Great little place for Taiwanese food in Palo Alto. Service was great and atmosphere is simple, but fine. Best, however, is the food. I had the Taiwanese sausage fried rice, which was quite solid, and the Salt & Pepper pork chops, which were amazing! The best I've had outside of China. Prices are reasonable as well and they have those jumbo bottles of Taiwan beer. Glad I tried this place.
J
Food is overpriced and not good.
Food: 1
Katie H.
Mushroom clay pot and fried lambs were so good. Will definitely recommend going. Food wait times were a bit long.
Rachel L.
The Cupertino location is one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the Bay so we were ecstatic when they opened a much closer location in Palo Alto. Our go to's include the three cup chicken (5/5) which is a MUST order. I love the savory, slightly sweet sauce, the fragrant notes from the Thai basil, and the tender chicken. It's one of their most popular dishes, and for good reason. Their Taiwanese sausage fried rice is also solid and a good carb-filler for little kids. We also like their braised pork over rice, also known as Lu rou fan (4/5): typically the pork used is ground pork but here, the restaurant minces pork belly, which gives the dish a wonderful richness that is super flavorful and homey tasting. For vegetable sides, we like the fried green beans in garlic sauce and stir fried eggplant with basil. We've also gotten the sizzling beef, which I found slightly salty but is nothing that a glass of water and a large bowl of rice can't fix. The beef fried noodle in Kang Kung sauce is also yummy. Honestly you can't go wrong here and we've liked nearly everything we've tried!
Karen C.
Just like the original location: amazing! I'm so glad Red Hot Wok is upping the competition for Taiwanese food because the Bay Area sorely needs it. I visited as a party of 3 for a weeknight dinner and we experienced a short wait to be seated. Upon seating, the service was prompt and friendly. We ordered the pineapple shrimp (a variation of honey walnut shrimp), the bean curd & pork & squid stir fry (I can't recall the name of the dish but these were the main ingredients), and a minced pork rice bowl to share family style. Our table's favorite was the pineapple shrimp but my personal favorite will always be the minced pork rice bowl. Despite being located in Palo Alto and their original location still operating in Cupertino, the prices were very reasonable given the quality, portion sizes, and quick service. My group was only small eaters so we ended up with leftovers but if you come with larger appetites, I estimate only one more dish would be needed to fill up a party of 3. Please open more locations around the Bay Area (SF and East Bay maybe?) so I can keep giving you business, Red Hot Wok!
Robert N.
Excellent dishes. The server recommended the 3cup Tofu and it was very good. Great ambiance and good service.
Akiko I.
Great local place that serves delicious food and affordable! We were just two of us and could not resist ordering more than what we can eat! Each dish can easily serve 3-4 people who have regular appetite. Service was great!
Thanh N.
I ordered the fried seafood udon and the combination fried rice. Both were disgusting. The fried rice was so greasy that there was a pool of grease at the bottom of the takeout box. Grease was seeping through the sides. Udon was overly sweet and the seafood was essentially hard rubber. Extremely salty as well. The only thing that was delicious was the free house chili condiment. I threw almost all of the Udon away. Ate just the top layer of the rice. Ugh. Dealing with major acid reflux right now even as I write. At least I don't have to lotion my skin since my pores will be leaking grease for the next few days. Should have gone to McDonalds.
Shay M.
This place was delicious, I must say. Some solid Taiwanese food in Palo Alto. - 3 cup chicken: very flavorful and saucy. The chicken absorbed the sauces, although it wasn't the softest - beef: the stir fried beef on the other hand, was so tender and cooked perfectly. - pineapple fried rice: I thought it was pretty standard, but still hit the spot and large portions. - overall great service. dishes were on the saltier side but tasty for sure!
