Excellent Pork Chop House 06-14-2012

Location: 3 Doyers St.
Time: 7:30pm
People: 13 Ramen and Friends: RoRo, Alexis, JLam, JBH & Friend, BLee, RK, CB, Yasmin, Merry, Kavie, RB and myself

Feelings: At our Ramen and Friends group outings, we usually try to venture out to the most exotic, peculiar places, but sometimes all we need is just an excellent place. Such a place is Excellent Pork Chop House. Deep in the alley of Doyers in Chinatown, Excellent Pork Chop House offers a clean, hearty Taiwanese style cooking at an exceptionally reasonable price.

On Thursday night, the restaurant was packed with locals and families, and more and more kept coming. I was worried about the large group, but they were able to easily accommodate us without any issues. The service was possibly faster than any fast food joint. We ordered, and a few minutes later, our dishes started to arrive before our eyes like a magic trick. "The service was super fast. Our food came out within minutes of our order," Yasmin added.

The menu features tasty variety of appetizers, Taiwanese shaved ice, noodles, rice cakes, soups and what else--pork chop. BLee said, "I thought the pork chop lived up to its name: it was excellent, with great flavor. The portions were huge and great value." Merry also thought the pork chop which was seasoned with five-spice was nice and flavorful, but not overpowering.

For appetizers, cold dishes are highly recommended. The jellyfish with garlic sauce ($3.50) was fresh, and the subtle, refreshing flavor certainly would be a perfect dish for the warm months ahead.  The marinated seaweed and dried bean curd ($3.50) was also excellent with noodle like seaweed and chewy texture of dried bean curd.

The portion for my shrimp noodle soup ($5.25) was large, and it was subtly flavored. It was certainly out-shined by various pork chops nearby but quite chewy and tasty nonetheless.

What makes this place stand out more is its Taiwanese shaved ice, which comes with three toppings of your choice. I am almost 34, and I can have dessert for dinner whether the server judges me or not. Although the ice was not as soft and fine as what we had hoped for, there is nothing better than having that special treat on the dinner table.

If you are ever in the grungy street of Doyers, stop by at this excellent, Excellent Pork Chop House for some pork chop, cold appetizers and shaved ice for an introduction to Taiwanese cuisine. They will not disappoint.