St. Louis Restaurant Review has reviewed Wok Express, 12209 Dorsett Rd, Maryland Heights, Missouri.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO (StLouisRestaurantReview) Typically, higher-rated restaurants charge more. It is not easy to find a restaurant that offers excellent food and service at affordable prices and has owners who genuinely love and appreciate their customers.
We found one! We met with Bruce Ji, owner of Wok Express, at 12209 Dorsett Rd in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
He was gracious enough to give us significant time to interview him and discuss his restaurants and plans.
He migrated from Nanjin, China, to the US in 2002 to be a student at Webster University, where he obtained his MBA. After graduating, he worked for ScottTrade as a stockbroker until he decided to own a business.
So, his entrepreneurial journey began by buying this restaurant from the previous owners, who were aging and tired from the pandemic. He was accompanied and supported by his wife, whom he met while both were students at Webster University, down the path of becoming a restaurant owner. Today, he has two children and two restaurants.
In February 2024, he opened the second location at 647 Big Bend, Manchester, Missouri 63021, Phone: +1 636-391-8330.
While interviewing Ji, I noticed that he appears calm, appreciative, and humble in his business approach, which seems to be how he manages the restaurants.
He has visions of a chain and is researching new concepts to help enhance the concept he uses as his model now. His education, executive experience at Scott Trade, and attitude are certain qualities of success.
His philosophy is that they love and serve their neighbors, and his primary objective is quality, fast food, and service. When you read the online reviews, many customers reinforce this attitude by commenting on how fast the food and service are.
We found an essential fact that we know is vital to many of the readers: the Health Inspection Scores, which range from a low of 97% to 100%. This illustrates a sincere sense of ownership pride.
Another important fact that we appreciate is that everything is made from scratch, with no frozen food served. Again, the chef has worked at this location for 21 years, illustrating a solid and reliable business model.
That is our perspective of the owner, but as our readers know, we promote the ratings because they are based on hundreds of customers, which is a better measure than one person.
We love to work with family-owned restaurants that need the additional recognition and support of some relevant media groups. We expect the chain to continue to improve and grow based on the owner’s education, attitude, and philosophy toward life and business. Some reviews are lower than they deserve, but having a previous owner sometimes does not accurately reflect the new ownership until the public recognizes the changes and improvements.
Nonetheless, let the ratings speak for themselves.
Wok Express – Maryland Heights, MO, online ratings are as follows as of November 21, 2024, at 7:00 am:
- Google – 4.0 Stars with 659 online customer reviews
- Facebook – No Facebook page yet
- Yelp – 3.5 Stars with 123 online customer reviews – we strongly disagree with Yelp, which is normal.
- TripAdvisor – 4.0 Bubbles with 34 online customer reviews
- DoorDash – 4.5 Stars with 500+ online customer reviews
- GrubHub – 4.5 Stars with 141 online customer reviews
- Uber – 4.3 Stars with 450+ online customer reviews
- STL.Directory – 5 Stars with two online customer reviews
Average Rating – 4.25 Stars – using seven major platforms
Additionally, on Nextdoor, Wok Express has 227 Hearts and was awarded the “Neighborhood Fave” for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, as of November 21, 2024.
On September 29, 2022, FOX2Now recognized them in an article titled “The trick to find the best Chinese food in St. Louis.”
On March 28, 2023, Stacker.com recognized Wok Express in an article titled “Highest-rated Chinese restaurants in St. Louis, according to Tripadvisor.”
On April 14, 2023, Fox2Now recognized them as one of the best Chinese restaurants in St. Louis. The list was determined using information from TripAdvisor. CLICK to view the information on Fox2Now.com.
If this doesn’t impress you, I don’t know what would.
I expect the ratings to increase as his management skills will turn customers who might have had a negative experience before Ji bought the business. If you look at the DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber ratings, they consistently range from 4.3 to 4.5, which is higher than the reviews before the pandemic, such as Yelp and Google.
Wok Express – top-10 best-selling items are as follows and in order according to their sales report:
- Crab Rangoon
- General Tso Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Sweet & Sour Chicken
- Chicken Wings
- Egg Rolls
- Fried Potstickers
- Sesame Chicken
- Lo Mein
- Beef with Broccoli
Additionally, they have eleven (11) Party Tray Specials that are perfect for the upcoming holiday seasons. Please call the appropriate location to order the party tray.
This review refers explicitly to the Maryland Heights, MO location. The Wok Express addresses and phone numbers are as follows:
Wok Express – this location
12209 Dorsett Rd
Maryland Heights, Missouri 63043
Phone: +1 314-291-6821
Wok Express
647 Big Bend
Manchester, Missouri 63021
Phone: +1 636-391-8330
STL.News covered this story as well.
USPress.News covered this story as well.
Additional resources:
Martin Smith is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of St. Louis Restaurant Review, STL.News, USPress.News, and STL.Directory. He is a member of the United States Press Agency (ID: 31659) and the US Press Agency.
