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This place is good to go to when you're feeling sick or have an upset stomach. The rice with yams is easy on the tummy. They have a nice selection of food, but don't always have the same thing all the time. The food is alright, can be oily at times, but I guess with the rice, a little oil is okay.
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Best place to go when you are sick, either phisically sick or homesick. Everyone agrees.
I don't see why people are complaining about the price. I thought it's quite reasonable. We got a huge thing of porridge, cabbage, lion heads(juicy tender meatball), and mapo tofu. Simple, tasty, like my mom makes at home. Not too greasy, not too salty, maybe without MSG (at least i didn't feel it afterwards).Exactly what we needed when my boy and I both had stomach flu.
We asked for taking away the left over porridge, they charged up $1.00. No big deal, it's cheap, but feels kinda weird. You get charged by taking away your leftover that they are going to dump anyways? But it turned out that they gave us a huge new container of porridge. It's so much that it'll probably last for 1-2 weeks.
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The Chinese name of this place is Wong Wong Qing Dsou or to that affect, i.e. Wong Wong's clear porridge. Interestingly in Mandarin, Wong Wong sounds phonetically identical to what a little Chinese or Taiwanese child might call a dog (ie the equivalent of "woof woof"), but rest assured there's no dog meat based porridge or small plate appetizer in here.
I've been here several times in the past 8 years and this place used to smell like ass once you go through the door. Luckily tonight the scent of butt nasty has gone for good! So kudos to PP for keeping the stench down (whatever it used to be).
This place doesn't seem entirely non Chinese friendly, didn't get a chance to glance at the menu tonight (did not do the ordering) but it basically goes like this.
1) You walk in and let the folks know behind the counter how many people in your party.
2) Behind the counter are steam table items and various appetizers and plates of food / side dishes meant to go with the porridge. Each plate can range from $2.99 to $4.99/$5.99, and you will know by the order sheet by the cashier (didn't get a chance to glance at it).
There's a variety of stuff here, and you really have to know what they are and have some idea of what they taste like before you venture into the unknown. Safe bets:
- hai dai (looks like thick green rubber bands, but they are seaweed/konbu seasoned and stir fried. Looks greasy, but FkkkKing good and a must with the porridge)
- pork meatballs (similar to Lion's Head meatballs but of course nowhere near as good)
- pig's ear. OK maybe TOO exotic for you non Chinese, but despite their higher charge of $4.99 for this dish (hey a PP owner's gotta make a buck), the marinated ears were sliced perfectly thin with a nice mild crunch and smoothness (as well as great sesame oil and soy sauce marination). Not as sexcellent as Everyday Beijing's which was awefully spicy but spot on smooth otherwise, but very decent. Nibbling and licking sucking on ears is not only kinky nasty foreplay, but makes a great sidedish too.
- dou gan, or thinly sliced strips of soy sauce marinated tofu. Can't really go wrong as a side dish.
3) You will be charged $1 per person for unlimited refills of porridge, and 50 cents per kid (regardless if the kid is 2 or 3, unless you are able to somehow refute that the kid is not eating). Yes, 50 cents for a kid who might not even eat more than a few spoonfuls. Call it A$IAN CHEAPNE$$ if you will. You can combat this if you want, by deducting it from their tip (but you didn't hear it from me......) in protest.
4) Scoop some porridge from their container to your bowl. Add some side dish ingredients. Then scoop up a little more porridge to fill your bowl, then mix that shizzle like you're at a rapping contest and being a sucka MC. Then eat. It's comforting to say the least, easy on the intestinal tract, even after a long day.
5) When you are done eating the waistaff presents you your bill, and you go up there and pay.
The porridge here is absolutely nothing like Cantonese congee. The Northern Chinese sometimes refer to this as "Chi Fahn", which I suppose can be loosely translated as watery soggy loose or broken rice. Whereas Cantonese congee when done right is like a thick creamy consistency that looks like cumulus clouds or rich thick cotton. PP's porridge texture is actually quite nice even though you still see rice grains (really really soft), has fairly thick consistency, and they cook it with orange yams to give it a mildly sweet edge. Each table gets a round plastic container of it (the same kind you get at low to middle end Cantonese restaurants for rice), and you fill up your bowls, and eat it with the side dishes.
