02/03/15 11:59am

Dip Dip, perhaps Flushing’s coolest looking hot pot spot.



05/27/14 1:24pm



Husband and wife offal slices at Golden Mall.

1. Fu qi fei pian, Cheng Du Tian Fu

03/11/14 10:15am

Cold skin noodles at Xi’an Famous Foods are as spicy and refreshing as ever.

Way back in 2005, Xi’an Famous Foods had but one location, in what I like to call the 36th Chamber of the Golden Shopping Mall. It was presided over by an affable gent who went by the nom de cuisine Liang Pi, after his signature dish liang pi, cold skin noodles. Today it’s become a mini empire with five locations, upscale sister restaurant Biang, and a Brooklyn commissary.

Back in the day the most notable design elements were rickety folding stools and 100-pound bags of wheat flour arrayed like sandbags along the back wall. “My name is Liang Pi,” he would proudly say as he ladled out the dish. Many of his customers came from the same region and seemed absolutely thrilled to find  a dish from back home in Queens. Legions of hungry regional Chinese cuisine fiends were pretty thrilled too. I’d never tasted anything like cold skin noodles before: squidgy, porous blocks of wheat gluten and chewy ribbons of wheat starch, tossed with bean sprouts, cilantro, slivers of cucumber and a “secret sauce” made from sesame paste, vinegar, and chili oil, among other things. “I have it for breakfast at least three times a week,” one fan told me. (more…)

01/31/14 10:51am




Fu Run’s festive looking golden corn pancake.

1. Golden Corn Pancake, Fu Run

01/22/14 3:43pm




1. Yunnan rice noodle soup with pork at Crazy Crab


2. Tonkotsu 2.0 at Mu Ramen

10/25/13 11:11am
The stewed oxtail lunch special at Liang’s.

The stewed oxtail lunch special at Liang’s.

Can you give me a recommendation for a place in Queens to eat oxtails?
Paul Z., Bayside,N.Y.

There are many good West Indian places to eat oxtails in Queens, but I suggest that you go Chinese. The stewed oxtail over rice special at Liang’s Kitchen (133-51 39th Ave., Flushing, 347-506-0115) is quite lovely. For a spicier approach I highly recommend the oxtail and hand ripped noodles at Biang! (41-10 Main St., Flushing,  718-888-7713.)

Whenever I go to the Golden Shopping Mall I find myself very overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds,and aromas. What’s the best thing to eat there?
Baffled in Brooklyn

You are not alone, the first time I went there I left without ordering a thing because I was completely overwhelmed. (more…)

01/11/13 11:04am

Quite possibly America’s best potstickers. Image source: The SunBreak





01/08/13 2:00pm


