Magic Wok

Here I am back again two years later. I eat here sporadically (so many options) and I feel compelled to update my review.
The last two times I visited Magic Wok I found the food and service to be superlative. Crispy chicken egg roll, Mongolian chicken, Stir fried, pan fried noodles, hot and spicy vegetables and oh, those amazing Szechuan green beans! I am also a fan of their vegetarian hot and sour soup. Each dish has a personality of its own. Servings are generous and the waitress has a great memory as to what we eat and how we like it… Medium hot, no MSG, mustard with the egg roll.
The restaurant is often empty or there a few folks scattered about. The take– out flies out the door and that seems to be their bread and butter. I see that the building is for sale. I hope Magic Wok will stay and that the restaurant would get a facelift. A liquor license would also increase their eat-​in devotees.
Eat-​in or take– out, either way you will be pleasantly surprised.

Disclaimer — I’m from SF originally, so I’m pretty much a Chinse food snob. I gave up on ever finding really good Sichuan or Hunan or Hong Kong or even Mandarin food in the Midwest long ago. That said, this is pretty darned good!
I was feeling poorly and wanted some comfort food delivered. I ordered the Sichuan String Beans (spicy) and the Pork with Scallions. The food came quickly and was hot and fresh. The string beans were almost spicy, and if I had ordered «very spicy» I probably would have been satisfied. I realize that most of the Asian restaurants in Madison cater to the bland midwestern palate, so I don’t blame them for that. More importantly, the beans were FRESH and CRISPY and flavorful. The Pork was also very Umami and garlicky in that greasy comfort-​food way that Americanized Chinese food can be.
In sum, I wouldn’t choose it over Ichiban or Zen Zen Taste for serious chinese dine-​in. But the comfort food dpartment, it is first rate!

One of the more decent Chinese places that offers delivery. Food came about 35 minutes after I ordered. Their crab Rangoon did not have much filling. I ordered their beef with broccoli and General Tso’s Chicken, you are able to get it mild, medium spicy. I ordered medium, could have used a little more heat to it. Both were tasty. Would likely order from them again.

This is possibly the best Chinese food in Madison. The produce tastes like it just came out of the garden, and the dishes are freshly made. I’m in a bit of a food coma so I can’t accurately describe the deliciousness, but do your taste buds a favor and eat here.

Former Orient House team resurfaces at last! Atmosphere is under sparse, but that’s good, because your food deserves your undivided attention. You should eat here right now. And come back often.

Just great. It’s just great. My wife and I have been looking for a place to get «Chinese» food in Madison… not real Chinese cuisine, I mean greasy, sugary, fried American Chinese food. This place, of the 5 – 6 we’ve tried in the best. Their food tastes like real food, but also tastes like the cheap stuff you’ve come to know and love. Somehow it balances the two, I don’t know how! I’m not even sure they deliver to my area, I’ve haven’t bothered asking, I’m willing to drive the extra distance to get it because it is so friggin’ good.

I usually order Asian kitchen for late night take out, but I was referred to magic wok and decided to order some nummy food for late night take out.
For this order, I got the Kung pao chicken and the triple combo lo mein (beef, chicken, and shrimp). The Kung pao was your standard nuts, chicken, and green/​red bell peppers with rice. It wasn’t out of this world good, but the portion for late night take out was very large. I was still eating my late night takeout for lunch and dinner the day after, which was very nice.
Likewise, the lo mein also came in a very large portion. I ended up getting more meat than noodles (which I’m not complaining about). The quality of the meat wasn’t cheap and the steak was seared very nicely. Even so, the noodles were pretty greasy and lacked any certain flavor.
The take out delivery was prompt and way earlier than expected.
Overall, good takeout. A step above AK

Best Chinese takeout that I have tried so far in Madison. Great pork fried rice. The dumplings aren’t bad, but could be better. Problems are they are closed on Mondays, delivery times are usually well over an hour, and the online ordering (through grub hub or eat street) seems to be not working half the time.

Only came by for take-​out, it was fast, correct, parking was not a problem on this day and it is close to Players bar if you need to kill some time! The egg foo young is good! Thanks for the tip Chy.

One of the best Chinese places in Madison!
The Gen TSO chicken is amazing.
House fried rice is different and delicious.
Chicken Lo Mein is also very good!

Tried Magic Wok again, and I decided to upgrade my review. We got delivery this time, and it arrived quickly and very hot.
The Hot and Spicy Lamb was the standout. It was delicious, with tons of veggies (mushrooms, onions, green peppers, carrots, and jalapeños) and lamb in a flavorful, spicy sauce.
The Eggplant in Hot Garlic Sauce was also great. Lots of sauce, and not deep fried, which I appreciate.
Beef and Green Peppers in Black Bean Sauce was pretty standard. Again, I appreciated the generous amount of veggies. The Hot and Sour Soup was also pretty average, but seemed homemade and not gloopy with corn starch.
The Crab Rangoons were awesome again, with really good sweet & sour sauce. All-​in-​all, lots of food for the price, and most of it really tasty. I’m teetering between 3 & 4 stars.

I’ve eaten here 6 times, including one time with 7 friends and have been very pleased, as were my friends. I would say this, along with Double 10, are the 2 best Chinese restaurants in Madison and I’ve eaten at most of them.
They seem to do a lot of take out but they have never been busy when I’ve been there. This is definitely a great, local restaurant that deserves your support!