I'm unfamiliar with the food scene in Palo Alto, but turns out that the city has some really commendable Taiwanese dishes being served up at Red Hot Wok! I went on a Saturday afternoon with two friends. Not much of a wait time since we came around 1:30pm. Plenty of seating inside and 4-5 tables outside. We ordered several dishes: Three Cups Tofu clay pot, House Special Grounded Pork Rice Bowl, and Stir Fried Beef w/Kang Kung in Satay Sauce. Let's start with the start of the show: the Three Cups Tofu Clay pot. A server brings out the dish piping HOT, as it should be. The tofu is braised beautifully and silky in texture, flavored by a dark soy sauce, basil, ginger slices, and garlic. At first, I was caught off guard by the ginger slices, but they were aromatic and soaked up all that savory soy sauce. The ginger is good enough to eat on its own! Phenomenal dish, you know the food is good when you can simply eat the sauce with plain white rice!!! Next up, the stir fried beef. My only critique is that the beef was tenderized, which affected a bit of the texture. The satay sauce was more like a shrimp paste, rich in umami flavor but not overly salted. Veggies were stirred in and had a nice 'bite' to them. And third, the pork rice bowl. It was alright, I just wish that it was served warmer. That aside, the pork's flavor profile was a dark soy sauce combined with a noticeable five spice taste. The rice was cooked perfectly. This is a restaurant I'll have on my radar when I visit Palo Alto again. Great food!
Jacquelyn C.
This is a traditional Taiwanese restaurant with fast service and decent food. One thing to note is most of the workers only speak mandarin, so it was hard communicating. We got seated right away on a Saturday night and we're able to order really quickly. Here's what we got: - eggplant with garlic: not the best eggplant I've had. I prefer them to be saucier, and they were a bit more firm than other restaurants. 4/5 - chicken clay pot: a pretty good chicken dish with a lemongrass-y taste. It was very tender and fresh, but I didn't find myself wanting more than a few bites. 4/5 - sizzling black pepper beef: super tender and the best dish of them all! Sauce was delicious and everything was to perfection. 5/5 Overall the food did its job, but would I come back? Probably not because it didn't impress me more than other restaurants.
Tim Lin
The food tastes goodIf you miss Chinese food, you can visit
Travis Herdt
Food was way to salty and not impressing. There was a terrible Oder, like dirty cats. Don’t plan on ever going back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Boris Lin
If you like Taiwanese food, I definitely recommend this place. It has a nice and clean vibe. The food tasted authentic and it's a great place for spice lovers.
Great little place for Taiwanese food in Palo Alto. Service was great and atmosphere is simple, but fine. Best, however, is the food. I had the Taiwanese sausage fried rice, which was quite solid, and the Salt & Pepper pork chops, which were amazing! The best I've had outside of China. Prices are reasonable as well and they have those jumbo bottles of Taiwan beer. Glad I tried this place.
Food is overpriced and not good.
Food: 1
Mushroom clay pot and fried lambs were so good. Will definitely recommend going. Food wait times were a bit long.
The Cupertino location is one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the Bay so we were ecstatic when they opened a much closer location in Palo Alto. Our go to's include the three cup chicken (5/5) which is a MUST order. I love the savory, slightly sweet sauce, the fragrant notes from the Thai basil, and the tender chicken. It's one of their most popular dishes, and for good reason. Their Taiwanese sausage fried rice is also solid and a good carb-filler for little kids. We also like their braised pork over rice, also known as Lu rou fan (4/5): typically the pork used is ground pork but here, the restaurant minces pork belly, which gives the dish a wonderful richness that is super flavorful and homey tasting. For vegetable sides, we like the fried green beans in garlic sauce and stir fried eggplant with basil. We've also gotten the sizzling beef, which I found slightly salty but is nothing that a glass of water and a large bowl of rice can't fix. The beef fried noodle in Kang Kung sauce is also yummy. Honestly you can't go wrong here and we've liked nearly everything we've tried!
Just like the original location: amazing! I'm so glad Red Hot Wok is upping the competition for Taiwanese food because the Bay Area sorely needs it. I visited as a party of 3 for a weeknight dinner and we experienced a short wait to be seated. Upon seating, the service was prompt and friendly. We ordered the pineapple shrimp (a variation of honey walnut shrimp), the bean curd & pork & squid stir fry (I can't recall the name of the dish but these were the main ingredients), and a minced pork rice bowl to share family style. Our table's favorite was the pineapple shrimp but my personal favorite will always be the minced pork rice bowl. Despite being located in Palo Alto and their original location still operating in Cupertino, the prices were very reasonable given the quality, portion sizes, and quick service. My group was only small eaters so we ended up with leftovers but if you come with larger appetites, I estimate only one more dish would be needed to fill up a party of 3. Please open more locations around the Bay Area (SF and East Bay maybe?) so I can keep giving you business, Red Hot Wok!
