Best of Flushing, near Main St Metro

[pdpredtide]

Hello! I am a foodie from Florida in the area for some good eats this weekend and was wondering about a few places to go grab a quick bite while i am in the area specifically near the Main Street Flushing Metro exit. I will be there mostly on Saturday all day.

I am looking specifically for

Best Bakery
Best Breakfast
Best Lunch
Best Cheap Eats
Best Dumplings
Best Dim Sum
Best Soup Dumplings
Best Chinese Dinner
Best ....whatever else there is?

I am always dazed and confused when i get out there and it is greatly appreciated for any help regarding the labyrinth of people that is Flushing. Thanks so much!

http://tastychomps.blogspot.com

[pdpredtide]

I went to Imperial Palace the other week and had the dungeness crab with rice as well as some peking duck! I thought it was pretty good but a bit pricey! I should have went with my parents lol

[Lau]

IP isn't cheap for flushing, good cantonee seafood places never are although its cheap compared to most food in the city.

Fyi, their peking duck is mediocare, get their whole or half fried chicken next time...its quite good

[bigjeff]

thank you for your very complete reviews; what we appreciate most on CH is when someone has an elaborate request, and shows us the evidence that they used our advice!

p.s. bing alum here; not a brother but glad you had a good time!

[pdpredtide]

for photos and review click:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

After lunch, we decided to take a walk around Flushing to walk off our soup dumpling breakfast and headed east on 39th Avenue past Main Street. Here is where we encountered the Xinjiang meat cart, the merchant of magical meats based out of the Xinjiang region of China.

Xinjiang, north of bordering Tibet, is the province where the recent Uyghur unrest occurred where ethnic strife between the minority Uyghurs and the majority Han Chinese sparked days of rioting. Thankfully the only rioting that will be going on here in Flushing is the riot my tummy will make for some skewered meat. The great thing about these skewers is that its only $1.00 for lamb or chicken or beef grilled on a stick peppered with spices and dusted with cumin. Ah yes, meat on a stick - a perennial favorite street food.

The man behind the stall is quite friendly and jovial, dishing out his meat with agility and speed to the consumers waiting nearby. He asks us, "Spicy?" which we reply, "yes" of course.

I enjoyed the lamb and chicken skewers as they were fresh off the grill, juicy, fatty, and packed a spicy punch. Definitely eat these with something to drink to cool off the spicy-ness.

Note that these stalls do not open for business till around 10AM or so, and before 10AM, there are donut/breakfast carts set up around Flushing instead.

[pdpredtide]

for pictures and review:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, or Nan Shiang Xiao Long Bao as it is sometimes spelled, is renown for its Xiao Long Bao or Little Dragon Buns aka the notorious soup dumplings. As I write this to you this day, my mouth is already salivating from the thought of the steaming soup filled dumplings, bundles of tasty rapture.

My first encounter with soup dumplings was at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown in Manhattan NYC and it was there that my obsession for these steamed juicy buns of pork or pork and crab began. Just looking at the pictures of my last trip to Joe's Shanghai would trigger a almost Pavlovian response to salivate and imagine tasting the soup dumplings again. Soup inside your dumpling, not dumplings inside your soup. Whoa.

It was around 11 am and my brothers and I were hungry. There was about a 15 minute wait to get into Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao located diagonally across from the Flushing Sheraton on Prince Street. We were lucky to get in under a relatively short amount of time because when I looked outside, there was an even longer line forming to get into the tiny restaurant store which held probably no more than 30 diners at a time.

When we got to our table we immediately began our order for 2 crab and pork soup dumplings and 1 pork soup dumplings. I could see from my seat the Chinese ladies by the steamers making the buns and cooking them to a near perfect freshness.

I ordered a tofu pudding dish (tofu fa) drizzled with honey syrup, a great start for breakfast. The tofu was light and sweet as I slurped it up with my spoon.

We also ordered a round of sweet soy milk, regular pork dumplings, and these scallion pancakes rolled with beef. They were all great but the stars of the show were the soup dumplings.

The soup dumplings were the first to arrive, still steaming in their steam bamboo dishes on a bed of cabbage. We pick the dumplings up, taking care not to burst the skin. Novices / N00bs at eating soup dumplings would put them in their mouth right away to bite them; only to wince in pain as they release the hot steaming soup inside and burn their tongues.

The way that I eat them is by placing them onto my soup spoon first, puncturing the skin with my chopstick, releasing the soup onto the spoon, and allowing you to blow on the dumpling to cool before devouring the dumpling morsels. I don't know who invented these things but they are one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. Thank you soup dumpling maker, where ever you are.

