Mandarin Wok Restaurant
5268 Nicholson Ln, Kensington, MD, 20895
Mandarin Wok Restaurant Menu
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Address :
5268 Nicholson Ln
Kensington, MD, 20895 - Phone (301) 816-1662
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 10
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : Yes
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Quiet
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Fenny L.
If my dad knew how to use the internet, or speak English for that matter, he would seriously be the ultimate Yelper. If there is a new Chinese restaurant out there, he won't rest until he's tried it, reviewed it (sometimes, rant about it), and ranked it in his personal list of "good eats". In the case of Mandarin Wok, it was definitely "good eats", but the food came out soooooooo sloooooowly that neither my dad nor I felt comfortable giving it anything higher then 3 stars (the food was definitely 4 to 5 stars - but the service was really *JUST* that slow!). While I often joke that the more horrific the decor of a Chinese restaurant, the better the food, the atmosphere at Mandarin Wok even tried my considerable ability to carouse. It wasn't just the blank, boring walls, nor the lack of music of any kind. It seemed as if the entire restaurant was run by librarians, everything was so quiet and hush-hush (in the "so oppressively quiet so you feel guilty when you chew too loudly" sort of way). Mandarin Wok is under new management. Originally it was mediocre Taiwanese cuisine, and the new owners has switched it up and made it yummy Cantonese food. Although they have a 3-dishes for $25 dinner deal - my family of voracious locusts sneered at that deal and went straight to the menu (please note that since my dad and uncle did the ordering - in Chinese - I may be mangling the English translation of some of these dishes). We started off with a cold platter. Which took nearly 15 minutes to get to us. Now a Chinese cold platter is just as it sounds. It's a platter of 2 or 3 roasted meats - thinly sliced, seasoned jelly-fish, and a small garnish of pickled veggies. All of this stuff has been pre-made, and all the chef needs to do is slice and plate. At this point, there were only 2 other tables in the restaurant with us - all toward the end of their meal - so there was no reason why it should have taken 15 minutes to get our appetizer. However, once we did get it - it was MARVELOUS! The spicy vinaigrette off-set the cold sliced pork to perfection! With this wonderful opening salvo, we quickly forgot about how long it took to get the platter... ...but was quickly reminded again, when it took another 15 - 20 minutes before we got the seafood soup, which was rich and hearty without being heavy. Of course, my brother had to ask the waitress to bring us some white pepper and vinegar (should have been "red vinegar", instead we got balsamic vinegar), which are the traditional seasonings that one is supposed to put on the soup after being served. And then we waited again for the next dish. And waited. And waited. Now here is where my dad does the Yelping (I'm just the translator): while waiting between dishes isn't bad - especially when one is making the transition from the appetizer to the main courses - waiting *this* long in a restaurant that has absolutely no atmosphere can be torturous. Especially if one is out with a less congenial group of friends. Fortunately, dinner was with my parents, aunt and uncle, my husband, and my uber hilarious brother - so there were plenty of hijinx, but for a less rambunctious crowd, conversation would quickly peter out and the evening - regardless of how delicious the food was - would be a wash. I think the chef overheard us, because almost immediately the next dish - Cantonese Lobster - came out. Although the 2 lobsters were desperately small (were they in actuality large prawns in disguise?), the flavors were spot on! Fresh, tender, and with a judicious amount of ginger (my husband roundly approves), this dish was one of the highlights of the evening. After another long wait, the next few dishes came out in quick succession (I think my dad made enough loud and pointed comments that the waitress and the chef got the message), and each one was delicious! The sweet and sour beef was so incredibly tender and flavorful that I wish I didn't eat all of it, so I could have it for lunch today. The walnut shrimp was oddly tasty (I have a morbid fear of mayonnaise on seafood), and the steamed chicken with the ginger sauce was *perfection*. As a note of how long the service took, right about when we got the sweet and sour beef, a party (that knew my brother, which is why I noticed this), came in and sat behind us. We got about 5 or 6 more dishes after the sweet and sour beef, and by the time we were ready to leave (about 50 -60 minutes later), this table behind us had *JUST* received their first dish. The food is great, but the speed in which the food comes out (but the food comes out hot and steaming), is just too arduous. You will find yourself hungrily eyeing the kitchen, and every time the wait staff comes out with a dish, you quickly pray that it's for your table. Just too painful if you ask me. The food is delicious, but not quite tasty enough for me to suffer for.
