Really good food! Kind of a small place, but excellent for phone-ahead carry-outs. It may not look like it, but the chef here is an old-style chef, and sees to all the food preparation details himself. The kitchen area is visible to visitors, so you can see what great care and quality is involved in the preparation of your meal if you like. I recommend calling ahead, because this restaurant is very popular for carry-outs in the neighborhood, and on busy nights, a short backlog can grow. But my experience has been if I phone-in my order even 5 minutes ahead, it is already waiting for me when I get there. I can't say enough about how good the menu is. They have a wide selection, and it is genuine Chinese cuisine. E.g. the hot-and-sour soup is excellent, and it is really as hot and as sour as I have often eaten in Taiwan. Usually I have to add at least vinegar and hot chili oil at home to make other restaurants' soup legitimately as sour and hot as if I bought it in China. This place does not "dumb-down" their cuisine for round-eye bai gwei Americans. In general, the cuisine tastes to this ben dan most like Haka food. I think. I can't say enough about the rest of the menu. But perhaps I have. read more

I wasn't sure what to expect since First Wok is tucked next to a small grocery store with a few empty buildings around, but it turned out to be a really pleasant surprise. Their website was very easy to order from and pickup was quick. I tried the steamed tofu with vegetables and rice, with the sauce on the side. The veggies were fresh and cooked just right, and it's a great option for anyone trying to eat whole food plant based or vegan. The portion was generous and very satisfying. Friendly service, simple menu, and a spot that's worth supporting if you're looking for something wholesome and tasty. I'll definitely be back. read more

First Wok - Steamed tofu with broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, bell peppers, and other fresh vegetables. - Chinese Near Me - Urbana, Illinois

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Flavorless garbage, Service gave no flatware or napkins for togo order. Place looked grungy. read more

Watch your reciept, they will over charge you. I ordered: Large Shrimp Fried rice $7.75 Shrimp Egg foo young $7.75 They charge me $26.00 read more

The portions are smaller than they used to be and yet still very tasty. Fast service.

Most of the food was great, but some was odd to me. The service was very limited. You stand in line to order. Ambiance was early Grunge. There was little to no atmosphere or attempt to make dining pleasurable. It's been quite a while since I've been there so maybe it's changed. read more

$7.50ish for lunch special. I had the beef with chinese vegetables and it was a lot of food in the rice box. However, I came here after going to the gym so I ate everything regardless so I can feed my muscles. Would definitely come back since it's right next to Planet Fitness. read more

First Wok - Beef with chinese veggies - Chinese Near Me - Urbana, Illinois

Best Chinese in Champaign/Urbana....the prices are reasonable and the service is prompt. What more can you ask for?

Nice taste and big size at a reasonable price. First Wok turned out to be a good choice for a quick and home sickness comforting diner. Will come back for more meals. read more

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By far the best of the fast-food and carry-out Chinese restaurants. Very small but with a huge menu, especially if you look at the Specials and items on the wall. Everything I've ordered has been as good to much, much better than other carry-out Chinese. I strongly recommend looking at the specials on the wall, however. Personal favorites include their Seafood Noodle Soup, Eggplant and Asparagus, and Salt and Pepper Squid. That said, I've never been disappointed no matter what we've ordered. Even their mundane items like MaPo Tofu are among the best around. In some cases you might find the same item more to your liking at Golden Harbor, but that is a big stretch (as you'll pay double for maybe, and only maybe, a small improvement in quality and flavor. Most of the time First Wok is better than any place else in town. read more

Tasty, fast, and inexpensive. A nice place to try. Ambiance could use improving, but otherwise good.

