Excellent Pork Chop House

Tags

cheap lunch, chinatown, chinese, NYC, pork chop, Restaurant Review, restaurant reviews

Happy New Year!

While I am anxious to share with you the incredibly exciting and memorable evening I had with my love over the new year, I decided to change things up a little bit by posting a review. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you would know that I used to have a happy balance between restaurant reviews and recipes. And when I moved to Brooklyn, just 7 short months ago, I began cooking more at home. I do still enjoy an evening out or even some take out on the couch but the things I have been most passionate about are the things that I create myself.

I also acknowledge that quite a few of my closest friends consider themselves “kitchen challenged” and while they love the food porn, they really want to know where they can get a great meal in the city.

Today, I grant them that wish.

The other day, during the lull in the office between the holidays, I ventured out to Chinatown for lunch with a colleague. With it being the holiday season, Chinatown was bursting with tourists. My craving for dim sum brought me to my favorite Chinatown landmark but the hordes of people waiting outside for tables led me to search for a new place to dine with 45 precious minutes remaining of my lunch hour.

A few steps over on this awkward and very small street in Chinatown I came across Excellent Pork Chop House. It had been bookmarked on my yelp account for almost a year and while I always had it in the back of my mind, now was good a time as any since it was right in front of me in a time of need.

This place is not fancy.

It’s kind of dingy actually. But to me, it has personality. It wasn’t totally empty. The people that were dining seemed happy. The place smelled great. Like pork chops. (for obvious reasons).  Me and my guest seated ourselves and were given photo albums by a smiley older woman.  I am pretty good at navigating menus but I loved the idea of this photo album. It took away the uneasiness, especially for my guest, of ordering from a new place. With the photo album depicting every item on their menu, I had a better idea of what I was in the mood for.

One thing that is blatantly clear when you are dining at Excellent Pork Chop House is their unabashed use of MSG. Those three infamous letters are everywhere on the menus, just in case you missed it. MSG gets a bad rap. Personally, I don’t mind it. Its purpose in food is to enhance the flavor.

So, after being notified of the addition of MSG, I continued to browse through the album and then I spotted it.

Pork Chop and lo mein.

The photo made it look so appetizing. And this lo mein was unlike any I have tried before. The noodles tasted hand pulled. They were fresh tasting and were tender and not too chewy. They were not greasy. They were savory with crumbled pork and fermented greens on top. The combination was hefty for a measly $5.25.

The pork chop was fried but was not dry. It was one of the best tasting pork chops I have had outside of moms house. I loved the combination of the greens and savory pork with the noodles. I probably shouldn’t have, but I ate the entire thing.

My guest ordered the house made wonton soup. A fresh and clean tasting broth with plump little dumplings floating around made for a delectable and light lunch for $4.

We made note to come back.

The service isn’t top notch. But the staff are not rude. If you need something, a simple wave of your hand or a nod in their direction ought to do it.

This place is cash only. But with lunch for two costing less than $10… you read that right…. this is a place you really need to try.

I have since been back several times. Even once for dinner. Sometimes you just need a bowl full of noodles.

Oh, and you have the option of ordering pork chops a la carte. $2.50 a pop.

Kung Pao Chicken

Tags

chicken, chinese, healthy, take out

Getting back into the swing of things. Or trying to. We all know now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the rest of the year is going to zoom by. While it might not make a HUGE difference, I am looking to shave a few calories here and there…before the slew of cakes and pies start making their way to my kitchen.

To meet halfway, I opted for a stir fry of sorts for the likes of BR. We can eat healthy, just so long as there is meat. I love every opportunity to incorporate veggies into dinner!

This recipe was quick to get going. Makes it perfect for a week night or any time you need dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken (serves 4)

1 tablespoon canola olive oil, divided
4 cups broccoli florets, lightly steamed
1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger,divided
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/2 cup fat-free, chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 garlic cloves, minced

Method

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and 2 teaspoons ginger to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add water. Cover; cook 2 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Remove broccoli from pan; keep warm.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan; add remaining 1 teaspoon ginger, crushed red pepper, and chicken. Cook 4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Combine broth and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, and stir with a whisk. Add broth mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Return broccoli mixture to pan; toss to coat.

Serve over white rice.

BR had two heaping servings of “homemade take out”. There were no leftovers. I guess it’s a good thing this was a “light” recipe.

Wo Hop

Tags

chinese, dinner, lunch, Restaurant Review, take out

If there is one thing I know for certain, you should never deny a pregnant woman. My coworker and office wife, Karen was expecting during the first half of the year. For me, packing my lunch to the office everyday was a slippery slope because when Karen wanted lunch, it sometimes meant forgoing my packed lunch in favor of something she craved. It didn’t happen often but every now and again she would walk into my office, give me a serious face, and say “what am I going to have for lunch?” My reputation as a food lover was put to the test every day. When I returned Karen’s serious stare, I would think long and hard about the choices available to us. Working so close to Chinatown, our choices are usually Italian and Chinese. Our rotation kept things diverse despite the limited cuisine. Japanese, Italian, Dim Sum, Soup Dumplings, Noodles, Bahn Mi, and Deli fare.
On one particular day, Karen was feeling especially particular. Having moved to Pennsylvania one of the things she missed were those local Chinese take-out spots. While they certainly exist all over the place, she noticed a big difference in PA take out versus that ghetto fabulous Brooklyn take-out; AKA a Hood Spot. She said she wanted Chinese for lunch but considered taking the train to her old hood for some good old fashioned Chinese take-out.
Now, I know what you are thinking.
“You work in Chinatown! There are Chinese spots ALL OVER!”
Yes, you are right. But these places are legit. And these places are amazing. But sometimes, you want the big mac over the filet mignon.
That’s when I thought of Wo Hop. A lot of people come from All Over to dine at Wo Hop. Is it amazing? No. Is it fancy? No. Is it Cheap? Not really. But Wo Hop is open all night long and brings drunks from all over NY at all hours of the night. They have an upstairs location and a downstairs. Same kitchen. Different dining areas. I recommend avoiding the downstairs as it has that basement smell. But sit upstairs where its bright and non- basement smelling and you are sure to have a pretty decent meal.

When we were seated, we were immediately given black tea. Black tea that we loaded with sugar and drank happily. Since Karen was the one who craved Chinese, I let her do the ordering. We started with some spare ribs. Unlike the take out spots that I know, these ribs were not freakishly orange and they were pretty meaty. They had a nice char to them and a sweet sauce that wasn’t fake tasting or nauseating.

We got a HUGE plate of Shrimp fried rice. This rice was legit. It wasn’t overly greasy but it had a nice color to it and was full of all the wonderful things that I love about fried rice, especially the egg and sprouts.

To go with the rice, I suggested we ordered the Sesame Chicken. The sesame chicken was made with a brownish sauce, the sauce I commonly see is bright orange, and the pieces of chicken were hearty. We did not eat the broccoli.
And not pictured are the fried beef dumplings we should have put more thought into. They were tasty. However, as you can see, we had quite an abundance of food.
Wo Hop is never my finest dining hour but the food is consistent. And I only really crave it when I have had too much to drink. There are so many amazing Chinese spots in Chinatown but for those cravings, Wo Hop does just fine. Even if it is reminiscent of your “Hood Spot”.