Hot Wok Express

Not bad, one of the more authentic options for Chinese in this town. A little bit out of the way if you are a student, though.
You get a bountiful line-​up of different entrees, including onion beef, beef broccoli, chicken dishes, mushroom stir frys, chicken curry, kungpao chicken, pork stir, and the like. You can choose your choice of different egg or rice noodles or fried rice.
I had the chicken fried rice as the side, which was mediocre. The rice was pretty good, but the chicken was hard, dry and tasted old. For my sides I had beef broccoli and an onion and beef stir fry. They were both flavored well, delicious, a bit greasy, but vegetables were good too. The meat was very mushy, that was my only concern. But pretty good.
Prices are distinctly average– a side and two entrees, with a drink, will run you about $ 10 but you get A LOT of food. I couldnt finish mine.

Average food… decent quantity…

This was a spare-​of-​the-​moment stop. I was really hungry and wanted something hot and non-​sandwich. I saw the reviews but thought 3-​stars was good enough so I’d give it a try. The service was fast (6:30pm) and friendly. I had the chicken fried rice, curry chicken, and an egg roll (half size plate). I ate the food, but like I said, I was basically starving and could have made a meal of cardboard. The curry chicken was good (I got a leg and a thigh) and the egg roll was okay. The chicken fried rice was not good at all. It had a light yellow tint and a few pieces of hard chicken in it. No onions, carrots or any other vegetables you normally find in fried rice… it was more like «chicken flavored rice». Anyway, I spent $ 6.95 and got full, but didn’t like myself for it. I won’t go back and won’t recommend it to anyone.

Big portion but the same dish everyday. The dishes are average, but it is still decent for quick convenient takeout

Tried it once because I was nearby and didn’t feel like walking too far. The food was very bland and seemed like it had been pre-​cooked and had been reheated.

It has been probably a decade since I last ordered from Hot Wok Express, and I decided to see if they were as horrible as I remembered. I ordered the fried rice with sweet & sour chicken. Now I remember why I haven’t returned in 10 years. (Trust me, I won’t return ever again…10, 20, or more years… I’m done!)
Service was a little slow as I watched the woman scooping the white rice into the take-​away container. She realized her error and simply dumped the white rice back into the original container and started scooping up the fried rice into the same take-​away container. Eventually, they laid 8 pieces of fairly large sized chicken (they look like chicken strips) on top of the bed of rice, and gave me a cup of sweet & sour sauce. Their sauce is atrocious. I brought the leftovers to work for lunch today, and the sauce will not reheat; it’s a gelatinous blob of red goo — absolutely disgusting!
Save your money and go anyplace else in town!

This place is somewhat different from your stereotypical Chinese combo plate places. First off, I don’t think this place understands what half and half means since they just gave me all fried rice. Second, they have three different types of fried rice rather than just one type. Third, they don’t show exact prices for how their combo plates work. Fourth, they give you enough food to feed two people.
I paid $ 7 for fried rice and two menu items. Though they serve portentous portions, the quality of the food is lacking. Also, the person taking my order gave one of the biggest sighs I’ve ever heard. Dang, she must’ve really wanted the day to be over and was getting tired of serving or whatever.

Primal.
That is the one word I would chose to describe my experience with this place. If you are coming here, I’m guessing you are not looking for the pinnacle of authentic Chinese food. Sorry to say, but these harbors aren’t so golden. But, for a very low price, you can fill a styrofoam box, and your stomach to the top. I got orange chicken and beef & broccoli over pork-​fried rice and 3 (soft/​stale) almond cookies for $ 6.95. It will last me two meals. That’s not bad, and for dopamine-​inducing comfort food, sometimes quantity is all you need.

ARE YOU HUNGRY? WANT SOME AMERICAN CHINESE FOOD? Well, come to Hot Wok, order a pork fried rice, and mix of 2 meats /​vegetables, and it will feed you for 1 ½ — 2 meals. Imagine panda express but close to double the portion. They really load it up and the prices are extremely cheap. Gotta recommend this place if your looking for some massively cheap food but high quantity

My favorite chinese food. I’m super picky and this place has the best chicken and green beans. The portions could feed another person as well but perfect for lunch the next day!

One of my vices for sure. I love this place for some odd reason. The lo mein, broccoli chicken, and sweet and sour chicken are my favs. Egg rolls are good too.

Hot Wok is what it is– fast and cheap. As long as you understand that then you will not be disappointed with what you get.

