Maxim’s MX

The Hong Kong style baked pork chop. Let me tell you about my new favorite dish, son. You have a pork cutlet. You put that on top of some egg fried rice with just the right amount of saltiness and a light broth flavor. You smother the whole thing with a slightly tangy, slightly sweet tomato sauce that’s mixed with mushrooms and tomato chunks. You fill out your last will and testament because there is no longer a good reason to live. I’m not joking; I’ll upload the will I wrote out on an MX napkin after my lawyer gives me the go-​ahead.
Okay maybe I’m being just a little hyperbolic, but I really am in a deep nearly religious love for the baked pork chop at the moment. Maxim’s MX is a chain of HK «chaan tengs» which we’ve always called HK cafes here in SoCal. One hallmark of the HK café is that they usually feature menus with way more stuff than can be reasonably made well. They also offer a mix of traditional Chinese dishes like noodles, wonton soups, and fried rice, while also serving western stuff like sandwiches, steaks and spaghetti. (Aside: I love HK-​style sandwiches as they tend to throw an egg into all of them by default. If you don’t love egg please unfriend me to avoid potential violence.) The food tends to come out as a set menu with a drink included. Prices are generally cheap, especially for the amount of food you’re getting.
There is no «magic» to MX. It’s not owned by a cute elderly woman and her husband who get up in the wee hours of the morning to hand chop vegetables and start cooking the soup that will feed hundreds of smiling customers that day. It’s owned and run by a restaurant corporation. The lady taking my order at the front was equal parts curt and bored. She also gave me a look of suspicion when I ordered an extra milk tea, as if I was pulling one over on her and she was trying to figure out how. This leads me to believe that there is possibly an amazing baked pork chop someplace else in HK. Possibly in some kind of shrine or at the foot of a burning bush. But until I find it I’ll be at MX.
Extra credit tip: Order your food off the tv screen menus. Each screen shows a different type of food: Chinese, western, other, etc. Pay by Octopus card b/​c you’re an HK local and not some clueless tourist, then take the ticket they give you over to the kitchen area where someone will take it from you and order up your food. While they’re loading up your tray, scope out an open seat near someone cute. Don’t let them see you weep when you eat the magic pork chop as such public emotion is generally frowned upon.
Extra credit tip #2: You get 30 mins of free wifi using the code on your receipt.