It's no frills, affordable (not cheap but cheaper than the crap in the area and better value) and quick. What is there not to like? What made this place even more appealing was the relatively smaller to no waits compared to Hu Chiang Dumpling House on Memorial Day night (everyone wanted their XLB fix) while PP had at least 3 to 4 tables available in comparison.
By the way PP also offers XiaoLongBao (as does A&Js) but we all know Hu Chiang makes the best version (and most upscale) in the complex. If you prefer oversteamed droopy old saggy looking testes (aka their XLB) with pleats and dry meat and not so sexcellent juice and soup, then by all means get your XLB fix at PP or A&Js.
Otherwise this place hits da spot witih me.
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I wasn't expecting this place to be as tasty and cheap as it was...my boyfriend and I were desperate for a late night dinner place last night, and as luck would have it, this place was open til 11 pm. We wandered in as they were cleaning the tables (they scrub them with a lot of soap, so you know your table is clean!). It was about 10 pm, and there was an older couple in there eating, and a few people wandered in and out for takeout, but otherwise the place was pretty much almost closed. I asked if we could still eat there and they said yes, of course, and got us a table right away.
We went to the front counter to order...mind you, everything on the menu on the board is in Chinese, so unless you don't read Chinese and can't identify the dishes, you may be a little out of luck. My boyfriend and I ordered the black preserved egg with tofu, a dish of green veggies (kind of like all green bok choy), chicken gizzards, a sweetish/salty pinkish sausage, and tea eggs with tofu. The hot soupy porridge cooked with yams was delicious and reminded me of the porridge my family used to cook at home. The yams were a nice touch, I love yams!! All the sides we ordered were also reminiscent of home, not overly salty (cept for the sauce on the tofu with preserved egg).
The service was friendly and smiled a lot. Inspite of ordering all that, it was only $20 at the end. Mmm! A good place for a late night treat.
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this is probably one of my default places to eat in the southbay. its pretty light and tastes yummy too. they give you hot steaming porridge with yams in it. i love yams so i always pick them all out and eat them all. we usually get the cucumber salad, tofu noodle salad, bamboo shoots, the edamame, baked tofu, carrot bits and sometimes we will try some other stuff. they also serve shao long bao and scrambled eggs with pickles too. the scrambled eggs are a bit oily for me. the cucumbers used to have the skin on it a few years ago, now it doesnt. still good though. crunchy. salty. the tofy noodles are silky and smooth unlike the stuff you get at the supermarket. The stuff is pretty consistent.
Oh how i wish there was something like this in San Jose.
It was good comfort food, something i could make, but don't really want to sit there and wait 2 hrs for the rice to become porridge.
Besides, it was just great filling food.
If anyone knows of anything similar in the downtown SJ area, do share!!!
Porridge just ain't my thing. Thought I'd try this place for something different - it's was a cozy place but pretty packed so that was a good sign. You go up to the counter and pick a number of more authentic type Taiwanese-style Chinese small plates (each about $3-5 I think ) and then sit down at a table where they bring you the items you close along with a big pot of piping hot plain porridge. And you eat your porridge with those items - simple as that. They charged $1 per person for the porridge.
Unfortunately I didn't leave satisfied. The hot plain porridge was rather soothing in the cold evening but the dishes we chose (some sliced tofu dish, some veggie dish, and some bean thing) were just not that tasty and more on the oily side. For $13-14 we did get a nice decent amount of food and a pot of porridge more than any 2 ppl can eat (I hope they don't recycle the porridge for another table!)
Bottom line: If you're in the mood for porridge, this place could be for you. The porridge felt good but it just didn't hit the spot for me as the side dishes were only avg and rather oily.
