Taiwan Pork Chop House
“This place is kind of awkward to find but the food is tasty, especially the chicken leg over rice that I always used to get.”
“The soup isn't too salty, which I liked, and if it's too bland you can add some chili oil which makes the flavor really great.”
“The dish consisted of 1 fried pork chop, sour pickled vegetables, and minced meat sauce over rice.”
Taiwan Pork Chop House
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We really wanted a taste of home, and Taiwan Pork Chop House didn't cut it. We were extremely excited by all the positive reviews saying that this restaurant had authentic Taiwanese food (which is difficult to find). We came here for lunch and ordered a smattering of dishes.
Beef Noodle soup: while this soup didn't taste bad, it also did not taste like any niu rou mian we've ever had in Taiwan. The broth was thin, and light brown instead of the dark brown/reddish it usually is. It was also not full bodied like one would expect from niu rou mian broth. The noodles were overcooked leading them to be too soft, and the rest of the ingredients were just ok.
Oyster pancake: contained very few oysters. The pancake was much thicker than the ones in Taiwan and was very mushy in the center. This seemed more like a korean seafood pancake than a taiwanese oyster pancake.
Popcorn chicken: While this dish was reminiscent of street cart chicken, it fell too far short. There was not enough seasoning and basil was absent.
Pork chop over rice: The pork chop was tender and flavorful, but the rest of the dish was bad. They attempted to do the rice Taiwanese breakfast style with minced pork+sauce but ended up with a very strange tasting rice that none of us wanted to try more than once.
Dumpling in chili oil: The dumplings weren't good, the chili oil was the wrong type. Overall a not good dish.
We really wanted this to be the place that we could get a taste of home, but we were sadly disappointed. Maybe they were having an off day, but we won't be back to find out.
At 10:30am, I was hungry for lunch. I came across a review for this place and someone stated that they deliver to the financial district (which is where I am). I was super excited and put in an order at 10:45am. Don't judge me.
There's a $15 minimum order for delivery. I ordered $19 worth for just myself. Don't judge me.
They arrived about 25 minutes later which is much quicker than I expected since they are in chinatown and I am in FIDI. I purposely ordered before the lunch rush so that I could get my food without a long wait. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, people.
Now on to the food. I ordered the spicy wonton appetizer. They were out of this world. Even though the delicate wonton shells were sticking to each other by the time they got to me, one bite into the spicy oil and spices and I was completely blown away. Seems like such a simple dish, there's so much flavor. This wonton is a must eat.
Next I tried the salt and pepper chicken which came in a brown bag. Little bite-sized morsels of fried chicken doused in salt and black pepper. It was very flavorful and not greasy at all. I shared with my coworkers who were all very happy with it.
I then tried the pork chop and rice combo. The pork chop was decent. It was a nice large and juicy piece. I like when they leave the fat in. The minced pork sauce underneath didnt really blow me away. May Wah is still KING in this area. May Wah's sauce is greasier and saltier but that's where the flavor's at. Be sure to pick up a jug of water after the meal as the wicked thirst is guaranteed to kick in after such a meal.
And finally, I tried the beef stew noodle soup. The noodles came in a separate container to prevent the noodles from soaking up all the soup and breaking down the noodles before the customer gets to it. The broth was good. Had good flavor and is typical of this dish. Ive had this at other places where the broth was super bland. As I sit here typing this, I can almost feel the MSG film enveloping the insides of my mouth. I wish they didnt use so much MSG and just stuck with natural flavoring such as bowling bones for many hours to get the flavors (like ramen) or using chicken broth. For about $5 a dish, I suppose ain't nobody got time for that!
All in all, it was a great meal. I now need a gallon of water and a nap but it was all well worth it!
This place has been around quite a long time and I'm happy to see they're still doing so well on Yelp. We came here just for some Shaved Ice on a hot summer afternoon after being out walking in the city for some time. Arriving around 3 in the afternoon the place was quite empty but the AC was running quite strong. Place can be a bit hard to find if you never been here but as long as you find Doyers St. I think they have pretty good signage.
Anyway their TW shaved ice is as traditional as you can get. Generous portions for only $3.5-4 and the toppings tasted great. I would recommend the grass jelly and condensed milk if you're bit new to the shaved ice dessert. I gotten one with everything and was bit surprised to see sweet corn worked out well on shaved ice.
Place is cash only as others have mentioned but that doesn't come as a surprise for places in Chinatown. Very friendly and quick service. I had a great time here and would recommend anyone looking for some tasty old school Taiwanese food
Not bad and inexpensive, but not that special.
Oh, and one really cool thing is that they have a menu book which shows a clear pic of pretty much every single dish. Totally awesome aide to help you order.
Salt & Pepper chicken: not bad and authentic/ definitely reminds me of Taiwan. But if I'm comparing to popcorn chicken in the area, the spicy popcorn chicken at Vivi bubble tea is where it's at.
Tofu and seaweed: not bad.
Jelly fish and cucumbers: good
Beef stew: not bad. Broth is average, meat is tender.
Eggs: good
Spinach: good. The garlic on the side is pretty tasty.
Anyways, was fun ordering a bunch of dishes and the place has a nice family run feel to it. Just didn't get anything that would have me going back.
I have heard about this place form different friends and finally found a chance to visit it. We had the signature dish, pork chop over rice plus fried chicken leg! The pork chop was absolutely amazing. It reminds me those lunch boxes I used to have in Taiwan; It was very Asian style! The Fried chicken leg was crispy but a bit small.
My husband and I both got thirsty after the meal. I guess they might put too much salt in the pork rice. Even thought it was a bit salty, we still enjoyed our meal. I can't wait to come back and try different dishes!
I've only been here for a takeout order of their Chicken Leg over Rice and whenever I speak about a Taiwanese Chicken Leg or Pork Chop over Rice dish I can't help but compare it to the other 2 popular spots for it, May Wah and Hua Ji. Quite frankly, May Wah is THE gold standard for Taiwainese rice dishes and comparitvely speaking, Taiwan Pork Chop house's version of the popular dish is not bad at all.
The Chicken Leg was fried really well and the chicken was very juicy. I dare to say that their Fried Chicklen Leg might actually be better than May Wah's! Yes, I said it! It's a very close race, but both are just about neck in neck in that department. In addition to the Chicken Leg, the dish had minced beef, green vegetables and the usual pickled mustard greens. The only thing lacking was the minced beef sauce that May Wah is so famous for. Taiwan Pork Chop House's Chicken Leg over Rice included the minced beef, but the dish is jus tnot complete without the sauce.
If you happen to be in the Chatham Square area and don't feel like walking over to May Wah, Taiwan Pork Chop House definitely makes for a good alternative when it comes to the infamous Chicken Leg over Rice. Except for the missing minced beef sauce, the rice dish is about as spot on as I have ever tried.
I'm a fan of this little not-exactly-a-hole-in-the-wall. For less than $10, you can get an appetizer/side dish and a main, and the portions are not skimpy! They offer a decent variety of vegetarian dishes, despite the name of the restaurant espousing their pork chop dishes. Service is super prompt, food tastes like stuff my friends' moms would make for us when I was in grade school, and I'm a fan of their dried chili flake oil thing that they have available on every table.
Worth stopping by for a quick lunch, if you happen to be in Chinatown!
As Apotheke likes to advertise, Doyers Street is definitely off the beaten path. However, I'd say the little detour is worth it for those in pursuit of a good, filling lunch on a Chinatown budget (less worth it for Apotheke, but that's another review.) I can't speak to Taiwan Pork Chop House's authenticity, but the other reviewers seem to affirm it.
What I can attest to is their namesake pork chop over rice. I can gripe about the occasional tough bit of pork, but overall it was a very tasty pork chop. Surprisingly, it was the "over rice" that proved to be the real star, with pickled cabbage and a kind of minced meat sauce carrying the heft of the sour-savory flavor. My advice is to mix it with the rice to ensure flavor in every single bite. It went down quite nicely with the green tea on offer.
Decor is traditional Chinese-restaurant-in-America; a lot of red and gold, a lot of fu manchu-sporting caricatures, etc. It's small, quiet, in fact empty when I went in for lunch. Staff is polite but distant, the photo album menu is a big help if you don't know what you're looking at and the full menu is posted for those with a more discerning eye.