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Wok of Flame serves Gunther's Ice Cream — it's fairly unusual for a Chinese restaurant to serve any kind of ice cream.

Location
417 Mace Boulevard # H
in El Macero Shopping Center
Hours
11AM - 9PM Mon-Thu, 11AM - 9:30PM Fri & Sat, 12PM - 9PM Sun
Phone
(530)753-0888
Menu
Wok of Flame/Menu

Wok of Flame is a restaurant serving Chinese food located in the El Macero Shopping Center. It was formerly known as the Hong Kong Garden, and came under new ownership 2006-09-20. It has a newly remodeled dining room, restroom, and kitchen. UCD students can show their student ID for a 10% discount.

Wok of Flame is known for its high quality ingredients and specials that never change. If you're getting take-out, be aware that a "large" steamed rice probably isn't enough for two.

The sign at the front of El Macero flags it simply as "Chinese Restaurant".

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2006-10-04 09:12:38   I've had lunch here twice and it's a great improvement over the Chinese restaurant it replaced. The remodel is a success and the place looks really good, with new everything. Service is friendly. I don't feel like I have to drive downtown from South Davis for Chinese food anymore. —SteveGreen

2006-10-15 23:05:35   I went there with my folks last Sunday. Fresh ingredients and great service. The egg foo young was delicious and the honey walnut shrimp is better than Hunan's. I would definitely go back. —AdamFlowers

2006-11-07 14:09:26   Best Chinese restaurant in Davis —TonyGaddis

2006-11-13 18:22:30   I've been eating here for a while, and I love the food. Best Chinese in Davis—KevinMurakoshi

2007-01-07 20:25:13   I'd rate it a 7. Not as good as Ding How or Hometown, maybe a little better than Silver Dragon. Lemon Chicken was great, veggies were overcooked and greasy, noodles were too bland. —GrumpyoldGeek

2007-01-07 23:41:06   Is this the first DavisWiki related discount in town? —ArlenAbraham

  • Nope.

2007-01-09 13:24:25   This is definitally one of my favorite places to eat in Davis now. The food is excellent, the waiters are nice, and the restaurant itself looks great. Highly reccomended by me (of the SWRR). —JohnDudek

2007-02-10 20:37:09   I was impressed by this restaurant. Most Chinese places I go to aren't as clean as this place (the bathroom was clean too! so don't feel bad about going pee here). Food was good too... we got family plan b for a friends bday. recommended. —ArlenKwong

2007-02-28 14:36:19   Probably the best quality ingredients out of the chinese places in Davis. They actually use all white meat for their orange chicken, and it was still quite tender. Overall i think the flavors are average for Davis, but the freshness makes it better than average. I give it a (6.5) whcich ranks it 5th out of the 15 chinese restaurants ive been to in Davis, on my list —MattHh

2007-02-28 17:13:09   I went there a few days ago and the food was good, but not great. I thought the resturant itself looked pretty clean and tidy. I had the weirdest problem with the food though...there was too much garlic, but since it was real garlic I managed to overlook this as I do enjoy it. However the taste of garlic did overwhelm some of the dishes potentially great flavors. I will most likely be back to try out some more dishes. —JamesKrause

2007-03-02 18:21:00   This place was great! I went to a late lunch with my girlfriend. The inside looked far classier and nicer than what we expected (it looked good), especially when I saw the prices. Our server had a great attitude and was nice. The food was very worth it, the beef was tender, the chicken was good too! I forgot about the discount though, but it was still on par with everywhere else with a much nicer presentation. —ES

2007-03-30 12:42:18   The peking style shredded pork is my favorite. The pork is served on crunchy rice noodles, so the dish was crunchy, flavorful, and goddamn, it was good. Their house special noodle dishes (pan fried noodles or chow fun) have generous portions of vegetables and meats. The hot and sour soup is well balanced. The szechuan eggplant was really good and far less greasy than other places in town. The prices were reasonable too. —CraigBrozinsky

2007-06-27 18:49:54   I like this place. Clean and spacious. The quality of their food is good for the price. I've tried the Sesame Chicken and Orange Chicken for their Lunch Specials and found both to be too salty. However, I liked their service and wouldn't mind coming back and trying something else. —at86