The atmosphere of Nan Xiang is strictly no frills, almost Chinese-speaking only. We actually had some troubles with our first waitress because she couldn't understand our order a few times, which was a bit exasperating. Luckily there were other waitresses who could help us out. Whew.

[pdpredtide]

Corner 28 pics
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

Corner 28 located just north of the LIRR Railroad track on Main Street has a special for 2 pieces of roast "peking" style duck for $1.00. When we first arrived, the lady there told us the sifu (master) of the peking duck roast has yet to arrive so come back later after 10AM. So we walked around and came back and there she was slicing the duck with the skills of a shaolin kung fu master, what deft knife skills. I wouldn't want to get into a street fight with this old lady.

The duck came wrapped in a tortilla like bread roll that was soft and fresh. Topped with some chinese barbeque sauce, the crispy duck bread rolls were delicious, and for $1.00 it was a really good deal!

[pdpredtide]

THe Flushing mall
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

The Flushing Mall is a two story indoor "mall", which sadly to say is going the way most underperforming malls in America are: down under. Many of the stores here are closed and the ones that are open sell random dollar store stuff or are just plain random. The mall itself is kind of decrepit and probably has seen better days. Nevertheless there is one section of the mall that continues to see business: the Food Court.

The Food Court of the Flushing Mall is a long area where there are food vendors dishing out various Chinese specialties. At this time in the morning - a little bit before 10 am - there were still a few stores not open yet. We try our luck with the Shaved Ice lady and ask her if we can have a special combo icee. After a few tries at translation, I hand her the money with about 10 cents in pennies. She pushes the pennies back to me, "No, I don't want, no one wants this!" A little bit annoyed, I look around for a dime for this ridiculous cashier lady. -_-

When we got the shaved ice, it came in a huge bowl topped with mung beans, red beans, condensed milk, syrup and more goodie sweets and jellies. Overall I enjoyed the shaved ice but wish there were more fruits!

A few doors down is a stall with another Chinese lady who was more cordial and friendly. We ordered a pretty large dumpling for about 80 cents. I paid her with a bill.

It was overall a great steamed pork bun and juicy to the bite. I wish I had more!

[pdpredtide]

for full review with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

Eric and I walk another block on our journey through Flushing, Queens. I've been here before, year after year, but never knowing what places were good and so in our own fear of disappointment, we would always try the same things again and again. This time would be different. This time, we had it all planned out.

This is around the time Freddi calls me to hang out with
fellow foodie ScoopG but I had to go to the city :( i wonder how it went

Downtown Flushing is a bustling crossroads of sorts, even in the early morning time, buses, cars, people all out and about moving from here to there, to markets and to breakfast, to work. The experience takes your breath away for a moment before you too have to move through the crowds and find your next destination.

Ours was the AA Plaza beneath the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) tracks on Main Street. This takeout stall is a long glass case with their grills right along the glass window showcasing their foods. Greasy, nasty, cheap, delicious food: the definition and embodiment of street food.

They sell turnip pudding cakes, oiled-up scallion cakes, steamed pork buns (4 for $1.25), fried chicken wings, lo mein noodles, and more to go. We decide to get some of the curry fish balls (1$). It is all dirt cheap and tasty to boot.

The curry fish balls are plump and tender, spongy and dripping in its sauce, tasting a bit spicy yet also fresh. I always love any meat served on a stick.

[pdpredtide]

for full review with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

The Sun Mary Bakery is located right off of Main Street on 41st st. We get a few bakery items such as egg custard, pineapple bun, and the taro ball. I liked the egg custard the best because of its flaky, pastry crust, something that many egg custard places neglect to perfect. Overall, this is a 4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!

[pdpredtide]

for full review with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

The conference began early Saturday morning in Flushing, Queens borough of New York City. Since I am an alumni and didn't need to go to some of the workshops, I decided to take a gastronomical tour of eats in downtown Flushing near the metro station. I mostly used a guide from chowhound.com thanks everyone!!!!!!

My brother, Eric Ho, and I rode the Q65 from Jamaica Hills to Flushing which took about 20 minutes and stopped right off of Main Street. The first place we went to was the "Golden Mall" which contained in its basement a smorgasbord of Chinese street food style vendors.

