House of Chen

I know House of Chen has closed since Mr Chen died. I was first introduced to HoC back in ’06 by Robbie Tronco, We’d go over there after his night at the Mansion when we got out of there early enough. Mr Chen was always sitting up front with a huge smile on his face welcoming everyone who walked through his doors. It didn’t matter if the place was packed or empty, Mr Chen always had a minute to say hello and chat.
I always ordered the Szechuan Chicken on Rob’s recommendation and I miss it to this day. It was like chicken tempura doused with plum sauce with a healthy addition of crushed pepper flakes. I have never had anything quite so delicious before or since. I took some friends there once and they tried the dumplings as they’d heard they were good there. I’m not a big dumpling guy but I gave them a try and they weren’t bad.
I would LOVE to see HoC reopen, it just wouldn’t be quite the same without Mr Chen there at the door. If they did though I’d give it a shot regardless.

I will always love House of Chen.
My dad used to take me here as a child and they always remembered us when we would stop by years later to say hello. They really were the nicest people.
I ate it so much as a child that I can still remember exactly what it tasted like– it has always been my standard for good chinese food. Even though I wouldn’t exactly go to town today on some fried wontons like I used to do, I still wish this places was around so I could if I ever got the urge.

Bring back HOC!!! Daughters save HOC u can do it Chinatown needs HOC BACK!
Been going there since I was 13 yrs. old! Got my son hooked, he’s now 16 & we both miss it terrible!
SAVE HOC!!!

Overdue review; I was last here over the summer 2009. When you’re done at the bars and get a case of the munchies, or when you’re craving a late night chinese dinner, House of Chen is the place to go.
I generally stick to one of two dishes, the beef & cellophane noodles, or one of the soups big enough for 2 (such as mixed meat soup, sizzling rice soup, O O soup, pork with watercress soup).
Service has always been good to me, and the owner is so kind and friendly! I believe they’re closed on Mondays, but are open to 5 am other days.

I believe this restaurant is out of business.

Eh. It’s good when you’re hammered, but then I tried House of Chen when sober. BIG MISTAKE. (I’ll probably try another sober trip and update my review, so hang onto your panties!)
House of Chen will always hold a special place in my heart. Part of it is because I would often hit it up with the bartenders from The Scare, including one Japanese bartender who told us every Asian joke he could think of. Part of it is because I once puked my brains out due to a hard night of drinking and was ushered out with a «thank you, come again!» as I did the Lobster Crawl from the bathroom to the front door. Part of it is because it’s one of, like, 3 places in CC that you can get a sit down meal after the bars close. And part of it is because of the wonderful, Americanized ambiance found only in a place named «House of Chen.»
The employees get an A++ out of me for their awesome service when dealing with large groups of drunken white people. They have a fair amount of vegetarian selections, but I have yet to try anything meaty there. (I’m hoping it will be better than what I had last time, which was bland and overpriced.)
It’s worth a try, especially if you’re in the area.

In the Bible/​Torah, there’s a frequent mistranslation. It’s quite early on, and the fact that only a single church gets it right is quite shameful. It’s in the Torah correctly, however the people are taught how to interpret it incorrectly. This injustice has gone on long enough; I’m correcting ~3000 years of unjust translations right now.
Genesis 1:26
The incorrect translation:
Then God said, «Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.»
This makes no grammatical sense, and should have flagged people’s attention many moons ago. The correct translation:
Then Chen said to God, «Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.»
It’s subtle, but it should explain a lot about why this establishment is so divine.
The aura of Chen is one to behold. You can feel his majesty when you walk through the entryway. It opens the pores, it cleanses the soul. One time I saw a lady miscarry a demon just from his wonderful gaze. Needless to say I encourage all pregnant women to dine there on the off chance they are pregnant with demon seed.
Chen radiates good will and peace to all men. His very presence makes all divine. However, with the widespread use of metallurgy, we have discovered a minor flaw in his aura: It seems it cannot penetrate metal. This explains how the food can be so generic despite the aura of Chen watching over the expert chefs. The food isn’t bad by any stretch, but it doesn’t mesh with American culture as well as one might imagine. They still serve mainland Chinese treats like «Fried Horse Vagina with Spicy Sauce» and «Mystery Lumps with Red Stuff». I suppose the metal doors are for the best, though, as anything prepared by Chen’s hand or in the aura of Chen is so delicious that anyone partaking in its splendor will never again be content with normal food. This was Ike’s downfall. The Zombie that Ike was served was so delicious that she now binges on a nightly basis seeking a beverage delicious enough to live up to the memory of that wonderful night. Chen has between 5,000 and a billion years worth of experience making cocktails, there are none better this side of the Pearly Gates.
On the upside, though, she saved a few hundred bucks that would have normally gone to Planned Parenthood.

Mister Chen is a pimp. Srsly. The food is fantastic and it hit the spot at 330 am Friday night /​Saturday morning when you’re a bit too wired to sleep and, as dreamy as Alistar Appleton is, the Cash in the Attic reruns on BBC America are getting a bit too much to bear.
I love their general tso chicken so hard. It’s the perfect flavor mix of sweet and spicy flavor and sticky goodness. I also love that while I was there the waitstaff was playing some sort of dice game to occupy their time. People were in and our paying their respects to Mr. Chen as they would a community elder, which I suppose is what he is.

