At Tigawok, robot chefs cook up traditional Asian cuisine that anyone could mistake for their mother’s cooking. The restaurant’s affordable and colorful mini bowls allow diners to sample a variety of flavors without emptying their wallets.
Tigawok opened on Sept. 28 in Irvine as part of a three-location chain that began in Los Angeles. Situated in the Walnut Village Center, the restaurant emphasizes affordability and speed with individual bowls priced from $4 to $7.
Upon entering Tigawok’s modern turquoise-themed interior, customers head to the counter, choose their base of rice or noodles and add a selection of main and side dishes to their tray. Options include flavored meat bowls and traditionally cooked veggie dishes, as well as Wagyu curry, pork buns and soup dumplings.
As lovers of Szechuan cuisine, the Kung Pao chicken delightfully surprised us with a spiciness that sizzled our tongues and tempted us to eat more. We finished the entire dish and even enjoyed the crunchy pieces of celery that were drenched in the rich, umami broth which could serve as a sauce by itself. This dish does contain peanuts, but if you’re allergic to the extra crunch, you still have a multitude of other dishes available to you.
Another one of our favorites was the zesty shredded chicken. Being the only cold dish on the menu, its lack of wok hei excited our taste buds with its tangy lemon-filled flavor inspired by Thai cuisine. Even for chicken connoisseurs like ourselves, the meat was cooked to perfection with the right amount of tenderness that melted in our mouths.
Sadly, one disappointment was the pork bun, which sucked out the richness of the meat with its sheer amount of dough, leaving us gasping for air as we reached for our glasses of lemonade.
Despite having no cooks flipping the wok, Tigawok manages to make sure all customers feel welcome and receive a human experience when dining. This includes a small, homey storefront with just a few dining tables and waitstaff trained to always abide by the age-old rule that the customer is always right.
“Whenever [customers] come back and say, ‘Can we change this item or can we have more,’ we always smile and say, ‘Yes, you can,” server Kevin Hernandez said. “We always want what’s best for our customers, because at the end of the day, they’re giving us their hard-earned money.”
No meal is perfect, but Tigawok is faultless in reminding any SoCal Asian of returning home to their Asian classics. This might not be your mother’s cooking, but it sure tastes like it.
