So, I'm back in Flushing after a long day of work and I'm starving. Doesn't seem like too difficult an issue to fix, especially in Flushing, right? Well, in spite of the incredible number of choices, the hunger is acting as an impediment to proper decision making, and sometimes having so many choices just doesn't help!
Suddenly, I remember--the map! I whip out the
printable map (from the
Times article that I keep insisting you check out).
With the decision made, I quickly head over to the Flushing Mall to hit up the Kim Chi dumplings and possibly some Sweet Shaved Ice (
patbingsu 팥빙수
) for dessert. Alas, Flushing Mall's food court (there's actually two, but the one with the goods), is already closed (this is early, like 8-ish -- 9 pm tops). I knew they closed early, but this is kinda frustrating considering my level of hungryness.
Okay. Not to worry. Another glimpse at the map leads me to nearby Nan Shian Dumpling House at 38-12 Prince St. The thing is, I'd already been here and eaten the dilectable soup dumplings before. And I remembered the trade off for such goodness: long, long waits in this packed out establishment. I check to see. 25 minutes. Why should this hunger wait, especially when the map indicates another great place right next door at 38-10 Prince. So, onwards I move, only to great surprise: Happy Beef Noodle House, the very same one reviewed and mapped in the Times less than a month ago, is closed. And not just closed, but it appears it was burned down! Wow. Jealous neighbors, or what? I manage to make out, with my horrendous Chinese writing abilities, that they should be reopening in November.
I snapped this pic later (Nan Shian Dumpling House on the left, Beef Noodle darkened in the middle, and Canton Gourmet on right):
So, I do what anyone in my shoes would, I try the next restaurant down, which happens to be Canton Gourmet... after all, there are so many on Prince St (like seven right next to each other).
Finally sit down in a clean, snazzy atmosphere to squid fried noodles and sweet pepper veal. The veal is the dish that I like, although it is a bit too sweet. The fried noodles should be avoided. All this with a Tsing Tao beer, which is quite good.
So, my belly is full and I still have plenty of exploring to do...
Canton Gourmet
38-08 Prince St.
Price: $10-15/person
Taste: B
Atmosphere: A
Main Street, downtown Flushing. This is center of the largest Chinese community in New York City, and the second largest in the United States (after San Francisco).[*]
The old Caldor building on Roosevelt Avenue and Main Street. Apparently the chain of discount stores went bankrupt in the late '90s. Just a couple of years ago Wal-Mart was scoping out the place, but fortunately, eventually backed down.
This guy is some of Flushing's wildlife.
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