Best of Elmhurts

[Daniel76]

I have been going to Elmhurst lately.. Have tried a few places.. Lin's Taiwanese, Ploy Thai and Good Taste specifically.. Ploy was good, Lin's was good, Good Taste seems to be my favorite place so far..

Would love some other suggestions for stellar dining options..

Thanks.

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Taiwanese Specialties
84-02 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Ploy Thai
81-40 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[Bob Martinez]

La Fusta is an outstanding Argentinian steakhouse.

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/...

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La Fusta
80-32 Baxter Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Daniel76]

sounds awesome.. thanks for the rec..

What should I get there?

Just kidding.. Seriously, it sounds like I am on my way there.

[Daniel76]

wow, Roberto.. Gra-thee-a... Todos platos es perfecto.. What a wonderful meal.. the place is special.. we started with the avocado and shrimp salad.. It was packed with hearts of palms, watercress, shrimp, red onion, avocado, raw egg.. Under dressed to perfection.. We also ordered the lengua salad.. pickled "gardinera" salad with tongue covered in fresh and dried spices and olive oil..

The sangria pitcher had no ice.. we had to eventually share the end of the pitcher with tables to our right.. Who by the way ordered the pasta carbonara and the plato mixto which look like it could feed 6 people..

The waiter came over and looked very serious. So, I asked for two orders of childrens chicken fingers when he first showed up.. He carried the joke too far and brought us a plate of free chicken fingers.. I don't mean to sound like an idiot but. the chicken fingers should not be missed.. there are soaked in a generic hot sauce.. strips of white breast meat are fried to perfection.. the best chicken fingers i have ever eaten.. i didnt finish our half of skirt steak order because the chicken fingers were so good.. for 5.95, everyone should order this as a side plate. trust me

also gave us a plate of free garlic and herb fries...

wonderful place.. i can't wait to go back..

thanks

[ravi_queens]

You could do a tour of -

Vietnamese: Pho Bac (best pho and banh mi in the area), or Pho Bang (which is larger but food is less good)

Indonesian: Mie Jakarta (for Indonesian satays and other street food), Minangasli (for seafood dishes), or Upi Jaya (for thicker curry dishes and ice desserts)

Thai: Chao Thai (for fried crab) or Ayada (the new Spripraphai)

Asian Fusion: Coco (Chinese Malay) or Penang (modern Malay)

Elmhurst is a treasure-chest for Southeast Asian food. Enjoy!

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Chao Thai
85-03 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Mie Jakarta
86-20 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Minang Asli
86-10 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Pho Bang
82-90 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Pho Bac
82-78 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Upi Jaya
76-04 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Coco
82-69 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Penang
82-84 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[Daniel76]

I have been to a few Penangs.. I think the best of them has been in the Edison Branch.. There is also a Coco in Edison I see.. Though, have not heard stellar things about Coco..

Which do you think is the best Indonesian?

[ravi_queens]

Mie Jakarta is my favorite for Indonesian, but their menu is simple and the place is tiny. The other two are solid choices too but the food is hit or miss. You'd have to talk to more seasoned experts to know what to order and what to avoid.

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Mie Jakarta
86-20 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Glendale is hungry]

Hi Daniel76,

I like both Mie Jakarta and Minangasli. I see them as very different entities. They might even feature foods from different islands - not sure.

Mie Jakarta seems to be mostly about noodles. My favorite thing there is a noodle dish with a bunch of things (meatballs, etc.). Looking at an online menu I think it's called Bihun Ayam Komplit.

At Minangasli I really like the Sayur Nangka (a tangy, savory jackfruit stew) and a spicy crisp fried chicken dish with chili (looking at the menu online I think it's Ayam Balado but I'm not positive that's the name).

Happy island hopping!

Ciao,

Glendale is hungry...

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Mie Jakarta
86-20 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[sharonj]

Any dish recs for Lin's Taiwanese? I've always wanted to go there but I wasn't sure if they'd have anything I would like.

I second the rec for Ayada. Fresh well-flavored Thai dishes, hard to go wrong with any of them. If you like it very spicy then let them know. Love their coconut juice, it's fresh and the meat is perfectly soft.

I like La Fusta too but La Boina Roja, a Colombian steakhouse, is my favorite. They give you more steak for the money and I like having maduros as a side dish.

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La Fusta
80-32 Baxter Ave, Queens, NY 11373

La Boina Roja
80-22 37th Ave, Queens, NY 11372

Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Daniel76]

Thanks for the Boina Roja, will have to check it out.. As well as La Fusta and give you my opinion of the two.. In terms of Lin's I had only 4 things.. I would not recommend the basil snails.. They were out of the shells and salty and dry..