First, we stopped by Xian Foods, a small stall in the center of the Golden Mall basement. Xian Foods was actually featured in the NY times article and even visited by Anthony Bourdain before. The city of Xi'an, located in Central China and one of the oldest cities of China, was home to the imperial tomb of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang and his famed terra cotta warriors.

Eric and I decide to split a spicy lamb burger ($2.50). The lady at the counter takes out a piece of frozen lamb meat from the freezer pre-prepared and sets it onto the sizzling pan on the stove in the back of the stall. I was hoping it would be fresh rather than frozen but you can't expect much when ordering from a basement stall. There were also a few other stalls there in the basement of the Golden Mall, but I did not know what to get as the signage was all in Chinese and I also didn't want to have to go "flushing" after wards (if you get what I mean)....lol

The lamb burger was wedged between two slices of bread roll, and had a spicy gamey taste to it made with cumin and pepper. Ah, the perfect way to start a morning in Flushing. Overall I would give this lamb burger a 4 out of 5 tasty chomps....

[nooyawka]

For dim sum: I like Jade Asian adjacent to large municipal parking lot. For cheap dim sum, I know 28 Corner on corner of Main and the L-shaped street has some dim sum. I've had very good shrimp dumplings there, but 1 time it was mediocre. So they're not consistent.

For cheap eats: I like the vendors under the LIRR tracks. I used to like them a lot more. They used to sell these humongous fried chicken thighs. Now they've shrunk, but are still not a bad deal. The generous portions of fried noodles and fried rice will fill you up for a couple of bucks.

For dumplings: I like the store down the street from Chao Zhou, diagonally opposite Starbucks. Not on Main, but on the cross street, next to the municipal lot. I admire the lady-owner. She used to have a street cart, but I guess she saved enough to open a store. But I think in recent years, she's coasted. Dumplings are not as good as they used to be. Not sure if she makes them anymore or whether she delegates to someone else who may not care as much.

[pdpredtide]

i got a curry fishball stick from the AA plaza under the railroad tracks haha. can't get too much stuff from there though cause last year when i went i had to make a run to the flushing library bathroom if you know what i mean. @_@

whats the address to chao zhou?

[nooyawka]

Oh, yeah, the grease overload. I've gotten hit. And there's the cleanliness concern too. I've heard stories about the lamb-skewer guys.

Don't know the address of Chao Zhou. It's on the opposite corner of Starbucks. Has a big rice bowl on the roof of the building. It's also a couple of storefronts down from KFC. If you're standing on the big steps in front of the library on the Main St side, and look across Main, it's right there.

[kathryn]

Store down the street from Chao Zhou, opposite Starbucks, next to parking lot = Zhu Ji Guo Tie?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eatingin...

[pdpredtide]

i saw that place on the way to my chinatown van! Ill pick up something next time as I was afraid before....

[kathryn]

It's quite good and I recommended it in one of my earlier posts. :)

[pdpredtide]

lol i wasnt sure which one it was

[bigjeff]

sad to say that place has dropped in my rankings; not feeling that place anymore unfortunately.

[pdpredtide]

thanks kathyrn, scoopg, fredi , shout out to lau and everyone! i will be posting my visits in the next few days!

for the full entry with pics visit:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/...

10:08PM - Prince Street, Flushing, Queens
A walk around the Best Western lands us in Canton Gourmet, a Cantonese style restaurant that luckily for us is open till midnight. Ah, the comforts and perks of living in a predominantly Chinese city in America: restaurants open late nights.

Upon entering the restaurant, we observe the offerings displayed in large brightly colored poster board photos along the wall. The images are crispy and make you salivate.

After a moment, the tables are ready for our party of 10. We begin with a traditional start to a Chinese meal: soup. We order the crab meat and fish maw soup ($10.95) which is a huge bowl enough for our whole group of 10 and divided into individual soup bowls by our friendly and often comedic waiters. Fish maw, if you haven't had it before, has a foamy, springy texture with little taste.

Next to arrive is a plate of house style clam ($14.95), a heaping of clams and also fried garlic that they apparently love to use on every dish here at Canton Gourmet. Alot of garlic, not a lot of clam.

Famous silver golden egg fried rice ($10.95) - my favorite fried rice, made with golden raisins a la biryani style and topped with goodie chinese toppings.

Garlic Crispy Chicken ($10.95) - Garlic Crispy chicken was my favorite dish out of all, made peking duck style with a extra crispy skin and succulent flavorful chicken topped with that fried garlic that they use on everything here.

There is something homey about the place, as if the dishes could have been cooked by my grandfather if he were still alive today.

