Asian Wok

Asian cuisine is delicious and great food while giving us a break from burger joints, American cuisine and places that serve monotonous deli items. Moreover, it seems like people are increasingly heading over
to Asian restaurants to develop taste and flavor for Asian dishes, which is expanding food choices for everyone as well.

The latest Asian restaurant that has taken the capital by storm is Asian Wok. Hidden in the basement of Beverly Center in Islamabad, Asian Wok promises an experience from the moment you step in. The fact that the restaurant is owned and run by the Monal group raises one’s expectations, but they really live up to those expectations too.

For starters, the decor is stunning. You enter the space and it is inevitable to see the effort that went into planning the design, furniture, color combinations, influence of Asian culture and the perfect lighting.

Guests are served a complimentary mint margarita and crackers when they place their order to pass the time until their food arrives. Food is served within 15 to 20 minutes depending on how busy the restaurant is at that time. From the appetizer menu, we tried the Sesame Honey Chili Chicken and the Stuffed Chili Prawns. Both the dishes stood out in their taste and left us craving for more. The sesame honey chili chicken is a variation of sesame honey wings but lesser the mess it has batter fried chicken tossed in honey sauce and topped with sesame seeds. While I personally wanted to try the dynamite prawns, my friend suggested to g for something different, so we opted for the stuffed chili prawns, which were hand chopped prawns seasoned with interesting Chinese spices and stuffed in green chilies. The sesame toast and fried wontons seemed interesting and will be devoured on my next trip, as I wanted to keep space for the main dishes too.

Among the mains, we tried the simple Chicken Manchurian, Chicken in Hot Garlic Sauce, Mongolian Chicken and the Szechuan Fish. I was very disappointed by the Chicken Manchurian; it seemed bland and a little too orange, but the rest of the main courses made up for it. Chicken in Hot Garlic Sauce was a breath of fresh air, which had stirred fried chicken with onions, green chilies, capsicum, red carrots flavored in an interestingly spicy garlic sauce. The blend of all this made for a very tangy and unique flavor that all of us enjoyed. Mongolian Chicken was a similar blend of ingredients with beet sprouts in an entirely different sauce and Mongolian spices. Again, appetizing and a treat for the taste buds. We skipped on the prawns because we had them in appetizers, but Asian Wok serves a wide variety of prawns for main courses as well. Among the seafood options, the Szechuan Fish was delicious - stir fried fish with dry red chilies and traditional vegetables in Chinese dishes glazed in a delectable Szechuan sauce. I’d suggest you try Asian Wok for its Chinese. If you haven’t yet, you’re missing out.

Overall, everything was excellent, and I would suggest you go there if you haven’t yet.