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    Rolling Wok

    4.3 (107 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese, Vietnamese, Thai
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Rolling Wok Photos

    Business Info

    ROLLING WOK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Rolling Wok

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    Papaya salad combo with chicken wings
    Anh N.

    Moved from Iowa but came back to visit and Rolling Wok was a must do on our list! Best Thai /Vietnamese hands down. Can't find any papaya salad that compares in Texas or any other places. Service is great and food will not disappoint! Lunch gets busy and parking can fill up quick! Thai iced coffee - do it Papaya salad combo - absolutely do it Pho - fantastic and flavorful Noodle dishes (pad se ew etc...) -yum Tom yum - good mixture is spicy sweet and sour Chicken wings - fresh crispy and juicy Green curry - lots of veggies, fresh tasting Spice levels- do anything between 3-5 and your sinuses will clear out! *no this was not all for me but I helped myself to others dishes

    Deliciously seasoned fried chicken wings with a spicy & Smokey-flavored dipping sauce! I recommend dipping with sticky rice as well!
    Lotus S.

    Looking for authentic Lao Food? Rolling Wok is definitely one of Des Moines' gems for amazing food and service! Located in a Mexican plaza on Grand, the place does stand out! I've tried some Thai dishes, but I tend to lean towards the Lao selection. Drunken Noodle here has a deliciously Smokey flavor and they generously serve it with veggies and meats! It's actually not an overload of noodles! The papaya salad and sticky rice combos with deliciously seasoned fried chicken wings are on point. The Heavenly beef is also a delicious option for those who are beef jerky lovers. Let's just say, if you love beef jerky, Rolling Wok's beef jerky is definitely in competition for the best options you can possibly find served in a restaurant. I've tried the Kapoon and have been extremely satisfied and delighted to find the dish as it's not always easy to find. Some restaurants may have it on hand if you ask, but it's not on the menu like it is here. This place is that cross btwn a hole in the wall, and moderate dining. I would say it's comfortable for family dinners as long as you don't mind not having a booth and your primary focus is to eat GOOD FOOD! The plaza it's located in is a fun cultural venture as well!

    Wonton soup with yellow egg noodles
    Amy C.

    We went on a Sunday and they were pretty busy. The staff were friendly and accommodating. It's a small place. The Pho soup was delicious, only 1 size to choose from but it was a huge bowl. The egg rolls were so good, great sauce with them. They had a tv above the bar which was great so we watched march madness. We will be going back.

    Shrimp in a blanket! I do not come here without ordering this!
    Bill L.

    This was the first Asian restaurant I have eaten at in Des Moines when I first moved here a few years back. This restaurant is tucked in the plaza surrounded by Mexican restaurants and businesses. Parking can be difficult at times since it is a small lot shared by multiple businesses. The food here us great! I have eaten here countless times and have not had an unpleasant experience. They have southeast Asian dishes that other Asian restaurants do not have. Usually the same staff is working and they are very friendly. Their bubble tea drinks here are well made. It is never crowded here which makes for a good, calm eating environment. I will continue to eat here often. You must try their shrimp in a blanket appetizer here!

    Lots of vegetarian options
    Angie M.

    Tried the Pho today it was flavorful and in a huge dish! Sticky rice is served in a steamer and perfect!

    Drinks menu
    Vishal K.

    Ordered Hunan and Schezwan chicken.. It was awesome.. This is a hidden gem in middle of nowhwhere. Will visit again. Looking forward to visit with more friends. While i was there, i found more repeat customers as these folks knew most of them. Food is amazing. Authentic chinese and Vietnamese..

    Khang pad
    Malerie P.

    Wow wow wow!!! I had the Khang pad (I think). A beautiful blend of coconut milk and red curry that blew my taste buds away. Baby eggplant with other veggies made a healthy dinner. The restaurant is quaint; The price was right, and with the variety of Chinese, Lao, Vietnamese or Thai, you can't go wrong!

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    8 months ago

    Love the sausage and sticky rice! Be patient when they are busy. Great family business.

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    3 years ago

    Love this place. Excellent Lo Mein and Mongolian. They're a regular haunt of ours. Highly recommend.

