The Whistle Wok may be the world's only Chinese take-out/dine-in restaurant with a railroad theme.
The Whistle Wok actually began life as The Whistle Stop, a sandwich and ice cream place. As in the Dairy Keen in Heber City, there was a model train than ran around a track at the top of the walls near the ceiling. There were also pictures of trains on the wall.
I don't remember ever going to the Whistle Stop, and it didn't last long. But the Chinese place that replaced it has become an American Fork institution. I suppose it was to save money, but the new owners just changed the name from Whistle Stop to Whistle Wok and kept the train theme. (The pictures on the wall and the model train and tracks are still there, but I've never seen the train running.) They also continue to serve ice cream.
The Whistle Wok does a brisk business. The food is typical Chinese American fare: garlic beef, sweet and sour pork, General Tso's chicken, orange chicken, cashew chicken, egg rolls, won tons, etc. Occasionally, they'll have something a little unique (like the sesame-paste pineapple dumplings they were handing out tonight). But most of it is just what you would find at similar places (including Panda Express or Smith's in AF). And it's cheap. In addition, where else can you get hand-scooped ice cream to go with your kung pow chicken? With ice cream, trains, noodles, and finger foods, it's a great place for kids.
We go on occasion when AnneMarie gets a craving for hot and sour soup. Their soup needs to be hotter and more sour, but it's still pretty good for $1.69. It's the perfect remedy for when AM has a cold. It also brings back fond memories of going with her mother to the popular Golden Gate in Mesa, Arizona, which has great hot and sour soup. (I also liked their lemon chicken.)
The Whistle Wok tried to open a second location on the west side of American Fork over by Sears in what would seem like a better location, but perhaps one Whistle Wok is enough.
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I'm pretty sure we did try the Whistle Stop when we first moved to American Fork (almost 14 1/2 years ago), but it was only once. I don't remember anything except that we went, so the food/ice cream must have been just ok.
Whistle Wok is the only place I've found hot & sour soup that is somewhat close to that of Golden Gate's (in AZ near where I grew up), so it's become my staple for comfort Chinese food. (Just as Mi Ranchito in AF is my staple for comfort Mexican food, but that's another comment on another post). I looked up some recipes for the soup, but there are so many ingredients I don't just have on hand, that it would be quite a production to make it. So, I'll fork over the $3 for a large serving of Whistle Wok's hot & sour soup and a small coke every once in a while to satisfy the craving.
I've always avoided it because I thought it was strange to serve ice cream and chinese together. I'll have to give it a try now.
I was just now thinking about my favorite place for Chinese - Whistle Wok. It had great food for a great price. I loved their Orange Chicken that had a crunchy crust, their lemonade (where else can you get great homemade lemonade with your Chinese?), and my all-time favorite - Garlic Chicken. Mmmm, I'm drooling just thinking about it.
Sadly, a couple years ago things changed. The food didn't seem to be as high quality, there weren't as many customers, and the whole atmosphere changed. Then one day we went over there again to find it locked in the middle of the day. Our favorite place for Chinese was apparently gone. At least, that's how it appeared. We still can't find ANY place we really like.
Now as I was thinking about it I happened to wonder if perhaps they might be back, or maybe they just moved, or something to that effect. That's when I found this blog mentioning how great Whistle Wok is, and it was written just this past year!
So my question is, hoping beyond hope, is Whistle Wok still there? Are they still alive? Is their food just as wonderful and cheap as it used to be? Or if it is truelly forever gone is there anywhere else that could even compare? Is there somewhere I could get my Garlic Chicken fix or get some nice crunchy Orange Chicken?
There were two Whistle Wok restaurants: the original over by Albertson's in AF and a second location that was in the retail black hole across from Smith's on the other side of town. We never tried that one. I guess some people might not like either location, but as far as I know, the original is still open. It's not the best Chinese ever, but I like a lot of what they have. I remember though that the last time we went the hot and sour was a little disappointing. Maybe it depends who is making it that day. Call ahead.
The original store near Albertsons was sold to somebody else but part of the agreement allowed the original owner to open a new restaurant with the same name and menu. The new owner used less meat and smaller portions and the food never tasted quite the same. The new store by Smiths still had the same good taste and large portions and when the new owners of the Albertsons store went out of business, the original owners moved back in. Best red chicken ever!
Thanks for the update. It's good to know that the original owners are back in the original location. We went there the other night.
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