If there is one thing the area of Williamsburg is lacking in, it’s Chinese food. Good Chinese food. No one knows this better than Husband and wife team Edric and Melissa Har, who have opened up Brooklyn Wok Shop in hopes of bringing the traditions they grew up with along with the tastes they loved from their previous home in Chinatown. I sat down with both of them prior to my meal, and I got the scoop on Brooklyn Wok Shop, from the lack of an actual Wok to the delicious house-made hot sauce.

Chef Edric Har is a professionally trained chef (Cru, Le Bernardin), albeit in French/Italian cuisine, as opposed to stir frying and noodle pulling. That said, he wanted to take his skills and apply them to his new concept: Chinese food that you know and love, made with quality ingredients, aka Chinese 2.0. For example, the beef in “Beef with Broccoli” is actually made with a tender cut of hangar steak. The noodles in the wonton soup are hand made every day by Chef Har, and all meat and produce is cleaned with filtered water. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is not typical Chinese takeout practice. It’s special touches and attention to detail like these that make Brooklyn Wok Shop different. And no, they don’t own any woks; Chef Har uses black steel sauté pans, per his French culinary training. “I don’t know what to do with a wok”, he proudly admits, “it’s a little inside joke”. You’ll see some other French influences here, like the swapping of the traditional vegetable shortening crust for a fluted pate sucre (sugar crust) in the Egg Tart for dessert.

Situated on North 10th street between Bedford and Driggs, Brooklyn Wok Shop keeps a clean, low profile, with blonde wood slats and a mural of Mandarin blue China bowls on the walls. You place your order at the wooden counter for either dining in or taking out, and your food will arrive hot, fresh, and delicious. The menu is comprised of snacks and appetizers like wings and pork buns, to soups and entrees like General Tsos chicken. Melissa’s father owns restaurants in Orlando, so this husband-wife team really know their business and more importantly, their recipes.

The wonton soup was a favorite of mine; normally wonton soup is just a few dumplings (that are mostly dough and no meat) sitting in broth with maybe a few shavings of roast pork. Brooklyn Wok Shop’s wonton soup is made with homemade stock and filled with handmade thin noodles (think lo mein style), and meaty wontons. It might run you more than you usually pay for wonton soup, but the portion is entrée size. When I hear the term “warm up with a hot bowl of soup”, this is now what I would picture. The braised short rib soup was a surprise – the meat just falls apart when you poke at it with your spoon, and the stock was very meaty, you can tell it’s not of the mass produced variety.

Take a delicious dish like General Tso’s chicken; now use antibiotic and hormone-free chicken, coat it in a light, crispy breading, then deep fry it and toss it with a sweet and tangy sauce. Ginger, soy sauce, chilies…probably one of the best versions of General Tso’s I’ve had in a long time, you can really taste the flavors here. The food might look very similar to what you’re used to, but it tastes different, in a good way.

One of my favorite things to do with Chinese food is make it spicy with a hit or two of sriracha sauce. You know the big red bottle with the green cap commonly known as Rooster Sauce? Well, Chef Har makes a hot chili sauce that kicks sriracha’s ass. Seriously. This hot sauce has been two years in the making and let me just say, time well spent! Chilies, garlic, anchovies, oil, and a few other secret ingredients make this an amazing topping for your chicken, dumplings, or basically anything. Melissa was kind enough to send me home with a small jar and told me to try it on my eggs, but I didn’t stop there. I have been using it on burgers, eggs, pasta, and soup. A few drops in hot wonton soup will be sure to clear up those sinuses in time for cold season.

Dessert at a Chinese takeout restaurant normally comes mass-produced in a plastic wrapper with a piece of paper inside displaying a “fortune”. At Brooklyn Wok Shop, you don’t need good fortune; you just need $3 for the Egg Tart. It’s so easy to pass up because it doesn’t look or sound like anything special, but don’t let the unassuming nature fool you, because it is great. The buttery, flaky pate sucre crust is filled with a creamy, thick custard that’s not too sweet, and the crust is like a buttery sugar cookie. It’s a perfect size for sharing too.

The differences may be plentiful, but I had to make sure that one thing remained constant: the midnight snack test. I took a few leftovers home after my meal and happened to go out to a bar later that same night. Upon my return at 3 am, I had the hankering for a snack, so I dug into some of my leftovers. The result? They passed the test! True to form, it was tasty, salty, and satisfyin, and it was greasy enough for me to feel shameful about it the next morning. Brooklyn Wok Shop shows promise by staying familiar where you want it to, but excels where you least expect it.  

Brooklyn Wok Shop is located at 182 North 10th Street. Hours are Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs, 5:30-10 pm, closed Tuesday, and Fri-Sat, 5:30-11 pm. 347-889-7992.

-by Dara Pollak

Andrea Strong