Kingchops

The window is small and it’s dark inside, you can’t even tell whether they are open until you saw the neon «Open» lights on the corner.
—Pork chop: It’s tasty, but both of our pork chops were soggy. The entire pork chops were drained in oil, the skin is wet, meat is lean and hard to chew. It’s hot on the outside, but the meat is cold. Isn’t this suppose be the house special? Or you just served us last night’s leftovers? Shame on you!
—Pork chop noodle: The soup is tasty and the noodle is al dente. There is a lot of noodle in the bowl
—Minced pork rice: The minced pork is tasty but the texture of the rice is like eating sand.
—Taiwanese meat ball: The skin is chewy and cold, the meat ball is dry. This entire meatball is not fresh, it spent at least 2 days in the fridge.
—Bean curd: Tofu is tasty, but it’s hard and dry
+++Meat ball soup: The soup is a bit sweet, the meatballs were very tasty.
+++Steamed bamboo shoot: Highlight of the entire meal. The bamboo shoots is very tasty, it is so tasty and fresh until I finished the entire plate, but when I stepped out of the restaurant, I started to feel thirsty and started to drink, I spent the rest of the evening drinking water.

I’ve been a regular customer and tonight is the night that will drive me away. I thought this place has really good beef noodle soup, porkchop and chicken. But things have been going downhill, from the drink to the soup.
First, the porkchop was not fully cooked, it’s pink and when we asked the owner about it, he said the inside is hard to cook. It’s still edible. What kind of explanation is that? LOL, i never knew you can eat pork medium rare. Well I still decided to come back even after this incident.
Well, tonight they had new items on their menu instead of their limited number of choices. I was excided to try the neww appetizer, braised beef, what a disappointment, $ 6.75 for 5 thin slices, $ 1+ per slice, seriously!!! and again, i got a really horrible response from the owner. He said, things are costly now. I mean i understand the whole thing about inflation and costs. but this is unfair pricing to me.
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Apparently the owner guy Leo here got pretty offended by the review and has thus issued a reponse diretly to my personal inbox less than 24 hrs has gone by.
This tells me two things: 1) This is a «ball-​less» move actually. As owner of a business, when one has an option to reply/​repsond publicly and tranparently, but rather Leo here prefers taking cheap shots under the table; not to to mention now i have to copy and paste his
reply here AND to post the screenshot as proof. Why Leo, why?
2) As a business owner, one has to appreciate that there are good days as well as there are bad days, responding to your «up-​till-​now» fairly loyal customer in this fashion with this kind of tone (as you’ll later see my fellow Unilocalers), it’s not that classy to say the least, and when you have the AUDACITY to even feel remotely justified in sending this personal messeage speaks volumn of not just you as a businessman, but more to your character, or lack of, in this case.
Fellow Unilocalers, here’s Leo’s response, from Kingchop in Irvine with love. (there are too many things wrong here with Leo’s perspective it’s hard to correct them all, i’ll just pick)
” Hi,
I remember apologizing about the pork chop being slightly undercooked near the bone part the very next time you guys came back. Just want to reconfirm my statement that pork can be eaten medium rare to medium cooked.
…
(For starters, Leo didn’t apologize, if it were a true apology, he would’ve taken the plate back to further cook the meat, and he wouldn’t have argued with us right on the spot, as if trying to convince us that our view on food safety is a bit outdated comparing to his.
So since he has failed to do both, take the meat back and not argue, this is not an apology in my book.
secondly, here’s my link:
Yes, views are changing, some would argue it’s just more profitable for restaurant owners to serve undercooked pork, it just tastes better.
But for the toxic nature of the pigs as detailed in the article, and how they can easily be a walking manifestations of various bacterias and diseases, isn’t it just simply safer
to cook your pork all the way through? when is the last time someone you know complained about his/​her «fried» pork chop being overly cooked?
Excuse me but this ain’t no fine ding style pork chop we are talking about here, for
the price of under 10 bucks, i don’t think it’s pricy enough for me to take that risk
and eat undercooked pork period. Assurdity continues…)
Although I was not the one to set the menu prices. How does increase in prices not justifiable for inflation? Could it be possible that your logic is the problem here? By the way, your less than 10% tip went to the server, whose rent was just increased by her landlord due to inflation.
(it’s honestly getting funny now, i mean for the quality and amount of the braised beef, fellow Unilocalers to to their last page and find it; I can almost garantee that I can make a) better tasting braised beef myself b) serve more
and c) charge you cheaper, how about this, we can do a side deal, let me be your
desgined braised beef provider, i think i can make a living out of providing for you.
last but not least, you should be thankful that we even left tips at all. Just as you,
the owner, feels justified in your response of such overpiced item,
so we are as customers justified in our response of your idiotic response,
and don’t turn this into a «customer vs waitress» thing like we are mistreating the poor
girl. how is this even relevant with her? YOU are the management that has some serious issues here, take responsibility for once, using her as a distraction isn’t too manly.
Thank you for an honest review tho.
Owner, Leo
(No, Leo thank you for confirimg our one star rating; I encourage you to keep talking, you are messing with the wrong Unilocaler here. tsk tsk

