Elite Event at The Brooklyn Wok Shop

Props to Peter D. for filling me up… uh, with food and drink and friends. :)
This was the first event in my epic saga of going to three Unilocal Events three days in a row in one week. I heart Chinese food to the max 24 hours a day all the time. I’ve been trying to come to terms with my dumpling problem for some time now, but alas. Anyhow, the Brooklyn Wok Shop event was awesome. I would describe the food and drink as good and enjoyable. However, one dish was just over the top absurdly tasty and I just couldn’t handle it. There was this signature beef short rib noodle dish. Oh my sweet pick your favorite deity, this was good. Dopamine tastes better than food, but not this dish. It was just unbelievable. Go there and eat it.
Finally, it was cool seeing that half of the place was filled with Queens people (bwahaha) not to mention Jando, who is awesome.

As always, the CMs and restauranteurs were WONDERFUL hosts! Williamsburg is a bit too hip for me but in a cozy atmosphere like this full of cool new and familiar people, I felt right at home.
Table service at a Unilocal event which included plenty of yummy wings and pork?! Aren’t you all jealous? (That question was rhetorical.)

Great event, and great job once again, Peter!
Rather than the usual set-​up of standing around mingling with other Unilocalers while servers brought out food in tasting-​sized portions, we sat down at different tables and the servers brought food out to the tables. I have to admit I loved this format because it gave me a reason to meet and talk to three Unilocalers whom I had not met.
Wok Shop’s location is, in my mind, a genius, because Williamsburg probably lacks authentic Chinese food, but also resides enough young people with enough disposable income for restaurants that are a little more upscale than diners or simple eateries. Unilocalers received a sampling of some of what the restaurant will be serving: shumai, roast pork with a delicious soy sauce-​based sauce, handmade noodles with beef, amongst others. Everything was delicious, and Wok Shop’s use of naturally raised meats sets it apart from the use of fatty cuts of meats that is traditionally used in Chinese cooking, in that the meats in their dishes are all lean.
I think this was my first BK elite event in quite a while, and it was great seeing the BK Unilocal crew, as well as meeting some new Unilocaler friends. For anybody reading this, if we have not yet connected as friends, please add me!

From Peter D’s invite, I knew immediately that we were going to be treated to a very cozy and intimate setting but I definitely did not expect a sit down. (whoot, whoot, what a treat!!)
Ironically, this restaurant reminded me between a mixture of Ippudo and Bark. On one side, it wall was entirely mounted with Asian soup bowls and on the other end, it was lined with fine yellow glossy wood that made it look hip and cool. Either case, Work-​a-​Wok was a nice surprise and their samplings were certainly delicious and super fine!!!
I especially enjoyed their pork and dried shrimp shumai. I couldn’t figure out exactly what was in it, but whatever it was, it was darn delicious! And what made it tasted even better were those Lulu drinks that were poured endlessly into those speak-​easy style chinese tea cup!!!
All-​in-​all, Peter D. and his amazing crew surely made Work-​a-​Wok a fantastic night! Everyone was super-​duper happy, including myself and seeing so many new faces was a sweet delight!

I love sit down food events…
The six point brevity Wilt was terrific.
The soup was great, home made noodles and all. I even liked the chicken wings. The feel of the restaurant is very quaint. It holds a lot more people than you would think. The staff was great and the statutes in the doorway were pretty cool!

«Since Brevity is the soul of wit, I shall be brief» — (Shakespeare in Love)
…and I fell in love with that beer.
Not a big beer drinker these days, but that brew was so nice and hoppy, it reminded me of batches of my own home brew from years ago. Very fresh.
Overall, the wings were the only thing that were «average» here, the pork, squid and signature soup dishes had a very clean flavor to them, and left me very satisfied.
I know I’ve fried my eardrums with my iPod over the last few years, but the acoustics in this space really made it loud, and difficult to hear.
Regardless, It’s always nice meeting new people and chatting with friends.
Thanks to Peter for putting this together. Brooklyn events are always fun.

