Old Tang – Part 1

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Instagram Post 5/25/2018

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There’s about enough room for four people (three if they’ve already eaten) in the tiny but wonderful Old Tang at 135-45 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, Queens. Each time I ventured in, there were new menu items to try; fortunately, it’s a short list so it will be relatively easy to accomplish my customary goal of tasting everything that’s available!
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1) This is Dry Sauce Noodles as it appears when handed to you.
2) Like many dishes at Old Tang, it is assembled from perfectly prepared thick, chewy, translucent noodles plus a tiny bit of each of the seasonings ready to be portioned out by an expert hand. Lots of familiar additions, but it was the tahini-like sesame sauce that set it apart.
3) Not a pretty picture perhaps, but oh, so delicious! When all the ingredients are thoroughly combined, it’s practically impossible to tease out individual flavors, but in this case the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And their adjoining bakery has some pretty fine treats for a finishing touch; photos in a future post!
 
 

Little House Cafe – Taro Cake

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Instagram Post 5/24/2018

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A place of many delicious wonders, I am compelled to return to Little House Café, 90-19 Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens as soon as possible. It’s an Asian fusion counter service venue with a few tables and remarkable food; in addition to having the best Curry Mee with Young Tao Fu I’ve ever tasted, the sweets and desserts were a cut above as well. One of the most dramatic was this layered taro cake: gelatin, custard, taro, cake. Each layer brought something unique to the party: sweet, creamy, textured, fluffy. Remarkably, I was able to polish off the whole thing in one sitting because it wasn’t too sweet.

Yeah, that must’ve been why. 🐷

…and the cutaway stepped view.
 
 

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.

Photo 2:
As if to gild an already perfect lily, this adaptation delivers a chewy, gooey sweetness bomb at its heart.

Photo 3:
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.
 
 

Bappy Sweets – Mishti Doi

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Instagram Post 5/18/2018

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I sing the praises of this humble dessert and I freely admit that it is a much beloved comfort food for me. No, I do not hail from 🇮🇳 West Bengal or 🇧🇩 Bangladesh, but this delicious treat does. Essentially, mishti doi is similar to a sweetened, thick yogurt – almost the texture of a custard or pudding – but is distinguished by the way in which it is made. From Wikipedia: “Mishti doi is prepared by boiling milk until it is slightly thickened, sweetening it with sugar, either gura (brown sugar) or khejur gura (date molasses), and allowing the milk to ferment overnight.” Sometimes a touch of cardamom is added for flavor and aroma. You can usually identify it by its pale orange color, but I’ve seen it nearly white as well; there’s also a variation called “bhapa doi” that’s made with sweetened condensed milk that sets up more reliably if you’re making it yourself and I understand there are fruit variants like mango as well.

This batch came from Bappy Sweets, 85-07 Whitney Ave in Elmhurst, Queens. Whenever I take folks through the neighborhood on a food tour (“ethnojunkets” I call them), Bappy is an essential stop; everyone I have introduced this delight to has absolutely loved it and it always disappears in a trice. Bappy makes and sells other mithai (Indian sweets) but I recently learned that their claim to fame and best seller is their mishti doi. I’m not surprised.
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And if you have trouble remembering its name, here’s a mnemonic I came up with for this magical comfort food: “Sometimes Mishti Doi is the only thing that can make you feel better on a Misty Day.”
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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!