Longtime Lexington Chinese restaurant under new ownership, gets menu update
Pete’s Wok, a Lexington staple for Chinese, has stirred its last fry ... but don’t despair because there’s a new pan in town.
The Wok is now open at 537 Waller Avenue in the same spot occupied for years by Pete’s Wok, which closed in mid-September when owner Pete Spencer sold the business to his nephew, Hoang Duong Jr..
The new owner of The Wok said his restaurant will serve Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian dishes, often with a cultural twist.
Such as the “pho-rrito,” rice noodles, fresh Thai basil, cilantro, steak, bean sprouts, hoisin and sriracha stuff into a flour tortilla.
“We want to stand out,” Duong said. “We’ll still serve typical dishes like sweet and sour and General Tso’s, but we want to have a good variety of ethnic food, including Vietnam and Thai, and we’ll do things with a different twist.”
He said the menu also have vegetarian and vegan options available. The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner.
“We’re fully operational right now, and we’re doing delivery all over town,” he said. “You can order through the web site, or Chow Now. DoorDash is coming shortly.”
According to Duong, the menu is gluten-free, with no MSG, all-natural vegetables and proteins and made from scratch sauces.
“The idea is not be be like every other Chinese restaurant. The idea is to take all the good from the traditional ways and combine them with progressive cooking and infuse flavors from all over the world, including our own back yard in Kentucky,” he said.
He hopes to use locally sourced ingredients when he can. “But there aren’t too many people growing bamboo shoots in Kentucky,” he joked.
Duong is a former chef and general manager at DV8 Kitchen and the third generation of chefs in his family. His grandmother Mai Spencer, uncle Pete Spencer and father Hoang Duong Sr. have owned Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants in Lexington for the last three decades, he said.
They started with Mr. Wok, then the original Pete’s Wok near the old Kennedy Bookstore by the University of Kentucky, he said. The restaurant moved to its current location about eight years ago.
The Wok
Where: 537 Waller Ave
Hours: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday - Thursday; 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 12:30 - 9 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 859-255-7383
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 6:33 AM with the headline "Longtime Lexington Chinese restaurant under new ownership, gets menu update."
