The seductive scent of stir-fry hits as soon as you enter Asian Wok.
You just know the food will be good.
The old-school Chinese restaurant decor is familiar. Red lanterns hang from the ceiling. Giant fish swim in a giant tank. Lighting is dim and ambient. Zodiac animals line up neatly above the register.
No sooner had my daughter Megan and I plopped in a booth, a stainless steel pot of hot tea arrived with little porcelain cups. We sipped as we studied the menu.
This is not fusion fare with fancy names. It’s mostly the familiar lineup of chow mein, kung pao and snow peas dishes that Chinese restaurants have been cooking up for decades.
Asian Wok is a few blocks from Edmonds Community College in a Lynnwood strip plaza that includes a consignment shop, tutor studio, pizza place and convenience store.
Megan discovered Asian Wok four years ago as a Running Start high school student at EdCC. Lunches are $6.50 to $8.50, and come with soup, spring roll, rice and tea. I was lured by the price and got hooked by the food.
Megan continued to go to Asian Wok when she was home on break from Western Washington University. I got carry-outs a few times without her. It was worth the 20-minute, traffic-light-laden drive from home.
Now that she’s back in town, it’s our go-to place for Chinese comfort food.
As Megan put it: “I’ve had almost everything on the menu and never had a bad meal.”
It’s a popular spot, especially for international students. “My Chinese tutor said it’s the best place north of Seattle,” she said.
We went for dinner on a dark rainy night and sat by a window that overlooked the parking lot, the lights of 7-Eleven shining from the other end. Most tables were empty, but the phone steadily rang with orders for delivery. Delivery is free with a minimum order of $20.
Dinners average $9.25 to $12.95. Most dinner entrees do not come with rice, which is $1.50 a serving. That is, unless you get a combination plate. My chicken and vegetables meal combo came with rice, egg roll and BBQ pork for $9.95. It’s like a value meal combo and it was a mound of food.
Megan ordered the wild basil vegetable Thai style ($9.50).
Portions are big. Dishes are rich in flavor and texture. A variety of vegetables color each plate.
“I think a lot of Chinese restaurants are notorious for serving up really oily dishes, and that comes with mushy vegetables,” Megan said. “Here there’s more flavor and more crunch and freshness to the vegetables.”
She polished off her plate, save for a puddle of basily broth. Even that I couldn’t resist taking home, along with about half of my combo.
I got carry-outs for the men at home. My husband is an egg foo young connoisseur and he says Asian Wok has the best. My son is a sweet-and-sour porker. He compared Asian Wok’s to the porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears: “It wasn’t too sweet. It wasn’t too spicy. It was just right.”
Just right. That’s Asian Wok.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Asian Wok
6815 196th St SW, Lynnwood; 425-771-5838; www.asianwoklynnwood.com.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m Saturday; noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Alcohol: Beer and wine
Delivery starts at 4 p.m. Estimate delivery time is 30 to 45 minutes.
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