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    10 years ago

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    6 years ago

    I come to this spot every time I'm in Des moines. Sticky rice and Beef jersey for the win. Pho here is amazing.

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    7 years ago

    I love Rolling Wok! The kao piek is my favorite and so is the chicken wings and papaya to go along with it!

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    6 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Best pad Thai ever!!!!!!!!!!!! So easy call ahead, pick up, easy check out, get home and dig in! I'd give 10 stars if I could!!

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    5 years ago

    The food is absolutely delicious, lots of flavor and very authentic! One of my go to places I definitely recommend.

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    8 years ago

    Delicious food and excellent service. The drunken noodles are phenomenal...we added tofu and it was some of the best I've ever had!

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    A Dong Restaurant

    A Dong Restaurant

    3.9
    (355 reviews)
    2.3 mi
    $$

    3.8* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 3* Value: 5*…read more Service: 3* Would I go back / Recommend?: 4* (Probably) Total check/person: $22 08/02/2025 While this place has an admittedly non-descript brick exterior and clean but average interior, I appreciated it most for what it was: solid Vietnamese food at a great value, served with a family-owned feel. Biggest disappointment was that while alcohol options showed on the menu, they were unable to serve any alcohol - claiming that their liquor license had not yet been renewed. I was craving a spring roll with peanut sauce, so to start things off, we ordered #90 Bo Bia steamed spring rolls with shredded shrimp, carrots and sausage served with plum sauce (see picture). While the wrap was thicker than the 'paper' wraps that I'm used to, they were very good - and I really liked the plum sauce. My wife was undecided and our very helpful waiter Archie, suggested #69 Com Ga Chien Xa Ot (chicken breast fried with spicy lemon grass - see picture). It was good, but both of us would have preferred a bit more spice, as we ended up adding Siracha at the table. I was considering #99 Banh Xeo Vietnamese style crispy pancake stuffed with shrimp, pork & veggies based on the menu picture, but Archie talked me into #97 Banh Tam Bi Xiu Mai udon noodles with shredded pork, steamed pork meatballs and veggies instead (see picture). I was impressed with the coconut milk and lemon sauce that he poured over it when served with the instructions to stir it all together - very tasty combination of savory, sweet and tart, with a very slight spiciness. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow.

    Pho is an individual taste that checks all your palate boxes of freshness, well seasoned broth, a…read morevariety of herbs and veggies that sends the dish into obit. My chicken pho was good with the knowledgeable wait staff knowing which number would meet my needs. The calmness of the environment allowed me to enjoy all the enticing ingredients to the max.

    Photos
    A Dong Restaurant
    Cream Cheese Shrimp Egg Roll & Sauce
    Cream Cheese Shrimp Egg Roll & Sauce
    A Dong Restaurant

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    Pho 515

    Pho 515

    4.1
    (121 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$

    Ha well yes we got to try this one for pho And other…read moregoodie's See the pix Just over 50 bucks for two with some apps Crab Rangoon and shrimp roles and spring rolls New menu is posted as well Service was good busy prime time just after noon Yea the large pho was enough for two! So 1/2 came home for eve snack! Short hours just open for lunch only Closed on Thursday Cards ok for payment

    I was really disappointed with our experience at Pho 515. Unfortunately, both the food and the…read moreservice fell well below expectations. Our table ordered the bún bò Huế, brisket pho, shaking beef, and a vermicelli bowl. The food was, at best, below average. The bún bò Huế was especially disappointing--it had an overwhelmingly fishy flavor and was extremely heavy on the shrimp paste, making it difficult to enjoy. The bigger issue, however, was the service. When ordering the bún bò Huế, I specifically requested no pork hock and no pork blood tofu. While eating, I found what appeared to be pork blood tofu. When I brought it to the server's attention, he went back to inspect the bowl and then informed me it was actually ham. I explained that I had requested the pork items be omitted. His response was that I "didn't say no ham." The problem is that ham was never listed as an ingredient on the menu. He even brought the menu over to prove it was listed, only for the menu to confirm that it wasn't. Rather than acknowledging the misunderstanding, he continued to argue that I should have known to ask for no ham. If an ingredient isn't disclosed on the menu, how would a customer know to request it be removed? A much better response would have been to ask whether I also wanted the ham omitted when I requested the other pork ingredients be left out. Mistakes happen, but how they're handled matters. Instead of trying to make it right, the staff became defensive and argumentative. That left a much worse impression than the food itself. I rarely leave negative reviews, but this was an experience I won't be repeating. I would not return.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    D3. Mi Quang Noodle Soup
    D3. Mi Quang Noodle Soup
    Mango Boba Drink

