Taking a break from the kitchen on Friday evening we decided to take the messy-miniatures (4 and 6) to the local Chinese. Being a typically wet and windy October night we opted for the safety of the nearest to us which is Wao’s, attached to The Grange pub, right next to Aldi. In Grange.
The restaurant itself is small enough, I suppose typical of a suburban Chinese it plies most of its trade as a Take Away and boy was it busy with a steady stream of people in and out collecting bags of food. Wao’s also have the advantage of having a direct link to a pub, at 6pm we were a bit early for the Friday night curry brigade but it’s a great ‘one stop shop’ if you enjoy a few pints and a curry.
What I liked most about Wao’s is Joe. Joe (above) is the front of house guy and is eternally cheery which is a welcome breath of fresh air in today’s po-faced service industry. Joe makes the kids feel welcome and holds conversations with the adults as they wait for their take aways. He checks diners have what they need and checks the kitchen is keeping up. There should be a Joe everywhere. There should be a Joe in my local service station and there should be one at the checkout in Dunnes Stores. As for the food, it was average. The Won Tons were short on filling, the chicken curry was nice, the roast pork was plentiful and the rice was a bit sticky. Simply put it was a sit down take away. Joe visited during the meal to make sure we were OK and to steal some of the kids noodles, he told them if they finished their dinner he would give them ice cream and the deal was held up on both ends. The kids got their ice cream which was followed by lollipops and the promise of more ice-cream if they finished their dinner the next time.
The meal of Won Tons, Chicken Spring Roll, Chicken Curry, Roast Pork in BBQ Sauce, Two Fried Rice, a portion of Noodles, two cokes and a Bottle of Sauvignon Blanc came to €65. Eating out is not all about the quality of the food, its about the overall experience and what suits your needs at what time. Wao’s isn’t fine dining and nor is it advertised as such. No problems with Wao’s at all. Thanks Joe.
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