I made the trek from Queens to my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. I was happy to see the place was packed when i arrived and even happier that my baby love saved me a seat… you might recall the pic in the official album of two divas smoochin. Lesbehonest– thats my Unilocal Wife.
I missed the shumai but heard it was tasty.
The cinnamon soy glazed wings were AWESOME… and 8 of us sat at a table staring at hte 5 wings preparing to duel with our chopsticks over who got to eat the wings.
The roast pork was like none i have ever tasted before. And our table was lucky to get an extra plate so as not to have to impale eachother over a strip of delicious pork.
The pies de resistance was hands down the short rib soup. Hand pulled noodles expertly cut into angel hair thin strands of noodley goodness. A broth that was fresh tasting and not heavy with oil. Chunks of asian greens and the most succulent short ribs chunks ever known to my mouth. I am visiting my parents in Williamsburg this weekend and I dream of a BUCKET of this soup.
We finished off the night with some tasty egg tarts.
I cannot neglect to mention the amazing LuLu B wine and Sixpoint Ale that kept us from getting thirsty. When i needed a beer, there was always a cold one nearby! and the beer was tasty too.
I definitely think Wok Shop will see me again, especially in 2012 when i move back to BK.

EVENT Review:
— Great Location and Got to get «INTIMATE» with most of the Unilocalers (Seating area and at least get to talk to them instead of just Drinking and eating).
— Small place, but Enought to catch up with 100 people within 2 hrs.
— Long Lost Unilocalers — Got reconnected — See you again
— Peter D. and Jando S. — Awesome CM’s and Thank you for introducing us the Chef /​Staff /​Food and Unilocal Freebies !
— Met new Peeps: Steve, Jin, Lauren, And many more.
RESTAURANT Review:
Décor — Simple and Modern, Love the Bowls Hanging by the Wall
Service — EXCELLENT!, they were quick, they were Super Friendly (even tho we were so demanding).
Food — Now this is the MOST important part. As a Half Asian. The food was very bland. Home made, Very Lean meats with Organic Products. Every Dish they brought out Was tipical chinese food. BUT with BETTER QUALITY MEATS AND INGREDIENTS.
Also, Thank you for Giving us a selection of Beer, Wine or HOT TEA (for nonalcoholic friends).
At the end, one of the staff handed us the Menu. Prices are a tad high, and limited selection. But I will come back and give it another shot as a regular customer.
Thank you Peter D and Unilocal Staff for a Great Event!

Lovely event. The sit-​down aspect was a really nice change. I felt like a real grown up. ;)
The Wok Shop owner’s speech was my favorite part of the evening. How adorable and genuine was he? I’m so glad we could be a part of spreading the word about this local mom-​and-​pop business. Good on ya, Peter D.
I loved those noodles at the end, even if everyone made fun of me for not using my chopsticks right. #whitepeopleproblems
The white wine from Lulu B was crisp and refreshing & the servers (especially Britton B.) totally worked the room like champs!
Thanks, Pita & Jando for hosting!

It doesn’t really feel like the holidays without an end-​of-​the-​year Unilocal celebration.
Nice, cozy location to cap the end of another Unilocal year in style. The place is as simply decorated as it is gorgeous! Service was impeccable, and among the various yummy things I had the opportunity to try I particularly enjoyed the handmade noodles: nice and chewy; of the perfect consistency! I definitely wish all the best to Edric and Melissa for their new culinary adventure.
This is the first elite event I ever attended that took place at a Chinese restaurant, and the first one where we got to sit at tables. I never realized that before, but 100+ Unilocalers sitting at a table make A LOT of noise!
A huge thank you to Peter, Alex, and Jane for another year of total awesomeness! Looking forward to an awesome 2012 already.
Also, the last elite event of the year is a great opportunity to discuss new fabulous ideas. On the wave of the raging success of our apple picking excursions this Fall, Raphael and I were discussing about it over dinner, and were considering going one-​up next year: apple picking in Raphael’s BMW 750i, fitted with an Illy cappuccino/​espresso maker. Pimp my apple picking! So, haute apple picking with Raffaele and Matteo in 2012; yay or nay?