You get a lot for your money, but you also get a lot of rice from the store for $ 5. And that’s basically what the meals are here.
I got a spicy shrimp dish and found very few, tiny shrimp. It was not spicy at all. My girlfriend got a chicken dish, which wasn’t any better.
This was in my poor apartment-​dwelling days, when I rarely threw out much of anything — but I ended up throwing it out. There was a lot, but it was all bland rice.
It will fill you up for cheap, but so will Niro’s or Cocina Real next door, and they have flavor.

Damn you Hot Wok. Damn your sweet savory goodness (and badness). Some years back I entered college as a skinny 135lb freshman, and I exited 4 years later a 180lb man. I don’t know if I can call it ‘blame’, but Hot Wok definitely contributed to the additional 45lbs I found at beautiful U of I (I also blame the all you can eat dorm food, but let’s just concentrate on Hot Wok for now)… Where else can you stop by and get a styrofoam box stuffed full of rice and your choice of some choice tasty toppings like General’s Chicken, Curry Chicken, yada yada for only $ 5. And everything here tastes so good… like they sprinkle bacon on everything… I never came here once without ordering the General’s Chicken. My firstborn will either be named General’s Chicken or Hot Wok or Andrew Jr. (one of the three, but I’m not sure which just yet). You’ll probably have leftovers so you can store the rest in your little dorm fridge, but just know that whatever Hot Wok puts into the food to make it taste so good… also causes the food to congeal once it gets below room temperature… so you’re apt to open the fridge and find something that more resembles head cheese than General’s Chicken. But that head cheese still tastes good cold, so rejoice. Also, plan ahead, because you’ll need at least a 1 – 2 hour nap after each Hot Wok meal, so try not to eat it right before class, or while you’re studying for finals.
Tip: When your jeans begin to start fitting too tightly your freshman year, don’t throw them away, give them to the Salvation Army!

Well, at least it’s cheap. Hot Wok serves a purpose … It makes food court Chinese seem gourmet by comparison. Best part? You don’t need to get out of your car.

I have eaten at Hot Wok for many years now, and I will keep going back. The portion size for what you pay is wonderful. You often get two meals for the price of one, and paying the little bit extra for two different toppings is well worth it.
Two of the best days are Tuesday for Beef Curry Day and Fridays for Coconut Shrimp Day. Both of these are excellent and worth saving a special day to have.
The regular dishes are great too. I love the chicken and green beans, the General’s chicken, and cashew chicken.
Going around a set meal time will ensure you always have fresh food. However, this place isn’t one to let lots of food sit around so even at an off time you are going to get something made pretty new.

— fast: you can get your food in under 5 mins
— cheap: about $ 5
— big portion: sometimes you can get 2 meals, really!
— nice owner: he works as hard (or even harder) than any worker there and is very nice to talk to. Sometimes he even offer you free eggroll. Now, im not a big fan of eggroll, but it is free :)
food is ok. you will get tired of it if you eat there everyday (which I did for almost the whole month when I was preparing for my Qual exam), but give yourselves a break and things will be back to normal again ;)

Attention POOR college students, this is a great place for drive-​through Chinese! I rave about this place and it gets 4 stars NOT because of taste, but the consistency their huge portions. 4 words: Eat here, be full. It has never failed me that way. I don’t ever go here to sit down (and don’t plan on it), but the drive through is awesome for a quick boat-​load of yummy carbs. I get a box FULL of steaming rice and pick a 2-​item combo from their daily menu, usually chicken with mushrooms or szechuan beef. For around $ 5, it’s the best bang for your buck.
The brown paper bag they hand over probably weighs several pounds and my hand buckles as I lift it through my window. Their eggrolls and crab rangoon are good… everything is a version of «americanized» Chinese food. I don’t see a lot of asians frequenting this place because they don’t offer much variety or quality of flavor but hey, I can’t complain! (From what I’ve encountered through the drive-​through), the workers are smiley, pretty nice and very efficient. It’s not gourmet, but when I’m hungry and telling myself «not pizza again…» it will be Hot Wok Express. Just slather on some sriracha hot sauce.

For fast-​food Chinese, it’s pretty good! They have great sesame chicken and the owner is a wonderful man. Not 4 star Chinese if you are wanting sit-​down restaurant quality. But it’s the best fast-​food Chinese around!

The food here is basically terrible. Greasy and loaded with sodium. So why am I still giving it 3 stars? Well, it’s cheap and fast. You get a lot of stuff for under $ 5 and the drive-​through is super fast.