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China House on Gessner Becomes Asian Wok

The renovated interior of the newly renamed Asian Wok on Gessner.

Nobody would guess it from the sign, but China House—a family-run eatery long beloved by residents of the Sharpstown/Braeburn area—is under new management.

The familiar exterior conceals a newly renovated interior. Now called Asian Wok, the restaurant offers new spicy Szechuan dishes in addition to classic menu items.

The deceptively familiar exterior of Asian Wok on 9/26/24.

The dining area is the first portion to sport a new look: crisp, minimalist, white tables and gray booths. A lemon water dispensers sits on the long, open countertop in front of the register where a server waits to take takeout orders or direct dine-in customers to their seats. Behind the counter, the old black-and-white letter-board menu has been replaced by two LED TVs displaying the new Szechuan menu. (But servers will still give dine-in customers laminated paper menus.)

The dining room's open floor plan, with widely spaced tables, allows servers to maneuver quickly, attending to refills, orders, and other customer needs. Even though the room holds chairs for forty and booths for twenty-eight, it was nearly empty at noon on a Thursday, with one woman dining in a booth and one takeout customer sitting near the counter.

Maggie, a new manager, said that previous customers can still have their favorite meals, but “we want them to like the food better than before.” Asian Wok is keeping the lunch and dinner specials from China House but adding Szechuan cuisine and planning to add alcoholic drinks.

Szechuan food (also called Sichuan) is known for mala, a spicy, mouth-numbing combo of Sichuan peppercorns and red chile peppers that originated in the Sichuan province of southwestern China. Asian Wok's Szechuan menu includes drunken pork ribs, whole grilled tilapia, pineapple fried rice, spicy hot pot wings, and more.

Manager Wenyen Liu, who goes by the English name Leo, said that his aunt managed China House and still owns Asian Wok, but that she retired and transferred management. So it appears that it's still a family business but has been passed to a new generation.

Liu said that the restaurant has ties to the Asian Wok in the Katy area (well, Fulshear). For now, the sign outside the Gessner location still says "China House," but the finishing touches of the renovation will include a new paint job and sign change outside.

The meal that reporter Aileen Aviles ordered on 9/16/24. Image Credits: Aileen Aviles.

Reporter Aileen Aviles visited the restaurant on Monday, 9/16, and experienced the lunch special: a delicious wonton soup paired with richly thick and savory teriyaki sauce drenched over beef and crunchy broccoli. She looks forward to coming back when the sign outside reads "Asian Wok."