2-D Wok

Feels like home.
I’m from Taiwan and this place serves food like mom’s cooking the most. While it may not be super fancy but I believe they take their business to heart.
Fried stuff are not greasy at all. Crunchy on the outside, juicy and flavorful on the inside. MUST: sweet potato fries with plum powder!
Stir-​fried veggies are just lightly seasoned comparing to typical Chinese food in the U.S. So as fried rice.
Lemonade is freshly squeezed to order.
Service is good as well. My 1-​year-​old dropped her cup of water and the owner came right away to clean it. They gave out reusable shopping bags that look really cute. I’ll say they not only take business to heart but also our environment!
We will definitely come back when visiting Reno again!

Very happy that we found this great restaurant. Ordered takeout on Saturday evening and definitely satisfied with everything we ordered. Ordered walnut shrimp, excellent, very light and tasty. Bourbon chicken was similar to teriyaki but with a smokier flavor. Also great. Appetizer pot stickers and fried pork appetizer was great and not greasy at all. Also friendly and quick service as well. This restaurant is easy to miss where it’s located but we will most definitely return.

This spot is a hidden gem — it’s in a strip mall behind a few other things, so you might not think to stop, but make sure you do — it’s so good! We had a calamari dish that I can’t stop talking about. We had tripe in chili oil — the only place we’ve found it in Reno. The bacon appetizer was incredible, and the Taiwanese meatball appetizer was too. This is a go-​to again and again spot! (Also, there’s a coupon on
, which is how we found this gem — and all those usually useless
dollars are now getting spent here)

Great services, always came to check if our food was fine and to top off our water. Pretty authentic Taiwanese dishes and the owner honestly told me that she had to redesign one of the dishes because the original dish is too spicy for the customers. I love spicy, had the same dish in Taiwan and wasn’t offended at all because the redesigned dish was great! Thank you!

We ordered a bunch of STARTERS.
This place is really special.
Wish I lived here or could get adopted.
Back to the great state of Texas!

I come to Reno for grocery shopping from Truckee, CA. (yes, we are on snow ski trip). I did some research about Taiwanese cuisine. I found 2-​D wok is kind of new to me, but I am not sure the review is real or not. (I have been other place, 4 stars review on Unilocal,but their food was not good at all.) Then my Taiwanese friend who lives in Reno told me 2-​D Wok is good, but not other place. ;) Review and recommendation bring me here.
We did not want to deal with traffic, so we arrive Reno about 3:30pm. We just want to have some snacks before we head back to Truckee. Surprise!!! 2-​D Wok has «Happy Hour» deal for starters and drinks from 3−5pm! Our eyes are bigger than our stomach as usual!
Stewed Sampler –
excellent!
Crunch and Munch Chicken –
chicken did not have full of flavor, but white pepper and salt adds up the flavor. Very good!
Taiwanese Sausage –
this tastes like some brand I used to buy, but sliced garlic makes this dish authentic. Very good!
Momma Lin’s Fried Taiwanese Bacon –
Very crispy, and I love the plum salt adds the flavor! Excellent
Crispy Tofu –
Outside is crispy but inside is very soft. This is my kind of crispy tofu! Excellent
Yes… We finished all of dishes!!!
Atmosphere
Open and clean
Service
Our waitress is very nice!
For sure we are coming back again!

I’ve spent the last few months searching for the best tonkatsu bento in Reno. The long and arduous search for perfect pork is finally over. But who would’ve THUNK I’d find it at a Taiwanese place?!
Though bento boxes are typical to Japanese cuisine, a good number of the nebulously Asian Reno restos seem to offer them as standard lunch/​dinner specials, so I wasn’t too confused by its presence on a predominantly Taiwanese menu. As a big fan of fusion food, I was also interested to see how Taiwanese flavors would factor in. The results were nothing short of fantastic. The pork was almost perfectly fried and the breading brought an amazing mix of salt, spice, and subtle sweet. Best pork cutlet I’ve had in the city so far. The box also come with steamed veggies, tofu, and some interesting sweet potato fries that surprisingly helped to tie the great mix of flavors in the box together. It also comes with the soup of the day to start! Very filling bite.
I was impressed by the bourbon chicken and the pork buns. The bao, in particular, is paired nicely with a subtle pickle relish; simple but interesting mix of flavors.
Simply delicious. Don’t miss out on the lengthy list of small plate options!

