When I first went to Chop Chop Wok, I fell in love with the place. And then I started reading fairly disappointing reviews ranging from everything about no space to food being just plain sad.
Of course, that just made me want to go all the more and far be it from me to deprive myself of my cravings. So off I traipsed to Chop Chop Wok, armed with my friend Funty's photography skills and a hungry tummy. One of the latest improvements is the manager there. Interactive without being intrusive, knowing his food and constantly in motion, making sure we got everything from the salad to extra ice in our iced tea.
Moving on to the food, the Thai Beef Salad was earthy, spicy, crunchy deliciousness of tender little beef strips with a lot of bean sprouts. Now please note I say 'a lot' in relative terms. The helpings aren't massive, okay? It's not that kind of place. If you're more than 2 people, order 2 of those salads, or even 3 depending if one of you wants to have one all to yourself. The sticky wings were brilliants as usual. The reason why I think these little wings are so delicious is because the barbecue sauce doesn't overwhelm the tangy spiciness of the other flavors comprising of the wings' marinade. The fish crackers were strictly okay, to be honest, but pair it with the chili sauce (Which is a mix of spice and tomatoey goodness) and peanuts and you have a new favorite way of eating what we call pappar. Funty ordered the Tom Yum Goong, and the staff was accommodating enough to replace the original prawns with chicken. This soup WILL hit you in the back of your throat if you aren't careful. One of our friends has a low spice tolerance and we told him not to try it but he did and cried tears of pain as penance for not listening to us. Funty and I loved it.
Now, if you aren't aware of what makes Chop Chop Wok stand apart from the rest of the eateries, allow me to enlighten you. So you have a list of things to choose from. The noodles/rice, flavoring ranging from extremely mild to extremely spicy, and of course the add-ons ranging from chicken to beef to tofu to mushrooms to prawns.
The main that I ordered was what I had been craving since we last visited and that was the brown rice with Pan Asian flavoring (The spiciest one on the list, of course) with chicken and mushrooms. Funty ordered the Red Thai Curry, the same friend who cried ordered rice noodles with Japanese flavor, beef and tofu. Another acquaintance ordered the Nasi Goreng and her husband ordered the Black Pepper Beef with Rice, which I didn't try.
Now, my food was heaven in a bowl. It was hot, it was fresh, with tender chicken pieces, perfectly flavored and fried rice, fresh mushrooms and just comforting, hearty goodness. The Red Thai Curry we admitted could do with a bit more spiciness, but on the whole it was a beautifully coconutty curry. Some of us even dared to say it was better than Baan Thai. And listen, we all know Baan Thai has inconsistent days, but when it's good it's very, very good. So that's saying something. The Nasi Goreng was so, so, so good. Just how it should be. The rice noodles were too bland for my taste but our friend enjoyed it and polished it off. Now let me tell you something about iced tea. I don't like it. I never have. Somehow though, Chop Chop Wok's Iced Tea works for me. It's sweet but not too sweet. I can taste the tea but not too strongly. And when it's properly chilled, it somehow works with the food we get at Chop Chop Wok.
For dessert, we went for the Fried Ice Cream, which at first bite reminded me a bit of Frerro Rocher, but later my friends and I figured out it was probably the chocolate sauce that made me think that way. As far as the dessert goes, it's an innovative one to be sure, but inconsistent power surges aren't exactly the most conducive environment for keeping such a dessert. We relayed our feedback to one of the partners who is always open and accepting towards constructive feedback. He listens and then acts upon the workable aspects, which make us as consumers appreciate his hard work and business all the more.
And for all those people who are whining and griping about not getting a seat to eat at Chop Chop Wok, let me ask you something. When or if you have ever gone abroad to a popular food joint that requires you to stand in line and wait your turn until you're seated, do you do badtamizi and throw tantrums in person and on social media? Do you? No. You stand there in line like civilized human beings and then brag about how you get to eat at falana dhimkana place after braving the line for hours. Or you choose to not go there and eat somewhere else. So can we all PLEASE extend the same courtesy to OUR people? That would be really nice to see. There's a proper footpath leading up to Chop Chop Wok. If you want to eat there that bad, please queue up or go check out the shops bhari pari hui in Khadda Market, or take a walk and come back, or come back EARLY some other day. Do not act like junglee badtamiz people. Thank you.
