Fresh Wok

Tried this at 7pm on a weeknight. Place was empty. Being empty, I got the full attention of both ladies working the front. Very nice ladies. Almost felt like a Costco experience, they were trying to give me a taste of everything. They said their busy times are lunch and Saturdays.
This is a typical steamtable fast food American style Chinese restaurant. Nothing wrong with that. Just don’t go in thinking authentice Chinese regional fare.
The first thing I noticed was that most of the steam table items looked fresh. This is unusual to me for an empty fast food joint. I commented on this and the ladies said they change out the food every 30 minutes or so, and that most of their veggies are steamed not fried, so no extra grease to make things look wilted or greasy. I believe this to be true since none of the entrees I ordered were greasy.
Overall the food was fresh, and tasty. Only a few items were less than my overall rating. The price is reasonable and they really stuff those takeout boxes full.
I ordered the family 6, which comes w 3 entrée, 3 starchy sides (Steam rice or fry rice or chowmein), 6 egg rolls or 12 cream cheese wontons. And, I ordered one extra entrée. Total was a shade under $ 39 including tax. This is about what I am used to at other fast food takeout Chinese. The only thing missing was a soup. Some places include a soup (egg flower or Hot and sour) these are about $ 4 – 5 extra here. They also included extra sauce (teriyaki or sweet and sour as appropriate)
A detailed breakdown…
Orange Chicken was OK and typical for this kind of place. I tasted and prefered the spicy version but ordered the regular since I expected my son to concentrate on this one. Unfortunately the first bite he took, he said the flavor was off, like a bad piece of chicken. I thought it was OK.
Teriyaki Chicken had large pieces and was tasty. Only slight negative was the sauce was a little thin and ran off the chicken, also spilled onto my kids lap when He opened the box.
I think Braised Pork Riblets, was pretty good, with a few large slices of jalapeño. The original steam tray had almost none left and it looked a bit tired but the ladies said a fresh batch was already on its way. Good to their word, my box was crammed full of fresh pork.
Green Beans and Chicken was tasty and looked good on the steam table but was a bit limp and didn’t have a lot of chicken in it. This is below my rating.
Egg rolls were dark colored so maybe on the table too long or over cooked. They did taste like typical fast food egg rolls. They were a bit larger than average.
The Chowmein was the the typical fast food chowmein. It almost seems all these restaurants have the IDENTICAL recipe and taste and feel. Pretty blah but typical. The noodles are always a bit too soft and gummy, but like I said typical of this kind of place.
The fried rice was also typical and relatively flavorless etc.
I don’t knock them down for these two items since all the places are the same for chowmein or fry rice sides.
I probably would try their shrimp fried rice next time but this is extra.
The menu is very typical of fast food takeout Chinese, but the quality appeared to be high for most items.
Also, this place is very clean at the steam table and the dining room. Perhaps the cleanest I have seen. Only down is that this shop is in a run down part of downtown Riverside and at times there are «denizens» of the night lurking. But I am used to the neighborhood and had no problem now or in the past. The parking lot is well lit and uncrowded.
So far my favorite fast food American style Chinese takeout in Riverside. And, if the ladies are always this way, it is a very accomodating place and you mgiht even get fed without buying anything, a la Costco. Servings are «jam packed» into the box, so you get plenty to eat.
If I had to stop looking for Chinese takeout in Riverside, I would be happy with this place. Haven’t tried any of the fancier «sit down» places yet.

Came here today for the first time. Oh man, best Chinese food we’ve had in awhile.
My sister recommended because she has lived in downtown for years, finally gave in and we have been missing out!!!
We had the broccoli beef, sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, and teriyaki chicken. There was 3 of us so we just shared. It was more than enough for all of us, even some left over and it was soooo yummy, definitely will be returning.

Definitely not coming back. The ladies serving the food were very nice but the food was not good. My 5 year old who loves Chinese food didn’t like it either. Had the chow mein, broccoli beef and spicy orange chicken won’t be coming back.

This is bad. So bad. If I wasn’t like so hungry and a total fatty I would throw it away. The chicken doesnt taste like anything the bbq pork smells funny and the srirachi is definitely not srirachi. Bummer. I miss Sui Wok.

