy and inviting. The lighting was all track lighting so there was a warm glow to the entire restaurant. The tables were a dark cherry wood and they added to the warmth of the room. The walls were tastefully decorated with unique and beautiful paintings, lots of conversation revolved around the artwork. The kitchen was visible from the dining area by see-through glass so it was fun to watch them prepare the dishes. The restaurant was clean and tables were equipped with all the necessary condiments.

I was craving some egg rolls so we ordered that as appetizers. Since this is not a Zabihah Halal restaurant, I ordered the Szechwan Wok-tossed Dish with shrimp, but without any bean sprouts and bamboo strips for my entrée and just water to drink. I like to order water when I go to Asian restaurants because they are typically high in sodium so I like to drink plenty of water to flush it out with.

The waiter we had was nice...too nice. lol, he kept saying thank you to everything! Thank you when he poured us water, thank you when we asked for extra napkins, thank you when he brought out our food.  This made for some amusing entertainment.

Anyway, the appetizers came out pretty quickly which I like because usually I'm starving or want to distract my 2-year old with some food. The egg rolls weren't as good as I was expecting. They had the usual blend of vegetables in them: carrots, cabbage, etc, but not seasoned well. They did have a lot of black pepper in them though which I thought was odd. The sauce they served those with was decent though.

Then our food arrived, right on time. Before I give them a great review for timeliness, let me point out that we were the only ones in the restaurant at this point because we came close to closing time. So that was most likely a big factor in why our food was arriving early. Although, I have been to other restaurants before where we were the only ones present and the food still didn't come out early.

I am big on presentation-as my husband will tell you-so it is important to me that the food be arranged nicely and everything look pretty in general. This place attempted to do a good job, but there wasn't any of the usual vegetables cut into fancy shapes like in other Asian places.

Anyway, the food was phenemonal. Of course we asked for it to be a little bit more spicy than they normally make it, and this place actually listened! Imagine that! It was very flavorful, the chicken was moist and seasoned through out. I usually like a little bit of sauce or something because I don't like eating a dry dish with rice. This dish did not disappoint, it had the perfect amount of sauce without being overwhelming. The ingredients all tasted fresh and the vegetables in the dish were nice and crisp. The food even tasted good the next day which is pretty rare, in my opinion, with Asian restaurants.

Finally, before we left, as a promotional offer they gave us 2 coupons to be opened the next time we come that can contain anything from $10-$25 off our next meals or even a $500 gift card. Can't wait to use them the next time we go, which we most definitely will. :) Overall, I think it was a nice place to go on a date without our daughter next time, nice atmosphere, and great food.

Spice Card

Atmosphere: A+

Staff/Waiter: A+

Food: A-

http://www.woknfire.com/Wok_N_Fire/Welcome.html