Hosive

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis:

this entry is parts chinese and parts street food. growing up in nyc and heading down to chinatown for chinese school, church and cheap eats….we ate here a lot. they are known for their fried pork chops and chicken legs over rice…with the egg! never forget the (optional)egg-the prized treasure of the meal! it does not come with the meal but it is a must have to complete the experience.

back in the day it was called mei wah but strangely, its been renamed wah mei??? happened when i was away from the city between 1990-2005.

the food’s the same though…. super fast, super cheap, super greasy, super bad for you and yet super yummy. most of the food is deep fried in front of you and then slathered with this mystery meat sauce from a cauldron that looks like its been in existence for decades. in other words, unless you are introduced to it by an insider, you are unlikely to try it….but once you do, you’ll come to see things our way.

there’s no place to eat….so its all take out…though there is a counter to “sit” at and eat in a contorted position. this is a true hall in the wall. barely one room that barely fits the kitchen.

i got the pork chop with pepper sauce and this is $5 worth or there abouts. some parts of chinatown got caught in a time warp and still exist in the 80’s and early 90’s.

now, i can’t eat this every week….just every once in awhile but it was one of the first meals i got when i returned back to nyc three years ago. you can take me out of the cult but you can’t take the cult out of me…..and mei wah or wah mei has a cult following. many don’t even know the name of it….its just that tiny place where you get pork chops over rice.