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We came today coz my +1 wasn't feeling too well. :( I thought having hot porridge would be an excellent idea. It's my first time here and we were both very satisfied with the food. There are many dishes to select from and they gave us a huge pot of porridge that comes with sweet potato too.
It's a small place but the service is good and prompt. I would definitely come back here again when I feel like having a light lunch. The lunch price is very reasonable. You can select 3 dishes and the cost for two person is only $11.
The most important thing though, is that my +1 became visibly better after the porridge.. :)
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My friends and I came here for an afternoon snack during a hectic day...
The porridge was rather interesting to me since it was cooked with yams, so it was kinda sweet...I am more use to the plain porridge.
I liked the sides that we ordered. We had cooked pork, Shrimp, pickled radish, pickled celery...yummy...all of which was not salty at all...
All in all, we felt that the amount of food was sufficient for an afternoon snack. It did not ruin our appetite for dinner and the food was very tasty.
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Actually, contrary to what people said, I felt that this place was quite quiet..and um.. peaceful, if you ask me. But that could be because I have a cold right now and my ears are a little plugged up.
They have good deals.. You choose 3 sides for $5 and they serve you porridge with yam to come with it. And they serve it right to your table too. The food may not look that appetizing, but it is very delicious.
My friend ordered chicken drumsticks, ox tail? and some kind of fish...it looked pretty stiff but it's actually quite tender inside.
I ordered green beans, tofu strips, and bamboo shoots. Really good.. all of them, actually.
I recommend coming here, it's a good place to eat for lunch and/or for a quick bite. And you won't feel like a loner if you come by yourself either (that's the atmosphere I got, at least) =D
The tab for 2 plus tax and tip was under 12 dollars-- very cheap. And I'm a cheap person.. I didn't even pay though haha.
And apparently people say Taiwanese people will like this food because the cooking is very much like what they usually eat, and that Cantonese people won't like it so much... well.. I came with a Cantonese guy and he seemed to like it.
He eats a lot.. he ate all my food, all his food, and the whole batch of porridge. He's either extremely hungry or REALLY likes the food.
I have no idea where he puts it all... I wish I was a guy..
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Thumbs up for the price and quality of the food.
Weekdays: Lunch, Pick 3 dishes and you pay $5.99+tax. How can you beat that? They'll usually give porridge but you can request for steam rice though.
The most authentic Taiwanese porridge I have ever stumbled upon in the U.S.
This place used to be a lot better.
The food overall is pretty good. However, I do not enjoy the service. When we paid for our meal and getting ready to leave, the server actually came after us and asked us for more tips.... She said, "Excuse me, but the tip for dinner is 15%"....
I was shocked!
The porridge tastes and looks like what steamed rice with too much water would've turned out to taste and look. Maybe I can never get into the whole Taiwanese porridge idea. The one I'm used to, which I suppose is Cantonese, has a more consistent, watery texture instead of looking like steamed rice swimming in a little sea of murky water with occasional bits of carrots.
The side dishes though, aren't bad.... my top 3 being:
1) seaweed with edamame (absolute winner - I don't even know how to describe it, it's delicious... take it from me who doesn't even like vegetables)
2) thin strips of tofu
3) chicken gizzards (yes, I eat it. So sue me)
I have tried other dishes as well - I didn't quite like the fried fish. They must've pre-cooked it and then re-fry it when we order so that it's fresh and hot. The result is a super-oily fried fish. The duck is OK, albeit a bit bland... at least it wasn't as oily. The other dishes were quite forgettable.
I used to come here all the time back in college days (yes driving all the way from SF). Service is good after you got to know the service staff and selections are good and price is cheap. If you wanna a quick bite here is the best place to go.
Hmm, iiiinteresting concept. I never had taiwanese porridge before. You go in, pick out your 3 dishes like Mr. Chau, then you get seated and the wait staff brings out your food with a pot of shared porridge for your table. Imagine the porridge just being rice and the side dishes well...your side dishes. I can't recalled anything being spectacular except for the bamboo shoots oddly enough! I think its a worth it to come back for another try. Its a quick, cheap lunch.
