“Is this the up-and-coming spot?” Ethan Woo asked.

“It’s already arrived,” I replied.

This past Tuesday, a group of eight of us ordered $120 worth of food from WuKong Asian Restaurant, not all pictured above. Some were trying it for the first time, while others had come back for more.

On the menu: Crab rangoons, sesame chicken, General Tso’s chicken, sweet and sour chicken, a salad sampler of spicy kani, seaweed, and squid salad, house fried noodles, veggie lo mein, hot and and sour soup, and miso soup. 

Some qualities considered in rating Chinese food was meat-to-breading ratio, tender and colorful vegetables, flavor levels and mouth feel in noodles, and the perfect level of crisp in a crab rangoon. After all, a bite of a crab rangoon sets the stage for the rest of the meal at any Chinese restaurant.

“Some crab rangoons make the mistake of being too crunchy all over so they hurt your mouth,” said Woo, a self-proclaimed food critic, “Some get too soft, so they’re not good anymore. This one has made neither of those mistakes.”

“They slap,” Mary Sidorevich agreed.

Glazed with sweet and sour sauce, this was undoubtedly a top-tier rangoon. 

Over the sound of cracking chopsticks and muffled speech over mouthfuls of noodles, we gathered our reviews for the readers.

The three types of chicken were not overly breaded, but quite large. One reviewer called them “too damn meaty.” Whether that is a problem is for you to decide. 

Although General Tso’s chicken was not much better than other places General Tso’s, the balance between sweet and spicy made it a winner among the chicken dishes. In my opinion though, sesame chicken is always a classic.

Between the two noodle dishes, the house fried noodle and lo mein were tied—the ramen had a nice texture but the lo mein’s structure and flavor won for me. Another reviewer said this lo mein “far outshines average lo mein.” 

On a prior visit to WuKong, the hot and sour soup left an overly black-peppery taste, but this one was pleasantly enjoyed by another reviewer.  

Because of the amount and vibrancy of vegetables and a more chicken-to-breading ratio, the general consensus was these dishes felt like a “healthy” Chinese dining experience where the eater didn’t feel “heavy” afterwards.

At the end of the meal, only the sweet and fishy-tasting squid salad remained. 

New to the Utica area, WuKong celebrated its birthday month this October. They boast 4.8 stars with 178 Google reviews and as your local food reviewer, and I can say that they’ve earned those stars with both their dine-in and takeout experience. 

Find them on Instagram at wukongasian2021 or via a five-minute drive from campus.