Overall I enjoyed Canton Gourmet, and although it may not have been the greatest thing I ever had, it was pretty good, a little bit above the offerings we have in Orlando and definitely with a lot more authentic dishes.

[Lau]

fyi the house specialities are the garlic chicken (which you got) and the garlic crab...i think the garlic crab is really the star there and the reason to go otherwise i think imperial palace is the way to go

[pdpredtide]

where is imperial palace at? I will be in flushing again in a few months lol...for business. ill try the garlic crab next time i love seafood but our party was weary of having to clean up after the mess when it was so late

[Lau]

Here's the yelp link (has a map): http://www.yelp.com/biz/imperial-palace-flushing

the crab rice is a must, i also like the crispy whole chicken, peking pork chops (jing du pai gu), braised fish and tofu casserole, pea shoots in crab sauce (xie rou dou miao) which is not on the menu....generally the food is great although don't get the salt and pepper squid (its not good there

)

here are some links i posted earlier:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/543625
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/454983

[nooyawka]

I second Lau's rec on the crab rice. I assume you're talking about the one that comes with crab and sticky rice in a bamboo container. It's pretty darn good. I
think we might have talked about this on a different thread too. And I think someone else mentioned another crab rice at Ocean Jewels too. Sorry I can't credit that person correctly here...

[pdpredtide]

ill put that on my list for my next visit probably in a few months, thanks lau! and shout out to fredi tho we did not get to meet up!

[nooyawka]

pdpredtide: if you like Garlic Crispy Chicken, you may want to compare it to the one at the restaurant in Ctown, next to Jing Fong on Elizabeth, across from 5th Precinct. Not sure of the name, think it's "Cantoon Gourmet" or something like that. I smile everytime I see the name. I've had it there. It's very good. I was told by the friend bringing me there that it's one of their signatures.

[Lau]

its excellent at cantoon garden (which is my favorite chinese restaurant in manhattan ctown), i go there often, but its prepared differently than the one at canton gourmet

here's my report (and a really long thread on cantoon garden)
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589457

[nooyawka]

Wow, just saw the review. Thanks! I don't know why this place isn't on my radar when I think of larger and/or better Ctown restaurants. I've been really down on Ctown places in the last 5-10 years. You're right. I definitely did get a very cozy, family-friendly vibe from the place the last time I was here. And the food generally was good or better. Have to revisit soon. Sorry for having gone off the topic for a moment.

[Lau]

yeah u should def re-visit, its def my pick for best restaurant in manhattan ctown...i think they know me now b/c i go there at least once a month

[pdpredtide]

i come up every couple months or so and decided this past trip to make informed decisions about the places i go to since my friends always go to the same places blah . im glad i asked on chowhound :thumbs up: thanks everyoneee

[pdpredtide]

chinese style lobster has got to be one of my favorite foods of all time

[pdpredtide]

are they related and cantoon = canton + canteen? LOL

[Lau]

haha i dont think so...they are both supposed to say canton (cantoon garden and canton gourmet), which is the english name of guangzhou (capital of guangdong) where cantonese people are from

[pdpredtide]

indeed my grandparents are from guangzhou

[pdpredtide]

thanks everyone for all your help! i will update with more indepth review soon but here are some highlights!

day 1
canton gourmet - chinese family style feast

day 2
golden mall - xian food inc - lamb burger
flushing mall - shaved ice, $.80 bao
corner 28 - $1 peking duck
Sun Mary Bakery - egg custard! etc
Xinjiang street cart - $1 lamb with cumin and pepper spice, $1 chicken on a stick
Spicy and Tasty - szcheuan food

day 3
Nan shang - breakfast - soup dumplings, sweet tofu , scallion pancakes with beef
Tai Pan bakery - egg custards, etc

awesomeeee

http://tastychomps.blogspot.com

[fredid]

Pdp - Some Hounds are eating together in Flushing this weekend - check your blog email!

[pdpredtide]

ok here is the google map! what do you think?

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF...

[Lau]

that's a pretty good tour if you hit everywhere on that list

also since you're there, grab a peking duck bun from the window at corner 28...forgot to include under cheap eats

also if you like dou jiang (soy bean milk), the best one is from the flower shop lady
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/486772

[pdpredtide]

zomg i am making a google map now thank you all and keep adding if anything comes up!

[kathryn]

Ha, I just remember I made a Google Map to guide myself a few months back, I haven't updated it in a while...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF...

[pdpredtide]

very nicee

[pdpredtide]

anywhere good for shaved ice?