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Alright place for porridge, the food is decent. But personally I would rather eat porridge I make at home.
After five days straight of gorging ourselves around the bay, my family decided we wanted something lighter for dinner. Of course, I managed to just about roll out of here because I apparently have no gauge of fullness when it comes to Chinese food. But it was good times.
This ain't your Canto jook (zhou) place. This restaurants dishes up your comfort Taiwanese-style rice porridge (xi fan). Seriously, it's like chicken soup for the soul. If you as so much cough, expect your mom to whip up some xi fan for you to eat morning, noon, and night. At Porridge Place, the porridge is served steaming hot with chunks of yam in what looks like mini-coolers--so definitely no-frills.
As people mentioned, they have quite the lunch deal - 3 dishes for $5.99 inc. porridge. Dinner they charge $1 per person for a bowl. Finding that out got my super thrifty Asian sister licking the cooler clean. And asking for a refill.
But this place totally hit home. Comfort food all the way. Just mosey on over the counter, start pointing and nodding, and then they'll serve the dishes up to your table. Throw the food on top of a bowl of xi fan and you're good to go.
Everything was tasty. Seriously, things were marinated just right, and the flavors worked perfectly. Ordered up some tofu gan (dried tofu strips), braised cabbage, eggplant in garlic sauce, egg pancake with dried turnips, marinated cucumbers, and oysters in black bean sauce (my favorite!).
My inner fob was thrilled.
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The porridge...wasn't anything special, it was basically a soupy rice with yam in it. I would rather make my own at home than pay to eat here. The price is a bit high for watery rice and a few iffy sides (the sides are pretty small too). I think it would be better just to pop some extra water in the rice cooker and then head to Ranch99, buy a few cheap sides, and eat at home.
the sides we tried
lionshead meatballs- pretty good, nice and moist meatballs and fairly large.
green beans and pork- pretty good, a bit greasy and the portion was so so.
this fish/tofu one- not that great.
All and all...I'd eat at home or somewhere else. Unless you're REALLY lazy and seriously crave...porridge. Oh and only go during their lunch special (I think its weekdays only) when you can get 3 sides for $5.95 and unlimited porridge. Otherwise each side is around $3-6 (?) per side...and considering the portion size I don't think its worth it.
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Yummy! Had a bunch of little side dishes with the porridge. Everything was very tasty and it was very well priced.
You walk up to the front and pick out your side dishes and then they bring it all out to you with the porridge.
There are some items that are not in the front case that you can order as well. We got dumplings, too.
Overall, I liked this place. I'll definitely go back. Yummy!
The only thing I wonder is, what do they do with the leftover porridge?
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porridge is comfort food for me. when i was little....when i got sick or when the weather is cold, my mom would always make porridge for breakfast, lunch or dinner. porridge works like wonders, whether its plain porridge, yam porridge, pork bone flavored porridge, thousand year egg porridge or chicken porridge; it never fails to satisfy my tummy - everytime.
porridge place is located in cupertino mall plaza with mostly asian restaurants and shops. we heard it was really good through a relative so i was excited to finally be able to check out this little taiwanese joint.....
there were about 10-15 tables, and a bar of 20 items on the menu - you order before you sit down and they bring it to your table for you. every table gets a large bowl of yam porridge (4-5 bowls worth of porridge, and i believe you can have unlimited portions). on weekdays, you can order 3 items for $5.50 to eat with your porridge. on weekends and holidays, such as today, they charge by the item (you can order as many dishes as you want, but you can only choose one item per dish).
i saw a lot of items i liked but between the four of us, we only ordered 5 dishes. they were a good-sized portion. we would have ordered more but we all had a late breakfast. this list is in the order of my favorites:
(1) thin strips of bean curd (sounds boring but tastes delicious)
(2) duck (very light and flavorful - not oily @ all, just the way i like it)
(3) squid (was a bit hesitant at first, but it was very flavorful - also, a very popular dish)
(4) chicken gizzards (a little tougher than i would like, but still good)
(5) triangle-shapped aged tofu (this was my least favorite, didn't quite dig the flavor)
speaking of porridge, i like eating pizza with porridge! yah, it's a weird combination some people say, but i like it. a bite of pizza and a spoonful of porrige, a bite of pizza and a spoonful of porridge, you get the idea....or sometimes, on my lazy days when i don't want to get my hands dirty, i cut the pizza into pieces and dump it into a hot bowl of plain porridge. if you decide to try it, let me know whatcha think, i won't hold it against you if you don't like it :)
everyone loved this restaurant and would definitely come back again!! i wish there was something like this in san francisco!