2007-06-30 21:39:57   I walk in the door, and there they are: the specials. Asparagus with black bean sauce (choice of meat), eggplant with szechuan sauce (choice of meat) — why go any further? (I haven't managed to, myself). The ingredients here are high quality and the sauces are tasty. I wish it were downtown, but nothing to be done about that. And I wish they had more tofu/veggie dishes — there is something to be done about that! Hope they do it. —CovertProfessor

2007-08-03 13:03:05   VERy Very good food very good service i was surprised how good this food was i am happy will be back at least twice a month —Brians

2007-08-23 16:55:56   This is the best chinese food in Davis by far! Service is always excellent too! Great dishes, great prices, great place! —kdub

2007-08-28 19:05:04   This restaurant is one of my and my fiance's favorites in Davis. The lunch special is an extra good deal (and when we got the special, the waiter gave us a bowl of hot and sour soup when it wasn't even listed on the menu). I get the sesame chicken and the meat's always white, tender, and without the gross veins and tendons that you get at other places using lower quality meat. Also, my fiance is a vegetarian and, while the menu didn't offer as many things as he would've liked, he asked the waiter if they could create some dishes for him and they did! (I think one of them was a tofu and broccoli or cashew thing.) The waitstaff are really on top of things and polite. Highly recommended. —Alexis

2007-08-30 00:34:50   We continued to go regularly since my comment in March. The service has always been perfect, the guys who work there are friendly and fun. The food is still great, and we've yet to ever have a bad experience (typically have gone once every three weeks or so). I haven't ever special ordered a dish, but I have seen others do it, so it seems they're open to attempting dish variations (good for the vegetarians in particular I would guess), which I think is a great thing for such an inexpensive place to do. —EdWins

2007-08-30 10:49:29   I absolutely LOVE this place! We go at least once a week. Sesame chicken is my favorite, along with the hot and sour soup and foil wrapped chicken. The prices are decent and the food as well as service is fantastic. I have even brought friends and now they are hooked. :) —spectragurl1

2007-09-12 10:55:38   the atmosphere and the service are great. Not a lot of vegetarian options, but the ones that are available are always delicious. also has a great lunch deal. recommended. —JillBenciWoodward

2007-09-12 16:42:37   Very Very good food —ColinS

2007-09-27 15:23:33   I'd have to agree with these comments. I'm extremely critcal of restaurants, especially chinese ones, given my years in San Francisco. One of only two chinese restaurants in Davis worth eating at... the other being Hometown. —JustinKudo

2007-10-05 11:06:31   This place is awesome! —GarrettGallegos

2007-10-15 20:35:55   best noodles in town —pebble

2007-10-24 13:05:59   The decor and ambiance of this place is quite nice...especially for their reasonable prices. If you're looking for a good place to bring a date or family, here it is. —YupYup

2007-11-03 20:31:25   i like the decor of this place. the food was fine. —kelvinkay

2007-12-09 17:09:22   This is definitely my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. I was really impressed by the combination of a nice and atypical atmosphere, excellent food, and low prices, especially with the discount. —ColinMcEnroe

2007-12-23 16:31:02   Pretty good food out here. Actually, I think it might have the best lunch specials ($5-$6 combo plates) out of all the chinese restaurants in Davis.

Its tucked out off of Mase, so its usually not that crowded. —DonaldJaye

2007-12-24 20:41:03   I like this restaurant. Service is great, prices are reasonable for the quality of the food. Their fried rice is a little bland for my taste, but again, this is an American speaking. I highly suggest the sesame chicken. —thelonepiper555

2008-05-13 20:25:10   Surprisingly good food. —jakedavis

2008-05-21 18:04:47   I like the chow fun. I get it with gravy and prepared extra spicy, YUM! —AynReyes

2008-06-27 15:33:11   Had a good experience with a group of over 10 people. The place is very clean, no sticky tables or menus. They gave us extra soup on top of that, as well as the discount. —JohnLin

2008-07-30 16:14:42   This and Hometown are the only places I can eat at without getting an MSG headache. I say Hometown has the edge on price, but Wok of Flame has the quality edge.

-Chicken is always white meat & delish

-Beef is never weird/gristly (a problem Hometown has sometimes)

I have a question for you chinese food gourmets out there in wiki-land. Could Wok of Flame's amazing flavor come from using a lot of butter? Because I can't get over how good certain dishes are, and they just taste different than traditional chinese restaurant fare.

