queens
Flushing Mall’s Improbable Statue
There are some things in life that can only be elegantly described as “WTF?”
This statue (with me hamming it up on the left to convey scale) was found in Queens’ Flushing Mall en route to the Flushing Mall Food Court. Photographer Robyn Lee was equally perplexed.
Yes. WTF indeed.
M&T Restaurant in Flushing, NY: a Tsingtao in Qingdao
While in Beijing, I briefly fantasized about taking the train to Qingdao. I knew little about the area, except that it is the home of the eponymous TsingTao beer. (Same name, different romanization system.) There was a beer festival going on, and for some reason, I imagined a malt-hued scene of splendor: TsingTao-branded palaces, wheat-colored fountains, doe-eyed promo models.
A tall, cold one. (all photos by Sam)
I never made it onto the train, opting for lazy afternoons of shopping in the tourist trap of Beijing’s Ya Xiu market. I dropped thousands of RMB thanks to ineffectual bargaining while my culture-shocked nerves were worn down to an irritable jelly. Thankfully, my second chance at travel — a stateside jaunt to Qingdao in the form of a meal at M&T in Flushing — was more pleasant.
My fellow food-loving friend Sam (who wrote about Chinese food and photographed a Seattle food tour) did his Flushing research, so we set off on a heatstroked Sunday to M&T (44-09 Kissena Blvd, (718) 539-4100) for some good eats. As we trekked past Main Street – way past Main Street – my strappy platform espadrilles cut into the lumps of battered flesh called feet.
I wished I were a 5 year old in a carseat. “Are we there yet?” I asked.
“Almost!” Sam replied, in his perpetually cheery kind of way.
We were greeted by the friendly proprietoress who, impressed by Sam’s ability to speak fluent Chinese (no one is ever impressed by my Chinese), helpfully suggested “比较传统青岛菜” (rather traditional Qingdao dishes).
Sam’s awesome pics of our meal after the jump.
Flushing, Queens
So each time I go home, I cannot resist the dirty siren call of Flushing, Queens, where the streets are stickier and the sauce spicier, where the tiny, steaming kitchens are filled with slurping patrons and the rhythmic slap, slap of hand-pulled noodles.
“Wouldn’t it be great,” I asked my dad, “if you could just eat all day? And never be full? And never get fat?”
“No,” he said. “It would be expensive.”
But that’s the thing – here, a giant bowl of noodles costs you around a fiver and kebabs a mere dollar. You can sample baked goods for even less than that. At my favorite sorta-ghetto clothing shop, Pretty Girl, which sells women’s clothing and accessories at wholesale prices (t-shirts for $3, dresses for $8-15, jackets $10) I picked up a surprisingly ladylike ruffled, floral print shirtdress. I imagined myself walking through Harvard Yard, oversized sunglasses, pneumatic of lip and balancing on 4 inch high espadrilles, coursebooks swaying at my hip. $13. Yes.
So it was off to the Flushing Mall again, which was featured in an earlier post for their shaved ice and takoyaki. I have to say, I enjoyed the shaved ice at JoJo Taipei in Allston more since the ice was more finely grated and my waitress had been kind enough to do an everything-but-the-kitchen sink piling of toppings. This time around, you can see the szechuan dumplings ($3.95) (the Chinese name for them is “red oil dumplings”) with a healthy dose of garlic and dan dan noodles ($3.95) (my mother criticized them as inauthentic – the noodles were flat, not round). Sadly, neither of these were spicy in the leastest. And I even ordered in Chinese, so not sure what the problem was there.
Later, I ran across some adorable cakes, which I obviously had to photograph. I am always a sucker for food shaped like animals. And tiramisu. This version, $3, was had at Yee Mei Fong Bakery. The thick layer of cocoa powder on top made it a bit messy to eat. It was just prepared just as Chinese like their desserts – mostly a light cream, a suggestion of cake, not much else.
A Culinary Day in Flushing, Some Political Protestors, and my Hairdresser
There’s always something intensely comforting about Flushing, Queens to me – how I have been going there regularly for a decade, and how so many things never change. I always get my hair cut by the same man at a salon called “San Mei” (3 Beauties) and the price of a haircut ($8) has never gone up.
The food here is great and ridiculously cheap. As long as you get past the fact you’re eating with a plastic fork, or standing on the street with political protestors next to you, or how there’s no service to speak of, it’s an amazing deal.
Click on the photo of an explanation of what I ate.