I felt all fancy-​like here at this event eating a real sit down meal!
One of the few events I could remember where we all commandeered tables and acted all civilized and «adult». It was a break from the normal free for all’s, which I do enjoy anyway, but nice to have plates of tasty food brought over to us in a relaxed intimate setting.
Hey, I can never complain about drinking Six Point beer and the always wonderful Lulu B wines. That Six Point Brevity Wilt was terrific pairing with the eclectic Chinese fare we were served here. The staff kept coming by with fresh glasses of beer and wine so they knew what we liked!
We were treated to some tasty morsels throughout the evening — shumai with shrimp and pork, wings with a cinnamon soy glaze (messily good!), salt and pepper squid (calamari!), roast pork in brown sauce, egg custard tart for dessert, and their amazing signature beef short rib soup.
Me want that soup NOW! This was the real deal. You could noticed a hushed bit of silence come over the crowd as everyone dug into this ridiculously good noodle soup. The joyful sounds of slurping was prevalent at each table. Handmade noodles, soft and delicious short rib, bok choy, all in a delicious broth. Just a perfect type of soup to eat on a cold evening. If I would go back here for one thing it would be for a big bowl of that soup! Love!
This was all quality food — no greasiness or oily film on anything. I was impressed.
I have to say the owners/​hosts Edric and Melissa were fantastic. I spoke to both for a bit and both were very nice and humble. Everything they make is made from scratch here which is very impressive. The rest of the Wok Shop staff were also very nice and attentive to our needs. I wish them luck in this new endeavor. Very nice space too — lots of tables in a clean slick décor with a wall of bowls on one side.
Thanks again to Pete D and the Unilocal team for setting up another great event. Was able to hang out with some old friends, and also meet up with a few new Unilocalers that I had not met yet.

One of my new year goals for 2011 (since moving from Miami) was to get out of Manhattan and venture off to the other boroughs. I’m glad this event motivated me to venture off to Brooklyn again. Yes, free events motivate me.
Wow, Brooklyn Unilocal elite events are freaking awesome! I love the atmosphere: cozy, warm, and inviting. The use of neutral and wood colors was calming and felt like I was sitting in someone’s (crowded) living room. I love how there were tables and seats and that it was no +1’s, which forced us to mingle with our fellow Unilocal elites.
Shout out to my table for an awesome and fun conversation and to meeting new Unilocalers: Deshaun C, Jessica M, Saori E, Brian B!
Conceptually, the food was interesting and consisted of what I’d call a high-​end Asian Fusion collaboration, using fresh organic vegetables, hand-​pulled noodles, and free-​range organic meats.
The samples we received was generous and one of the best Unilocal elite events I’ve attended. Food was fresh, from the shu mai dumplings, chicken wings, honey glazed char siew pork, and the salt and pepper squid. The sauces accompanied by the dish was good (especially the wings). My favorite were the char siew pork (that sauce was really good)
The kicker was when we found out those were only the appetizers and we had some short rib (hand pulled) noodle soup. Noodles had a good consistency and the short ribs was juicy The soup could be better though, perhaps more seasoning into it? just some constructive criticism– I want them to do well!
Kudos to the awesome staffs and owners of Wok Shop for accommodating our needs. Hearing the owners speak was a nice touch; warmed my heart. Awwww.
Topped it off with an egg tart to complete the night of «sweet-​ness.»
Much «Xie Xie» to Peter D, Jando S, and the rest of the Unilocal team for pulling this off. I love Brooklyn’s Unilocal Events! Oops, have I just betrayed Manhattan’s?

I wish I were a soup thief, because I now know where to go to steal all the soup.
All of it.

I’m a big fan of these smaller intimate events. It is much more conducive for meeting members of the community and talking. The problem was that the space has no sound padding as it was very loud and you had to shout to have a conversation amongst your table. The space was quite nice and adorned a wall with a bunch of noodle soup bowls like Ippudo does.
The servers were all top notch — very friendly and very attentive ensuring food was plentiful and glasses were filled. The food was interesting as it definitely had a lot of traditional references but of course with a 2.0 spin (ex: the fried squid sauce had notes of worcestshire sauce). The wings were quite good with a sauce that reminds me of coffee-​spiced ribs, which probably comes from The Brooklyn Wok’s cinnamon and soy flavorings. The roast pork was not the char siu most would associate with Chinese roast pork but more reminiscent of the cold gelatinous pork my grandma makes. The one thing I didn’t like was the noodles. The soup lacked flavor and the noodles themselves felt and tasted a bit too generic or store bought.
Overall, I like the restaurant’s homey approach to Chinese food that the average person probably hasn’t tried before. I had a great time, met some great people, and can’t wait until the next event!