So this place was pretty great. I went per the suggestion of a Unilocal friend and was not disappointed. It’s not the kind of food I was looking for that day but was tasty nonetheless. I really just wanted some Chinese, but I’m glad I came here.
The place looks really nice inside and is very clean. My waitress was super nice. I ordered a coke which came in a can, and also pot stickers (which I try EVERYWHERE) and udon noodles with chicken.
The pot stickers were great! You get 6 in an order. They were steamed and only fried slightly on the bottom and the sauce they came with was excellent. It wasn’t your typical gyoza sauce, but even more savory and very spicy.
The udon noodles came in a pretty large portion. The sauce wasn’t what I expected; I think I expected something more dense, only because I always get the caramelized udon noodles at Noodles and Co. (I can’t help it. I freaking love them!). These noodles were cooked well and had the gummy texture you expect from udon, but weren’t caramelized. The chicken was tender and tasty. It also had cabbage, snow pea pods, celery and mushrooms. At first I was not a fan of the flavor, probably only because it wasn’t what I was expecting. Excuse me as I flounder, I’m terrible at describing flavors. I need a cuisine terminology course.
It’s not quite tangy, but not the garlic/​soy/​ginger, smoky flavor I was expecting so maybe I was caught off guard. It had a light flavor that didn’t seemed to sit too well with me after the smoky/​spicy sauce from the pot stickers, because later that night when I had my leftovers I thought it tasted better ^_​^ I probably won’t get it again, though. Everything was very fresh and well-​made. The waitress offered me soy sauce or chili paste if I needed it but I didn’t.
The menu offers a lot of items, and I had never had a lot of it or even knew what some of it was. The waitress was cool and I’m sure would have described any of it to me if I’d asked, but I saw potstickers and udon and was sold. When I go back I plan on trying more of the appetizers because they sounded awesome, particularly the calamari meatballs, crispy tofu and Taiwanese fried bacon.
Overall for me this was different from what I’m used to, and I plan on going back. I don’t think I’d ever had Taiwanese food before, and what I had wasn’t traditional at all so I’ll have to try something more traditional next time.

Superior dining and fantastic service.
Lunch:
2-​D is clean, nicely decorated, spacious, and in excellent repair.
Seating was instantaneous.
The menu is printed sheets in a restaurant binder.
2-​D serves bentos for lunch.
A friend recommended the fried chicken. I asked the waitress which she preferred? Pork. Pork it is.
2-​D doesn’t make the pot stickers, but they do make the won tons.
Momma Lin’s Fried Taiwanese Bacon is exactly how hey served it on Taiwan and Okinawa: breaded in sweet potato flour and panko, and fried. It was amazing. Since it is Taiwan-​style, it has more fat than some prefer.
The fried pork cutlet was thick, hot, moist, tender, panko-​breaded, and a larger serving.
Sides were excellent and included sweet potato fries with plum salt (excellent!), rice, a yellow pickle slice, seasoned tofu slices, a tea egg (I think), and steamed vegetables (cabbage, broccoli).
2-​D Wok is an amazing restaurant. Treat yourself!

