Wabi Sabi – Gates C70-99

I like the food, actually I love it. But the customer service is the most horrendous I’ve ever encountered. It’s easy to not care, hard to be so lacking on curtesy and aloof. There is clearly no fear of reprisal for treating customers is the most least respectful way possible. It would be great to talk to a manager or someone who cares but that does not seem to be a possibility. So I guess every time I am at this airport (at least 3 times a month) I will not be going there anymore.

Really cute restaurant façade but super mediocre food.
The appearance of this restaurant is really appealing… it has a super cute Asian flair and is even more appealing with the mélange of Asian snacks lining the counters as you order.
The menu is simple enough and you’d hope with the limited number of items, they’d get there offerings right. But it’s pretty on par with what you’d expect to get at an airport… sub-​par tasting food that’ll satiate your hunger but will leave you questioning your decision (should I have gotten that burger next door instead?).
I ordered the lo mein with chicken and my bf got the general tsos chicken. The lo mein was really bland and the General tsos was seasoned just not the way general tsos should be.
We’ll probably try other options if we end up back at this airport.

Wabi Sabi
NJ: Newark Airport: Terminal C
12pm Wednesday 18^th August 2015
Two Stars
There was no one in line which is always a bad sign but after watching the netflix documentary on General Tso’s chicken I wanted to try this famous dish $ 13. You are suppose to order at the Ipad and not at the cashier. Then once you order, you bring your ticket to the cashier to close out. It would seem like more efficient to both order and pay at either the ipad or the cashier, but whatever. The food was mediocre. There was plenty of undercooked rice and chicken. The chicken was not cooked fresh. Some pieces were soggy and some were too crispy. The meat itself was tender and juicy. The Sauce was actually spicy but lacked sweet and sesame. The broccoli was not very plentiful but was pretty tasty. Overall, this is a skip on the NJ airport food circuit.

Got an omelette and it was 50% raw! So disgusting. Took it over to the cashier and he chuckled. Requested my money back.

First of all, every place in the (Terminal C) food court is operated by the same company, so EWR passengers are doomed to mediocrity (what incentive does a monopoly have towards customer satisfaction?) Your best bet is the fresh fruit from Cibo Express (and it’s really fresh — they do a really good job of rotating product).
The food court forms a triangle, so depending on your approach, it will be across from Gate 75, 80, or 90.
This review is for the fried rice. If you want the short version, don’t order the fried rice.
THE GOOD: 1) Very generous portion. Lots of rice. Enough for two people. 2) It was steaming hot, being made-​to-​order. 3) It was FAST. Customers at the Italian place around the corner waited for 20 minutes (and then ended up with the wrong sandwich). 4) The employees were very, very cordial. For instance, when I asked one lady if they had sriracha, she went to the back for the bottle, filled a condiment container, then asked if that would be enough. 5) The shrimp were tasty. 6) The pork tasted like ham, which I’ve never had with a dish like this, but it was also quite tasty.
THE BAD: The rice wasn’t fried at all. It seemed to be freshly steamed rice stirred with oil. So, more oily rice than fried rice. I don’t know anyone who would have enjoyed this. And the rice on the bottom wasn’t even mixed with any oil — just steamed rice.
MY FIX: Mixed everything evenly, added TWO soy sauce packets (I would normally use no more than one), and the ENTIRE condiment container of sriracha (3 – 4 times the amount I’d normally use). All this just to make it edible.
THE SUMMARY: Only order this if you think you can convince the cook to crank the heat, use less oil, use soy sauce, stir thoroughly, and let it sit in the pan a few times, stirring in between.

I ordered a vegetarian Pad Thai. I realized then that I meant to order extra tofu on it. But the worker informed me that it was not possible to just change the order, or pay for extra tofu, without getting the manager to come over. They don’t know where the manager is. Well, okay.
I finally receive the vegetarian pad Thai and took it on the plane. Upon opening it I discovered it had an errant piece of pork in it instead. Now I am stuck on a plane having procured dinner with pork in it for someone who cannot eat any meal with pork in it for religious reasons. Also, it was really not very good and there was almost nothing in it besides greasy noodles.
Separately, while waiting for my pad Thai (for a long time), I see a bunch of boxes of food, about six of them, stacked and waiting out on the counter with no one picking them up. The workers seem perplexed at their presence and are discussing it among themselves. On the other hand, a bunch of us are waiting for food and not getting it.

Noodles were both spicy and bland if that’s possible.
Way overpriced.
Ridiculous process for ordering – iPad with a clerk standing 2 feet away.
Complete failure of a dining experience.

Gross. I feel gross because I just ate it and didn’t have money to buy something different. Do not get the pork buns. They are terrible! Trader joes frozen ones are far superior to these. The food takes 20+ minutes so plan for it. The wings are incredibly salty (I love salt usually) and have a jelly like consistency to the sauce. Check the pic out.

