And that's putting it mildly!
WOK EXPRESS located at 1110 So. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach is the quintessential hole in the wall dive of a nasty restaurant.
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My first big job in life required me to commute into New York City. At the time; I was not long out of high school and majorly short on currency and always scouting out cheap eats. Many of the hole in the wall greasy spoon joints served up the best grub. Not all, but most. There always seem to be a few great places in any city I've lived in which aren't much to look at, but they serve great food at a great price.
In my quest to find some tasty Asian fare in Myrtle Beach; I decided to check out Wok Express the other night. It looked to me like it might fit the bill as a dive...{aesthetically speaking}...but possibly make up for it with a quality food product.
Cue wrong answer buzzer.
Without going into a long winded explanation (what? who? me?)...suffice it to say I was terribly wrong.
I was very hungry after my Zumba class on Tues. and as I had to head directly into Myrtle Beach afterwards, I thought I would stop in and sample the General Tso's Chicken. I was in a major hurry and really had no business stopping at all so I ran in...placed my order...and informed the lady that I would be outside making a few phone calls and would be back in for my food.
In less than 10 minutes, she burst happily through the door...personally delivering my dinner.
For seven bucks I got my entree, lo mein, an egg roll, egg drop soup, a bag of baked(?)won tons, a can of soda (included in price) and the customary fortune cookie.
I asked if there was some sort of menu I could take with me. I wanted to get back inside the restaurant and have a look around for a moment and I used the old "I need a menu" ruse.
Let me tell you in no uncertain terms...this place is Filthy.
There was a man who may or may not have been the owner...sitting at a big round table in the middle of the room, smoking and watching a Chinese show on a huge flat screen TV.
Next to him on the floor was a plastic container which was not only a repository for the water leaking from the ceiling, but I noticed other items floating around in there as well...some pieces of cardboard and a rag or two.
The whole interior has that "haven't been washed in ages" feeling about it. Dusty. Grimy. There was actually a beautiful Asian ornamental light fixture on the ceiling, but its beauty was diminished by the hundreds of dead bugs littering the bottom.
To the left of the counter area is an interesting array of random items...an old book shelf with what else on it? Encyclopedias. They looked to me like they were from the 60s or 70s. The era when all good parents purchased a set so their children would be well equipped to plagiarize entries for book reports and essays. (guilty as charged your Honor).
There were old desk chairs ripped and torn and a printer and all kinds of crap...way too numerous to list.
I was not encouraged by what I could see into the kitchen area either. The place is badly in need of some TLC!
I was confused at this point. I had read on the Myrtle Beach Restaurant News website...{which provides a service by posting the South Carolina Dept. of Health and Environmental Control restaurant inspections}...that WOK EXPRESS scored an 89 which puts it in Grade "A" territory.
This appalled me.
It made me question all of the grades and I sent along a note to the DHEC asking them how they came to this conclusion.
sidenote: it's one thing for a restaurant to be filthy. If I don't like that sort of environment...then I just won't eat there ever again. But...when the local Health Department goes in and gives it an "A" grade then it makes me mighty suspicious of what the heck they are looking at when they go in there. It throws a light on all of DHEC inspections which makes me question the overall reliability of the program.
I asked if there was some sort of menu I could take with me. I wanted to get back inside the restaurant and have a look around for a moment and I used the old "I need a menu" ruse.
Let me tell you in no uncertain terms...this place is Filthy.
There was a man who may or may not have been the owner...sitting at a big round table in the middle of the room, smoking and watching a Chinese show on a huge flat screen TV.
Next to him on the floor was a plastic container which was not only a repository for the water leaking from the ceiling, but I noticed other items floating around in there as well...some pieces of cardboard and a rag or two.
The whole interior has that "haven't been washed in ages" feeling about it. Dusty. Grimy. There was actually a beautiful Asian ornamental light fixture on the ceiling, but its beauty was diminished by the hundreds of dead bugs littering the bottom.
To the left of the counter area is an interesting array of random items...an old book shelf with what else on it? Encyclopedias. They looked to me like they were from the 60s or 70s. The era when all good parents purchased a set so their children would be well equipped to plagiarize entries for book reports and essays. (guilty as charged your Honor).
There were old desk chairs ripped and torn and a printer and all kinds of crap...way too numerous to list.
I was not encouraged by what I could see into the kitchen area either. The place is badly in need of some TLC!
I was confused at this point. I had read on the Myrtle Beach Restaurant News website...{which provides a service by posting the South Carolina Dept. of Health and Environmental Control restaurant inspections}...that WOK EXPRESS scored an 89 which puts it in Grade "A" territory.
This appalled me.
It made me question all of the grades and I sent along a note to the DHEC asking them how they came to this conclusion.
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| Egg Roll = Soggy Chicken = Not Spicy, which is what General Tso's should be! Lo mein tasted old Afraid to eat Egg Drop soup & didn't Leery of fortune cookie though it comes wrapped {Fried? baked?}won tons lacked appeal as well. The whole experience...in a word (a short delay while you remove small children from the room)......sucked! I'll keep you posted as to whether or not I receive a response from the Health Dept., but if I don't...I will be hounding their butts to find out how in the name of common sense this restaurant scored so high. My Verdict in the Case Against Wok Express: Guilty of 3 Counts of Assault on the Eyes, the Palates and the Digestive Systems of its customers. |
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