I come to this place occasionally .I like how you can get any sauce/​salsa you want and it adds so much to the flavors. I enjoy the really spicy foods .The rice is pretty good as well as the .
I’ll find myself craving this occasionally and it’s a pretty good place that I will probably find myself eating often while I’m in Irvine.

In for a quick luncheon? Then KingChop it!
When looking at their portfolio menu, its simplified, its two pages. First page entrees, second page appetizers. They’re photoed in bento style but they are served in separate dishes.
The Pork Chops are tender cuts and appear to have a fine texture. The marinade on this was simple but yet tasty and has flavor, while there is juiciness in the meat. After having this dish I was amazed, I was telling myself over and over again, «I really liked this!». This is definitely what you need to come here for.
The Chicken Leg is chopped fried chicken drumsticks. This one has a similar marinade as the pork chops and is lightly crisp. When eating this, its a bit boney, but it’s enjoyable to eat around them when your trying to get every piece of meat and flavor off the bone. This is another choice that can’t be missed because of its deliciousness.
Included with the entrees are, a scoop of white rice topped with minced pork, potato salad, tofu, broccoli and a cut half boiled egg. When dining-​in they leave you with a glass bottle water for self refills.
I’m a fan of their concept, it’s a simple healthy homestyle like meal. Both Pork Chop and Chicken were not heavily salted nor greasy and the portions are pretty decent. I also liked their Chili sauce, it tasted kinda pruned with a blend of spice, sweet and saltiness. The vinegar was a good add on if you prefer more flavor. The entrees don’t come cheap though, they costs around $ 10 each.
There is a Unilocal check-​in offer for a free 16 oz. Iced Jasmine Green Tea. But, there was no need for me to use it, because the Jasmine Green Tea was a complimentary and our server was kind enough to refill us whenever we finished. I thought this was a cool offer that not many restaurants do, other than free water refills.
Located in a small strip near Irvine Valley College, this place has already become my go-​to spot for Taiwanese Pork Chops.

I came here again for the second time with my family. The first time I came here with a friend, we both ordered the pork chop bento and the pork chop was really tasty and crispy. They also gave you a cup of complimentary sweetened jasmine tea to go with your meal. So since the food was so good, decided to take my family there the next day.
This second visit was terrible, the customer service was definitely a miss this time, granted they were busy but the waitresses were very rude and disrespectful when I asked about my order. They definitely need to work on their customer service. The pork chop this time around was soggy and not crispy. I think its due to them being busy with customers, that they want to hurry the orders out and not pay great detail to it. We also tried the curry and the chicken leg, the chicken leg saved the day, it was nice and crispy. The curry was a poor choice, do avoid! It was flavorless. I wouldn’t recommend this place after today’s visit, but if you must try it, come during their hours when they aren’t too busy, so the food can be prepared with more care.

their porkchops are lightly fried and tender on the inside. It comes with a rice set. lef biff and I ordered one porkchop set, a plate of veggies, and rice dumpling stuffed with meat and bamboo with pink sauce. i havent seen the rice dumpling many establishments so i just haaad to order it. chewy outside, meaty inside. get it

I’ve been skeptical of Taiwanese pork chops for a while. I’ve tried and tried to find a decent plate of Taiwanese pork chops whenever the opportunity comes up… but I’ve failed each time.
Until now.
Kingchops is the quintessential place for homey Taiwanese pork chops and fried chicken, among other things. In addition to a nice hot plate of crispy, meaty and savory pork chops, you also get pork chop rice, potato salad, seasoned and steamed broccoli and some pickled radishes on the side. If you check in on Unilocal,you even get a free 16 oz. cup of Jasmine green tea.
The search has ended — Kingchops is KING of the chops.

