NEW WOK - Delivery and Pick up in AVONDALE

NEW WOK
Location: 11345 W Buckeye Rd. Avondale, AZ 85323
Cuisine: Americanized Chinese cuisine
Capacity: 61
Offers: dine-in, take-out
Signature Dish: Orange Chicken, Mongolian Beef
Year of establishment: 2004
Phone: (623) 907-9699

WOK THIS WAY

New Wok Chinese Food Restaurant is what many others strive to be. They offer all of the major components of an American’s favorite Chinese restaurant: good food, friendly service, affordable prices and a comfortable environment. They have a devoted staff and efficient management that all work together to create a wonderful restaurant that has gained much popularity among the local residents.
“Our restaurant is clean and neat. It’s beautifully designed,” said New Wok owner, Kam. “It is really a warm place to go if you are in the mood for a quiet, unhurried dinner for two or four, or looking for a family get-together. In addition, our food is fresh and the standards that the Health Bureau stipulated are strictly followed in the food preparation. In compliance with the standards, temperature is strictly controlled to ensure a healthy dining experience.”

The Scene

New Wok is located in a development area of Avondale, AZ. When the restaurant first opened here in 2004, it was still a new area without much traffic and the bustling crowds that you see today. Now, it is full of factories and warehouses, and many local residents have become regular customers of New Wok.
As you walk in the door of New Wok, you will immediately notice the warmth and comfort of your surroundings. Soothing music plays in the background as you are greeted at the door and graciously led to your seats. With 2,000 spacious feet of dining area, offering dine-in and takeout, the whole dining room is illuminated by the warm lights from the ceiling. New Wok has adopted a soothing pale pink and blue color scheme to decorate its walls, and the restaurant is furnished with nicely carpeted floors and rich brown tables and chairs.
According to Kam, the interior design of the restaurant took six months to complete. During the process, they drew upon the unique designs from other establishments and incorporated their own ideas for décor.

The Food

New Wok serves American-style Chinese cuisines, which are commonly served in numerous Chinese restaurants. Since most of their customers prefer strongly seasoned dishes, they add some spices to enhance the flavor. In addition, the food is cooked to order and stays fresh.
The top three signature dishes at New Wok include Orange Chicken, Mongolian Beef and Beef Chow Fun. The Orange Chicken and Mongolian Beef are especially popular menu items.
“I’m sure we know better about the locals and we can satisfy them well,” said Kam. “In addition, our Beef Chow Fun is also well received and the online reviews are proof, and many customers are lured by its flavor to have a try. We just do the right thing and cater to the customers’ tastes.”
Another reason for New Wok’s popularity is their generous portions of food. The combination of a generous portion and tasty dishes offers great value to the customers. In addition, to give the customers new choices, New Wok will occasionally add four to five new and seasonal dishes to their repertoire of specials.

The Service

The staff at New Wok is very receptive to their customers’ needs. It is no problem when a diner asks for no onions or extra mushrooms; they aim to please. They also cater to their health-conscious clientele.
“If the customer asks for something healthy, we will introduce Chicken with Assorted Vegetables, as they are steamed without oil,” said Kam. “In general, we will provide the customers with what they want.”
Standards are high, and the staff at New Wok is required to be nice, patient and hard-working.
“A dine-in restaurant like ours especially calls for proactive and timely service,” said Kam. “We will repeat the orders to the customers so that they can clarify whether there is something wrong or missing.”
They also pay great attention to cleanliness. The clean environment relies on their efficient staff team. They keep a list that details each assignment so that the staff clearly knows their individual tasks. The dining room, kitchen, even the restroom, are carefully checked to make sure the restaurant is immaculate. The telephone and menus are wiped on a regular basis.
“Many customers like our restaurant because of the clean and comfortable environment,” said Kam. “Despite being open for five years, it still looks new and well-maintained. We pay more attention to each detail in the hopes of keeping it clean and tidy. Even the ceiling air vent is brushed clean.”
According to the Mystery Diner, who anonymously paid New Wok a recent visit: “All of the tables, chairs, floor, plates, glassware and utensils were unblemished. The restroom was nicely maintained and supplied with all needed products.”

Owner

After graduation from high school in 1983, owner Kam stepped into the culinary arena— learnt to cook in the local century-old brand Guang Zhou Restaurant, where he acquired specialized knowledge about cooking and refined his cooking skills. Five years later, Kam immigrated to the U.S. and settled down in Phoenix, AZ to pursue his dream of opening his own restaurant. The dream finally became true in 1999. With ten more years experience under his belt, he led the whole team to continue exploring and instilling some innovative ideas to the cooking. The outcome is a large selection of amazing creations, which receive rave accolades. With Kam’s belief in high quality and fresh ingredients, he insists that all the dishes are cooked to order, thus freshness is guaranteed. The consistent efforts finally reap fruits. The dishes are thought highly among the customers. Some even support the owner, Kam, throughout all these years since Kam opened the first restaurant.
“We appreciate their consistent support throughout these years,” said Kam, “We will do better and serve them with our best food and service.”
When asked New Wok’s secret to success, Kam answered: “I think service weighs most in the restaurant operation. For many customers, they are more demanding on service than food. Many choose to dine in a restaurant with the best service and average food rather than the best food and mediocre service. The customers will immediately feel whether they are respected or not. Of course, I didn’t dismiss the importance of food. A combination of the best service and food is a strong weapon to win more customers. Another is management. An efficient management system can double the efforts.”
Kam and his wife, Connie, have worked diligently to make sure that New Wok is a successful and prosperous business, and have definite ideas of how to make things even better.
“In my opinion, our Chinese restaurants need to unite and set rules for our fellow restaurateurs to follow,” said Kam. “Chinese cuisines are as tasty as other Asian ethnic cuisines, such as Japanese and Korean cuisines. While they have organizations to unite the strength, our Chinese restaurants just need such an organization to have a say. Anyway, I believe Chinese restaurants will develop better.”
In the future, Kam says that if there is a favorable place and the right chance, they will open another New Wok restaurant.
Photos taken by Carline Sitterud