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The New Lun Ting Cafe: Old Fashioned Diner, aka "The Pork Chop House"

New Lun Ting Cafe is not a restaurant that stands out, and even in Chinatown it's extremely old-fashioned... It has maroon Naugahyde booth seats and bachelor's row stools, and it serves a mix of Eastern and Western foods, so it could be considered a tea restaurant. 

According to history, the bachelor's row used to stretch all the way around the interior in a U-shape and the whole cafe was called "bachelor's cafe", and women used to avoid the place. By adding booths and tables back in the 1970's, the place was made more "family-friendly". 

Another nickname for the place was "The Porkchop House", even though its best-known dish was actually "roast pork". A huge slab of pork, with ribs still attached in some places, sliced to about half-inch sticks, almost perfect tenderness, slathered with either "brown sauce" (which is sort of burnt orange), or if you are adventurous, try the yellow / curry sauce. You also get some vegetables (probably just some boiled cabbage, but you may be able to get mixed veggies instead) and a potsticker, plus a cup of restaurant tea.  Sadly, the free slice of jello (tm) dessert is no more. 

With that said, you *can* get pork chop, or oxtail, or roast beef, or beef stew... and dozens and dozens of other dishes at the New Lun Ting Cafe. 

But at least try the roast pork once. 

Roast Pork with brown sauce, photo by AndriaLo.com
sadly, the fruit jelly is no more


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About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

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