Masala Wok- The Wait Was Well Worth It

Restaurant- Masala Wok
10001 Westheimer road, Houston, Texas 77042
Buffet or a-la-carte? A-la-carte
Date of visit: 10/26/13

Photo Credit: (http://www.masalawok.com/images/menu_01.png)

UPDATE 6/1/15

Visited after finding out that Kublai Khan closed down. The food isn't as good as it use to be. I only recommend if you want some Indo-Chinese food in the Westchase Area. Food is now a 6/10

Background:

Salam/hello guys! Today I will be reviewing a very popular restaurant here in Houston: Masala Wok. Masala Wok is a restaurant that serves Indian, Chinese, and Thai cuisine. They have popular dishes like chicken tikka masala, stir fry chicken, noodles. and rice dishes. It is located in the Westchase district of town, and they have locations in Sugar Land (recently opened), Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and the Virginia suburbs on Washington DC. This restaurant is frequented by many people who come for lunch break from their jobs. When I moved here, this was one of the restaurants that my family and I would often go to because it was very near to where we used to love (Sugar Land). Plus at that time, this was our favorite restaurant. We would always go here with other members of the family or for even special occasions. Since moving to Cypress, we had not gone here at all. This was all 5 years ago. Now today, it was time for me to come back here and try the very food that I used to enjoy back then. The time came after my chemistry lab at UH had finished. I came here hoping that at least the Chinese food would be better than Halal Wok (Review found here). After going through traffic, I arrived at the restaurant.

Let The Experience Begin!

Masala Wok is located a few blocks after the intersection of the Sam Houston Tollway and Westheimer Road going towards the Galleria. It shares the same strip mall with a Marble Slab and a Sushi bar. Inside was a very vibrant ambiance. The ambiance was dark to give the feeling of being at a casual restaurant. There was a TV that was showing the anticipated soccer (football) game between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was so anticipated that the nearly every customer INCLUDING the employees were watching the game. I myself was watching the game while waiting in line to order. My turn finally came and I read the menu that was hanging on top.

Let's Eat!

Now when you are ordering, it is important that you tell what meat you want. Like if you want to order noodles or rice, you have to tell the whether you want chicken, lamb, beef, shrimp, vegetarian, or paneer. Same goes with any dish here at Masala Wok. I ordered Chicken Lollipops, which are 4 pieces of chicken wings shaped exactly like a lollipop. I also ordered mixed rice and noodles with steak. To drink, I chose mango juice. I paid a grand total of $16.47 (tax included). The waiting time was a wonderful 4 minutes and 35 seconds. I could see everyone cooking the food freshly on the stoves. To wait for the food, I watched the soccer game.

One more thing. When you get your food, you have to get up from your table and get the cutlery and napkins. Surely they can get it for you when they give you the food right?

Menu: http://masalawok.com/images/pdf/HoustonMenu.pdf

Mango Juice

Chicken Lollipops and Mixed rice and noodles with fried egg and steak

The Verdict:

After taking the first bite, I immediately thought to myself "Why did I not come here in 5 years?" The food was fantastic. It was much better than Halal Wok. The only problem I had was that the sauce for the chicken lollipops was too spicy. It tasted like pickle paste but more spicy. Nevertheless, the chicken lollipops were very flavorful, the egg was very fresh, and the noodles and rice were tasty. The steak was perfectly marinated and it perfectly complimented the rice and noodles. All this was drained by a nice bottle of mango juice. Overall, two thumbs up.

Conclusion:

If they had a location on the Northwest side of Houston, then I would definitely be a regular there. I could even get food from here for my family whenever necessary. But until then, I will be making more visits to the current location from UH whenever I feel like having some good noodles. I will definitely try the Indian and Thai options and see how they compare to the Chinese options. If you are on Westheimer and want to eat some good halal Chinese food, then this place would be perfect for you.

Grading:

Service: 9/10

Food: 9/10

Waiting Time: 10/10

Overall: 28/30 = 93.3% (A)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information

Masala Wok

10001 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77042

Phone: (713) 784-8811

Website: http://masalawok.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MasalaWok

Timings: Sun-Thu: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM

Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below!

Cheers!

Zain Mohammed