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    Mango Boba Drink
    Pho All Seasons

    Pho All Seasons

    4.3
    (185 reviews)
    2.3 mi
    $

    After a long work week in Ames and having good, but mostly American/Western food, we needed an…read moreethnic fix. Enter my comfort zone, Pho from my motherland. I knew we were in the right place when we walked I. And half of the restaurant were Vietnamese peeps. Was a warming experiencing hearing patrons throw a few traditional Lunar New Year greetings at each other and the owners. It's a small mom and pop shop, so much so, pop was the sole soldier working the entire front of the house. As such, don't expect super fast service, but good service nonetheless. We started with the fresh spring rolls, which were good, and their fried egg rolls, which I probably won't order again. The egg rolls were pretty much veggies, loosely filled, and served with a sweet and sour type dipping sauce. It was more of an Americanized Chinese style egg roll, not a Vietnamese cha gio with nouc cham. I ordered the pho dac biet and it was VERY good. The large is HUGE. Most places back home have suffered from shrink-flation and large bowls are tiny now. Not this place, I struggled to finish the bowl. My friends got the seafood pho, and another got the pho ga (chicken). I of course did not slide my chopsticks in theirs and swipe a bite, but they said they enjoyed theirs. I would definitely come back here again and maybe try some of their other dishes.

    First timer! Friday dinner time and were seated right away. Friendly service. Food came out really…read morefast - tasty dishes.

    Photos
    Casual but friendly dining room.
    Casual but friendly dining room.
    Pho All Seasons
    Pho All Seasons
    Not so great egg roll. More like American Chinese style, not a Vietnamese cha gio

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    Not so great egg roll. More like American Chinese style, not a Vietnamese cha gio
    TNT Vietnamese Restaurant

    TNT Vietnamese Restaurant

    4.2
    (46 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $

    When walking up to this place, you're first greeted by the wafting smell of deliciousness. If you…read moreweren't hungry before, you're starving now. You walk in and it's a typical mom and pop Asian restaurant. It's crowded with almost every table full at 1pm. The front is staffed with 2 workers going as fast as they can. I was amazed at the variety of Vietnamese dishes this place served. It went far beyond your bowl of pho and grilled pork on rice. They had hot pot and family style fried fish, caramelized catfish, and sweet and sour soup to go with a bowl of rice. The server was friendly and the food came out fast once we placed our order. We started with the spring rolls which had a good amount of shrimp and pork paired with a peanut sauce. Pretty satisfied with this appetizer. We then had the banh hoi or woven vermicelli with crispy pork belly. This was swerved with a plate of mint, cilantro, lettuce, and a couple of other greens that I don't know the names of. The pork was perfect and crisp. Noodles were warm and when wrapped with the pork veggies and dipped in nuoc Cham(dipping sauce), every bite had you going back for more. I love an interactive dish that takes some assembly. Next was the rice paper salad, which wasn't on the menu, but I showed them a picture from Yelp, and he said they had it! This was my first time trying this dish and it was a plateful of so many savory flavors. Every flavor meshed so well together as well as the textures. Highly recommend this one. Finally the banh uot was a classic that I can't seem to find at most places. Like the previous dishes, it did not disappoint. The pork was seasoned and grilled to perfection lined with sides of cucumber, pickled daikon and carrots, and lettuce. Nuoc Cham was perfectly mixed as well. Overall, one of the better Vietnamese places I've tried in the US. Probably the best in the Midwest. Would come here every day if I lived in the area. I was highly satisfied.

    Stopped by for quick banh mi to go. Bread was soft and crunchy and the meat was flavorful. They…read moreportioned the pickled vegetables well too. They were a tad small but I think they matched the price well.

