Tag Archives: Chinese

Nuan Xin Fan Tuan

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It seems like lately whenever I write about Flushing, I’ve been focusing on food courts – and even then, only the big six: Golden Mall, New World Mall Food Court, New York Food Court, The Food Hall at Queens Crossing, Tangram Food Hall, and now Eat Up! Food Court.

But recently, on my way to one of them (because I would have been too full to even think about food afterwards), I stopped by Nuan Xin Fan Tuan where the namesake rice roll is the specialty. The menu lists at least 36 of them, with fillings running the gamut of meats (bacon, chicken, duck, ham, beef, sausage, pork floss), seafood (eel, shrimp, crab), salted egg yolk, cheese, fried dough sticks, and veggies. The ingredient that might make you sit up and take notice is the purple rice that that makes the roll truly special. In this case, the slightly chewy rice enclosed salted egg yolk, pork floss, shredded lettuce, and dried radish, dressed with spicy mayo.

Nuan Xin has three locations: Manhattan, Brooklyn and Flushing; their Flushing outpost is in YF Square at 136-55 Roosevelt Ave along with The Pancake (which I wrote about a year ago) and four other stalls. It’s a mini mall but certainly not minimal because everything I’ve tried is unique and a cut above. Bears a return visit.

(Note to self: Resist the temptation to do a Purple Rice/Purple Rain song parody.)
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

A Study in Contrasts

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(Or, Food Court Press, Part 3)

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On a recent trip to Eat Up! the new food court in Flushing, I visited vendors located at booth #16 (“Bao Boom”) and booth #2 (don’t look for any English but my iPhone thinks it saw “Tasty Taiwan”) that presented a study in unlikely contrasts on both the micro and macro levels. Allow me to explain.

Bao Boom highlights sang ji bao, a featured component in many of their menu choices. Sang ji bao (you may be familiar with sheng jian bao – it’s just a difference of dialect) are remarkable buns, crispy on the bottom but implausibly yielding on top (a contrast in texture). Sang ji/sheng jian translates literally to “raw-fried”: they’re pan-fried and steamed simultaneously to achieve that golden bottom and pillowy top (a contrast in technique). The filling consists of a dense ball of tasty seasoned pork swimming in abundant, surprisingly rich broth (a contrast in state). After the dough is filled and sealed, it’s turned upside-down for cooking so the bottom is actually the top and vice versa (a contrast in orientation) and served with a packet of Chinese balsamic vinegar (a sweet-sour contrast in flavors).


They’re so juicy you might want to heed the instructions offered in their conveniently posted how-to video (along with a history of the delicacy itself) before consuming lest the bao bursts unexpectedly. (Note to self: edit out the “baos bursting in air” pun.) Maybe that’s the Boom reference in the name. But seriously, they may be the best I’ve ever experienced in terms of flavor, composition and technique.


At Tasty Taiwan, I ordered the smoked chicken, an exercise in textbook simplicity. It was chicken. It was smoked. It was tender. It was perfect.

The only non-contrast in this tale of complex bao and simple chicken? The two dishes were equally exceptional.

Obviously, they’re on my food court centric Snacking in Flushing ethnojunket. Let me know if you want to come along!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Food Court Press, Part 2

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More from Eat Up! the new food court in Flushing.

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The Chinese characters below the English “Noodle Time” at booth #20 translate to “Chongqing Noodles” and its menu lists a dozen tempting choices in the “Chongqing Snacks” section – precisely what I was after since tids and bits were the order of the day. Deferring once again to my OCD to make the choice for me, I ordered the first item on the list, “Spiced Meat Roll” in English but the Chinese characters provided more of a clue about what flavor profile to expect: “五香卷”, 5-Spice Roll.


Not only was the seasoning distinctive, but treating the exposed sides of the cut roll to extra time on the grill definitely added to the experience. A cut above, as it were.


From Chongqing in southwest China we travel to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest. (It’s really not far – only three booths away 😉.) I’ve written extensively about the oppressed Uyghur people who reside in the Xinjiang region and their cuisine. Booth #17, “Uyghur Tandoor Samsa” offers several native dishes and almost all are accompanied by samsa, succulent meat pies filled with lamb, onions and cumin among other spices that are typically baked in a clay oven. Shown here in the wild…


…and domesticated (plated at home).

