Category Archives: Restaurants & Food Courts

He Nan Cuisine

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Instagram Post 6/1/2018

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Continuing with Henan and comfort food themes, here’s a dish from He Nan Cuisine aka He Nan Flavor, aka Henan Feng Wei, formerly connected to what is now Spicy Village on Forsyth St in Manhattan. Located in Flushing, Queens at 136-31 41st Ave, it’s easy to miss; you need to descend a few steps to access this old school super casual restaurant. No English was spoken but the menu provided adequate translations of their fare and I was fortunate that on this particular visit one of my dining pals spoke the language.

I’ve enjoyed Kou Wan previously at Elmhurst’s sadly missed Uncle Zhou. Here, there are eight variations from meat ball, ground meat, and chicken to this one, “crisp meat”, all available with or without noodles. It’s a simple, homespun dish consisting of meat that’s been floured, fried, and simmered in a sauce seasoned with star anise and a touch of black pepper. Despite its name, don’t expect a bowl of crisp meat; I suspect that these nuggets had indeed been crispy bits of pork prior to preparation but the end result is soft, succulent and delicious. With so many more promising dishes on the menu, I’m looking forward to a return visit.
 
 

Fuding Wok

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Instagram Post 5/31/2018

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I had seen signs touting Fuding Meat at a number of venues in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Since I had never tried it, I was intent upon persuading my dining buddy who was already familiar with the stuff to share a bowl, so we ventured into Fuding Wok at 5216 Seventh Ave. The texture was not unlike a dumpling – not the kind of filled Chinese dumplings you’d find in this neighborhood, but rather more like the slippery, fluffy, slightly chewy pillows that float atop a dish of chicken and dumplings.
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Curious about the ingredients, I tracked down a recipe translated (I’m using that word very generously) into English in a clandestine corner of the interwebs. Fuding meat, named for a county-level city in northeastern China, is composed of pork (cut from the hind leg), pork fat, potato starch plus either cassava starch, wheat starch, or corn starch and a touch of seasoning, emulsified, extruded, sliced, steamed and finally served up in soup. (Don’t try this at home, kids.)
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At least eight condiments including my personal favorite, Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp, graced each table and provided a playground of flavor combinations to enhance our soup.
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Here’s the aforementioned sign that provides the key to tracking down fuding meat at that location and apparently at other comparable outposts. Since I’m a sucker for comfort food, this handily filled the bill. Best enjoyed on a dreary, rainy day, but don’t let good weather stop you!
 
 

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

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Instagram Post 5/28/2018

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Classic Memorial Day eats at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, a chain. Photo from their venue at 196A Flatbush Ave, Park Slope/Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, conveniently located near Barclay’s Center. Ribs, brisket, mac ‘n’ cheese, and coleslaw.
 
 

Diverse Dim Sum

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Instagram Post 5/23/2018

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Whenever I take folks on an ethnojunket through Flushing’s astounding array of mind-boggling and tummy-filling food courts, I never fail to bring them to Diverse Dim Sum at 133-35 Roosevelt Ave, Booth 12. This New York Food Court mainstay has developed a well-deserved reputation for their excellent Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings), but don’t let that fact dissuade you from trying some of their other delights. Case in point are the Fried Seafood Rice Cakes. Crispy outside, meltingly soft inside, these treats are not to be overlooked; you may have seen something similar elsewhere, but Diverse Dim Sum’s rendition easily outstrips the competition because of the inclusion of just the right amount of tiny shrimp to enhance the flavor and bring it to snacking perfection. So simple, yet so powerful.

(Followed by the obligatory XLB shot!)
 
 

He Ji Noodle

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Instagram Post 5/22/2018

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So many dishes looked tempting at He Ji Noodle House, stall #25 in the New York Food Court at 133-35 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, but when the prominently placed first item [Lamb Stewed Noodles] in the first section of the menu [Signature Stewed Noodles] looks so good, you just know ya gotta. (Not to mention the huge glowing sign grabbing your attention just daring you to taste anything else!)
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With a soup base that was richer than I was anticipating, this bowl of delicious noodles (two kinds) with plenty of lamb, wood ears, greens and other tasty bits (bean curd skin, dried lily buds) was the ideal invitation to come back and try more!
 