You get a lot of food, and while the gen Tso was cooked nearly perfect, their sauce is sugary! Not bad, but sweet. I might go back when I'm in town but will need my insulin. read more

First Wok - Chinese Near Me - Urbana, Illinois

Best Chinese food in the area. We have never once been disappointed with our food. Always hot, always fresh, always ready in 15 minutes tops. The only place my family goes to! read more

Best Chinese in town. Consistent employees and food experience, and the menu is great! For Chinese takeout this is the place you want in Urbana! read more

Fast Chinese Food: 4.5/5 Service Quality: 2/5 I have never had an issue with the food, and usually go with the General Tso or Sweet & Sour chicken. The food is quick and if you're really hungry, add in the crab rangoon. It's delicious. The only downside of the restaurant is the service quality. The employees will always be brief/short, and as long as that doesn't bother you (I've grown to accept it) you're good to go. (Quality & proximity outweigh the brief negative service interactions) read more

So many hygeine issues I witnessed while waiting for my food, I vowed to never return. How do you open boxes of food that have sitting on a dirty floor and place them on top of the cutting surface for cooking? Like what?!!! This was just so egregious. In fact, because I had already ordered my food and paid for it, after seeing this happen not once, but 5 times, I got my order and threw it away and went to a different Chinese restaurant to order something similar. They are not clean and clearly their customers don't care. read more

The food is actually really good ESPECIALLY for the price. The fact it's cooked fresh is key. I WOULD have given at least 4 stars but at First Wok they do something really stupid. They DEEP FRY their dumplings instead of pan frying. 1. Who the hell deep fries dumplings? 2. They overcook the shit out of the dumplings by using the deep fryer. First Wok. . .STOP DEEP FRYING THE FUCKING DUMPLINGS! read more

I'm definitely a fan of First Wok. Admittedly, I get the same thing every time: the pork egg foo young combination plate. For $5.95, you get delicious egg foo young, pork fried rice, and an egg roll, enough to feed you for two or three meals! Soooo good. I also like their crab rangoon, which is crisp and slightly sweet, different than many I've tasted. Maybe someday I'll branch out to try their beef with broccoli, soup, and angel hair specials? Everything looks and smells so good there! Note: This place doesn't accept credit cards, so be sure you have cash before you order! read more

Just another one of those takeout places... that ROCK. Their salt'n pepper squid is delicious and their combination noodle soup is what sets this place apart from many other takeout places in the area. I don't recall if the combination noodle soup is actually called that (Shi Jing Mien), but if you ask for the noodle soup with a mix of stuff in it, they'll know what you're talking about. :P read more

Little disappointed here, Chambana Yelpers! I read some awesome reviews for First Wok, and Husband and I were super excited to try it out. We ended up there for lunch yesterday. So, first thing - their fried rice is saffron yellow.. but I guarantee there's no saffron in there. Ack. It's seriously neon. I ordered the eggplant chicken special. I was very excited after recently having some excellent garlic eggplant from Green Jade. I thought, "Yay! Eggplant Special! Happy Grace!" As it turns out, I celebrated a bit too soon. The eggplant wasn't thoroughly cooked, making it sort of bitter and tough. Also, they didn't use Chinese eggplant, which was sort of confusing. It was American (globe) eggplant. If it had been Chinese eggplant, I bet it would've tasted a whole lot better. Furthermore, it was advertised as 'spicy.' Ahem. That dish was not spicy in the least. It could've used a few hearty splashes of sriracha. (Coincidentally, that's what I plan to do to the leftovers...) I also got egg-drop soup, which was alright. However, I got some fried noodles with my soup, and was even further disappointed. They were stale and not very good. On the plus side, Husband's duck and broccoli special tasted excellent! The duck wasn't deboned in the least, and seemed like it had just been hacked apart, but after working around the bones, the taste rocked. The service was fast and friendly enough, and the prices were very low - both of us got specials and I got my soup for $12 total. Still, I don't think I'll be back. There are better Chinese food places in C-U. read more