Let me know if you’d like to see more goodies from the new Eat Up!…or if you’d like to visit it with me first hand on my food court-centric Snacking in Flushing ethnojunket!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Food Court Press

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I’m Baaa-ack!

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Flushing is the epicenter of Asian food courts in New York City and there’s nothing more compelling than the launch of a new rival to coax this food writer out of his recent hiatus.

Food courts come and food courts go and I’m old enough to remember the OG food court in Flushing that closed at least a dozen years ago. The latest contender is called Eat Up! located on the lower level of the newish 99 Ranch Market at 37-11 Main St, a formidable addition to the neighborhood in its own right. It’s home to 28 booths featuring a variety of Asian cuisines (primarily Taiwanese and Chinese but sushi, pho and Uyghur samsa round out the assortment) from snacks to complete meals.

Surrendering to my OCD proclivities, I started with Booth #1, Pop Mao, which features Sichuan Maocai, an individual hot pot where ingredients you select are pre-cooked and served in a spicy broth. But faced with 27 additional booths to investigate across the two days I had allocated for the maiden voyage, I thought it best to stick with a snack so I opted for the Pumpkin Pancakes since I hadn’t seen them elsewhere. Crispy outside and a little chewy inside with two layers of flavor, they were a sweet surprise (but not too sweet 😉) – so much so that I opted to bring the rest home and order a couple of other items to go: spicy Wolf’s Tooth potatoes and Sichuan Crispy Pork. Like the Pumpkin Pancakes, both were unique and excellent.

The lesson I took home from that visit is that Eat Up! is not only a top-notch addition to the food court team but the players are significantly different from other venues in the neighborhood – so stay tuned: more to come.

And yes, of course it’s already on my food court centric Snacking in Flushing ethnojunket! Hope to see you soon!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

The Zenith of Zongzi

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If you visit any of New York City’s nine or so Chinatowns, you’ve probably seen zongzi, a pyramid of bamboo-leaf-wrapped glutinous rice filled with savory tids and bits. In addition to pork belly, this one contained preserved duck egg yolk and lap cheong (Chinese sausage); the yellow, rice-grain-sized fragments are mung beans that add immeasurably to the savory flavor of this treat.

Zongzi are an integral part of Dragon Boat Festival, the time-honored Chinese holiday, but fortunately they’re available year round. They’re crafted with an array of fillings, some sweet, some savory, and specific distinctions vary throughout regions of China and elsewhere in Asia. Locally, it’s easy to find savory versions packed with peanuts, pork belly, lap cheong, ham, salted duck egg, dried shrimp, mushrooms and more in various permutations and combinations; sweet types involve red dates and sweet bean paste.

Note that in our Chinatown dim sum parlors, you might encounter sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves but those are Lo Mai Gai, usually rectangular or pillow shaped and featuring chicken – different but also delicious.

So why did I bestow the title of “zenith” on this example (aside from cheeky alliteration, of course)? Because when I sliced it open on the bench in Columbus Park, I lucked into picture-perfect symmetry.

Want to see if I can repeat the shot? Only one way to find out: join me on my Not Your Ordinary Chinatown Tour and we’ll give it another shot!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Not Just Any Pancake: The Pancake

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A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon a new spot in the 136-55 Roosevelt Avenue venue in Flushing: The Pancake. They offer six versions of the eponymous treat; I opted for the Pork Pancake, although the cute, yellow (a signature color) wrapper reads “Meat Pie Pepper Flavored,” a more informative description.

The Chinese legend on the back of the wrapper (謝謝, Google Translate!) continues, “peppery and crispy,” “refreshing and lingering fragrance,” and delivers the helpful caveat “To keep the crispy texture, please eat me as soon as possible!” Not one to disparage instructions, I obliged and was rewarded with a perfect snack.

A peek inside.

Definitely put a smile on my face! It’s good to be back, Flushing!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Taiwanese Mooncakes

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I’m Baaa-ack!

And so are my ethnojunkets!

If you’ve been here before, you know that an ethnojunket is a food-focused walking tour through one of New York City’s many ethnic enclaves; my mission is to introduce you to some delicious, accessible, international treats (hence, “ethno-”) that you’ve never tasted but soon will never be able to live without (hence, “-junkie”). You can read about them here.