 

Dominique Ansel Kitchen – Kouign Amann

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Instagram Post 5/21/2018

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Dominique Ansel’s novel spin on his recipe for kouign-amann (“queen-ah-mahn”, easier to say than it is to spell), is the Brown Sugar even-easier-to-say DKA (the initials of “Dominque’s Kouign-Amann”). Native to the French 🇫🇷 region of Brittany, in the Breton language kouign = cake and amann = butter and it is as impossibly rich as it is challenging to make well. It’s a cousin to the croissant 🥐 – puffy, layered, buttery, and most important, sporting a sweet, crackly exterior of caramelized sugar. It’s the contrast between that crisp crust and the pillowy, yielding interior that makes it fit for a queen, if you will.

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As if to gild an already perfect lily, this adaptation delivers a chewy, gooey sweetness bomb at its heart.

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Kouign-amann can appear in two forms, that of a large cake to be sliced into individual servings, and this version, with a ring formed base – sometimes a muffin tin or cupcake pan is used – that barely supports the fluffy cloud above. This rendition is gets its color and deep flavor from the untraditional addition of brown sugar to the dough. Not to be consumed hastily, I suggest that you do what I did: relax with a cup of your favorite coffee, and focus on each gossamer bite.

Dominique Ansel Kitchen is located at 137 Seventh Avenue South, New York, NY 10014
 
 

Miss Li Henan Cuisine

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Instagram Post 5/20/2018

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I’ve always been a fan of Henan Chinese cuisine. No, not Hunan, I love that too, but Henan food is harder to come by in our fair city and since the disappearance of Elmhurst’s Uncle Zhou, the pickings have grown even slimmer.
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Miss Li Henan Cuisine at 133-49 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, Queens, has a number of dishes I need to try, but this visit would be a quick one, a stop on one of our eat-our-way-through-Flushing jaunts, so we only had time (and belly real estate) for one dish – case in point: Handmade Cold Noodles (gan mianpi). 🍜 Dotted with bean sprouts, slivers of cucumber and a few other touches, the spicy, saucy, chewy wheat flour noodles hit the spot on a dreary, rainy day.
 
 

Shanghai King

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Instagram Post 5/17/2018

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Elmhurst, Queens has a mini mini food court (like three stalls or so) at 86-22 Broadway. We went to Shanghai King (first stall as you enter) and chose the Dry Pot with Sliced Fish from among a field of six and Shanghai Pork Soup Dumplings. The dry pot was tasty but could have used a lot more spice 辣 (remember to stir up the yummy juices from the bottom of the wok – that helps a bit) and since they’re pretty new, we didn’t see a DIY condiment assortment.
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The dumplings weren’t bad – very thick skins, even for soup dumplings, but a solid mouthful, especially considering there were no spoons to be found! More to try….
 
 

Express Tea Shop

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Instagram Post 5/15/2018

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Jianbing (煎餅), literally fried pancake, is one of the more popular street foods in China and I’m pleased to report that it’s caught on in New York City, even outside of our five or so Chinatowns. Half the fun is watching your jianbing being made: a wooden crepe spreader is used to swirl the thin batter around a large, circular griddle; after a few seconds of cooking, an egg is added along with scallions, cilantro and various sweet and savory sauces plus other fillings, some vegetarian, some not. One important addition is the crisp cracker (baocui) placed atop the other ingredients just before flipping and folding into layers – think crisp fried wonton skins and you’ll get the idea. (Some versions use soft Chinese crullers (youtiao) but I greatly prefer the crispy texture contrast.)
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As with dumplings, the quality varies widely from purveyor to purveyor. Shown here in its authentic wax paper bag is Express Tea Shop’s version (41-28 Main St, Flushing, booth #26 in Golden Mall with a direct entrance on 41st Road) which in my opinion is one of the very best.
 
 

Ops

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Instagram Post 5/14/2018

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Ops, 346 Himrod St, Brooklyn, opened about two years ago and brought their own spin on Neapolitan style pizza to Bushwick. Rather than traditionally leavened dough, they go for natural leavening based on a sourdough starter – think “wild yeast”. Lighter and fluffier than standard issue pizza dough yet still providing a serious chew, it brings a lovely, unique flavor to the fresh toppings it supports.
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1) Here’s the “Cicero”, described on the menu as “many onions” (they weren’t kidding) along with preserved tomatoes, sharp provolone, mozzarella and oregano – absolutely delicious – and
2) “Pops” with tomatoes, mozzarella, and pecorino. Instead of the guanciale that’s a regular part of that one (vegetarian night!), we swapped it out and topped the Pops with greener crops at Ops.

Menu variations seem to change frequently, but you can always go for the add-ons and customize your toppings for their ethereal dough as we did; Ops’ pizzas are sure to get a rise out of you!