Tu-​Di-​Gong, or «The God of Earth» is said to bring good luck and harmony to those who invoke his name. Reno’s newest Taiwanese restaurant sports a sound-​alike name that could be translated as «two dimensional cooking». Thankfully, the flavors are anything but flat at 2-​D Wok.
The modern cuisine of Taiwan is a mix of Asian flavors and traditions with its own unique contributions. My dining group came hungry so we began with several starters and small plates. Crunch & Munch Chicken ($ 6) involved perhaps a couple dozen deep-​fried bites of breaded chicken breast, tossed with chopped Thai basil and a salt and pepper seasoning blend. The chicken was a bit dry, but the flavor was there. American «popcorn chicken» has its roots in this Taipei street food favorite.
An order of Beef Wrap ($ 6) included four servings of braised beef and scallions wrapped inside a thin scallion crêpe. Can’t go wrong with beef and onion. The Stewed Sampler ($ 6) combines a healthy serving of boiled eggs, tofu and beef that have been «red cooked», i.e., braised in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine. Served with soy paste on the side, the tofu was very firm and the beef was fall-​apart tender.
Calamari Meatballs ($ 6) are similar to other Asian fish balls, deep-​fried in salt and pepper seasoning. I found these to be surprisingly tender, especially for squid. They were good but couldn’t compete with Momma Lin’s Fried Taiwanese Bacon ($ 6). A long piece of uncured, thick-​cut pork belly is deep-​fried in sweet potato starch, served thin-​sliced with a side of plum salt. Dip the meat in the sweet salt and you might find it habit forming. Think bacon on crack.
Continuing with small plates, Cucumber Salad ($ 3) is a mild pickle of diced garlic and chili pepper, and quartered, inch-​long cuts of cucumber. It’s mild unless you bite into one of those red hot bits of chili. The Taiwanese Rice Cake ($ 4) combines sticky rice that is stir-​fried with bits of mushroom and pork, steamed and shaped into a cake, then drizzled with sweet chili sauce. Not bad if you like sweet rice.
Our final small plate was a show stopper. The gua bao or Taiwanese Pork Bao ($ 4) is completely unlike the steamed buns found in a typical dim sum line-​up. A puffy piece of steamed rice bread is topped with braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, crushed peanuts, and fresh cilantro. Folded like a taco, each bite made us swoon and want more. I’ve tasted a lot of pork belly served in a variety of trendy ways, but Taiwan is way ahead of us. This bit of decadence could make a vegetarian switch teams.
Finally we made it to the entrees, each served with rice. Satay Beef ($ 12) and Infernal Chicken Mushroom ($ 11) are both pretty recognizable as «Chinese stir-​fry». The beef was well-​balanced with bok choy and carrot in a spicy Taiwanese barbecue sauce. Straw mushroom, carrot, onion, and hot chilis join the chicken in a spicy soy sauce mix. Or rather, that’s what the menu says. The dish was delicious and savory, but we didn’t detect much «infernal» heat.
Ginger Luffa Clams ($ 16) are a simple dish of steamed clams and stir-​fried baby luffa fruit, slow-​simmered together in a light ginger sauce. Luffa is of the cucumber family; if allowed to fully ripen it becomes very fibrous and inedible. You may have seen them dried and sold as a bathing accessory.
I’ve actually cooked three cup chicken but haven’t seen it named Romance of the Three Cup Chicken until now ($ 12). A Taiwanese classic, large chunks of chicken are stir-​fried with onion, basil, whole garlic cloves, sliced ginger, combined with the three «cups»: sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce. Perhaps the romantic title makes sense as I’m now in love with this beautiful, flavorful hottie.

Really a solid 3.5. We stopped in for lunch. There was only 1 person at the bar so until almost half way through our lunch we essentially had the whole place to ourselves. The server greeted and seated us right away and was friendly.
I had Udon noodles with tofu. Tasty! The sauce was very good and there was plenty of tofu. I would’ve liked more veggies, they were pretty sparse.
I did sneak a few of my hubby’s sweet potato fries with plum salt. Yum!
I would return, and definitely order the sweet potato fries.

