Food—Thai and Chinese
Drink—Thai iced tea and coffee, soft drinks
Location—Just north of campus and near downtown Champaign
Average price for an entree—$7.00
Atmosphere—Quaint fast-foodish
Service—Courteous and quick
Patio seating—No
Vegetarian-friendly—Yes
Child-friendly—Yes
It's easy to miss Golden Wok, tucked away as it is between a get-cash-now joint and an apartment building that dwarfs it. The little restaurant is set back off University Avenue just east of Fourth Street—one door from the corner of Fourth and University. You should not miss it, because the folks at Golden Wok serve up very tasty Thai and Chinese food at reasonable prices.
According to my pal Lek, "some Thai people think it serves the best pad Thai in Champaign-Urbana"—very high praise indeed. I've had the pad Thai, and while I've never eaten the dish in Thailand and thus don't have that point of comparison, I thought it was delicious. I had it with shrimp, as you can see in the photo ($7.95); you can also get it with chicken, beef, or tofu ($6.95).
Recently I tried a lunch special: a medium-sized bowl of tom yum kai (a hot and sour chicken soup with lemongrass and other yummy ingredients), pictured here,
and a plate of pad kra prow with chicken (a stir-fry with Thai basil, onions, and bell peppers), which of course came with steamed rice. Both the soup and the stir-fry were delicious, and, at $7.99, a fabulous value (and I took a lot of the stir-fry home and had it for a second lunch, which made it even more wallet-friendly).
On another occasion I tried pad see ew with beef (wide rice noodles stir-fried with a special soy-based sauce, broccoli, and your choice of meats or tofu). A nice-sized portion for the great price of $7.50.
The Thai iced tea and iced coffee are well worth trying, too. If you haven't had it, it's delicately spiced and strongly sweetened tea or coffee on ice topped with a layer of evaporated milk. You could think of it as a Thai latte! Or as Thai sweet tea with milk! And at $2.35 for a large glass (or to-go cup)—well, again, nice price.
If you like Thai or Chinese food, but especially Thai, I urge you to try this place. You can eat in or call for carry-out, and they also now offer delivery. If you drive there, off-street parking is available on the east side of the restaurant.
Golden Wok Thai and Chinese Restaurant
405 East University Avenue
Champaign, IL
217-356-8383
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday 12 noon to 8:30 p.m.
See the
entire menu on the GW Web site. There are also daily specials; check the white board near the counter for those.
This post is dedicated to Lek, an acquaintance of mine who was here in C-U for several years getting his PhD and who is now back in Thailand. Lek took many, many incredible photos of local restaurants and food while he was in town, which he was kind enough to share with me over the years. You may remember that I linked to
a gallery of his photos of a Valentine's Day dinner at the Spice Box Cafe on campus in 2008. Best wishes, Lek, and thanks for the memories!
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9 Comments:
Thanks for the review--I've often wondered about this place! I'll definitely try it out.
Looking forward to a review of the new My Thai on Springfield!
I miss this place SO MUCH.
I miss the guy who used to own the place -- went there all the time ten years ago when it was a more Vietnamese/Indonesian restaurant. That was some seriously tasty food.
But then it started changing hands and names a lot when he retired, and for a while in the middle there it wasn't much good at all; I haven't been back in about 4-5 years now.
It's still got the same name as the incarnation that wasn't all that good, but if it's new management/new chef, maybe I'll give it another go...
Yum~
I see they are opening a new chinese place in my neighborhood... I have my fingers crossed that it will be good!
Nothing like takee-outee on a friday night.
This looks like a friday favorite for sure!
I appreciate that they put their menu online!
This is good to know. I've driven by the place for years and always wondered. Will have to give it a shot.
Back in the day, I loved this place. But then the wife moved to Bloomington, and then they got a new cook. The food is still the best thai in CU though...but not as good as before.
WTF.
They charged me $7.99 for a CHICKEN pad thai!
And it wasn't that good either.
Extremely salty and overly (MSG-) seasoned.
Sigh.. I too miss the old owner (who I believe was from Singapore), when the place was called Singma...
Shannon: My pleasure. I hope you enjoy. As for My Thai: hopefully soon.
kfan: Come on back!
Anon: I didn't know the first owner, though I did go there once or twice years ago, when it was Sing-Ma. You might give it another try and see what you think.
Sandi: Definitely a fave.
Anon: Yes, it's great to be able to peruse the whole menu on their Web site.
Grumblebear: If you go, let me know...
Anon: I can't really speak to "before," but I sure enjoy it now.
Anon: The price of the chicken pad Thai went up to $7.35 shortly after I published this review. Possibly with tax, then, it came to your $7.95. Still a good price, IMO, and I didn't find the pad Thai over-salted or over-seasoned (but each to her/his own taste!).
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