I had a fish head clay pot dish that was really satisfying. It was off the Chinese written menu.. I had the people translate some things after I pointed.. I enjoyed it a lot.. Subtle flavors.. Lots of fish meat and cabbage..

I also had this buckwheat? noodle dish in a thick starchy brown sauce with oysters.. This iwas really satisfying.. and it was 3.95..

I have attached the Chinese written menu for any nice soul that would like to translate for the board..

Daniel

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La Fusta
80-32 Baxter Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[squid kun]

You meant Taste Good, the Malaysian place?

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Daniel76]

Sorry yes, Taste Good.. I really, really like that place.. Firstly the Sizzling Bean Curd is just awesome.. But, I find the food to be cheap but, most importantly great, and the people lovely,

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Taste Good
82-18 45th Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[squinchy]

As a proud resident of "da hurst" I will give you these recommendations, some seconds of other recommendations:
Lao Bei Feng Dumping House on Whitney is an awesome and cheap place for pork and chive dumplings, $1.25 for 4. This is my go-to spot for a quikc, cheap snack.
For Indonesian, I like Mei Jakarta, but I also think java Village over on Justice Ave warrants a visit. And then, Sistema at the Village Voice had nice things to say about Bromo Satay House on Broadway--I haven't been myself but it seems well trafficked by the local indonesians.
Sweet Yummy House, also on Broadway, has some great sichuan food.
I second Ayada as being often of Srip-caliber--better than Chao Thai, to my own taste, which is also very good but sometimes inconsistent. But truth be told, most of the elmhurst Thai tends to be pretty darn good: Chao, Ayada, Ploy Thai, Nusara Thai Kitchen are the big four I think most people on this board would agree with.
There is also a Ramen-ish place that just opened on Broadway near Bromo Satay house that intrigues me, although I don't think it's a "authentic" japanese style ramen place. Anyone been to this one?
Limoncello, on Ithaca street on the corner of Baxter, is a decent red sauce italian joint. Good for the winter.
Ping's over on Queens Boulevard, has good dim sum, although of course the choices in flushing are better.
Lin's Taiwanese--this place is one of those restaurants that it might pay to go to with a native speaker--because I always feel as though the specials are not offered to English speaking customers and I always get plate envy from other diners, with their elaborate platters of claypot seafood dishes that don't appear to be on the menu; what IS on the menu is lots of stuff potentially challenging to the western palate, such "zesty intestines" and duck tongues, etc. But I do like the food there.

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Chao Thai
85-03 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Nusara Thai Kitchen
82-80 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Sweet Yummy House
83-12 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

Bromo Satay House
83-25 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[Jeffsayyes]

Java Village will soon be changing formats. should be interesting.

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Java Village
86-10 Justice Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[burton]

Fingers crossed for Java Village. When firing on all cylinders that homely little place really rocked - the best of the Indonesian spots in my experience (though I'm ok with Mie Jakarta, Minangasli, Bromo and Upi Jaya for at least a few items each does well). True,JV was plagued with inconsistency so you were prone to the occasional disappointment. Given the low prices and generous attitude though it was usually an easy decision. So yeah I hope that whatever shape they take going forward they manage to preserve the original essence.

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Mie Jakarta
86-20 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Upi Jaya
76-04 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

Java Village
86-10 Justice Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[Daniel76]

Had a very nice meal at Ayada this evening.. Raw shrimp salad, a fried catfish salad, drunken noodles and catfish with eggplant were ordered.. Friendly staff. Fresh ingredients. A pleasure.

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Ayada
77-08 Woodside Ave, Queens, NY 11373

[byonpasta]

Lao Bei Fang - they must be doing great business because they just moved to a bigger store around the corner on Broadway - 83-05 Broadway, Elmhurst 11372 [phone] - the phone number is still the same. They got an " A" in the city inspection rating . They also have a bigger selection, like cafeteria style (like the Flushing stores) with stuff for lunch. My favorites - the pot stickers are still as good. By the way, in their old location is another noodle place. Their dumplings were not as good, so far.

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Lao Bei Fang
83-05 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[E Eto]

When did that happen? I was just at the dumpling joint a few weeks ago and it was pretty much the same as usual. The folks at Lao Bei Fang were operating both restaurants (the dumpling place on Whitney and the hot pot joint on B'way).

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Lao Bei Fang
83-05 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373

[diprey11]

They finally merged on March 1. As weird as it sounds, the business at the new location was not brisk enough to keep two separate branches just a few blocks away from each other.

I have to put this place on alert though: with Ms Wang moving to a managerial position, who is going to make dumplings?

[Jeffsayyes]

I think it's a good move. the hot pot was never that hot.