Tasty
Wok is small, but not cramped. On my first Sunday visit, the center of the
restaurant was filled with a big family: a dozen people from at least three
generations, passing around a variety of dishes. Printed posters of the regular
house specials hang on the walls. The specials of the day are marked by handwritten sings near the register. That’s also
where you’ll see the clear case of hanging ducks.
As
you might guess, I was happier with the BBQ
pig/crispy skin ($4.95). After all, “crispy” is right there in the name.
Each chunk has a browned layer of crunchy skin, a layer of pork fat and a layer
of meat. Served with a sweet brown sauce, it’s hog heaven. I advise you to
share this one or the pork fat overdose could send you skyward too.
From
the “snacks” portion of the menu, the waitress politely asked if I really
wanted the duck feet and wings ($2).
“Sure,” I say. “At $2, even if I don’t like it, it’s a bargain.” Served at room
temp, it’s literally skin and bones and not much meat. It’s a little
intimidating to bite the webbing out of a cold, cooked duck foot, but it’s
ultimately like gelatinous chicken skin. I got six wings and five feet, so there’s
either a very lucky duck out there or a very unlucky one.
Another
snack, the scallion pancake ($2), is
fried and cut into quarters. A bread that’s both crispy and chewy, I could see
the scallions but not taste them.
Hot spicy beef tendon ($4.95) is translucent
slices of a chewy loaf. The texture is JELL-O skin, but the flavor is like
oxtail. Served chilled and sprinkled with sesame seeds, I enjoyed it much more
after soaking the slices in my hot soup. That’s probably the cultural
equivalent of drinking from your fingerbowl or putting ketchup on your waffles,
but it worked for me.
About
that noodle soup with roast pork
($4.95), it’s probably my favorite Cheap Eat of the night. Slices of barbecue
pork are placed in a hot, rich broth with rice noodles, kale and broccoli
stems. (Those would be the only vegetables I ate at Tasty Wok.) I’m an
adventurous eater, but I was happy to find something I could afford that was
also conventional.
Lastly,
fish balls with curry sauce ($4.95) might make a fifth grader giggle,
but it’s a decent Cheap Eat. The curry sauce is very mild though maybe a bit
salty. The fish balls are surimi, that mixture of ground white fish and
flavoring mostly seen in Western supermarkets as imitation crabmeat.
Dish: The staff is friendly and pointing at the numbers next to menu
items takes care of the slight language barrier. While I was waiting for a
take-out order, the woman at the register stepped over to my table and gave me
jasmine tea.
Damage: Tasty Wok has a few menu options that come in under a
Lincoln, but also plenty of soups, noodle dishes and rice dishes that you’ll
miss out on unless you splurge with that extra $1.95.
Decision: Cantonese cooking at a reasonable price and a $2 dare the next time you want to see a friend eat duck feet.
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