Some last minute trip planning led me to Queens, in particular a long-overdue first time visit to Flushing. Astounding to see such variety in a such a small area. Being solo, and without the appetite of a teenager, I appreciated how much food was on display just to gawk at in the stalls and food halls.
I struck gold with fishballs at a Fuzhou place on 41st, across from Sun Mary Bakery. Dark umami filling, and shell a notch bouncier than a dense matzoh ball, totally different than the factory made stuff.
Onto the wheat…
Mainland chain Lee & Bai buns was mentioned on another thread and I sampled their six buns— each one a winner. There are currently two vegetarian, the radish and a mushroom/vegetable. The “sprouts” in the sprouts with braised pork bun is ya cai (i.e., the pickled mustard greens common in dan dan mian rather than bean sprouts; the two items have the same Chinese characters). If I were to cull two buns, it would be the tasty but more familiar tasting mushroom and the green-pepper pork.
Fat Cat Flatbread in the New York Food Court was unlike any Chinese bread I’ve had before. Delicious thin crust, and an intense burn from black pepper in the black pepper beef. Woman at the counter said its from Hubei but I recall reading it originated and is common in a few places.
I tried a few xian bing per @Saregama’s tips. The beef xian bing at Tianjin on Kissena (b/w Barclay and Main) had an airier exterior and a saucier dark filling.
The beef xian bing at a stall at Main, caddy corner from Kissena, emphasized natural beef flavors and a hint of star anise. The combo of beef, wheat, and coarsely chopped yellow onion scratched the Central Asian/Eastern European itch I missed elsewhere on my trip.
Cool to try different flavors of Liang pi at Lao Luoyang.
Tarim Uyghur was a mixed bag. Samsa were great, lots of lamb juices soaked into the dough (SFBA places use a tortilla…). The naan was impenetrable.
Lao Ke Le’s gluten appetizer was excellent— fresh and airy gluten, not too oily. The dressing was light, not. The variety xiao long bao were huge, and though their wrappers reached translucency the top seals were too dense. My favorite was the spicy one, which had a complex flavored chili oil that complemented the meat/format (mild chili heat; no Sichuan peppercorn). Yam and okra was fine for balancing the meal but not great— dull okra and flavorles goji berries.
On Saturday, I head to Astoria for a fun dinner at Abuqir. Squid and shrimp tajine; and branzino, blackened and stuffed with fennel and dill. Loved the bread too.
Walked Abuqir off by heading to the Queens night market in Corona Park. After miles of streetfood along Broadway and Rossevelt, everything from birria to momos, I began to question whether a night market would be of interest. Wouldn’t you know it, lots of food that looked and smelled good and all in one place. My one bite was a delicious wild blueberry topped fry bread from Buffalo Jump, NYC’s only Native American food business.
