Monthly Archives: January 2020

Randiwa

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Instagram Post 1/2/2020

There’s some tasty ethnic cuisine to be found on Staten Island although it doesn’t always make the front page; the borough has its share of international communities and I’m guessing that when the subject is food, the Sri Lankan population gets the most ink (outside of Italian). The spicy cuisine is shaped by Indian, Indonesian and Dutch influences with some Southeast Asian touches and if you include a few markets along with some restaurant hopping (no hoppers pun intended), you could spend the day exploring it.

Randiwa, located at 1405 Richmond Ave, is a little less than an hour’s bus ride from the St. George Ferry Terminal, so getting there is a bit of a commitment (unless you’re already in the neighborhood). We gathered for their AYCE Sunday buffet. Note that IMO this (and others like it) is not intended to be a representative cross-section of the cuisine – order from the menu if that’s your quest – but it does provide the pleasant prospect of sampling many dishes.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Second photo is the annotated plate comprising:
• Palak Paneer, the spinach and squeaky cheese dish you probably know from Indian cuisine, was great
• Kale Mallung, kale and coconut, also top notch
• Lunu Miris, a spicy sambal with notes of orange
• Eggplant Moju, surprisingly flavorful
• Pork Black Curry, tender and somewhat chewy
• Soyameat, the nondescript name notwithstanding, this one was spicy and delicious
• Vegetable Noodles, deeper flavor than I had anticipated
• Deviled Chicken, wicked good
• Coconut Sambal, a Sri Lankan standby

…and the rest, here on Staten Isle.
 
 

Uyghur Apandi Food

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Instagram Post 1/1/2020

I’ve written extensively about the oppressed Uyghur people who reside in the Xinjiang region of northwest China and, naturally, their cuisine, so I won’t repeat myself here (but if you’re so inclined you can learn more by searching for Uyghur at the top of any page). Happily, a number of restaurants and food court stalls have launched recently that feature this hearty Central Asian fare, and Uyghur Apandi Food is among them. Since Apandi occupies a stall (number 7, specifically) in Flushing’s Super HK Food Court at 37-11 Main St, you won’t be greeted with an extensive menu, but here are two of the dozen or so entries.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Nan Kordak featured segments of sesame seed encrusted Uyghur bread submerged in a soup/stew typical for the region, populated by orange and yellow carrots, coblets of corn, green pepper, spinach, cilantro, and, of course, chunks of lamb that had given their all to flavor the homey elixir.


Lamb Lagman (lagman being the interminably protracted noodle claim to fame of Uyghur cooking) included celery, red pepper, green pepper, and hot green pepper, and was accompanied by a gratuitous cup of lamby, gingery soup. (A chicken version is available as well.)