I’ve added some new items to my food tours. For example, you’re probably familiar with Cantonese mooncakes; they’re typically enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival (celebrated this year on Monday, October 6) but are available year-round if you know where to look.

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But have you ever tried Taiwanese mooncakes? They’re round, flaky, and are available in at least a dozen different varieties. Here’s a trio from my last visit to Flushing:

Shown here are green bean, taro, and date, but every flavor I’ve tasted has been a treat.

Want to sample them yourself? Please join me on my “Snacking in Flushing – The Best of the Best” ethnojunket and I’ll show you where to find them!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Fok Noodles Express

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A couple of posts ago I did a shout-out to Pinklady Cheese Tart at 11 Mott St in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Literally across the street (and I mean “literally” literally) at 12 Mott, you’ll find Fok Noodles Express, the newest incarnation of the E Noodle group.

They take the word Express seriously; my order was ready practically before I had a chance to sit down at the counter. They offer a wide assortment of Cantonese handmade dumplings, dim sum and noodles and given the environment, the dish I tried was definitely beyond my expectations.

This is Dan Dan Noods (their spelling) with a nod to Sichuan cuisine: just the right amount of heat in the sauce with skillfully balanced toppings over perfectly cooked noodles. After I try a few (yeah, right!) more items, I might need to add this spot to my “Not Your Ordinary Chinatown Tour” – I’ll keep you posted!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Chinatown’s Worst-Kept Best-Kept Secret

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Shhh!!!

Its name is Fu Zhou Wei Zhong Wei Jia Xiang Feng Wei which essentially means “tasty Fuzhou hometown flavor.” Or WZW for short. Until about five years ago, this unique restaurant featured an extensive menu but COVID did what pandemics do and they reinvented themselves as a wholesale operation. Since then, they’ve re-reinvented themselves and currently offer a scaled-down selection of first-rate Fujianese soups, dumplings and buns.

There are two ways you can experience this stalwart Chinatown treasure for yourself:

Go to 88 East Broadway, walk down a few steps toward the row of plate glass doors, open the leftmost door (the only one that isn’t locked), enter and go left, then around, then downstairs, then straight. You’ll pass mostly vacant and abandoned offices, shop fronts, and the precious few businesses that remain. Keep going until you come to WZW.

Or…

Use the side entrance on Forsyth St and go directly downstairs.

But tell me, where’s the fun in that?

WZW wasn’t well known to casual tourists but so many foodie cognoscenti and tour guides shared their best-kept secret that before long a critical mass of Chinatown devotees discovered this treasure. And now you’re in on the secret too. If you weren’t already.

From our last visit: Meat Paste Soup

 
 
Fried Dumplings


 
 
Small Steamed Buns


 
 
Steamed Dumplings


 
 
Fuzhou Dumplings with Soup

 
 
Bamboo Shoot Cake. I know they look like the sesame balls you’ve seen so many times before, but these are filled with bamboo shoots and pork. One of a kind.

And yes, of course we always visit WZW on my “Not Your Ordinary Chinatown Tour.” Check it out here. These resolute folks deserve our loyalty and support!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Hakka Kau Yuk

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More Bensonhurst as promised. In my last post we explored Italian 86th St but Chinese bakeries also cohabit the area. The word “bakery” falls short because some of these establishments offer a selection of lunchworthy steam table dishes as well.

I seldom order anything I’m familiar with; when faced with mutual unintelligibility, my modus operandi is to point at an unlabeled tray and hope for the best. In this case I could identify slices of pork belly and taro. I watched the woman behind the window as she carefully placed a slice of the first alternating with a slice of the second and so forth into a small aluminum container until it was filled. I brought it home, plated some of it as you see here, promptly texted the photo to my Number One Spy since I had no idea about what I had purchased other than it was delicious, and asked if she knew what it was.

Of course she did. It’s Hakka Kau Yuk, comfort food that hails from China’s Guangdong province and often shows up on the Chinese New Year dinner table. Preparation is laborious but the result is extraordinary; the steamed delicacy is elevated by a savory sauce that’s the perfect complement. So good!

Thanks again, Number One Spy. I’m a lucky guy for knowing you!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