NYC Neighborhoods: Flushing

For the past 23 years of my life, vacations and international excursions were dictated by my school schedule. Having parents who took what seemed like countless weeks of vacation a year, I had looked forward to flights without summer surge pricing. However, my parents' cushy nonprofit and government PTO aren’t the rule, but the exception. In other words, they don’t make PTO like they used to. 

So instead of taking an hour and change flight to Montreal, Bermuda, or St. Petersburg, I shall take the train to the neighborhoods of New York that are just too far from Harlem (or, for Bryley, the friend I peer pressured into coming with me, Morningside Heights).

Working in the food industry, my taste buds have become sharper, my palette (and mind) have become more open to flavors and textures that young Faith might have turned her nose up at. To all the foodies out there, I am your representative. However, for those of you with texture peculiarities and mixed feelings about meat, pay particular attention to Bryley’s Beliefs.

The first stop on this traveling food tour was Chinatown! No, not that one with the amazing Mei Lai Wah pork buns, the Flushing, Queens, Chinatown. 

Like a true friend, I took the longer route to Flushing taking the 3 train to Times Square, so Bryley and I could conveniently converge. Without a friend and stimulating gossip and conversation, riding the near totality of the 7 train would have been absolutely brutal. The 7 train’s overground tracks allowed some Manhattanites to take in the often unexplored views of Queens.

After our arrival, Bryley and I searched the rainy streets of Flushing looking for a scallion pancake cart to buy chopped up bits of scallion. Comparing the street layout to snapshots of an Instagram reel, we lined ourselves perfectly with the image, but alas, the cart was not open in the rain. To our misfortune, this made sense.

Hungry, we wandered over to the revered White Bear. We ordered their most popular item, No. 6, aka 12 wontons with chili oil. These pork and vegetables filled dumplings were soft and chewy but lacking in flavor, especially as they were a whopping $10. With such an enormous heap of chili, I was expecting some level of heat, but I was amiss. If you take home any leftovers, like we did, I suggest dunking them in a soy sauce rice vinegar mixture. This will add some semblance of flavor. Despite the 8.6 rating on the Infatuation, Faith’s Takes flips the numbers and ranks it a 6.5, while Bryley’s Beliefs gives it a 7. At the end of the day, neither of us would return at the high price point ($10 for 12 wontons) or flavor levels.

Somewhat worried that our venture to deep Queens would be a bust, we dragged our hungry bodies over to the Peking Duck take out stand at Shanghai You Garden. Having only had Peking Duck at Bang Bang Oriental and Golden Dragon in London, I looked forward to the crispy duck, the moo shu pork like pancakes, and the lovely sweet bean sauce. To my surprise, Shanghai You Garden utilized steamed and fluffy buns and slices of duck. As a pork bun fanatic, I was even more curious to sink my teeth into these affordable little sandwiches ($2.50 per bun). 

On the other side of the coin, Bryley was not dreaming of the crispy duck, or duck at all. In fact, her first time ever indulging in duck was under a tent in the rain outside of Shanghai You Garden. Despite her complicated relationship with the textures of meats, the duck texture was “better than expected,” which is a rave review in itself.  While I finished Bryley’s piece, she ventured to the other Shanghai You Garden stall and ordered a Sesame Ball, which was, in her words, “impressively spherical.” While she liked the crunch and the filling, she was initially unphased by the taste, but as she finished the sesame ball that evening, it grew on her to the point of craving another. The texture was particularly satisfying. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the sesame crunch mochi, but the filling didn’t win me over. At the end of the day, I would rate Shanghai You Garden an 8.2, Bryley gives it a 9.4.

We then headed to Joe’s Steamed Rice Roll in Landmark Quest Mall. In this packed mini food hall we waited in line…for a long time… and my legs started to ache, so I went in search of a seat, and a couple walked past me with bits of scallion pancakes.

While the wet weather literally rained on my parade, taking away my opportunity for bites of scallions from a cart, my broken heart turned ecstatic when I found the indoor counterpart. Yukun Meat Hot Pot (according to Google Translate, as the name of this small booth was written in character) sold a bag of Sauce-aroma pancake, or Number 14, for $5, and was some of the best spent money of the day. These bites were crisp, flavorful, and addictive, even without  the soy sauce - rice vinegar dipping sauce. The middle and bottom parts of the bag became a little soggy, so we took these back home, threw them in the airfryer, and indulged in some more. I would rank these a solid 8, while Bryley gives them an 8.5.

But back to the intended food, we got pork, scallions, cilantro, and bean sprouts in our steamed rice roll. While eggs are a popular addition, my hatred for the smell, texture, and taste of eggs removed this possibility. We (I) haphazardly poured the soy sauce over the steamed rolls, and began precisely cutting my first bite. While the unfamiliar texture of the roll was slightly off putting for Bryley especially since it was a little mushy, the flavors were impeccable. And I wholeheartedly agree. I give it a 7.7; Bryley rates it a 6.5.

So, with some pretty decent ratings, the question is: would we return to Flushing’s Chinatown? Yes, but not anytime soon. Having spent a total of $30 (a third going toward the wontons), it felt surprisingly pricier than its Manhattan counterpart. If we go back it’s for the sauce aroma scallion pancakes, Shanghai Garden, and most importantly the supermarket with $.99 bean sprouts and bok choy per pound! (You know, all the stuff we can’t get on the mainland!)

Harass us about what neighborhood we should explore next!