Brooklyn Wok Taking Chinese Take-Out to the Next Level
When Melissa and Edric Har moved to Williamsburg from Manhattan two years ago, they were a bit disappointed that the neighborhood did not offer the kind of Chinese food they had been accustomed to in the old neighborhood. Melissa explains:
“Edric and I used to live on Spring St., which was a few blocks from Chinatown, so we were spoiled. We tried a lot of the Asian restaurants here too and they’re good, but we wanted to open up a place where we wanted to eat every day.”
And that is exactly what they did. Melissa runs the front of Brooklyn Wok Shop, while Edric takes care of the kitchen, as he is eminently qualified to do. Har is a chef who has worked at such stellar eateries as Le Bernardin, Veritas and Cru.
“My mom was a great cook and my godparents, who also raised me, are Italian, so I would have Sunday gravy and cold cut sandwiches. I had these two great worlds and cultures” Edric remembers. “While I’m not a Chinese chef per se, I still have those food memories. We all do.”
The goal of Brooklyn Wok Shop is to offer updated and high quality taste delights in both traditional Chinese cuisine and Chinese-American standards. The use of the freshest and best possible ingredients in conjunction with modern, high-end culinary techniques results in mouth-watering roast pork, generously stuffed wontons and wonderfully pliant egg noodles. And of course everything is made right on the premises.
“We play with how there are two menus at Chinese restaurants. We have the American side with the General Tso’s chicken and the more authentic stuff like wonton soup and beef short rib” says Edric.
Melissa explains her love of running the front.
“My first job, at 14 years old, was working at a takeout restaurant. It’s come back full circle.”
The Brooklyn Wok Shop opened in November 2011, and is still developing its offerings. Go on over and give it a try.
Brooklyn Wok Shop
182 North 10th Street (between Bedford and Driggs)
Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. — Sunday-Thursday
6 p.m. to 11 p.m. — Friday & Saturday