Excellent dishes. The server recommended the 3cup Tofu and it was very good. Great ambiance and good service.
Great local place that serves delicious food and affordable! We were just two of us and could not resist ordering more than what we can eat! Each dish can easily serve 3-4 people who have regular appetite. Service was great!
I ordered the fried seafood udon and the combination fried rice. Both were disgusting. The fried rice was so greasy that there was a pool of grease at the bottom of the takeout box. Grease was seeping through the sides. Udon was overly sweet and the seafood was essentially hard rubber. Extremely salty as well. The only thing that was delicious was the free house chili condiment. I threw almost all of the Udon away. Ate just the top layer of the rice. Ugh. Dealing with major acid reflux right now even as I write. At least I don't have to lotion my skin since my pores will be leaking grease for the next few days. Should have gone to McDonalds.
This place was delicious, I must say. Some solid Taiwanese food in Palo Alto. - 3 cup chicken: very flavorful and saucy. The chicken absorbed the sauces, although it wasn't the softest - beef: the stir fried beef on the other hand, was so tender and cooked perfectly. - pineapple fried rice: I thought it was pretty standard, but still hit the spot and large portions. - overall great service. dishes were on the saltier side but tasty for sure!
the sizzling beef is really good, very
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I'm unfamiliar with the food scene in Palo Alto, but turns out that the city has some really commendable Taiwanese dishes being served up at Red Hot Wok! I went on a Saturday afternoon with two friends. Not much of a wait time since we came around 1:30pm. Plenty of seating inside and 4-5 tables outside. We ordered several dishes: Three Cups Tofu clay pot, House Special Grounded Pork Rice Bowl, and Stir Fried Beef w/Kang Kung in Satay Sauce. Let's start with the start of the show: the Three Cups Tofu Clay pot. A server brings out the dish piping HOT, as it should be. The tofu is braised beautifully and silky in texture, flavored by a dark soy sauce, basil, ginger slices, and garlic. At first, I was caught off guard by the ginger slices, but they were aromatic and soaked up all that savory soy sauce. The ginger is good enough to eat on its own! Phenomenal dish, you know the food is good when you can simply eat the sauce with plain white rice!!! Next up, the stir fried beef. My only critique is that the beef was tenderized, which affected a bit of the texture. The satay sauce was more like a shrimp paste, rich in umami flavor but not overly salted. Veggies were stirred in and had a nice 'bite' to them. And third, the pork rice bowl. It was alright, I just wish that it was served warmer. That aside, the pork's flavor profile was a dark soy sauce combined with a noticeable five spice taste. The rice was cooked perfectly. This is a restaurant I'll have on my radar when I visit Palo Alto again. Great food!
This is a traditional Taiwanese restaurant with fast service and decent food. One thing to note is most of the workers only speak mandarin, so it was hard communicating. We got seated right away on a Saturday night and we're able to order really quickly. Here's what we got: - eggplant with garlic: not the best eggplant I've had. I prefer them to be saucier, and they were a bit more firm than other restaurants. 4/5 - chicken clay pot: a pretty good chicken dish with a lemongrass-y taste. It was very tender and fresh, but I didn't find myself wanting more than a few bites. 4/5 - sizzling black pepper beef: super tender and the best dish of them all! Sauce was delicious and everything was to perfection. 5/5 Overall the food did its job, but would I come back? Probably not because it didn't impress me more than other restaurants.
The food tastes goodIf you miss Chinese food, you can visit
Food was way to salty and not impressing. There was a terrible Oder, like dirty cats. Don’t plan on ever going back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
If you like Taiwanese food, I definitely recommend this place. It has a nice and clean vibe. The food tasted authentic and it's a great place for spice lovers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs