Roast Pork at Wah Fung #1 Fast Food – NYC
1) Delicious? Check.
2) Cheap? Check.
3) Abdominal Distress? Check.
Some things sound too good to be true. Like magic berries that make you lose weight without exercise, girl… you know it’s not going to happen. So when I first read about the $2.25 Roast Pork over Rice at Wah Fung on Serious Eats, I knew there had to be a catch. But I went anyway, and ordered the roast pork over rice, which by the way is now $2.50. If roast pork is not your thing, you can get chicken instead, but as you all know, pork is definitely my thing. Your protein of choice also comes with vegetables or noodles. Vegetables is either cabbage, broccoli, or yardlong beans, or some variation of whatever is available at the moment. When I ordered, a tray of broccoli was just brought out from the back, so I got broccoli and cabbage.
Again, considering the roast pork was only $2.50, I wasn’t expecting much. The pork was more sweet than I would have liked and some pieces were definitely dry and not too fresh. Once in a while, I would bite into a a juicy sticky morsel, but those bites were few and far in between. The broccoli, slightly yellow around the edges, had also seen better days. Portion-wise though, I couldn’t complaint. The container was jam packed with pork. The man behind the counter makes sure to pile on the meat and then closes the baby up by pressing the plastic lid down with one hand and folding the foil edges over with the other. Overall, the meal, although not mind-blowing, was still passable at the crazy rock-bottom price of $2.50. Of course, that’s what I thought until I got sick. It wasn’t major, but I was definitely uncomfortable for the next two days. Obviously, I can’t unequivocally say it was the pork. I eat questionable foods every day, but I do know that Wah Fung was the only new place I ate at two days before the minor abdominal distress. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.
So will I go back? Crazy enough, I bet I will. I probably won’t in the near future, but one day I may find myself hungry in Chinatown with only $2.50 in my pocket. I’ll probably try to resist, but the long line winding out the tiny shop will somehow convince me all those people can’t be wrong. If that day ever does come, I’ll let you know the outcome, two days later. Until then, remember, you’ve been warned.
Wah Fung #1 Fast Food
79 Chrystie Street (betw Canal St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10002
This place makes me weep tears of happiness… especially since you can smell it from about 2 blocks away! 🙂
I’m a bit worried about pork not being fresh. it’s easy to buy good products without them being dangerous to the stomach.
Sweet pic of the chopping block. And I hear ya. My stomach’s been hurting for weeks and I don’t know what the culprit is. Although I still don’t stop eating the questionable food. Here’s to questionable food!
THis place also have steamed rice noodle, fish balls, and other stir-fries. Try those instead. Won’t break your bank as well. 🙂 Hope you’re feeling better by now.
@Nicholas – Yes, you can definitely smell it, but in a good way.
@wb – I agree, unless meat is cured or aged properly, meat freshness is extremely important!
@Jason – It’s true, trying new things makes eating out, and life in general, more exciting.
@kim – Thanks, I’m completely back to normal. In fact, I was thinking I need to go to Chinatown tomorrow for some jerky!
I was just in CT today and got some Vietnamese lunch. No BBQ for me today I guess. There was a food giveaway at Colombus Park, but the line was so long (obviously, it’s free food). Wish I was at the beach instead of CT though. Did you get your beef jerky?
@kim – Yes, I did! Spicy pork from Malaysian Jerky. Mmmm.
me and soohyun had the BEST roasted pork & duck over rice in hong kong.. it was local that people were shock to see us.. we had 2 dishes and 1 vegetable and it came out to be $7… why don’t we meet in HK soon?!?
@joohyun – Meeting in HK for duck and roast pork would be so much fun!!!