The menu does contain some smaller (in price and quantity) traditional dishes that I think set Dot Wo apart from the typical buffet restaurant. One that I enjoyed was the Combination Noodle Soup with beef, chicken, and shrimp. Made with bok choy, the vegetables were probably the best part of it. The broth was quite flavorful also, and a sign that care was taken to make the soup in the proper manner, with no shortcuts taken to save time or money. The shrimp was more enjoyable to me than the beef or chicken, and customers can order the type of meat they want.

Mixed vegetable clay pot with tofu

The Mixed Vegetable Clay Pot with Tofu (or tofu hot pot) is another one of my favorite dishes from the menu, but it can be confusing because there are two menus (this one is on the regular menu, and a "Chinese menu" is also available). Many of the "Chinese menu" hot pot dishes are so large they are intended to serve more than one person, and I thought the tofu hot pot was almost at the point that I had trouble eating it all. I actually ate this dish several times at the Edmond restaurant before I ordered it here, and both were equally good. The sauce was an outstanding feature of the hot pot, although it seemed to have a very dark color compared to most authentic Cantonese style dishes. The tofu was also very good, and the vegetables might have been a little better than at the Edmond Dot Wo. I enjoyed the dish quite a bit, and it was one of the better ones that I have tried in OKC.

The specials and the traditional food on the menu are predominantly Cantonese style. This is non-spicy food with a high use of rice noodles, garlic, ginger, and other spices. Surprisingly, though, some of the best dishes at the restaurant seem to be spicy ones from the Szechuan and Hunan regions.

One such spicy dish (although not spicy by Szechuan standards) is Kung Pao Chicken. I do not mind even if this dish is not very authentic (although I do not know whether it is or not) because the sauce is a step above just about anywhere else in Oklahoma City (and most of the rest of the country, for that matter). Kung pao tofu has been one of my favorite dishes at the Edmond Dot Wo, but is not served at the Portland location. The chicken dish, though, has the same sauce, and many would probably think was just as good or better than the tofu (although I am not among them). Even if I would prefer that they serve tofu, everyone else in my family likes the chicken, and I would have to say it is one of the best plates served here.

To me the Hot and Sour Soup at Dot Wo is hands down the best in Oklahoma City. It comes in a small bowl with lunch specials but it is so good I do not mind paying for it when I order a dinner plate. Of couse hot and sour soup is not Cantonese, but they do it so well at Dot Wo it does not really matter whether it traditionally goes with Cantonese food. Like the kung pao plates, the soup is not all that spicy by Chinese standards, but I think that is one reason it is so popular.

When I ordered fish I did not care for it as much as the fish I have eaten at Chow's Chinese Restaurant. I think the difference is that Chow's serves fish as specials depending on what is fresh at the market, while the one I ordered at Dot Wo was on the menu and therefore not necessarily the freshest variety available. The specials at Dot Wo are mainly seafood (shellfish) items, and the shrimp I have tried has been quite good. My general impression is that the seafood at Dot Wo is better than the fish, and ordering the specials probably results in fresher fish than ordering from the menu. It would probably be a good idea, though, to ask the servers what they would recommend.

I seem to have developed a better rapport with the people at the Edmond Dot Wo than at the original restaurant, and because of this I tend to have better experiences there. In terms of food, though, I would have to say that the Portland Avenue location is just as good (it should be, since both restaurants have the same owner). The specials available at this location probably make it a better choice for traditional Chinese food, although I cannot see that many of them would be suitable for a single person eating lunch when most people do not have a large amount of time, money, or appetite. They would be good for sharing, though, particularly when the chefs are given the time to prepare some of these dishes that take more time than the typical stir-fried lunch specials. My intention is to visit the Portland location a lot more frequently than in the past, although I am certainly not abandoning the Edmond restaurant.