October 31, 2015 Saturday — 11:45 AM for lunch
2 adults
Atmosphere — 4 star
Food — 5 stars
Service — 3 stars
Background — A day of shopping and driving up Virginia and needed some lunch.
Atmosphere –Not much has changed with all the restaurant changes to this location. The place is dead. They had one customer at the bar when we walked in, she left and later another couple came in. Their lunch rush on a Saturday was four people.
Food
Drink — I saw Taiwan Beer on the menu and had to try it, it was on par with a Bud. I had try that beer. Next time the Gold version.
Meal — I really have my ethnicity messed up recently going to one ethnic restaurant and getting something else. Today I am at Taiwan restaurant and get a Japanese bento box. I went with bourbon chicken bento box. It came with some fresh veggies. The chicken was good, plenty of it, all served on a bed of rice. One item that made me and my wife go wow was the sweet potato fries. I do not know how they cook them or what the little seasoning salt they provided in a little container. I could eat those fries all day. I would never think the best sweet potato fries I ever had would be at a Taiwanese restaurant.
Service — Uggg I hate this. How to do you slack on one table in the place. She was a very nice lady but would disappear for long periods of time. Was she also cooking the meals?
Future — Sure.

The first few times we ate here was during their soft opening and the food was delicious. The short ribs and bourbon chicken bento boxes were well flavored and kept us coming back.
However our recent visit was extremely disappointing, my husband ordered the short ribs entrée and the ribs had more fat than meat. Portion size for $ 12 was definitely not worth it. I ordered the bourbon chicken entrée, the chicken was not fully cooked and still raw in the middle. We notified the waitress and she had someone come out to inspect that offered to remake the dish which i declined since I had lost my appetite at that point. They did remove the entrée from our bill. Unfortunately after this experience we will not be returning to 2D Wok.

We came again and still ordered the famous mama’s Lin bacon. The bacon was consistent, crunchy and not greasy at all. I ordered Zhang jia noodles. It was braised tofu and ground pork on top of noodles. The noodle was perfect, not too dry and not so mushy. I loved the braised tofu and the pork, the sauce was so good.
My husband ordered red braised tofu with veggies.
He said he loved it, especially the sauce. I agree. I love it too. The tofu was so nyamm.
Then we received complimentary appetizer, it was called crunch munch chicken/​Taiwanese popcorn chicken tossed with black pepper seasoning & salt.
They were wow! The chicken were juicy, flavor was very nice, and crunchy, very good for munchie just like the name. We loved it!
And we also got a goodie for their grand opening on 25^th July, it was a mug with a little spoon with 2D Wok printed on it. Cute stuff.
Service was always friendly & nice. Even our server asked the chef for what kind of veggies they’ve for my husband’s food.
She always filled our glasses. After we paid and the owner with his wife I believe were thanked us and greeted us too.
We love this new place. Next time we’ll try another menu item.

3.5
Yes, we walked in at 11.01 AM for a weekend lunch. Hey, shopping is hard and makes you hungry.
Started off with a simple miso broth soup, then potstickers — tasty, but a little too burned at the bottom. It really should be more of a sear than char. I chose the bento box with the bourbon flavored Korean style ribs. Very tasty — hope my friend didn’t mind me gnawing on the bones while we were conversing! The box also had a hard-​boiled egg, sweet potato fries and steamed veggies and of course, rice. Definitely filling.
For dessert, my friend chose the shaved ice with red mung beans. I’ve had a version of this that used condensed milk to give it a bit more sweetness. It tasted pretty bland to me.
Finally, I asked for a small $ 4 cup of won ton soup to go. I had it for dinner another night — plenty of won tons, not enough broth, lots of ginger flavoring. Just wish they had added more broth to make it officially soup!

I guess I don’t get the hype.
It was okay and definitely nothing to write «home» about because SGV will probably overnight authentic Taiwanese AND Chinese food when they hear about this place… because you know, Reno just needed yet another confused-​identity Asian place.
I was really excited to try their bento box, boba drink, and shaved ice.
I had high hopes because other Elite Unilocalers were raving about this place.
Perhaps I just ordered the wrong items but I usually judge a Taiwanese place by their popcorn chicken, fried rice, and shaved ice. And after giving someone a lesson between the difference of Chinese and Taiwanese food, this place falls under (con)fusion for sure.
The menu already has several items blacked out and one of the employees said those items will no longer be offered. I get that they are a new business but I hope that they update their menu soon to reflect the deletion since it just looks plain tacky to have black lines all over the place… reminds me of a classified report with words taken out haha!
I decided on the Garlic Fish Fillet bento box. I usually order fried chicken or pork bento but I decided to venture out a little. I also got boba and I asked what they used to make it and was told that it’s fresh brewed tea. The boba was on the hard side, a sign of either being undercook or several days old — definitely not fresh.
As for the shaved ice? Perhaps they can consider investing on a snow machine. I wasn’t expecting a watered down version of «halo-​halo.»
Service was great and I really liked the lack of TV or blaring Asian pop music.
I’m probably not gonna be back since my Reno/​Sparks bookmarks are ever growing. And I have to clarify that this is a VERY generous 3*!

