Thursday, July 08, 2004
Wok Away vs Walk Away
Korenmarkt 11, Ghent, Belgium. more reviews
Going to Chinese restaurants is not something I tend to do. Mostly since I'm quite aware how little effort goes into most of what they are making. Don't get me wrong, it may be tasty but anything more than $3.50 for a plate of well-made (another catch) fried rice is too much. So it's always nice to discover a Chinese* restaurant that is done well.
Two restaurants in Belgium have caught on to the upscale but hip wave of Chinese restauranteuring. These are catching on very quickly in Florida ... and also in other places that I don't know enough about but which am willing to generalize about like New York and California.
Recently, I have visited an outstanding example of innovation in decor/menu design in the Korenmarkt in the center of Ghent (Gent for you Flamophones... Hollophones, too? never mind) called Wok Away. It was quite a comfortable place to sit - the location was ideal for people watching, being watched, a nice breeze, and sunshine if you're into that sort of thing. That specific late afternoon, the crowd was bustling and the hip kids were aplenty. In the front counter of the restaurant itself, customers milled around while they ordered their take-out meals. As much as I want the Chinese folks in front representin', I wouldn't want them doing it unless they are good at rappin' with the clientele. So with eyes shut to color, the salespeople gotta be in the front or the customers will lose interest. Unfortunately, the willing startup entrepreneuers for Chinese restaurants are often immigrants that still lack the linguistic charisma necessary for charming customers.
Ah, the price you say? The elusive bottom line? In a decent-sized European city like Ghent, there will be no penny meals. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that chic in a place like this was affordable. The average price was seven euros and the daily special (menu for you crazy Europeans) was about nine euros - my apologies for I have not discovered the way to write a euro sign on this blog engine.
Let me tell you about the seven euro fifty fish Yankee noodle. Excellent choice. Plenty of pieces of seafood - not cheap in these lands - and decent quality noodles. My fellow diner, Bert, has been a faithful fan of the chicken Yankee noodle with barbecue sauce. In fact, he couldn't tell me about the other dishes. The seafood slammer was a little disappointment due to the low quality shrimp, but that serves me right considering I decided never to order shrimp in Belgium due to my experiences with the terrible price/quality/quantity ratio. Of course, the overall experience had a great price to quality ratio. I recommend this place.
Don't confuse this place with Wok-on-Air. Similar idea and similar name so it might be easy to confuse it. The impression I have of this restaurant is that it is much more chic. Often I get comments that it has an almost modern Japanese aesthetic to it. My own opinion on its aesthetics is that it might work very well on the dream sequence set of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey ('Open the dim sum steamer, HAL'). Lots of pristine white surfaces with pieces of metal stuck to it. Visually - very hip. I approve.
The food and the price: You might want to just bring your own picnic. As much as their heart was in the right place with the decor, the ingredients they used for the dishes were generally not very fresh and the prices were quite unreasonable - on average about nine euros for quality much lower than Wok Away. And quantity? Eat beforehand... Most of the dishes I've had at this place were not worth the money save one meal. However, that meal involved the owner's wife who was a classmate in my girlfriend's Chinese class. I guess preferential treatment (meaning good ingredients) for those in the know. I've met the owner and he's nice guy. Chinese immigrant from Tienen. Hate to diss a brother, but I hope he changes his ways soon - or at least as soon as he can afford it. At this point, I would be hard pressed to visit.
Korenmarkt 11, Ghent, Belgium. more reviews
Going to Chinese restaurants is not something I tend to do. Mostly since I'm quite aware how little effort goes into most of what they are making. Don't get me wrong, it may be tasty but anything more than $3.50 for a plate of well-made (another catch) fried rice is too much. So it's always nice to discover a Chinese* restaurant that is done well.
*As much as I'm tempted to say Asian or pan-Asian to get more inclusive about it, there are certain trends in ethnically Chinese owned restaurants that can be observed there and not in other Asian restaurants. Many of these trends are not good ones for the diners but read on, I've found some exceptions.
Two restaurants in Belgium have caught on to the upscale but hip wave of Chinese restauranteuring. These are catching on very quickly in Florida ... and also in other places that I don't know enough about but which am willing to generalize about like New York and California.
Recently, I have visited an outstanding example of innovation in decor/menu design in the Korenmarkt in the center of Ghent (Gent for you Flamophones... Hollophones, too? never mind) called Wok Away. It was quite a comfortable place to sit - the location was ideal for people watching, being watched, a nice breeze, and sunshine if you're into that sort of thing. That specific late afternoon, the crowd was bustling and the hip kids were aplenty. In the front counter of the restaurant itself, customers milled around while they ordered their take-out meals. As much as I want the Chinese folks in front representin', I wouldn't want them doing it unless they are good at rappin' with the clientele. So with eyes shut to color, the salespeople gotta be in the front or the customers will lose interest. Unfortunately, the willing startup entrepreneuers for Chinese restaurants are often immigrants that still lack the linguistic charisma necessary for charming customers.
Ah, the price you say? The elusive bottom line? In a decent-sized European city like Ghent, there will be no penny meals. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that chic in a place like this was affordable. The average price was seven euros and the daily special (menu for you crazy Europeans) was about nine euros - my apologies for I have not discovered the way to write a euro sign on this blog engine.
Let me tell you about the seven euro fifty fish Yankee noodle. Excellent choice. Plenty of pieces of seafood - not cheap in these lands - and decent quality noodles. My fellow diner, Bert, has been a faithful fan of the chicken Yankee noodle with barbecue sauce. In fact, he couldn't tell me about the other dishes. The seafood slammer was a little disappointment due to the low quality shrimp, but that serves me right considering I decided never to order shrimp in Belgium due to my experiences with the terrible price/quality/quantity ratio. Of course, the overall experience had a great price to quality ratio. I recommend this place.
Don't confuse this place with Wok-on-Air. Similar idea and similar name so it might be easy to confuse it. The impression I have of this restaurant is that it is much more chic. Often I get comments that it has an almost modern Japanese aesthetic to it. My own opinion on its aesthetics is that it might work very well on the dream sequence set of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey ('Open the dim sum steamer, HAL'). Lots of pristine white surfaces with pieces of metal stuck to it. Visually - very hip. I approve.
The food and the price: You might want to just bring your own picnic. As much as their heart was in the right place with the decor, the ingredients they used for the dishes were generally not very fresh and the prices were quite unreasonable - on average about nine euros for quality much lower than Wok Away. And quantity? Eat beforehand... Most of the dishes I've had at this place were not worth the money save one meal. However, that meal involved the owner's wife who was a classmate in my girlfriend's Chinese class. I guess preferential treatment (meaning good ingredients) for those in the know. I've met the owner and he's nice guy. Chinese immigrant from Tienen. Hate to diss a brother, but I hope he changes his ways soon - or at least as soon as he can afford it. At this point, I would be hard pressed to visit.
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