[kathryn]

The juice & shave ice stall in the Flushing Mall does a pretty nice mango shaved ice. It's the most expensive one on the menu, but reminds me of past trips to Taipei!

[scoopG]

Really covered well by Kathryn. I'd add that at least two places, 66 on Prince Street (Taiwanese) and Hunan House on Northern Boulevard both offer decent lunch specials where you can order 2-3 items for less than $16.

[pdpredtide]

thanks scoopg! let me check it out

[scoopG]

pd - I should be clearer in that they offer a sort of "mini-feast" as it were. You get to choose 2-3 or more entrees and get rice and I think soup as well.

[kathryn]

> Best Breakfast
Depends what you like to eat for breakfast. Taiwanese breakfast? Dim sum is breakfast, isn't it?

> Best Lunch
Not a huge distinction between lunch and dinner at most places unless you're looking for lunch specials (even then, it's not like the regular menu is expensive). The only other distinction I can think of is if a place has a dim sum service + lunch menu versus a separate dinner menu?

> Best Cheap Eats
It's all pretty much cheap!

> Best Dumplings
Depends what kind. Boiled, fried, wontons, etc.

There is a LOT of good stuff near the subway stop there; nearly all the places that are discussed on CH are within a 5-10 minute walk.

Here is my guide to Flushing Main Street:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6272...

[pdpredtide]

i think like a quick taiwanese breakfast

lunch...something quick rather than dinner being sit down etc

cheap eats...that is true

dumplings...whatever is your favorite :D

Thanks for the link! I was wondering, what are your favorites?

[kathryn]

Most of the places that I put in the link are my favorites. They're typically good for a quick bite except for the dim sum restaurants and Szechuan restaurants. A lot of them are in "malls" or are take out windows!

Here's a good thread on Taiwanese food in NYC:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/628938#4813973

Taiwanese breakfast in Flushing:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/546619

[pdpredtide]

thanks again! ill have to report back soon! how about greater flushing area like the korean restaurants? any picks there?

[kathryn]

I usually don't eat Korean while I'm out there, I'll leave answers to other hounds.

[Lau]

Best Bakery: I don't usually hit the bakeries in flushing, so im not qualified to answer

Best Breakfast / Best Dim Sum:
- Taiwanese breakfast: As far as taiwanese the post kathryn put up has all pretty much every taiwanese place in flushing (that i know of) and im pretty sure thats the vast majority. I usually get my fix at King 5 Noodle
- Dim sum: I prefer Jade Asian and Perfect Team, here's some links
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/496839
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/518020

Best Lunch / Best Cheap Eats:
- Golden Mall: chengdu tianfu and liang pi (xi'an food) are both worth trying
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/497820
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/451804
- Flushing Mall: see Kathryn's link; i recommend trying the taiwanese place on the far left, good gua bao
- Gu Xiang (see Kathryn's link): super cheap taiwanese

Best Dumplings: i like white bear, PaMa keeps recommending Sifu Chio's which is on the corner almost next to it
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/497110
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/627130

Best Soup Dumplings: haven't had any lately, so ill leave that up to someone else

Best Chinese Dinner: imperial palace or canton gourmet, both are excellent...imperial palace is my favorite chinese restaurant in NY
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/543625
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/454983

there are a bunch of good places for korean in flushing:
- Tong Sam Gyup Sal: probably my favorite korean restaurant in NY http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/585453
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tong-sam-gyup-goo-ee-korean-restaurant-queens
- San Kap Soo: good bbq and generally good http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-soo-kap-san-flushing-2
- Han Woo Choan: this place has great maewoon kalbi jjim http://www.yelp.com/biz/han-woo-choan...

[Polecat]

Strong second on Tong Sam Gyup Gui, which specializes in pork barbeque, and is currently my favorite Korean eatery as well.
P.

[E Eto]

Bear in mind that Tong Sam Gyup Gui is nowhere near Main Street station. You could either take the LIRR to Broadway station, or get on a bus to Northern/162nd St-ish.

[Lau]

thats a good point, its directly across the street from the broadway station

san kap soo isnt close either if u go to the northern blvd one (which is the one i go to), i havent been to the one in downtown flushing

[pdpredtide]

thanks for the tip! since im in the area maybe i can hitch a ride. Ive been to picnic garden in that area i think, its ALL YOU CAN EAT KOREAN BBQ ZOMG

[scoopG]

I like Nan Xiang on Prince Street for Soup Dumplings. Believe it is in one of the links provided by Kathryn.