Friendly service and great tasting food. I started with the crispy tofu which came with a delicious dipping sauce. The garlic flavor lingered while I waited for my entrée. I chose the Oil and Spice and Everything Nice Chicken. It was boneless and crispy and just spicy enough to be flavorful. It was topped with a generous amount of fresh cilantro. It came with steamed rice and I finally had to push my plate away to keep from eating anymore or I would have been miserable. The only thing that kept this from being 5 stars is the length of time it took to get my check. I started writing this review when I finished eating and completed it before my check came.
Will I be back? Definitely!

Ka
Boom! Head splodes!
Yep. This was a mind blowing meal. We walked in for a late lunch early dinner after Moo Dang made our dinner choice for us by not being open on Mondays. They had a happy hour special on of 30% off apps and drinks. We ordered everything off the small plates menu, plus the Shao Kao Meatballs and the Momma Lin’s Fried Taiwanese Bacon. It was all great!
My favorite was the fried pork filet. Just perfectly cooked and spiced. Loved the Guay-​Ah Pork. This place SEEMS authentic, but what would I know about authentic. Authentic or not… this place IS really good so far. The service we had was very attentive, but that was because we came between lunch and dinner. So if you want very good personal service, go for a dunch!
The place really hasn’t changed much since it’s Sushi bar days. But why change something that looked so nice anyway?
I did mention that I didn’t really think the name equals the food. But one of the staff explained to me that the name was a word play and they were trying to avoid all of the standard Asian cliches. They succeeded there! But really after having the meal I had, they could call the place poo poo platter palace for all I care. The food was excellent as was the service.

This is just going to be a quick update. Believe it or not, I’ve been back to this great restaurant two times and have sampled seven more dishes in the process, only repeating the order of the amazing «Spocy Wontons».
From these experiences, I’ve learned this ain’t your average restaurant. The menu is packed full of surprises, and the real gem here is as much the food as it is the staff and their excellent service.
As far as I’m concerned, Shawn is the reason my visits have been so incredible. It’s not often you can go to an Asian restaurant and find a non-​Asian employee who truly has taken the time to understand and appreciate the food and culture the way he has here. Shawn has the ability to quickly explain any dish in extremely relatable terms to diners not familiar with the flavor profiles of Taiwanese food. Not only that, but he’s also great at listening to your preferences and steering you toward dishes you’re likely to enjoy as well. Best of all, he’ll even help you understand some Taiwanese language along the way!
On the most recent visit we tried the taiwanese sausage, crunch and munch chicken., satay cabbage and beef noodle soup. Three of the four I’ve ordered elsewhere and all of them were different here. The satay cabbage was completely unique and nothing like the Thai peanut save dipped grilled skewers that immediately came to mind when I ordered this. Instead, this was intensely savory with garlic, notes of dried shrimp and salted fish, and other distinctly Asian flavors. It was really good and a great compliment to the soup, which was deep, rich, and somewhat sour.
This go round I didn’t LOVE any dishes, but I learned a lot. And I’m excited to see what I learn the next time I visit because there’s a whole lot more menu to explore!