(3)Ingrid L.
Good portion but shrimp taste old/weird very disappointed. Since my dishes were very basic combination dishes both had shrimp and well i had to pick all of them out. This is my second order from here, first time was ok, this time went down hill. Unfortunately can't say I will order from here again :(
(2)Lan N.
One thing you can't complain about is the authenticity of this restaurant. The place was almost completely full of Asians when I came, and the menu on the wall was in Chinese with no English translation. Still, I found the food, though solid, to be unexciting. We had a set meal for four which included soup, poached chicken, lobster, some veggie, and a whole steamed tilapia. The standout was the chicken, which was beautifully moist and light in flavor. The garlic/green onion sauce that went with it was more pungent and salty and was a perfect complement to the chicken. I would come back and order an entire entree of just that chicken with rice. I think dessert was supposed to be included but forgotten. No matter, we were quite full. Overall, a nice meal.
(3)Maria V.
It's alright. There's more carrots in my Szechuan chicken than chicken itself! Lol. The salt and pepper squid was mediocre and was rubbery... Kinda tastes like gas or something. The price is cheaper compared to others but if rather pay for a good quality of food. Not coming back again
(2)C B.
The first thing I have to say is value....Danggggg lotta o' food for so little money. We ordered 9 dishes for 3 grown adults for $87 plus tip. We had almost 6 dishes leftover. What my mom had to comment was that we would have spent the same or more money at another restaurant and not have leftovers for the 3 of us. Ok, who cares about cheap if the food blows? HOWEVER, the food is great. Not over the top seasoned nor salted yet flavorful. The "Crispy Eggplant" is a must try - even if you don't like eggplant, you won't even know. I enjoyed the Beef Chow Foon also...our dish came out so piping hot. I apologize for not providing my usual pictures but we were hungry and my camera was in the car. The ambiance needs sprucing up and the from the outside, it ain't no dazzler. Getting to this outskirt shopping center is a bit confusing as well. The food didn't come out super fast neither but the service is friendly. But if you like authentic, it will certainly feel that way...as the owner/chef couldn't be anything but and the chinese written dishes on the wall. More like a 3.5 star in my book rounded up for unique value which in our starved economy (no pun intended) is really refreshing. Don't look for fast service, just good food at a great price.
(4)Eugene H.
my coworkers come here every now and then for lunch. the lunch specials are pretty decently priced for what you get. food isn't to greasy which is always a plus.
(3)Cynthia R.
Food is usually good. They seem shortstaffed because during a busy lunch you're lucky to get your order in a decent amount of time.
(3)Katie B.
We ordered two appetizers, the Cream Cheese & Crab wontons and spring rolls, followed by two entrees, lemon chicken and curried chicken. The friend wontons were okay, not much filling. The spring rolls were piping hot on the outside, but ice cold on the inside. They must've gone directly from the freezer to the deep fryer. The lemon chicken tasted fine, if you could get over the fact that you couldn't cut it with your fork and there weren't any knives. The curried chicken was mostly onions and previously frozen peas & little cubed carrots. It was definitely "curry in a hurry"- the flavors lacked the complexity you usually find with curries. We did tell the manager that we didn't care for the food, but she offered nothing but a, "Oh, you don't like it? Sorry." I definitely won't be going back.
(1)MacKenzie W.
I'll agree with everyone else here who says the service is slow. Ordered for take out and had to wait 25-30 mins for lo mein and an egg roll. But it tasted fresh and was piping hot, so I think it's almost worth it. Egg roll wasn't the best I've had--tasted like they needed to change the fryer's oil, but the lo mein was on point. Super cheap and convenient to where I live so I'll definitely be back
(4)Noreen G.
I was expecting a delicious Chinese dinner, or maybe I should say that I was hoping for a delicious Chinese dinner. Perhaps the mistake was in ordering it too early and to go. My husband wanted sweet and sour and I wanted Double Happiness. We ordered the pre-priced dinners at $15.95 each. We selected the hot and sour soup which was loaded with vinegar of poor quality. The appetizers of shrimp tempura were mealy and the egg rolls were so greasy that they left a puddle of grease on the plate. The sweet and sour offered was pork and the meat was dry and tough. The Double Happiness had plenty of good broccoli and enough shrimp and small pieces of scallops, but unfortunately they were both in a soggy and unappealing flour coating. The sauce was unflavorful too.