Brooklyn Wok was an awesome event. I saw so many Unilocalers I haven’t seen in a while because of my travels from NYC (Julia B, Phil H, Margaret T, Florence Y). I also met some newly elite cool Unilocalers (Rahsaan, Ava & Quana). Anyway let’s get to the food. So I tried the BBQ wings and fried pork tips which were yummy. I wish we were allowed to try actual dishes from their menu. The cup of noodle soup was so good that I practically inhaled it. I do like that they use naturally raised meats and are a socially responsible business. They also offer draft beer and wine for patrons.
Many thanks to the owners Melissa & Edric for welcoming a few dozen hungry Unilocalers into their establishment and thanks to their servers Joy and Joelle for making sure I was not deprived of food while mingling with other Unilocalers. Also thanks to Jando S for working the door and not letting any weird people in and, as always, mucho gracias to Señor Pedro for organizing another awesome elite event (AAEE).

Surprisly– intiimate, sit down dinner with new friends– Nancy C. and old Claire F, Will C. at a cutting edge Chinese called lovingly Brooklyn Wok.
This event was off the chain… starting off with Six Point Ale thank you.
We gabbed, ate, drank and did it again…
Loved the intro to the owners by our and BROOKLYN’s own Peter D.
This felt very much like a real Brooklyn event (my home borough) chatty, locally lovely
Fave foods–
Wings deepfried and slathered in a super tasty sauce
Calamari also coincidentally deep fried
Roast Pork in Brown sauce
Shumai with shrimp and porl
Short rib soup with hand pulled noodles.
Everything actually.
Emphasis on freshness and local ingredients here. Had a blast!!!

One of the best things about Unilocal events are the Unilocal staffers. I wonder if anyone else feels like Peter D et al are like the Amelie/​Travelocity gnomes that are everywhere all the time, greeting you with warmth and familiarity. It was great chatting it up with fellow Unilocalers and getting tasty eats. I loved the soup, that beef was so dang tender, and my favorite was the pork. I could tell that the sauce was made with love.
The best part of the night was hearing the owner, Edric graciously welcome us to his restaurant. I don’t know if the Lulu Malbec had anything to do with it, but I became a little ferklempt when he talked about his dream finally coming into fruition.
Great night for sure!

Love!
This was my first Elite event where we got to sit down to enjoy the food that came to the table! It definitely gave a different vibe.
Fantastic food — I couldn’t get enough of it all. I want more of the Beef Short Rib Noodle Soup, like pronto.
Great drinks — Lulu B wines, I love you.
The Brooklyn Wok Shop were amazing hosts to us, I felt like the servers went out of their way for us all night. I love the place and will return.
Thank you Peter D and Team Unilocal for organizing this lovely event.

Brooklyn Wok
+ Ingredients List
1. Two handsome Community Managers, Peter D. and Jando S.
2. Room full of Unilocal Elites ONLY
3. Warm welcoming from Chef Edric Har
4. Intimate table setting and casual atmosphere
5. A LOT of Chinese noodle bowls
6. Natural and fresh ingredients ONLY
+ Menu List
1. Wonton — I missed out because I was late.
2. Cinnamon Soy Glazed Wings — Missed out.
3. Roast Pork — Very good.
4. Salt & Pepper Squid — Very good.
5. Beef Short Rib Handmade Noodle Soup — Perfect for the cold weather.
6. Egg Custard Tart — Great dessert!
+ Drink List
1. Sixpoint’s Brevity Wit
2. Lulu B. Pinot Grigio and Malbec
= One delightful evening: D

Walk the Wok left me with a beer buzz, a smile and a belly full of noodles. It was an extra nice perk to have table service for the event, the Brooklyn Wok staff were great and really moved out the food and drinks quickly. Added bonus, I got to mingle with some fellow Unilocal elites. I learned from my table-​mates that there are apparently all kinds of free things I should be winning on the internet (apparently I’m a social media slacker!) right now and where to find good soupy dumplings in the city.
Brooklyn Wok earns bonus points from me for being a small restaurant owned by a couple. Like Traif, which is also in the neighborhood, the husband and wife team at Brooklyn Wok add that extra bit of adorable local flavor that pushes this place over the edge. The inside is small and intimate with noodle bowls flanking one wall and a photo collage the other. I sampled my way through the appetizers and didn’t have anything I didn’t like. The Chinese flavors were authentic to my experiences visiting the mainland, full of flavor but never greasy, with the added panache of a classically trained chef. I’m also a big fan of their beer list, which features Six Point brews plus a lot of other craft options.
Go here, drink the Sixpoint, eat the tiny glazed wings, and maybe acquire a table of new azian friends.