It’s coming along slowly but surely – not as slick-looking as any of the food courts in Flushing, but it’s the cuisine that counts, right?
Some additional vendors have emerged at the new incarnation of Hong Kong Food Court (82-02 45th Ave in Elmhurst) since I last wrote about it and one of the second batch is an outpost of Lan Zhou Ramen. (If you’re not familiar with their other locations, you should know that they’re more than just ramen.)
(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)
Their extensive menu included this admirable Cumin Lamb Noodle. The chef hand-pulled the noodles for my dish as I watched each step in the process; the noodz were as thick and chewy as I had hoped, the spice level was good, and the only thing I might have wished for was a bit more cumin presence – still, it was as satisfying as any I’ve enjoyed elsewhere.
And from the What-A-Long-Strange-Trip-It’s-Been Department: Their brightly lit signage, artistically inscribed with vivid red Chinese characters and identifying it as booth #23 looked familiar; certainly there are not 22 other stalls in HKFC’s current configuration. So when I got home, I checked the photo I had taken during their glory days back in 2019 and sure enough, it’s the selfsame sign.
Here’s hoping that’s a good sign!
Passing the wide assortment of dim sum on my way out of the food court, I couldn’t resist this Ham Sui Gok (咸水角), always one of my favorites. It’s crispy fried on the outside…
…with a chewy glutinous rice dough enveloping pork and perfectly sauced veggies on the inside; it’s sweet and savory at once and definitely filling.
Stay tuned for more new vendors – some I’m happy to report, are unique. And yes, of course, it’s a major stop on my Ethnic Eats in Elmhurst food tour!
How many vendors are there now? Last time I checked, probably a few months ago, there were only about 6.
I’m a huge fan of cumin lamb and back when this food court was thriving pre-Covid I remember getting cumin lamb noodles from one of the stalls. The quantity of lamb was kind of sparse and I had to order extra lamb to get a decent portion. I don’t know if it was Lan Zhou. Even in your photo it doesn’t look like there’s much lamb, or is there more buried under the noodles?
Hi Glenn,
It’s tricky to get an accurate count of vendors. On my most recent visit a few days ago, a lot had been moved around: the offerings of what seemed like two dim sum vendors as you enter were now consolidated into one on the right ride. In addition to dim sum, I think the same folks are doing the roasted meats and 2/3/4 over rice dishes. So is that one vendor or a few? On the left, there seems to be a fried chicken stall (possibly extending outside) but they’ve never been operating on any of my visits; I understand that there has been some spotty activity though.
Lan Zhou Ramen is running as you can see. To its left, there’s a Burmese vendor, Thar Gi, and to their left is Yulin Tea.
The confusion persists because of large red banners touting “Combo Chinese Food” and “Taste of Fu Zhou” hovering over inactive steam tables.
The back half is anybody’s guess – and I’ve heard many of those!
Regarding the Cumin Lamb Noodles, yes, there’s not a huge amount of lamb and the top layer that you see in the photo is representative of what lies beneath – but the noodles are the star in Lan Zhou’s take on the dish and the rest is flavoring, so it’s a noodle dish rather than a lamb dish.
I’ll have to check out the place when I have a chance. Interesting that there’s a Burmese stall – that’s still a rarity. Have you tried it? I really like Burmese Bites in the Queens Center mall.
See this post.