    Photos
    Goi cuon. Spring rolls.
    Goi cuon. Spring rolls.
    Banh hoi. Woven vermicelli with crispy pork belly
    Banh hoi. Woven vermicelli with crispy pork belly
    Banh Trang tron and banh hoi. Rice paper salad and woven vermicelli with crispy pork belly

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    Banh Trang tron and banh hoi. Rice paper salad and woven vermicelli with crispy pork belly
    All Phở You

    All Phở You

    4.1
    (68 reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$

    The food is EXCELLENT here; dirty wings are nice and crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the…read moreinside. The Pho is a heavenly light broth with mild or spicy flavor as one chooses, while filled with noodles and generous helpings of meat or vegetables of your choice. Other choices of dishes from Thai or Chinese regions are well made with a wonderful scent, zing to the sauces and visual appeal that makes everyone at the table envious or hoping for a sample that might be shared. Service and price are exquisite, too! A great spot to get the right food when you want something a little different, this is my new go-to spot.

    It's been about two years since i've updated my review and it says a lot about the restaurant that…read moreit's been there as long as it has. It's conveniently located in the strip mall with plenty of parking..it's the same mall off of University with Campbell's health foods, Hy-Vee pharmacy, Frederich's coffee. This restaurant still has that old time mom and pop Asian family feel it's a definite classic type vibe with Auntie snd the neices up front taking orders and the rest of the family in the back cooking and putting to go orders together. I always like to support a locally owned business. It's also about expectations, everyone is under staffed, so I always appreciate the service staff who are working. Having said that the service was fast and efficient . It's also about being realistic about the food. This is not a mall based chain restaurant or a high end bistro somewhere. The food was well prepared hot and delicious. This is a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant. So there's lots of variety in the menu. I have had the build your own Pho, Korean style Kalbi ribs. They also have Hunan Chinese style dishes, i have tried Mongolian beef, combination fried rice and potstickers. I also have tried the pork fried egg rolls. I usually go for a late lunch early dinner. I talked to the owner and asked her how they made their soup and she said they boiled bones and added their own spices which is the traditional way to do things, I think they have a good soup base, all soup comes with sprouts and fresh Thai basil, I usually add bok choy, brisket and steak. They have plenty of other Vietnamese dishes too. I have enjoyed their pork vermicelli which is a cool salad type dish which is nice on a hot day. Some of my friends really enjoy their chicken wings. So there's still a good option with lots of choices, good staff and reasonable prices.

    Photos
    All Phở You
    All Pho You Special.
    All Pho You Special.
    Front of the restaurant

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    Front of the restaurant
    Pho 85 - Ankeny

    Pho 85 - Ankeny

    4.2
    (110 reviews)
    8.2 mi
    $

    Definitely worth a visit! Their pho is incredible, affordable, and it comes out very quickly! For…read moreanyone who isn't absolutely starving, I'd say a small or medium size would be perfect. Their large bowl is absolutely giant! I highly recommend the #2, which is the raw steak and brisket. It comes with a heaping plate of bean sprouts, jalapeños, limes, and cilantro you can put into the pho, as well as some chili garlic oil and another teriyaki-ish type sauce. Every bit of the meal was absolutely fantastic!

    Time to update my review…read more I was craving Pho. I know that this is the best place in Ankeny for me to kill the craving. Walked in on a early evening and got the last table available. Greeted warmly by a young man who sat us. Another young lady came and got our drink orders. Tvs are on at both ends of the small restaurant but not turned up. Music plays from the overhead speakers. I ordered us the shrimp spring rolls. I just love soaking them in the peanut sauce that comes with them. I ordered the small well done brisket and tendon. Yum. Pho comes with a plate of basil leaves, jalapeños and, bean spouts to add to your broth as you want. It comes out hot and delicious. Hubby got the chicken pad tai. He liked it. I got to take some of my soup home with me to have later. I really enjoy this little place. Lots of people walking in for pick up too. All great signs of a good place to eat.

    Photos
    Pho 85 - Ankeny
    7K. Chicken Pad Thai Topped with Peanut
    7K. Chicken Pad Thai Topped with Peanut
    Spring rolls and mussels

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    Spring rolls and mussels

    Rolling Wok - chinese - Updated August 2026

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