(1)Brian N.
What a hidden gem! I have lived closeby for years and never came here. Cheaper than other local Chinese and very good food. Everyone thought it was hands down better Chinese food than we had locally. Very impressed.
(5)Jesse L.
Satisfy your Chinese food craving here! i got the Thai Chicken lunch special for a little over $6! It tasted just like the flat noodles you get at a thai place. Very good with value and great tasting
(5)Kaylee P.
My coworkers and I have been going here for a few years, specifically for the Thai basil chicken which USEd To BE amazing. This review is based on a handful of people of Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian backgrounds. I just had it today and found it to now be mediocre. Less chicken present, outweighed by 3/4 onions (and the few that were present had an odd fake taste and chewy texture) quality and quantity both went down and the price was about the same. Disappointed, I guess no more cravings for this dish or this place from us :(
(2)Chitra K.
Came in here to order a late carry out dinner. I was the only person there besides an old couple eating dinner. I sit at one of the tables to wait for my order when another couple entered to dine in. The restaurant owner says to me, "ma'am, can you sit at another table?," pointing to one in the corner next to the drafty door. Both myself and the new couple stare at her, and then look around at the empty restaurant. The gentleman of the couple says, "but why??!" I replied with, "yea..not sure why." So I remained seated. It's one thing when the place is bustling with diners...I wouldn't mind sitting out of the way then. This just made me feel like a second class citizen. Sorry I'm sullying your empty dining room. If you are particular about carry out customers not taking seats away, then create a separate seating area for them. She then forgot half of my order. The sesame chicken is fine, but nothing to write home about. Not visiting this place again.
(1)Spiderwing W.
Never again. Several of my co-worker come here to eat, we are a regular customer but lately the service is very very slow, more than several occasion it took them 45 minutes to serve our table of 5. They will take our orders and ignore us, the food was almost cold couple of times. BUT WHAT IS EVEN MORE .... THERE ARE BUGS, FLEAS IN THE RICE AND WONTON SOUP... THIS IS NO JOKE.. First time I over looked it, but the second time... No way we are done,
(1)Niket R.
Please Note: The low rating given is primarily due to obscenely slow delivery service. For starters, they have a fifteen dollar minimum for delivery, and that seems to be a bit high for a Chinese take-out place. The time between my initial call for delivery and the time the delivery man showed up was over ninety minutes. I even received a call from an employee encouraging me to cancel my order due to the driver not being able to find my address. However, in the hope of a delicious cantonese/thai fare, I told him that I'd continue to wait. I ordered two lunch portions of "Chicken Schezuan Style" and one lunch portion of "Thai Basil Chicken" to be used over three meals. The Thai basil chicken was very flavorful, and Schezuan-style chicken was pretty tasty too (though not as good as the Thai Basil Chicken. Judging on food alone, I'd give the place four stars.
(2)Tom C.
Granted it was Christmas...but...the service was SO bad that it was a joke. The food took more than 90 minutes, came out only after we asked for the food repeatedly. And when it did arrive, the food was very oily. And the waitress was unwilling to apologize, or take money off, or anything. Not good.
(1)Snowfeety W.
As moving from HK and staying here, this is the only place I found really have the feeling of Hong Kong Dai Pi Dong style of cooking. The House special steam chicken is the best, even better than you can find in Hong Kong. If you looking for something like Hong Kong local dishes, this is the only place I would recommend in greater DC area. They really doing the good job on stir fired dishes like Hong Kong.
(4)Alicia C.
Got home late from work, didn't feel like cooking, half an hour before the Red Sox game started... so I dug out my pile of take out menus to sort through and figure out something for dinner. Hadn't had Chinese in a while so decided to go with that... kind of wary though since I haven't had much luck with good Chinese delivery in the area. But, I decided to go with it and try my luck. Called to put in my order and first the woman frantically said they weren't doing deliveries tonight... paused, had a conversation in Chinese with someone in the back (definitely wishing I had paid more attention in my language classes in school now)... then came back on to say it would be at least 45 min for delivery. So I ended up just going to pick up the order to cut the time to 20 min. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe they're busy tonight, but when I got there the place was empty save for 2 tables and I had to wait another 15 min upon getting there to get my food. The food was mediocre at best, I've definitely had better. (I got the chicken with cashews and pan fried dumplings). Seeing the prices, I had thought the place was a bit pricey (and also lacked any combo deals expect for lunch specials) but to their credit the portions were generous. The chicken I got was a bit bland in general. Maybe they were having a bad night there, but all I know is, for now, I still remain in search of a good Chinese take out place.