  • Sesame chicken is hit or miss (there's a second style that's spicier and drier that I don't like)
  • Orange or general's chicken or honey walnut shrimp is A+++
  • Egg foo young (while not so traditional, they put a small amt of sauce on and don't serve it on the side) is a massive amount of food for six bucks. Easily 2 meals worth (or eat it for breakfast the morning after!)
  • Don't get combo meals, get full orders and a side of steamed rice. Far healthier for you (eliminates greasy noodles and pork-fried rice, and easily 2 meals worth of food). Or invest in a rice cooker and a sack of brown rice. Orange chicken, brown rice, and a nice wine is my idea of takeout heaven.
  • get a LARGE wonton soup. Their wontons are delicious and buttery & leftover broth makes a great fast breakfast (just chug it on your way out the door, the butter and salt will give you a kick in the ass).
  • Family dinner is worth it if you like the sides, I believe they give you a little more of the main dish as well.
  • They generally give you a little more if you order chicken vs shrimp.
  • *fun fact. Their special NEVER changes. So if you actually like green beans/eggplant - you can get it anytime.
  • Order your date a glass of plum wine, it is also A+ —carnitasPorFavor

2008-08-29 17:58:11   Can you really get a 10% discount just by mentioning Daviswiki.org? It's not in the description... —KellyM

2008-09-01 12:40:31   Wasn't bad, but not great. I don't think you can get good chinese in Davis. —AcMach

2008-10-03 19:17:43   This place is so good. Most places in Davis are gross, but this restaurant has yummy food, and nice staff. ***** —realitycheck

2008-12-31 12:19:17   this is my favorite Chinese restaurant by far. I go here at least once a week for lunch with my co-workers, dinner, or to kill my hangover with their spicy hunan tofu. yummmm —JuliaRoseFurman

2009-03-15 19:49:59   The food here is wonderful! My favorites are the Hot and Sour Soup (very smooth flavor with lots of vegetables) and the Chicken with Eggplant in Szechuan Sauce (I don't know what they put into it but it is mighty tasty)! Best Chinese food I've found in the general Sacramento area. —emckechnie

2009-04-07 15:30:48   Just as an aside, the menu prices are currently about $1-1.50 more expensive than the scanned menu available on the wiki; at least the lunch specials anyway. —EvanWyatt

2009-07-20 23:37:07   you can't honestly get "traditional" chinese fare here in davis, afterall they cook to the american taste buds, but i've go to say their egg drop soup is super yummy and it's super hot (temperature wise)

having tried pretty much EVERY chinese restaurant here in davis, i'd say wok of flame beats all of them

regarding MSG, MSG is merely a psychological problem, i've cooked foods with just salt and some with MSG, and MSG is basically just salt and flavoring and it adds more flavor to dishes and it usually tastes better than just salt, if you were blind folded given a plate with a food infused with just salt you would still mentally think you were given MSG, MSG is generally not harmful at all, just like salt it must be consumed in moderation, looking back at the history of MSG and how it affected the public, it was only a stupid doctor's article that claimed MSG was to blame for headaches and tummy aches, a study that only he participated in, and after this article was released to the public back back backkkk in the day, these gullible people believed him and since caused this mental issue with MSG

so, in the end, MSG is not harmful, if it was then every canned food should be the cause of your headaches and tummy aches especially with the mix of preservatives

huge amounts of any food always causes a headache or two and/ or tummy aches so MSG is not entirely to blame...

