The Magic Wok

This is my first food review, so bear with me.

The guys where I work decided to order chinese today, so I had the idea to review what I ordered. First, the restaurant.

The Magic Wok
2617 Guadalupe St.
Austin

Don't confuse this with the (note small t, not part of the name) Magic Wok chain with locations in Michigan and Ohio. They do not seem to be related, at least from what I could tell from their websites.

Now, we ordered for delivery, and that leaves me with the dilemma of whether or not the food would be better when it comes straight from the kitchen, rather than trucked 10 blocks, but I cannot change that, so oh well.

Sesame Chicken, with brocolli
Fried Rice
Hot and Sour Soup
Egg Roll (not sure what sort)

The portions are good sized, with the typical three compartment take out box. The large section is filled with chicken and brocolli, and the two small compartments are filled with rice.

The egg roll was packaged seperately, which is a nice surprise. An egg roll should be crunchy, and it is hard for it to remain crunchy when sealed in the box with other steaming foods. So, point one to them. The egg roll was tastey and at least somewhat crunchy, even after being taken for a ten-block and eight-story journey.

The soup suffered more from the journey and was barely lukewarm when it arrived. I don't count that against the restaurant, but it may be better when served hot to your table. I am a big fan of hot and sour soup, and I am considering trying to make it from scratch. Packet Hot and Sour Soup being hard to find and less than satisfying in most cases.

Now, I should say that I am a big fan of Hot and Sour broth, as I do not really like the vegetables, etc. in it. I generally spoon off the broth. The broth was lighter in color than I expected, almost as if it was made from a chicken stock and the others were made from a beef stock. I do not know if that is the reason, just a way of describing the difference in color. The taste is much the same as other Hot and Sour Soups I have tried, however, it lacked some of the initial bite I expect from Hot and Sour Soup, though it did have the pleasant after burn (not afterburn) that I expect. Not the best I have had, but not bad either.

The chicken is breaded or battered, it is hard to tell which under the sauce, and it does not really matter. The chicken was tender and tastey, with the breading adding a little soft almost crunch (not sure how to describe the texture) which was very nice. The sauce was sweet and not very spicy, just the way I like it

The rice was a bit tasteless, nothing bad, but nothing to really praise either. This seems to be a common problem with chinese restaurants, for the fried rice that they serve with meals. When you order fried rice as a standalone dish, the fried rice seems to have a lot more flavor. But, there was plenty of sauce to mix the rice with, so it worked out well and was very good.

Overall, I am impressed. I do not have a rating system, but I would not avoid The Magic Wok. In fact, I will going there again. I changed jobs, and I had a favorite chinese place near where I used to work, but I needed to find one near the William B. Travis building in Austin (17th and Congress). So far, this one is the best one that is close and I will be trying it again.