House Of Chen — because sometimes 3 AM happens and you still need a good place to eat. House of Chen is ultimately not the best food, pretty average Chinese food earning 3 stars at best. But at those long hours of the night The Diners, Wawas, cheesesteak spots, and obscure pizza places that are your other options in Philly just don’t rival it.
I’m not going to attempt to echo what Anthony B. says about here, because he does a pretty good and extensive job of giving it the rundown. But I’ll verify that he pretty much sums it up right (although I’m pretty sure that House of Chen closes at 5am and isn’t 24 hour). The eldest Chen is indeed a marvel of an old man who makes for a good host. the staff provide fast service and are pretty nice considering what they must put up with nightly. So if you find yourself having a late night food craving in this city, than the answer to what your looking for is Chen.

Cue HOC Theme music:
(set to the tune of the Rocky Balboa training montage music)
Chen Chen Chen, Chen Chen Chen.
Chen Chen Chen, Chen Chen Chen.
H.O.C. gets 5 Stars.
Before you attempt to retort, please continue reading.
There are a million aspects of the HOC that get 5 stars, unfortunately the food is not one of them. I would give the fare about 2 ¾ stars in true star-​search-​esque fashion to be honest.
I will attempt to explain why you or anyone else should patronize this semi-​fine establishment by listing all of the 5-​star rated qualities below:
Availability — HOC is the better of the two 24 hour china-​town options that serve late night pu-​pu trays. Jade harbor, being the other ²⁴⁄₇ option, is ok, but falls short on many levels such as décor, patience and host. Its also rumored to be a Triad hang out so we steer clear.
Host — When you enter house of chen you will be greeted by Uncle Chen himself who resembles «Uncle Benny» from the Lethal Weapon Movies. Hes about a hundred and six years old and looks to be made of wax. He is the last remaining member of the 11^th Street Chen dynasty and has been the greeter at HOC since 1968. We’re not sure if he likes us, but when ever we come in he is there. Uncle Chen poses for pictures and high-​fives us while making high pitched noises that only the elderly make. Come to think of it, hes never not been there. Hes like that one guy on the telemundo that hosts every show, just like him, Uncle Chen probably doesn’t sleep either. He’s as affable as he is antique — if you meet him shake his hand and make him autograph your girls cleavage. You will smile on the inside every time you think of him.
Staff — Uncle Chen’s daughters. They also do not change. I believe they work 24 hours a day which makes me sad sometimes. There are two of them and for me they symbolize the true ying and yang of the restaurant. One is pleasant and giggles while rolling her eyes at the drunken idiots while we order our pu-​pu trays and dip the fried noodles in anything liquid on the table. I think her name is Susan. The other waitress spits venom with every breath she takes. Her eyes are daggers and she finds no humor in our HOC theme song that we sing intermittently through the course of our meal. We don’t know her name but to us she’ll always be the dragon lady — a true foil to Susan’s endearing benevolence. I would bet she’s spit in our food, but its ok we probably deserved it and she doesn’t find our drunken humor at 5am funny. If I wasn’t drunk and getting Chinese food, I would want to be sleeping too.
Service — Fassssst, greasy and delicious.
Menu — They have all of the MSG infused staples that bastardized authentic Chinese food turned takeout has inspired. No Fugu though.
Adventure Factor — One out of every three times we go in there a group of crums from South Philly that probably just came from Egypt night club try to beat us up for being too loud. Its comical and scary at the same time to have an altercation with somone sporting a brooklyn blowout. But it definitely adds the intangible excitement of the unknown to the overall experience.
Décor — HOC is like a time machine to the golden era of true 19^th century Chinese glory and posterity mixed with any of the Kumite scenes from the 80’s movie bloodsport starring Jean Claude van Damme. Imagine being whisked away for a slow dragon boat ride on the Huang He river while the douche from bloodsport serves you egg rolls and spin kicks people nearby in the back of the face.
Patience — Its kind of a subjective intangible, but in my book HOC get 7 stars for patience. My friends and I, although always having the best intentions, should have had the police called on us many times during our dining fiascoes at HOC especially the time we almost burned the place down by throwing the lit sterno from the pu-​pu tray at each other. They continue to earn my business and my adoration by not getting the cops involved when we’re all blacked out, making a mess and being inappropriate while trying to speak Chinese to the staff. And yes, your assumption that none of us know how to speak any legit Chinese is correct.
Side note: We actually have one friend named Bok Choi who speaks fluent Chinese to them when we’re there (hes Chinese). If you can believe it, they dislike him the most — probably because he taught us how to say «chicken head» in Chinese among other things. Hes a traitor, but hes our traitor, and we love him.
While you will no doubt curse the HOC for its unavoidable heartburn the next morning, the next time you are deliberating on where to acquire late night food remember sometimes the story is better than the actual fare. So stop by, let yourself be immersed in the rich culture of the Orient and forge lasting memories that you and Uncle Chen can share for a lifetime.
(note this review is meant to be ridiculous & funny — so if it offends you, c’mon lighten up.)