MSG is our friend...don't HATE lol

p.s. the young asian waiter at woke of flame is super cute —TriPpy

  • Here are some actual studies that say otherwise: a 2008 Nature Obesity paper, a Brain Research Bulletin paper, and one from the journal Headache. I still eat here and other Asian restaurants that use MSG and have no intention of stopping, but get peeved when people spout nonsense about scientific research that isn't factual. —jmofro
    • MSG isn't exactly healthy, and it indeed can be bad for you. The following reply is in context to the 'psychological' stuff people always talk about. The Obesity paper isn't about the headaches or alleged side effects, but is about weight gain, not surprisingly MSG isn't harmless. The link to 'Headache' doesn't work. The other paper from 'Brain Research' does show MSG has developmental effects, but I'd submit that within their experimental design, many things will: the 'Brain Research' one is on neonatal animals compared to animals treated within the first 10 days of birth. Both do indeed show problems with brain development - this doesn't correlate to studies about the headaches/tummy aches of so-called MSG allergies in adult, fully developed humans. Additionally, the American Heart Association recommends we eat less than 1500mg (or 1.5grams) of sodium per day. In the UK, their scientific committee recommends less than 4g of salt per day per person. The US FDSA doesn't have a recommendation but refers to a dietary guidelines of 2300mg. In the 'Brain Research Bulletin' paper, they were treated with 4 grams per kg of weight. 4grams per kilogram! And us, at over 70kg a person on average should take less than 1.5grams of sodium. So yeah, that would be an insane amount when you scale it up to the average adult human weight...especially when you remember they're talking about neonatal and infant rats that still need a lot of development to do. That much salt, I'm not surprised there's developmental and cognitive defects. Anyway, I try to avoid MSG in general for health concerns (too many people intake too much salt), but I believe the guys real point was the whole "MSG leads to headaches" thing is just a myth that's never been proven, replicated or published before and that's what people usually object to MSG for, not for salt reasons. I'm just responding because it's fun :P -ES

2009-09-03 16:52:29   This place is my favorite to go to in davis, way better than silver dragon. —jdavis

2009-10-19 15:09:36   I love this restaurant. This is the best Chinese food in Davis. The food is always good and the service is always friendly. In addition, the owners are active in the community and often participate in fund-raisers for Pioneer Elementary. —rlester

2010-01-23 23:11:17   I think this place beats Jade and Hunans for best chinese. Ate the Sesame Chicken, some eggplant dish and the Mongolian Beef and all were stellar. The eggroll was awesome and in general the food couldnt have been better. Quality of the ingredients is what made it so great. Props —Dyavrom

2010-06-09 19:03:21   I went here for lunch today and I wish I had taken the time to come here sooner. For $10 with tip you get a huge plate with an entree & two sides along with a cup of soup. The service isn't the fastest but if you have the time for a cheap, leisurely lunch then this is the place! —ARWENNHOLD

2010-07-12 13:21:33   As a true testament to my leery sentiments about shops with punny names, I managed to avoid paying a visit to Wok of Flame for over four years before positive reviews on DavisWiki and Yelp pressured me into trying it. So, in a nutshell: not bad! My boyfriend and I were particularly surprised that they offered brown rice as a side at no additional charge. For our lunch, I ordered the beef with mushrooms and after much deliberation, he ordered the Singapore Noodles. Both came with a cup of rather robust hot and sour soup. My beef and mushrooms were reminiscent of Hunan's happy luncheon offerings, except with the portions about 20% larger. A familiar brown sauce that had a touch more flavor than Hunan's, and a variety of white and straw/grass mushrooms. The presentation was certainly better for mine, with a garnish of green onion. My boyfriend noted that the Singapore noodles did not appear to be made form rice noodles, which was odd, but not unwelcome. His main gripe was that the noodles were on the salty side, causing him to fill up on quite a bit of water. Otherwise, the flavor was good, too.

All in all, I would certainly consider going to Wok of Flame over other Chinese restaurants in Davis (though Noodle City still holds my heart for noodle soups)— the ambiance is much better, and their presentation is solid. The service was quick and attentive and the food was certainly up to snuff. —AbbYu

2010-08-19 14:33:43   Trust me. This IS the BEST Chinese restaurant in Davis. Hands down! —ashleyinthemist

2010-08-25 01:06:06   This is probably the best Chinese food restaurant that I've ever been to. The service is great. I recommend their sesame or orange chicken. I love their veggie chow mien. I always get their combo which is a lot of food for about 10 bucks and usually lasts me for about 2 meals. —RebelYell

2011-02-16 09:02:38   Good food, close to work. My mom likes it. —Mogitha

2011-02-18 21:44:03   Have known about this place for quite a while, and grandson & I decided it was time to try it out. Polite and attentive waitstaff big plus. Couldn't really decide to order what was listed for family entrees, so we asked if we could substitute as it noted in the menu. Yup! Surprise was that the seafood entree for calamari wasn't an in-sauce dish, but was deep-fried - our favorite! - and soooooo good! Drinks refilled almost before we finished. Eggrolls were ginormous and flavorful. LARGE leftovers are now in fridge for future meals. Yep, we'll be back... —barbararuhmann