Ordered padthai. Not bad, but I think EWR forgot that we are at the airport and everyone is in a hurry, so all all try to order from food court. Take too long. I think the restaurant are trying, but I still think We need the old fashion Asian fast food that order get you food right away or the Resturent should have something that we can pick, pay and go

The food was o. k, but for $ 12 it is a lot more expensive than most other asian fast food at airports and I did not tast a difference. For this price tag I would have expected better. Moreover, an extra $ 1 for brown rice — why???
Also, the lady behind the counter was new and totally untrained (for example, she makes the customer bag their own purchase). Moreover, compared to other asian fast food places it took a long time (approx. 10 min) for the food to be prepared.
I won’t try this again.

DO NOT eat here! I ordered a vegetable fried rice, and like others have pointed out, it took 20 minutes, so I had to carry it on my flight and didn’t have time to eat. I brought it home and had it after my hour flight back to VA from Newark. I could have handled the late night dinner, but not the SNAIL I found in it. At first I thought it was a burnt pea. How in the world does that happen? Disgusting.

Well, where to start?
I first tried this eatery when all the eateries were «refreshed». It was a less than optimal experience but I decided to give this place another go as I had a hankering for some Asian food. The previous place which I think was called Asian Chao has been replaced by Wabi Sabi. The previous place wasn’t fantastic but it was consistent, the food was quick and good value. The new place is more expensive, inconsistent and poor customer service and finally poor quality food. The staff are indifferent and when I did get to interact with someone he was picking his teeth with a piece of chopstick. Very pleasant indeed.
I had two dishes on two different visits. The Pad Thai was greasy and cold in parts like it has been partially created in a microwave. The second time I had the Lo Mein and it was also greasy.
All the airport eateries and some retail has been refreshed but for the worse. It’s a shame that whomever owns EWR has decided to go down the route of creating a poorer experience in terms of quality and value for the consumer.

For overpriced airport food it wasn’t bad. I got the chicken lo mein, which didn’t feel as heavy as it does if you order it from any old Chinese joint, so that was a plus. It also had some kick to it as well, which I wasn’t expecting.
However the service is SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. Three people had to be refunded in the time we were waiting for our food because their flights were having their final calls for boarding. I suppose it’s not the worst thing in the world that it took them a while to cook the food since one can only hope that means it’s made fresh to order and not rotting under a heat lamp for a while. Just be warned, if you want to grab food 20 minutes before departure you might want to skip this place. If you have an hour to kill, you’ll be fine.

This is for the one near C-​124. Do customers look invisible to them? And the phrase «customer service» doesn’t exist in their dictionary or their training manual?
One of the worst customer service and customer experience ever. These people are slow, rude and some ego s@&$ going on that they just don’t treat customers like they should.
I miss the Asian Chaos that used to be here and it was a piss poor job for Newark airport to let some company monopolize the entire restaurant biz here.

Horrible service. Quick ordering process, but then have to wait eons to get your food. I’m still in line as we speak for what should be a very simple order. Do these people even know their customers have flights to catch!?! Will avoid next time.

Customer service is awful. The cashier had her back to me a full two minutes before acknowledging my presence only to in the most disinterested manner possible tell me to order via the tablet near the register. When I asked what was the difference between the sausage and the Chinese sausage, she shrugged and said, «one is more Chinese, I guess.» Food was so-​so, but based on this experience, this frequent flyer won’t be back.

Horrible customer service … Never seen it this bad. Multiple people around gave a look of shock to one another as the cashier cut off customers questions and rolled eyes.

Wow, they must have made major improvements cause the line was just never ending, the waft of greatly seasoned grub is what caught me across from UAL service center. I was sick of ‘airporty’ food after being stuck on day 2; my FINAL flight of lets say 4? was finally departing for good ol bumpkin Houston and my grub was taking forever. The counter lady sensed my HTFU, and kept recommunicating my order. I loved her sense of keeping everyone in order and being cognizant of schedules. It was 16bucks but HEY, ITS THE AIRPORT. !! It was guuuuuuud, tasted like proper chinese with all sorts of varied veggies and I liked their eclectic crab claws, so succulent, crisp and… Different! one of the claws hooked my inner lip i guess i sucked so hard 8) I was glad to scarf it down onboard w/​me as its seafood aroma’ was a great escape from my unsophisticated FONK after day2 of same clothes and encrusted… elements.

I got the pad Thai and even though I saw the cook prepare it fresh, the noodles and taste were average. You get quite a large portion, I could’ve shared. The low star is for service, which is really not existent.

I got the dim sum sampler, three dim sum items for $ 11. Individually, these three would have been about 15 – 16. I’m ok with overpriced things at airports as long as it’s actually good. This was not.
Act 1: shumai
Four tiny pale nickel sized cylinders of shrimp.
Act 2: wings
Six skinny oversauced chicken wings.
Act 3: pork egg rolls
The standout of the bunch. Pork and cabbage enclosed in crispy dough.
I should have ordered the rice bowl.