"Airie in the City" & Year of the Fire Horse Food Tour Stop # 4 | Valentine's Day Soft Opening of Moonwok Kitchen & Lounge | BubbleSkirt Jumper + Louis Vuitton

Bubble jumper: Abercrombie and Fitch

Teddy bear mules (not recent): Coach

Moonwok Kitchen & Lounge

This is stop # 4 in my latest New Year food tour which is titled "Year of the Fire Horse".

1.Kappo Tsan

2.Snowbean

3.Sushi Izuki

4. Moonwok Kitchen & Lounge

5. Nikkita Orlando

6. Pho 2 Tō

Some info from their website "Moon Wok Kitchen & Lounge brings modern flair to classic Chinese cuisine. From handcrafted dim sum to wok-fired favorites, we blend tradition with fresh, bold flavors."

Pork Dumplings

(Steamed/Pan Fried)

Delicate dumplings filled with seasoned ground pork, steamed or pan-fried until tender and juicy.

Served with a sweet soy- based dipping sauce.

Not gluten-free

So, today, we ventured out to Moonwok Kitchen and Lounge to try some Cantonese and American Chinese fare. Both my husband and I grew up in the same town, and we both grew up eating authentic Cantonese food weekly. It was a weekly staple in my house, and they had the best food. The restaurant did not survive the pandemic, but I really dont think they were surviving much now anyway, given it was a local spot in a small town. Anyhow, once I found out I had Celiac Disease I pretty much couldn't and have had authentic Cantonese food in over a decade. I miss my favorite dishes so much, but especially the fried rice. Every country has their own version of fried rice, and I am a fried rice lover, but I won't eat just any. My next staple dish is like the wonton soup, beef and peppers, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and sometimes that is also referred to as Chop Suey, depending on where you live. I could go on and on naming my favorites, and this also bkends into the area of American Chinese food (chicken and broccoli, beef and broccoli, Singapore noodles with the curry on them etc.

So, when I found out that Twenty Pho Hour (on the Michelin Guide and also featured in my 2023 aorlando Food Tour) was their sister restaurant, I KNEW the food would be great. I was ready to ride out and try it, and they had fried rice and beef and peppers. Well, to my chagrin, everything on the menu contained gluten except the sautéed chicken and vegetables. This was extremely disappointing, but understanble, and I expected it. I did try to contact the restaurant three times about their gluten-free options beforehand, but I got no responses.

Lucky for me, I love chicken and vegetables...it's basically the same as Chicken and Broccoli, but with different vegetables. Now, they give you a decent amount of food, and it was medium saucy. I would have preferred more of that vekvet sauce, to be honest. My rice was completely mushy, and I actually just didn't see a point in asking for more because it was probably going to come from the same rice steamer. The dish definitely made me think of my favorite meals from my local spot, but it was low on flavor, and the chicken was a tad overcooked. Overall, it was a good dish. It needed a lot more salt and flavor, but I would order it again. It was the soft opening, so I would try it again anyhow once they are up and open.

So, that was all I could try, unfortunately.

This is where it's great to have my hubby with me because he can eat anything. So, he had the hand pulled noodles with beef, which was highly recommended. The dish is called Beef Ho Fun. It looked delicious and came out steaming hot as you can see from my photos. He had had this dish before and he said it was very, very good. The noodles made it even better. It to me smelled delicious, lol. The fried balls with the meat in them were kind of a mystery to me. I heard them refer to it as mochi, but when looking at the menu, I didn't see anything by that name. They did have beef in the center. They were extremely one large and were super hot when they arrived. This is an appetizer meant to share.

Overall, the experience was great, and I love the decor of the restaurant it is so cute and chic. everyone was super friendly (Valentine's Day). I would definitely recommend this spot. The roast duck hanging in the back looked so delicious. Yall, it's torture sometimes being a Celiac, and there aren't a lot of options. I hope they add more for us Celiacs to the menu.