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Cheap, fast, and tasty. Service is lacking, but so what? You're not going to a Michelin rated restaurant. I wouldn't trust a homestyle hole-in-the-wall restaurant if it DIDN'T have horrible service and questionable sanitation. That is the charm of the place. Just like I'd never trust a clean Taqueria, well mannered Chinese restaurants are just as dubious.
I also don't mind the yam in the porridge. It's not the way my mommy made it either, but you are reading this review on yelp because you are the type to try new things right?
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Very unique concept well for me at least. Porridge served by the bucket (literally a plastic tub that might be an Igloo brand concept but you know it says Made in China in Chinese underneath). Porridge is cheap at a buck per person but the sides which include anything from chickens feet, garlic braised eggplant, long narrow bamboo shoots (I'm talking up to 6 inches), Chinese sausage, those dark Chinese style eggs, seafood etc... Make sure to get the hakusai or chinese cabbage which was seasoned with little brine, that was quite tasty. Didn't have the balls to try some of the other sides but I'm sure they are good if you have the stomach to look at it.
We went for dinner but I know that you get way more for your buck at lunch.
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I think I make better porridge at home. The one they serve here is too goopey, I guess I prefer my rice a little more broken down. If I wanted hot water with whole rice grains, I'd probably enjoy it more. They also had a bunch of dishes where you order up at the front counter almost deli style. None of them really appealed to me and I felt like I was eating at the Ranch99 deli than at a sit down restaurant.
Porridge, great food to have when you are sick, and it makes a pretty good meal.
They have a pretty decent variety of side dishes here to go with the porridge, and from the ones I've had, they go pretty well with it. The porridge is the Taiwanese type with sweet potatoes, and it's pretty tasty. The price at this place is pretty cheap, and you can get a meal for very little money.
Great place to go for good food at great prices.
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only good for luch.
3 choices from more than 10 items, but less than $10 (plus tax and tips already) for each person. It's a good place to have lunch and save money.
My top 3 choices: 1) Minced Pork, 2) Bamboo shoot, 3) Eggplant.
It was late at night after shopping (around 9:30pm),
my friend and I realized that we are so hungry...but
we knew it would be hard to find restaurant after 9:00pm.
No fast food!! but we are hungry, so we ended up with
Cupertino Village because Chines/Taiwanesese
restaurants are usually open late.
We tried 4 items,
Green bean, Smoke tofu, bamboo shoot & bitter melon
everything was very tasty and soooooo healthy!
Every item go well with the porridge with yam.
I would love to try their lunch (M-T) $5.99 with 3 items!
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I love this place! It's especially good to go on a cold night or bleak winter day. It is small so gets packed easily, with a mostly Chinese clientele. You get in line and select the side dishes first, then sit down at your table, where they'll bring a big container of sweet potato porridge out. Some side dishes can be exotic looking to non Asians who may be unfamiliar, and if I recall the menu and pricing signs on the back wall are all posted in Chinese. Don't expect the workers to speak much English though. My only communications with them whenever I go here is first holding out the corresponding fingers for how many people in our party, then nodding when the waitress comes and speaks Chinese to me - perhaps about tea, and afterward seeking eye contact with someone and saying "check!"
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4.5 Stars
Came here with my mom a while back and didn't care for the watery yam porridge, so I went with rice this time.
3 dishes over rice to go for $5.95. I ordered the string beans, bamboo shoots, and twice cooked pork. They gave me enough food for 3 meals. The rice was perfect. Everything was fresh and delicious with a home cooked flavor.