General Tso's Chicken is one of my favorite dishes, and this place has the best General Tso's I've ever tasted. You also get A LOT for what you pay. I often end up eating my leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. Their crab ragoon is so good - fried to a crisp, filled full. It is always warm with cool, gooey cream cheese in the center. Even their egg rolls are some of the best I've ever had. The only thing that bothers me (the food is so good, though, I don't even care) is the language barrier. No matter how I phrase it, I always end up with different portions/variations on my dish. I have never gotten the same thing there twice or paid the same price twice. You always get A TON of whatever entree you order, but sometimes you get a small order of rice, sometimes you get a large. Sometimes it's fried rice, whether you say fried or not, and sometimes, you get an egg roll, whether you ask for it or not. So if you think that will bug you, maybe the place isn't for you, but this place has some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. The price is always great for a poor student like me, too; a great Friday night date, Wok take out and a movie on Netflix. read more

This was my second stop on this summer's tour of local Chinese carry out. As before, I ordered the sesame chicken from the lunch menu. Service was very fast and the price point was the same $5. This time, no egg roll was included, but the sauce was closer to the ideal that I had invented in my mind and there was plenty of it. The serving was more than ample, plus this time the seemingly normal broccoli was part of the dish. Since this is a full star rating system, I've awarded an additional star where a half star was probably warranted read more

I thought this place was pretty average as far as Chinese food goes. Decided to try it out because other reviewers mention the plethora of vegetarian options. On the menu itself there are no more vegetarian options than most Chinese places offer. However, they will vegetarian-ize most of the meat dishes (I got General Tso's Tofu). That said, it was not the greatest tofu I've had--kind of mushy, sauce was a bit watery (...or oily...honestly I couldn't tell which). It also was not spicy at all. I'm sure they'll make it spicier if you ask, so if you like your food spicy you should probably request it. My food tasted alright and was definitely a generous portion, plenty for leftovers. Service was quick and the place looked clean. The food was just very...average. read more

Food at First Wok is delicious and comes in a large portion. My favorite dish is "House Special Angel Hair" that comes with shrimp, chicken, and bbq pork. I also love "General Tso's Chicken" because the chicken is crispy and the sauce is just well-balanced. Just call before leaving home, and never have to wait upon arrival. Great value! read more

Food is ok not wonderful but the lady at the counter acts as if she hates her job or the customers which makes going there an unpleasant experience so now i go to the chinese takout by shnucks. Better food too read more

Although is very americanized chinese food, the taste is pretty good for the cheap price. Esp lunch, 5 bucks can get you lots of food. Better for take out, not a lot of seating area. read more

This place is excellent relative to other Chinese take-out places in C-U. The food is is made quickly to order and is very tasty. We usually get their orange chicken, lo mein, and hunan triple delight. The meat is tender and their orange chicken has delicious sauce. You also get a lot of food for the price. Obviously this isn't gourmet food, but as long as you go in knowing that it's take-out level then you won't be disappointed. As mentioned in previous posts the staff don't speak much and seem grumpy. However they are all business and just don't want to make small talk. It's all business. read more

The food is ok. Don't bother asking for spicy they dont pay attention. No one smiles or acts friendly. The lady behind the counter acts as if waiting on you is a bother. Egg foo young was fine. Surprised I got a thank you with no eye contact when I received my food but she was yawning while she said it. The chinese take out by Schnucks (China Garden) is much better. Food ok, service miserable. read more

The people's and the food here are some of of the best I've had. My god son will not go anywhere Wales to eat orange chicken, the first wok is close to my home so we do not have to travel fare for good food read more

I absolutely love this place. Anytime I'm in CU I have their chicken fried rice and egg rolls!

