There’s many places to get Taiwanese pork chop over rice in New York. If you recall, there’s even a place called Excellent Pork Chop House on Doyers. Well, forget that place (at least for pork chops) because Hua Ji Pork Chop Fast Food is the MOST EXCELLENT pork chop house.
What makes the pork chop “most excellent?” The pork chops at Hua Ji are extra crunchy without being dried out. That’s the problem with most places. The pork chop might be crunchy, but it’ll also taste like greasy, compressed cardboard. You might as well eat a chicken breast. Sure the pork chops at Hua Ji are greasy too (they are after all par-fried and then deep fried again in a fryolator after you place your order), but when you take a bite, the pork chops are crunchy and juicy. Well-seasoned too, with a good amount of five-spice and salt.
You can order a singular pork chop with nothing else, but to make it more of a meal, I always order pork chop over rice ($5; pictured above), which will then come with cabbage and the very important pork sauce. I love the stuff, the more the better. If you’ve never had it, it’s a tasty brown sauce made of ground pork and pickled mustard greens. Unfortunately, Hua Ji sometimes skimps on the pickled greens, one day you’ll get a lot and on another practically none, but even still, the food is never short of fabulous.
Black pepper pork chop over rice ($5) is good too, but I prefer the regular pork chop over rice. I find the pepper sauce a little too acidic in a “ketchupy” way. The pork chop itself though is always most excellent.
Hua Ji Pork Chop Fast Food
7 Allen Street (b/n Division & Canal St; map)
New York, NY 10002
212-219-9876
