NYCReview
OK Ryan
Taiwan has a strong breakfast culture, so it’s kind of mind-boggling that Taiwanese breakfast is almost nonexistent in New York. Luckily, this sister restaurant of OK Canaan serves up a full Taiwanese breakfast on weekends from 9-11am. Start with the dan bing, or cheese egg rolls that you can drizzle with a sweetened soy dip. There’s also fan tuan, a purple rice roll filled with a fried cruller and pickled radish, if you want to start your day with fried bread wrapped in rice. Baked options include flaky taro and radish pastries and sesame flatbread served plain or stuffed with thin slices of braised beef. And don’t miss the delicious hot salty soy milk, served in a bowl with sliced fried cruller. This small spot can fill up quickly, but luckily most of the menu can be ordered for takeout.
Food Rundown
Salt and Pepper Pork Chop
We want to take lessons in the art of frying from OK Ryan. This deep-fried pork chop manages to have a super crisp exterior and ultra-tender meat—an impressive feat given the size of the pork. You may have to fight your dining companions for the last one.
House Special Tofu
This tofu dish’s categorization under the “Vegetable” section is a little misleading, since its drool-worthy sauce coats not only super soft tofu but also shrimp, minced pork, and egg. If you’re an omnivore, order this, and get a side of rice to go along with it.
Fan Tuan
Weekend breakfast at OK Ryan is full of carb-on-carb treats like their fan tuan, a purple rice roll filled with a fried cruller, pork floss, and pickled radish. It comes conveniently encased in plastic wrap, so you can eat this with your hands.
Clay Oven Roll
This breakfast shao bing can be ordered plain, but we like it sandwich-style cradling either beef or ham and egg. It has sesame on top and soft flaky layers, and it would definitely win in a taste-off against your deli’s breakfast sandwich.
Hot Salty Soy Milk
This Taiwanese breakfast item is only available on weekends. Served in a bowl with a Chinese cruller on the side, the soy milk has pickled vegetables and a hint of chili oil mixed in. When you run out of cruller, use some of the other bready breakfast items for dipping.