I'm so glad Yelp has added verbal descriptions for the star system as, "Meh. I've experienced better." perfectly sums up my feelings. I got something marked "spicy" on the menu and barely felt any heat, nor tasted any seasoning. It wasn't a terrible experience, but judging from many of the other reviews here, I expected better. **Update** So I gave the place a 2nd try (orange chicken) a few months ago which didn't turn out to be that bad, not great, but not bad. I went there again today, ordered the szechuan chicken and was very dissapointed. Yet again, supposed to be spicy, yet just tasted like MSG gravy, no flavor, no spice, just umami and cornstarch. I'm guessing that there are probably dishes that aren't bad, but so far, all I've gotten was bland. That coupled with the abrupt, bordering on rude woman who works the front desk and I'm not sure if I want to find out what those decent dishes are. read more

Cheap take out, a little bit too greasy.. nice portion sizes, but the quality of the restaurant has decreased a lot! I don't know if they rush cooking it to be fast but I rather wait for it to taste like it used to than it does now. Sometimes the food needs a bit more flavor. It's obviously not authentic Chinese food but it used to be better than it is now. Mongolian beef and beef brócoli are my favorite things from there. read more

Never gives total over the phone. Order is always ready fast."like scary fast". No matter how many times I've asked or no matter how hard I emphasize that I like spicy! It never is! read more

This place is awesome. It's tucked away next to the County Market in Urbana (I drove around looking for it and almost missed it), and it was hopping when I was there (I think a Thursday evening around 6 or 7). They have a full takeout menu and then on the side of the wall they've stapled cardboard to the wall and written specials on it. I don't know how often these change, but they are very reasonably priced ($4-6 and come with rice). I ordered the subgum wonton soup and the hunan vegetables (special). The subgum wonton soup was huge and had vegetables, plump wontons, the most tender white meat chicken I've ever had, slices of roast pork, and big succulent shrimp. The broth was very nicely flavored and I will definitely get it again. The hunan vegetables had snow peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, carrots, broccoli, peppers, and tofu in the delectable hunan sauce (my favorite). This food fed me for two meals, and could feed anyone with a normal appetite more. I will be back many many times. read more

I have lived here in the CHAMBANA area for 20 years now, and this is the only place I go to get great tasting, affordable Chinese cuisine. They don't waste their money in fadish decor but instead puts the money into providing fresh and quality produce and meat in your meals! Don't waste your money on restaurants with gaudy store fronts because their food can be a digestive hazard. Try FIRST WOK and experience a happy culinary experience. read more

Great food and properly packed for takeout. Service (phone & order pickup) was meh, so probably not great for sit-down unless you don't car about service at all. read more

The perfect Chinese take-out restaurant needs to be three things: fast, simple, and consistent in its deliciousness. First Wok meets all three. Speed is key. I live a few blocks away, and when I make the decision to get Chinese food, I want that Chinese food right then. First Wok is spectacular in this regard. One call, a quick run-through of the items I want, and it's done. This isn't the place you all if you want to hmm and hah through the options. I've found it best to have everything planned out. Usually they'll list your order back to you, but sometimes they won't. Sometimes they'll tell you "ten, fifteen minutes," but most of the time they won't. But you'll show up fifteen minutes later and your food will be ready to go. And that food will be delicious. I always order the cashew chicken, the beef with broccoli, the beef lo mein, and some hot and sour soup. They're all magnificent, in that greasy, inexpensive take-out way, and they're all good reheated for days and days. On the downside, I will note that I have had the smallest of mistakes in my orders. Once they left out the crunchy things that go on the soup. Another time they game me a small item when I had ordered a large. Nothing major, I was never overcharged, and these are the only such occurrences in close to three years of regular patronage. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

Price is great, quick service, good food, good portions. In not so desirable neighborhood. Situational awareness!!!!!

Best Chinese Food in CU. If you can't handle MSG this is where you should eat! Order over the phone and pick up in 10-15 minutes! my son loves their food. i usually order the beef with broccoli, crab meat rangoon (best in town), sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour shrimp (best in town) and shrimp fired rice. read more

This place is the best. For decades, I have been coming to First Wok for take out. Simply the most imaginative Chinese in Urbana Champaign. When I die, I want my ashes scattered over this place. read more