When I was last on Unilocal,I noticed a new Taiwanese restaurant had just opened up at the same location of the old 168 Chinese/​Thai place. Actually, what made me choose 2-​D Wok, was the same Unilocaler that read my review and went to Panda Express for ribs! I got him to go to Panda Express and he got me to go to this Taiwanese restaurant!
Entering the restaurant, everything still looks sort of the same, that funny waving cat is still there! We get seated. There are other tables of 2’s and 4’s seated, so we’re not the only ones there. Our place settings are wrapped in a nice cloth napkin, and what’s this? REAL chopsticks! None of that junky splinter filled cheap throw away wooden things. Classy!
We are told by our server that everything is 10% off during the soft opening. Living in the Bay Area, I’ve had Taiwanese food many times, so I had seen and tasted some of the menu items before. As others have said, Taiwanese food is not Chinese food, although similar in some ways. For those who really want to know what the difference is try this link:
To me, hey, if it tastes good, I’m eatin’ it! The servers here all spoke perfect English so there is no communication problems like some other Asian restaurants. They speak Mandarin as well, so either language will work fine.
The menu lists combo special, Bento boxes and meals for 2 for $ 27. I guess that makes it easier to choose if you are not familiar with the menu items. There are quite a selection of appetizers and small plates, along with noodles, rice and entrees. There is even a kids menu. The whole menu is posted on the website.
We decide to go with a bunch of appetizers since there are just two of us, so that way we get to try more things. We started with the Calamari Meatballs ($ 6), Pepper Salt Ribs ($ 6), Crispy Tofu ($ 4) and Momma Lin’s Fried Taiwanese Bacon ($ 6), plus 2 orders of the Taiwanese Pork Bao ($ 4ea). Then we decided on the Stir Fried Udon Noodles ($ 8). One of the most famous Taiwanese dishes that I’ve had many times is the Roasted Beef Noodle Soup. This is on the menu, but that’ll have to wait till next time.
Our appetizers started arriving one after the other on cute little rounded triangular plates. The Calamari Meatballs arrived first. See my pics to see what the food looks like. The outsides were sort of crispy, the feel was sort of squishy firm. My first bite, hmmm, sort of like fish balls, but not so squidy tasting. Interesting,
The Pepper Salt Ribs are next. The pieces were cut into smaller pieces than I envisioned about ¾ inch. They look more like little nuggets than ribs, but there was a bone inside. The flavor was good, but the meat was on the dry side. I’ll pass on this one next time.
Then came the Crispy Tofu. I’ll say up front, I’m not a big fan of tofu in general, but another review mentioned velvety innards, so OK, we give it a try. They looked just like fish sticks you had growing up! Dang, those are hot (F.), yes the outsides are nice and crispy. The inside is more of texture on the tongue thing as tofu doesn’t have much taste in to itself. Pleasurable and nice!
The Taiwanese fried Bacon was the star of the evening! I think it’s one of the most ordered dishes here, by looking at the other tables and hearing what was ordered. Holy bouncing Buddas! That was some tasty morsels of pork, fried with a crispy outer crust. Bacon is sort of a misnomer as the pork is not cured, as I was picturing a thick slice of bacon fried in batter. This was NOT that. The pork belly was not overly fatty and had a portion of the non belly meat attached. This keeps the fat content to a manageable level. The pork is sliced med thick from a sort of loggish piece. The included plum sugar and salt dipping mix is wonderful on the pork. I’ll for sure get this one again!
Last appetizer was the Taiwanese Pork Bao. This is not like your Chinese dim sum pork bao (BBQ pork bun). This is more like the steamed bao you get with Peking Duck, A thin steamed bread that is folded over the fillings, sort of like a little taco. It was presented so beautifully! Filled with pork belly, cilantro, peanuts and mustard, you eat it like a sandwich. Wow, that was tasty, I want more! The entrée of Udon Noodles was nice. The noodles were velvety and tasty. There was no wok smokiness, but I’m not sure there was suppose to be. I might pass on that one next time.
Overall, yes, I had a pleasant time tasting all the different dishes. I liked that none of the dishes we tried was over sauced, but almost all the appetizers were all deep fried. The staff is very helpful explaining. The portions on appetizers are on the small side and the prices will add up if you order a lot, but it was tasty. Not all the dishes were winners, but I’d come back to try more things. Give it a try and see what you think. Try things you never had before, cause chow mein is gonna still be chow mein as will the won ton soup.