2011-03-28 09:59:04   The last time I came here (4 years ago?!?!, thanks for making me feel old DavisWiki) I thought the food was good, but not great. I went last night and I still feel the food is good, and not great. If I lived in the area I would probably make my way over often to find the dishes that I like the best, but living over here in West Davis it becomes too long a drive with so many tasty options that are closer. —JamesKrause

  • I live in West Davis as well. Just curious, What better Chinese food do you find in Davis, West or anywhere? —Sherri

2011-04-25 18:20:50   Best Chinese food in Davis by far! —Sherri

2011-05-08 16:08:52   This place was alright. To me, none of their food (fried rice, general chicken, sesame chicken, potsticker) were amazing or terrible. The potsticker was kinda thick and doughy? Kinda weird. I liked their wanton soup soup though. Nothing was terrible or cooked improperly, so I'll have to give it another shot to see if that's just the particular items or if the place in general is good. All the ingredients seemed good, the dishes together just seemed... off to me. —AndrewJacobs

2011-05-14 17:08:57   I love this place. I always get the sweet and sour chicken and some crab wontons. So yummy!! Much better than panda express! —rachealgalante

2011-12-16 17:00:33   Great Food! —JeffA

2012-01-19 13:33:02   I love the salt and pepper chicken. Staff is friendly and service is usually quick. —scevec

2012-07-16 16:23:50   Delicious. I tried the Kung Pao Chicken and Egg Foo Young. The portions are so large that 2 adults should be able to share one order. The ample booth seating made for a comfortable and pleasant dining experience. I'll definitely come back. —Trena

2012-08-04 17:28:10   I love this place. I get the Mongolian Beef, Orange Beef, and Fried Rice, and Singapore Noodles with veggies or shrimp. I don't recommend the Broccoli and Garlic Sauce. Wonton Soup is decent but not my favorite (go to Dumpling House for that!)—WikiChiki

2012-08-06 10:16:53   Yuck three times in a row. Sorry, really wanted to like it but the last greasy bunch of chow mein did me in. And pricey! —MaureenHoffmann

2012-11-21 21:14:17   Best Chinese food place in Davis. Not saying it's outstanding, but it's pretty good. —ScottSchiller

2013-01-02 21:25:28   I have eaten here many times, and the food has proven to be a consistent delight. The sesame tofu and spring rolls are particularly good. Everyone is friendly and service is above par. It looks clean, and the kitchen seems to run like a well oiled machine. My one and only complaint is that they use styrofoam containers for take out; I would gladly pay extra for Eco-friendly containers if they had such an option. —LumosPortus

2013-02-19 12:57:36   DONE. NOT GOING AGAIN. EVER.

Service on Sunday night was abyssmal.

I've been a regular customer for years but the service my family and I received on Sunday night, February 17, was so bad we have jointly agreed to never patronize again. The worst part was when I let the guy know about our poor service while he was running my card, he didn't seem to give a sh*t. Just added insult to injury. Gave me a patently insincere, "sorry 'bout that."

Too bad....the service usually is quite good. Sunday, however, it was really bad. The food was cold. Just a profoundly disappointing dining experience. And then the arrogance from the person I was paying on top of it all...well, that was just the capper. —browneyedblues

2013-11-25 09:29:12   The food is pretty good quality, at least as far as Chinese food in Davis goes. However, it was rather pricey for rather small portions. Also they charged me about 10% more than the prices indicated on the menu posted here, so the menu is probably outdated. —carlislesingensmide

2014-01-13 20:48:31   Called here, placed an order for the crab cheese wontons and wonton soup. Was told that it would take ten minutes. I arrived after fifteen, and it wasn't ready. Waited another fifteen minutes before it finally showed up, for a total wait time of thirty minutes. Honestly, if it had been another five I would have told them not to bother. They've been rather expensive for a while, but at least the food was both fast and good. Now they've gotten rid of the fast part. —Killbasa

2015-03-06 12:04:36   I love this place! The best Chinese food in Davis. I only wish they delivered. —pachay55

2016-07-13 17:28:49   Meh. Kung pow chicken is subpar. —ComicManEG

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