As you can tell, I'm a fan of Chop Chop Wok.
Picture Courtesy: Funty
Of course, that just made me want to go all the more and far be it from me to deprive myself of my cravings. So off I traipsed to Chop Chop Wok, armed with my friend Funty's photography skills and a hungry tummy. One of the latest improvements is the manager there. Interactive without being intrusive, knowing his food and constantly in motion, making sure we got everything from the salad to extra ice in our iced tea.
Moving on to the food, the Thai Beef Salad was earthy, spicy, crunchy deliciousness of tender little beef strips with a lot of bean sprouts. Now please note I say 'a lot' in relative terms. The helpings aren't massive, okay? It's not that kind of place. If you're more than 2 people, order 2 of those salads, or even 3 depending if one of you wants to have one all to yourself. The sticky wings were brilliants as usual. The reason why I think these little wings are so delicious is because the barbecue sauce doesn't overwhelm the tangy spiciness of the other flavors comprising of the wings' marinade. The fish crackers were strictly okay, to be honest, but pair it with the chili sauce (Which is a mix of spice and tomatoey goodness) and peanuts and you have a new favorite way of eating what we call pappar. Funty ordered the Tom Yum Goong, and the staff was accommodating enough to replace the original prawns with chicken. This soup WILL hit you in the back of your throat if you aren't careful. One of our friends has a low spice tolerance and we told him not to try it but he did and cried tears of pain as penance for not listening to us. Funty and I loved it.
Now, if you aren't aware of what makes Chop Chop Wok stand apart from the rest of the eateries, allow me to enlighten you. So you have a list of things to choose from. The noodles/rice, flavoring ranging from extremely mild to extremely spicy, and of course the add-ons ranging from chicken to beef to tofu to mushrooms to prawns.
The main that I ordered was what I had been craving since we last visited and that was the brown rice with Pan Asian flavoring (The spiciest one on the list, of course) with chicken and mushrooms. Funty ordered the Red Thai Curry, the same friend who cried ordered rice noodles with Japanese flavor, beef and tofu. Another acquaintance ordered the Nasi Goreng and her husband ordered the Black Pepper Beef with Rice, which I didn't try.
Now, my food was heaven in a bowl. It was hot, it was fresh, with tender chicken pieces, perfectly flavored and fried rice, fresh mushrooms and just comforting, hearty goodness. The Red Thai Curry we admitted could do with a bit more spiciness, but on the whole it was a beautifully coconutty curry. Some of us even dared to say it was better than Baan Thai. And listen, we all know Baan Thai has inconsistent days, but when it's good it's very, very good. So that's saying something. The Nasi Goreng was so, so, so good. Just how it should be. The rice noodles were too bland for my taste but our friend enjoyed it and polished it off. Now let me tell you something about iced tea. I don't like it. I never have. Somehow though, Chop Chop Wok's Iced Tea works for me. It's sweet but not too sweet. I can taste the tea but not too strongly. And when it's properly chilled, it somehow works with the food we get at Chop Chop Wok.
For dessert, we went for the Fried Ice Cream, which at first bite reminded me a bit of Frerro Rocher, but later my friends and I figured out it was probably the chocolate sauce that made me think that way. As far as the dessert goes, it's an innovative one to be sure, but inconsistent power surges aren't exactly the most conducive environment for keeping such a dessert. We relayed our feedback to one of the partners who is always open and accepting towards constructive feedback. He listens and then acts upon the workable aspects, which make us as consumers appreciate his hard work and business all the more.
And for all those people who are whining and griping about not getting a seat to eat at Chop Chop Wok, let me ask you something. When or if you have ever gone abroad to a popular food joint that requires you to stand in line and wait your turn until you're seated, do you do badtamizi and throw tantrums in person and on social media? Do you? No. You stand there in line like civilized human beings and then brag about how you get to eat at falana dhimkana place after braving the line for hours. Or you choose to not go there and eat somewhere else. So can we all PLEASE extend the same courtesy to OUR people? That would be really nice to see. There's a proper footpath leading up to Chop Chop Wok. If you want to eat there that bad, please queue up or go check out the shops bhari pari hui in Khadda Market, or take a walk and come back, or come back EARLY some other day. Do not act like junglee badtamiz people. Thank you.
As you can tell, I'm a fan of Chop Chop Wok.
Picture Courtesy: Funty
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