Jajangmyeon Mania at Mani 1 Chinese Restuarant

Mani 1, or ChoiRyongMong as it's written in Korean (취령몽), is a relatively new Korean style Chinese restaurant located where Mesa Sur, one of the only South American eateries within walking distance to downtown Flushing folded after only three or four months in business. Unlike it's predecessor, Mani 1 seems like it will do just fine, catering to the neighborhood.

Much how Chinese food in America has been adapted to meet local, American taste buds, so too has Chinese food in Korea been creatively altered to the Korean pallet. Probably the prime example being the scrumptious "noodles in black sauce" dish, jajangmyeon (짜장면), which can be found right here at Mani 1 (lunch $4.99/regular $5.99; item #56 on the menu).

Mani 1 has a pretty solid jajangmyeon. It isn't quite the best dish on the menu here but it's not a bad place to start.

The other two quintessential dishes that you'll find at just about any "Chinese-style" restaurant in Seoul (or more importantly, Flushing) are jampong (짬뽕, $5.99/$6.99; #59) and tangsuyuk (탕수육, $5.99/$12.99; #31). The first one, jampong, is a seriously spicy bowl full of thick noodles, chives, and all kinds of seafood, like shrimp, squid, clams, and octopus, in a peppery red soup. But the real winner at Mani 1 is the tangsuyuk, ( like sweet and sour pork). But it's only truly great when you order their spicy version, meun tangsuyuk, (only, of course, if you like your spicy spicy!). It's not in the menu, but there's a picture of it on the wall in the restaurant. It's one the spicest dishes around. Avoid the naengmyeon here. Despite being advertised in Korean and Chinese under the restaurant's main sign, it's really a disappointment. For where to go for good naengmyun read this.

Sure there's better jajangmyeon in Flushing, but Mani 1's spicy tangsuyuk makes for some of the best tangsuyuk around. Go with friends and mix and match: a dish of jajangmyeon, a spicy tangsuyuk, and a bowl of jampong, so you can share and get a satisfying taste of all three (the tangsuyuk serving is too big for one person).

Give Mani 1 a shot if your a newbie to the genre of Korean style Chinese food.
40-26 Union Street at the intersection of 41st Avenue (1.5 blocks to the 7 train Main St. stop).

Service: A
Price: B
Dilectability: B+

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Summertime Delicacy

Summertime + NYC = hot and steamy; no doubt about it. Good news for air-conditioner vendors. Bad news for the rest of us. The first heat wave of the summer, last week, sold plenty of A/C's. I know, because everywhereI looked they were sold out: BJs, Target, Circuit City, even the Rite Aid on Northern Blvd and Parsons.

Not to fear: the best way to cool down without an A/C is with an ice-cold bowl of Korean "cold noodles," aka Naeng-Myun (냉면). It generally comes in two varieties: Mul-Naeng-Myun (w/ broth) and Bi-bim-Naeng-myun (w/out broth, typically more spicy). Now, cold noodles is a dish that upon first instinct might not sound that appealing. In fact, for many people, including myself, it's an acquired taste. But after getting over the fact that you're eating noodles that are cold , you finally begin to appreciate the delicate flavor of the broth or of the finely mixed spices. Afterall, many western-style macaroni salads are noodles that are eaten cold, are they not?

If your interested in experiencing the next best thing to jumping into a cool swimming pool, check out your nearest Korean restaurant. Many restaurants serve it, especially in the summer, and some of them even specialize in it. The restaurant mentioned in my last post (New Favorite) offers up a pretty decent bowl of cold noodles. However, I've have eaten a lot of naeng myun and there's a place that just happens to be one of my favorites for this dish -- it's one of their specialties. It's called Il-bok Restaurant (일복식당) and it's located at 136-77 41st ave near Union St. They have good prices and large portions of a slightly refined version of mul-naeng-myun. Traditionally, the buck-weat noodles are served with various garnishes in the broth, most notably a thin slice of Korean pear. At Il-Bok however, they substitute the pear for a slice of apple, and add a hefty pinch red pepper to give it spice you won't find else where.

Long story short, Il-Bok Restaurant has long become a favorite place to grab the cooling dish and it's highly recommended to anyone who's curious to try Korean cold noodles and even to those who are very familiar with the dish, as Il-Bok serves it up with particularly delicious and cooling twist.

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Here's another review of Il-Bok over at the Chowhound blog by designerboy01.
He mentions cold noodles, but unfortunately hasn't tried/reviewed them yet. Also, to clarify, in his review he refers to Il-Bok as being a Chinese restaurant, which technically it is (and it isn't). See, it's run by Korean-Chinese, aka Yonbyon (연변), people who are ethnically Korean from China. The sign is written in Korean, English and Chinese with a funny cartoon-like chef on it. In fact, the eastern end of 41st Ave. approaching Union St. comprises quite a few business that are owned/operated by Yonbyon.

And here's a description of Naeng Myun over at the Gothamist (although, it's reviewing a different restaurant).