Half a star off for horrible service. The lady behind the counter was rude and impatient even though I spoke to her politely in Mandarin and was the only customer in line.
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Chinese comfort food at its best. You can get a bowl of Taiwanese rice/yam porridge with three toppings for $5. Not the widest selection of toppings in the world, but what they do have on offer is excellent. My favorites are the chickens feet, Chinese sausage, and preserved eggs.
I have flashbacks to my halcyon days in Taipei every time I set foot in here.
Minus one star because they're cash-only.
Just when you think porridge is boring.. BAM! (you walked into the door of Porride Place). There's nothing quite like a variety of small dishes to appease those with A.D.D. The yam in the porridge, I can do without as Mommy never made it that way.
Why not 5 stars? Because it's pretty dirty and.... DRUMROLL....
MY FRIEND FOUND A RUSTY NAIL IN A DISH!! She reported it and the woman simply gave gave her another heaping of the same dish. After hearing the story, I am a bit appalled. But in all honestly, my philosphy is GLUTTONY over HEALTH. So I'd go back and risk. it. Plus, I already took my tetanus shot.
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Porridge or congee is great comfort food especially when I am sick or cold. This place was just average to below average. I went there for lunch. For $5.95 you get to pick 3 side dishes to go with your porridge. It took me a LONG time to figure out what I wanted cause nothing was appealing to me. I do have to them thumbs up for the free porridge during lunch.
Food: 3.1 stars (authentic, good variety, quality, & flavor)
Atmosphere: 2.99 stars (casual fast food panda express-ish style scoop and go)
Service: 2.0 (no smiles here just get your food)
Price: 2.8 (for what it's worth, it's more pricey than it should be, so you have to think of it as paying for preparation of the dishes)
Recommended Dishes:
sliced bamboo shoots
Dice pork bits
Sliced spiced tofu strips
Simmered tofu
NOTES:
This is Taiwanese style porridge (thick rice soup w/pieces of sweet yam) but it use to taste better when it was the original owner, the selection of toppings were also better. Great snack for on the go for a quick meal.
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I went here at night with a friend. You can eat porridge as much as you want as long as you order side dish(es). We ordered 4 side dishes. The side dishes were good, they were anchovies, green veggies, pork ear, and pork feet. All 3 side dishes were to my liking but the pork feet was just alright. The porridge with yam was new to me and I didn't really like it. I like my porridge plain or with chicken broth, but not with yam. The porridge was watery, but I think it's just their style.
Service was below average-average. I think most of chinese restaurants in south bay area have below average-average service level, except the upscale chinese restaurants (mayflower, abc, etc).
Porridge doesn't really make you full, so if you are looking for a hearty meal, don't go here. I bet you'll be hungry again in no time.
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Comfort food at its best!!!
Perfectly seasoned small dishes you pick from the counter go perfectly with the unlimited yam included congee you can eat.
We also love to do take out from here.
Great too when you are sick.
This place is great if you're feeling a little ill and want Taiwanese comfort food. I liked the sausage a lot and the green beans were decent too. I especially liked the yams in the porridge. The sweet taste really adds to the flavor. The best part is that it's unlimited! I just wish the porridge was a bit less watery.
When I'm sick, my mom used to make me porridge. Though it's not exactly a treat, it's definitely comfort food. This is my current favorite place for it (other than flying home and visiting mom and pretending that I'm sick). The sweet potato porridge is free. You're paying for the side dishes. Of the dishes that I've tried (bean curd, ground pork, bamboo shoots) I've enjoyed thoroughly. Peasant food tends to be cheap. For two people we walked out for under $15. Can't beat that for dinner and it was quite filling.
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Porridge place is a great place to go for Chinese comfort food. I can see that this place is not for everyone. The dishes (served alone with porridge) are not commonly found in America. The porridge and dishes are usually quite well made, which is not an afterthought despite these food being common. The service, well, is authenticly rude. Also, I don't think anybody here speaks much English.