This is a review of the takeout version.
A good start. Fried porkchop packed separately from the rice set to prevent sogginess. The porkchop isn’t as crispy as I’d have liked and it is thin, but flavorful and adequately juicy + tender nonetheless. The steamed broccoli and a scoop of potato salad in the rice set must be a West Coast touch coz this definitely won’t fly in NYC or Taiwan. As for the rice itself, it’s embellished with a bit of braised ground pork (aka «lu rou») and beancurd slices, pretty standard for Taiwanese Porkchop Rice. Also half a braised egg, which I gave to my nephew coz it’s his fave.
I’m a self-​proclaimed Taiwanese Porkchop Rice Queen as it is one of my fave Taiwanese food to eat. I’ve eaten it countless times in NY where I had lived, and also did a contrast and comparison of several established porkchop rice joints in Taipei including the original 1961 store (from which I’m still trying to erase all evidence off my waistline). All are documented on my blog, along with a detailed recipe on how to make your own at home. So given that context, I say Kingchop’s porkchop is pretty good and has authentic flavors.
My only gripe is the $ 9+ price which is the most expensive I’ve ever had to pay for Taiwanese Porkchop Rice!
Also ordered the Steamed Bamboo Shoots which is totally on-​point. Tastes just like the ones I ate in Taipei, and Kingchop’s version is even slightly fancified with ground pork bits in it. I enjoyed this very much and will order again next time. Bought Taiwanese Meat Ball for my sis because she hasn’t had it in a very long time; I did not try so no comment.

My cousin and I came here one cold night to try it out.
We shared the Pork Chop Rice and the Fried Chicken Leg with Soup Noodle.
I felt the pork chop was a little oily and the fried chicken leg was hard to eat even though it was already cut into chunks. The noodles weren’t anything too special and the side dishes were forgettable. The best part of the meal was the actual pork chop meat.
You also get free jasmine herbal tea which would’ve been nicer if it was served warm as they were blasting the AC.
Also, don’t sit near the door at night because they do not have a regular self-​closing door.
Patrons will continuously leave the door open because they’re oblivious that the door needs to be manually closed and you’ll be stuck closing it in order to stay warm.

Location: off of Jeffrey and Irvine Center Drive, Kingship is a small restaurant that has about 11 table seating ~40 people max. It gets pretty loud there.
Service: AVERAGE: glass water container is available to self-​serve, and small cup of complimentary black tea with refill is providedl. If you check in, they give you black tea in a slightly larger to go cup.
Food: Small selection of menu about 20 items. The presentation looks nice on the black plate, but the food is mostly too salty. Also, I didn’t like how they serve the entrée separately from the sides as they don’t come together on a plate. They serve the side dishes first and the kingchop 5 – 10 min later. It was kind of hard eating «porkchop rice» when there’s only rice and without meat present. Porkchop was full of flavor but very thin.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t be coming back because I wasn’t impressed with the food. It seems like the pork chop is their specialty, but it wasn’t as crispy as I would like. It was actually more on the soggy end.
We also ordered the soup noodles and the black bean noodles. Both were average.
If you want a quick bite to eat, this place is clean, quiet, and about $ 10 a plate. Other than that, it’s not memorable by any means. Don’t go out of your way to come here!

It’s a Taiwanese eatery and you’re coming for the Pork Chop. I will crave this Pork Chop again. I like the taste and breading they used, it’s much better than other Taiwanese pork chops that I’ve had.
You can also get a free iced green tea with check-​in, but it’s a little strange because my brother didn’t check-​in but his meal also came with a cold green tea. Not iced, but it was chilled and they refilled it for free. It’s actually a pretty refreshing drink to have, it’s a nice touch.
You get a good amount of food either having dry noodles, soup noodles, or rice with your chops. I had the soup but I want to try the other options next time too. They each are different in their own way. I think the soup noodles were ok, not a crazy strong taste, it’s a nice side but the main dish is the pork chop. I just wish they gave you a bigger portion of pork chop.
We ordered some side dishes like the cold cucumber and bean curd, those dishes were just ok, I think I enjoy those dishes elsewhere like at A&J. But again, the pork chop is really good.
Service is ok, you have to flag them down to get their attention when you want something or want to pay later. Price is fair, portion is ok but I wanted more, and taste of the pork chop is good. I’ll be back when I crave pork chop.

The menu here is extremely tiny. Like about only 2 pages. I had been wanting to try this place out but I was iffy at first because so many Taiwanese restaurants in Irvine sell pork chop rice. Looking at prices kind of made me think twice too.
But I decided to go with the pork chop rice to go. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. The pork chop itself I think was alright. The rice and veggies though were really good. I like salty and everything was indeed pretty salty. There was a lot of rice and the sauce on it was good too.
I think I would eat at this place from time to time. It’s a good portion.