(2)Weetzie B.
In terms of food, I'd probably give it 5 stars. Compared to the Chinese food places that deliver to me, this is definitely one of the most authentic. However, I must echo what the other yelpers have said: their service is awful! We ordered delivery once and they said 45 minutes, it came after an hour. We figured it was because they don't have a committed delivery person, so we started doing carry out instead. Tonight, they told us 45 minutes for carryout! We got there after 45 minutes and had to wait 30 more minutes!!!
(3)Xen N.
Excellent Food. I have been there time after time and have never been let down. Probably the best Chinese I have eaten in the area.
(5)John W.
Chinese Cuisine I probably would not have come here at all, since there are so many other better restaurants to eat at. However, I was here due to an event at the restaurant. What can I say about the food? It is ok, I've had better. We had somewhat special dishes made for the event, but I'm sure it's on the menu. I liked the the pineapple shrimp and fried fish stir fry dish that we had. All the other dishes were ok. Don't get the salt and pepper pork chop from here, as the pork chop is overly fried. They had an odd dessert, red bean paste inside an spring roll wrapping and it was fried. That tasted good, but it was just an odd dessert. I don't plan on going back here for food.
(2)John B.
Look, this place has very little visual appeal, and most people really don't know it's there. When I first went in, I was scared, because it definitely does not have a strong ambiance, but soon my views had changed. I started with a very nice hot and sour soup, and my friend and I ordered the lunch portions of Kung Pao chicken, Hunan Chicken, and Thai Basil beef. All three were stellar. Ever since that first time, I frequent this place almost weekly, and order those three classics. If I had to choose the best one though, it would be the Thai Basil beef, which has the strongest, most lasting flavor. Great food, and very nice chef/owner, who I have gotten to know over the years.
(5)Harry T.
Mmmm... good Chinese food right next to the White Flint mall and metro. I recommend the clams and the steamed chicken.
(4)Brian S.
If you're going to order General Tso's Chicken (or as the yelpers below did, "Pineapple Shrimp" and "Chicken with Cashews"), this isn't the place for you. Mandarin Wok isn't, for a start, Mandarin. That's a leftover name (hey, backlit signs are expensive) from a prior owner. It's excellent Cantonese cooking. And if you can be open-minded enough to ditch the sugar syrup for the taste of Southern China and Hong Kong, you will have a great time. How to have a good experience here? Tell your server--all very friendly, by the way--you want to try traditional Hong Kong/Cantonese dishes. Go with their suggestions. We had Cantonese chicken with scallions, with that delicious ginger/garlic sauce made by pouring hot oil over it, cooked just right with the lovely bright yellow skin. The special of twin lobster in ginger and scallions and onion had tremendous flavor. It was made from two chicken lobsters (1 1/4 lbs, the smallest legal size) for the sweetness of the meat and chopped perfectly to allow chopsticks to pluck the meat from the shell. Fried tofu--wow. Crispy when hot, with that egg-like consistency... and chinese broccoli steamed to melt-in-your-mouth tender and still a vibrant green. Another nice thing was that the tea we were served was Pu Erh and not the typical green jasmine stuff you get at the pu-pu platter places. Points off because the room and furniture is so basic, there is no beer/wine or liquor, and the dining room is too bright. We didn't have the trouble with the slow service that Fenny L. did. It's a place for good authentic Cantonese cooking, but not a great date restaurant. I picked up the take-out menu, but haven't looked through it yet. I hope they offer some of the "real deal" by delivery. It would be worth the wait at home.
(3)Laurie M.
Good food takes time ... remember that when you order from Mandarin Wok in White Flint Plaza (Rockville/Kensington). My Chinese friends like this place and I am always happy with the food: it is flavorful but not greasy and heavy. Delivery, carry-out or dining in takes patience, but your wait will be worth it.
(4)TejieSaba S.
I've had much better. It was ok. Wouldn't go back.
(2)