I ordered take out here at magic wok the food was hot the flavor was great. Best filers Chinese I have had. It did take awhile to deliver that’s why I get it 4 stars instead of five.

People, I have no shame admitting this: Magic Wok is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a committed relationship. Mondays are a devastating routine of shattered hopes & dreams upon re-​realization that Magic Wok is closed.
Have you ever been in love? Like, really, indomitably in love?

Delivery on Sunday evening was about an hour. No problem! It was dinner time.
The fried dumplings were okay. I’ll get spring rolls next time. Egg drop soup was hot and it’s a huge order! Although a little bland, it was decent. It was disappointing not to get the green onions pictured on the menu. Would make a huge difference in flavor. Beef Lo Mein was very good. The noodles are done perfectly. But no veggies to speak of except an onion or two. Based on reviews and pictures I’d expected a bit more.
I’ll order again and see what happens!

This is the best Chinese I’ve had in Madison so far. The food can be a bit salty but that’s par for the course with most Chinese food. We usually order egg rolls or crab rangoons as appetizers. We’ve had the general Tso’s chicken, moo shu chicken, lo mein, fried rice and chicken with cashew. All are made well. I especially like the Double Woked pork belly and the Stir Fried Pan Fried Egg Noodles. Some of the other Chef’s specials look good as well but we haven’t gotten a chance to check them out yet. The prices here are not as cheap as some of Madison’s other Chinese restaurants but the quality definitely is high. We’ve never sat down in the restaurant to eat but I’ve gone in to pick up the food a lot and the staff is very friendly. One of the women even remembered me by what I usually order. They also deliver for a small fee. I definitely recommend this place.

Not bad, not great.
The general tso’s was delicious. It had a nice flavor, nice bite sized pieces. The sweet n sour chicken was good (the chicken itself) — good breading, not greasy– the sauce was excessively watery, where I am used to a much thicker sauce rather than liquid. The flavor was good though, if they could thicken it up some. The crab rangoon was great. It was light and crispy, good flavored, and again, the sauce is the same as the sweet n sour sauce, liquid, not sauce.
The wonton soup was a disaster. The broth was flavorless, the wontons were so overcooked they fell apart, and I have never had wonton with large pea pods and large pieces of onions.
I might add, I am from New York so used to NY Chinese, and am on the hunt locally in Madison for a place to frequent, and I don’t think it will be this one. Sorry.

3 stars for the friendliness of the staff, quick delivery time, fair pricing, and overall quality of ingredients, but I felt that my meal lacked flavor and spice.
Ordered the garlic eggplant, fried rice, and an egg roll for delivery. The food came very quickly (within 30 minutes) and the woman who took my order on the phone was very warm and friendly.
The fried rice was the highlight of the meal – decent texture, not too salty, and loaded with fresh-​tasting vegetables. The egg roll was nothing special – it was pretty bland, didn’t have a lot of vegetable variety in it, and I got zero nutty flavor from it, but it was crisp and not greasy, so that was a plus. The eggplant in garlic oil was not a hit for me at all. Eggplant was overcooked and mushy, the oil was overpowering and had zero garlic flavor, and though the dish was advertised as hot and spicy, it had no heat whatsoever. Not impressed.
I probably won’t order from them again unless I’m in a pinch and I want delivery Chinese food quickly. There are much better places in the Madison area – it’s not worth ditching those places to give Magic Wok another try.

Confession: I am most likely to seek out Chinese food when I’m sick, or feel sickness coming on. So today was the perfect day to try a new place.
I was the only customer at 3:45 pm, and was warmly welcomed. I ordered at the counter, but decided to eat in. I used the restroom (basic but clean, with really nice smelling hand soap) and my food was ready when I came out, moments later. I was invited/​instructed to take a seat at a table in the raised front window area, which was perfect.
I first noticed that the hot and sour soup (my cure-​all) was served in a real Pyrex/​glass bowl, not plastic. Yes!!! It was piping hot and full of very silky strips of tofu, homemade? Not a lot of mushrooms, and light on the vinegar flavor, but full of egg shreds, julienned carrots and plenty of heat from spices. They don’t have shrimp or pork egg rolls, only chicken or plain veggie. I got one order of each and they were done perfectly, not greasy, with a nice crunch. I would describe the flavors of everything as comfort food. Nothing too original or interesting, but very enjoyable and soothing. I preferred the veggie roll to the chicken, just my personal preference. The next table’s food smelled heavenly when it arrived, I’ll get a meal next time I come.
It was plenty warm enough inside on a gray cold day, with a dimly pleasant lighting level and nondescript instrumental background music at a comfortable volume. The interior is basic diner, with a few Chinese items thrown in so you know where you are. A huge red statue of Buddha at the entry is a fun touch. Random, but I really liked the front door. It’s clearly original to this historic Atwood building, antique with the patina of age and so many thousands of hands opening it over the years…
The waitress checked in unobtrusively to see if everything was OK at the right time, and it was. My dishes were removed promptly and politely as I finished with them.
Six bucks and change before tip, and I left full, warmed, and feeling better. Can’t ask for much more.

I was so skeptical of this place, honestly. But after three very very tasty orders, I have to say that it’s a great place. The people behind the counter are great, the portions are very large, and, most importantly, the food is just good.
My favorite so far is the house special fried rice. A nice medium spice, lots of ingredients… I just can’t stop eating it.
When you call for pick up it’s just… «ten minutes!»