A small little Asian restaurant famous for their pork chops. You can check in for a big cup of jasmine green tea, but they’re going to give you a small cup either way. Small menu with maybe like 10 items?
Service: Pretty good, even refilled our tea right when we were leaving.
Food: I got the pork chop rice, which comes with a plate of pork chops with marinated cucumbers and another plate of rice and some vegetables. Pork chop was great, but the rice was just too wet! It was all mushed together… Kind of ruined my experience here.

Still solid 4 stars. I kept going back to kingchops for the pork chop. You can’t go wrong with that. Took parents there tonight and they ordered the chicken leg. There was a little bit of blood coming out from the chicken, so parents stopped eating. Again, my advise is to stick with the pork chop.
Tried pretty much every item on the menu by now. The best is pork chop with dry noodle. The veggie and the beef noodle soup are a little bland for me. The staff was doing a really good job refilling the complimentary green tea. I was probably offered at least 4x for refill, and I had to finally say no thank you. Don’t forget to check in and get a free 16oz green tea to go!

Not bad for Taiwanese food. If you have problems with good choices this has a limited menu you can’t go wrong with.
Seems brand new, good customer service, and everything is very clean.
I got the number 1, pork chop with rice and minced meat. The pork chop was a good portion and seasoned very well but the minced meat was a bit lacking on the rice. Other than that, it was awesome.
Remember to check in for a free delicious green tea!

I’m always looking for a good authentic Taiwanese restaurant here in the States and they seem to have become harder to come by these days even in Southern California where there’s a good sized Taiwanese population. Most restaurants claiming to be «Taiwanese» can best be described as a Taiwanese fusion restaurant. This place is a solid 3.5 stars. Better than 3 stars, but not quite to 4 stars. During lunch, there was only one other table occupied. That’s not a good sign. Their pork chop rice is good, not the best that I’ve eaten, but it’s pretty darn good in the Irvine area. Besides the big self serve bottle of water that they gave me, they also gave me a small cup of free tea. I would like to come back and try the other items on their menu.
This place is supposed to be pretty famous, but if business doesn’t pick up, most likely this place with have to fold since rent’s got to be high in Irvine especially for a location that’s across the street from an university.

I came searching for this place after Unilocal posted about Taiwanese restaurants! My BF loves Taiwanese food so I opted to have Kingchop for dinner tonight!
The service was prompt and friendly. We sat and they immediately gave us a jug of water, 2 cups and menus. We ordered the pork chop with rice and the pork chop with dry noodles.
When you dine-​in, they give you complimentary green tea and if you check-​in on Unilocal… You get a free lychee jelly add-​on. Yummy!
The food was good but the pork chop was a bit salty after a while lol… The cucumbers cut that saltiness very well. Also, the hot sauce they provided also was more salty than spicy lol… How funny.
The food was good. Definitely a homemade feel to it. Like Asian comfort food. The pork chop was tender and I didn’t have to fight with it to actually be able to eat…
I’d definitely see myself getting a dish togo and eating it in the comfort of my home while watching TV!

YUM SO GOOD. Don’t let the average ratings fool you, people are mostly complaining about the price but hey as for me I’m always down to pay a little extra for good food and service!
This place was excellent from the service to the food. Got seated quickly and the food came out fast.
Items you must order:
1) dry noodles with porkchop: SO TASTY, perfect noodles
2) porkchop rice: super saucy rice (bomb) and comes with 3 sides
3) cucumber side dish: perfect compliment, delicious and FRESH
4) seaweed side dish: pretty good!
Everything was delicious. And the complimentary iced green tea was the icing on the cake! The workers are so nice and attentive, so kudos to them. Between two people, we were stuffed, most likely because we couldn’t stop eating. Would definitely come again.

I love love love the chops here. The chops are infused with tons of flavor. Whatever they are marinating the chops with I want to know. The seasoning is just perfect. The chop is not as big as some other places but I think it packs the most balance of flavor. I do appreciate the fact that they cut the chops up for you in pieces so it’s easier to eat.
We also ordered the chicken leg. It was as amazing as the chop. Tender as can be and lightly battered to allow the flavor to come through. It would be awesome if they had a chop n chick combo.
I like the pickles that came with the chops. They are sweet which helps counter balance the saltiness of the meat. This was definitely a lot better than the pickled cold cucumber we had. The cucumber dish was extremely salty.
The half egg was a bit dry which may be due to sitting out too long and possibly cut in half ahead of time allowing air to dry it out.
Our food came out pretty quickly, within minutes from ordering.
I will definitely be coming back soon.