Restaurant Review: Moon Wok, a modern Chinese cuisine restaurant
- Deliciously Judgmental
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
At a Glance:
Restaurant: Moon Wok Kitchen & Lounge
Address: 11701 international Drive, 300 Orlando, FL 32821
Parking: Free parking
Summary: Moon Wok soft-opened in January 2026. At the time of our visit, it was their grand opening week. Moon Wok offers dim-sum, handmade noodles, and Chinese barbecue, with the goal of providing a "modern flair to classic Chinese cuisine."
Vibe: Trendy and modern dining room, with an open kitchen and cocktail bar. Smaller parties can choose between intimate booths and dining tables. Shareable dishes makes it easy for both small and large parties to enjoy.
Reservations: Moon Wok accepts walk-ins, but the restaurant recommends making reservations to get your preferred time.
Private rooms: None available, but the restaurant is willing to accommodate larger groups.
Baby-Friendly Rating: The host was very accommodating and offered to put together dining tables for the baby stroller, but we were able to fit the baby seat in the booths.
Our Favorite Items: We followed our server's recommendations. We loved the Beef Ho Fun, Roast Duck, Mongolian Beef, and the Chinese Broccoli!
Click the link below to get our inspired recipes from our visit to Moon Wok (coming soon)!
What We Ordered at our Most Recent Visit:
Velvet Corn Soup
Steamed Pork Dumplings
Beef Ho Fun
Roast Pork
Crispy Pork Belly
Char Siu (Roast Pork)
Char Siu Pork Ribs
Mongolian Beef
Salt & Pepper Squid
Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan)
Sakura Kiss Cocktail
Floating Orchid Mocktail
Menu:
MOON WOK REVIEW:
We went to Moon Wok during their grand opening week which also happened to be during the Lunar New Year. The restaurant had several specials throughout this week. When we visited, they had an offer for half off of their handmade noodles, which we took advantage of. The restaurant has booth seating along the walls, which can seat 5-6 people comfortably, a few round tables with lazy susans, bar seating, and several tables that could be pushed together in the middle to seat larger groups. Moon Wok features a cocktail bar, as well as an open kitchen with their roasted meats hung on display in the corner. The ambiance is modern with Asian influences.
We started our meal with the Velvet Corn Soup, which we were told would be enough for two people to share. The soup arrived quickly and was delicious. It reminded Kate of homemade corn soup, which is both savory and sweet.
Next, we tried the steamed pork dumpling appetizer. The dumplings were plated in a crowded dim sum-style basket, which made it difficult to pick up. The dumplings themselves were delicious, especially with the sauce, which we had to ask someone to bring us.
Of course we had to try each of Moon Wok's Chinese Barbecue items. This was easy to do as the menu offers 1/2 and full portions. We unanimously loved the Roast Duck, including Vee, who does not usually enjoy duck dishes. The Char Siu Roast Pork and Ribs were delicious. However, if you prefer fatty over lean meat, our Char Siu Roast Pork was more on the lean side.
Moon Wok features Kai Kai's Michelin-recommended Chinese Barbeque. However, Ashe, who is a huge fan of Kai Kai and Cantonese Barbeque, thought the pork dishes at Kai Kai were better. The Crispy Pork Belly was disappointing because it was missing the essential golden crust and alternating layers of fat and meat. Instead, the skin was soggy, the fatty layers were missing, and the meat was bland.
One of our other favorite dishes of the night is the Beef Ho Fun, which uses flat rice noodles made in-house. The noodles had a nice soft chewy texture, and great flavor from the beef, onions, and other vegetables that were stir fried together to make a delicious combination.
For our first entree, we enjoyed the Mongolian Beef, which comes with a bit of a kick. Be careful not to bite into the dried chiles, unless you enjoy the spice! It does come with a bowl of rice, which goes well with the dish.
Our second entree was the Salt & Pepper Squid. Ashe found the squid perfectly seasoned, well-battered, and tender. On the other hand, Kate and Vee thought the squid was tough, under-seasoned, and the batter was far too thick, lacking the nice crunch we hoped for. Kate prefers the salt and pepper dishes from Tasty Wok, and suggests skipping it at Moon Wok.
The stir fried Chinese broccoli cooked in a light garlicky sauce was a great way to break up all the meat we ate.
We loved the drinks as well! The Floating Orchid mocktail (left) is a great option if you're looking for alcohol-free choices. The Sakura Kiss cocktail (right) is a sweet floral drink with the taste of lychee.
We understand that there may be a few hiccups during a grand opening, but we found the service was rather lacking and brought down our overall experience. It was difficult to get our server's attention. Throughout our meal, we ended up calling over other wait staff multiple times just to ask about missing items, sauces, bowls. Empty dishes piled up on our table far longer than they should have, resulting in a drink spilling as we lacked adequate room.
We felt they could have been better staffed for their grand opening week.
In Closing: If you're looking for a sit down restaurant with Chinese barbecue, this is worth a try. The restaurant can seat both small and larger groups although we recommend making reservations for groups larger than five. The food is delicious despite the disappointing service. We're willing to give Moon Wok another try in the future.
Afterwards, we tried our hands at making dishes like the ones we tried at Moon Wok. Check out our inspired recipes from Moon Wok by clicking the button below! (Coming soon!)
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