I have had food from this place twice, and unfortunately I’m not impressed.
I do like how open the seating area is. It is a nice place to come and do homework while getting something to eat. The workers were also friendly.
However, the food was not good. Some of the food looked like it had been sitting out and they weren’t very busy, which I found strange for lunch time. I had the beef with broccoli, and it was alright but it lacked some flavor. The teriyaki chicken seemed undercooked and I did not finish it. The teriyaki sauce tasted sort of like teriyaki sauce from those frozen teriyaki chicken bowls from Costco. The chow mien had an odd flavor about it. I got through as much of the meal as I could and then tossed it, which was disappointing.
I suggest Peking further down on Magnolia for a dine-​in restaurant or Rising Savor by UCR for take-​out combos.

Very clean but we got there as it opened and the food was not warm and, unfortunately, soggy. We came initially to try tower of pizza, next door, which claims to open at 11 but not a sound or any light going on inside, left with mediocre Chinese and some burger joint that looked even worse. Should of gone to the salted pig down the street. Has rave reviews but still haven’t been.

The BBQ chicken jerky is good. Staff is nice and the dining room is clean. Not too sure if I like it enough to come back. The neighborhood is heavy on the Hood. Let’s just say I made sure the car was locked twice.

Been my go to chinese take out since they’ve opened (replaced rising savor). Only once have I’d gotten a bad dish and they just piled my bag with comp egg rolls and other goodies for the inconvenience. I think it mighy be because they make their food in smaller batches, but the food overall does taste fresh. Highly recommend for chinese take out.

What makes this establishment worth going back for is the excellent value and overall quality of their food. It is a steam table, pick your combination place.
I love the orange chicken here, the BBQ pork is also a favorite. I get both in the two item combo sometimes. The other flexible choices include chow mein, fried rice, or steamed rice. You can opt for two if you like. When lowering the calorie count, I get all steamed rice.
The food is always fresh, and they do a marvelous job topping off each dish. Compared to the Canton place further up University, Fresh Wok blows them out of the water in flavor and quality of ingredients.
Take out or dine in. Beware the drunks and panhandlers in the parking lot, there’s a liquor store across from that entrance. I usually come and go through the street side entrance to avoid the hassle.

I have a love-​hate relationship with this place. Their food is hit and miss. Some of their dishes are delicious. For example, their fried rice tastes so good to me. I love it!!! and then there’s the barbeque chicken… The taste is amazing. But the chicken is tougher than shoe leather! Not tender and if you have jaw problems this is not for you. I find myself coming back here almost every week… Ordering the tough chicken. the flavor is just delicious to me. And the staff is do kind and welcoming.

Been coming here for years even before they switched over to fresh wok the food is good the workers are nice and the prices are cheap

Okay. Mediocre steam table chinese food. Big portions, but wouldn’t do it again.

Nice people, cheap prices, fresh food

SERVICE
As far as Chinese fast food goes, service was very friendly. There were also no language barrier problems either.
FOOD
This is the reason the reason for the low rating. Even taking into consideration that this is Chinese fast food, the food was still mediocre at best. Everything tasted bland.

There food is not the good I won’t go back and eat there

Watch out panda express. This place is good and the price is cheap for a great Chinese place. The chicken Teriyaki is great and the server is nice!

This place is great. The food tastes amazing and the price is low.

It’s these little places that often get overlooked because they aren’t visually appealing on the exterior. Haven’t we learned not to do judge a book by its cover or in this case a restaurant by the lack of décor? Tsk. Tsk.
It’s the typical Chinese food restaurant with its heat lamps and steam tables; however, the Fresh Wok doesn’t punch your stomach afterwards. I ordered the orange chicken and my friend ordered the BBQ pork. Damn you impulse buying. I had to get Chinese almond cookies for the road. I enjoyed half of it there and he scarfed his down. It was a bright red color. Pretty mesmerizing really. My orange chicken was a nice hue of orange, tender and flavorful, which made my robot teeth happy.
After driving back home (this is about an hour later), I tested a piece and it was still tender and flavorful!!! What the? I threw in the fridge and in hopes of having it for a quick snack later. Eight hours later, conics and ellipses made me hungry so I reached for the takeout and nuked it for 2 minutes, but at the same time expecting to chew rubber. You have to be kidding me? Is it really? Yes, still tender and flavorful as if I had just ordered it. Did I just get lucky? We’ll see. I’m going back!