The Magic Wok

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ocweeklybestof | Costa Mesa, CA | 160 Reviews

Write your local politicians, people, and tell them you want to annex Artesia (and its prettier sister, Cerritos), so they'll become part of OC. Why? To claim Magic Wok—arguably the best Filipino restaurant in California—for ourselves. Not to be confused with the Chinese takeout chain of the same name, every dish here is cooked to order, priced no more than $6 and made just like nanay would. There's a whole deep-fried, bone-in pork leg, served with its chicharrones still attached as rind, covering blubbery fat, chewy gristle and stringy flesh. They call it "crispy pata," a dish that serves as a reminder that the best way to eat pork is never when it's branded as "the other white meat." So, c'mon, let's start the campaign—plus, when we succeed, we get Little India as part of the booty.