bolletje's Profile
Do you keep frozen dumplings in your freezer?
I keep lots of them in my freezer. I used to get the sea cucumber ones from White Bear but now I am buying them by the 100 (not kidding) from the dumpling people at Savor Fusion. I eat dumplings at home probably 3 days a week.
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
I am surprised you didn't like the veggie burrito. I love them and I am not a vegetarian. I do put sauce on them, I take them home and dip them in hoisin. If I eat them at Savor Fusion, I usually put some of the spicy sauce from the dumpling stall on it because I always get dumplings too ;)
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
I am eating some dumplings I bought frozen from the Hubei people, due to the language barrier I got pork with cabbage when I would have preferred the three treasure dumplings. However, these are very delicious, they are very juicy and fresh tasting, fresh ginger, the cabbage isn't stringy and there are no unpleasant mystery bits in the pork filling. The skin is chewy and tender and has flavor of it's own. These are definitely my favorite dumplings in the city right now.
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
I went back last night and I ate a Chinese burrito. They are sold at the stand to the left of Sister Zhu and the proprietor is a man. The burritos are depicted in this blog post:
http://iwantmorefood.com/2012/01/16/savor-fusion-mall-flushing-queens/
I also ate gorgeous fried pork dumplings from the Hubei dumpling stand and bought a bag of frozen ones. Got an appetizer plate of the salt and pepper chicken from the Taiwanese stall and shared a cumin lamb wrap with my friend. Holy crap was that thing good, lamb was insanely tender and delicious, the wrapper was super fresh and tasty. Overall, Savor Fusion is probably my favorite place in Flushing. I have yet to eat anything there that was terrible and most of it has been anywhere from good to phenomenal.
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
hey! The veggie chinese burrito thing...don't know what it's called. It is light yellow, the size of a small burrito and you can find it displayed behind the counter to the left of Sister Zhu's stall. There is a man who seems to make them and he also makes little scallion egg omelet things. I think it costs $2.50? Crazy cheap for how delicious it is.
I can't wait to get back to this place.
Good soup for lunch near 14th St and 7th Ave?
My favorite soup place is Cafe Medina, by Union Square. They have interesting, always-changing varieties, let you taste and their hearty, stew-like soups are amazing.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-medina-new-york
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Cafe Medina
9 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
I went back to Maple Snacks/Savor Fusion yesterday. Got the Taiwanese Salt and Pepper chicken platter which is great--comes with rice with pork mince on top that I loved, preserved veggies, a small slice of sausage, braised (?) cabbage and tofu and a hard-boiled soy egg. This is an amazing plate of food for $6. I was with a big group this time so we got to try more stalls. Sister Zhu's stall has a lot of variety, the dan dan noodles were good, we got some of the chicken pieces from the bowl on the counter and I loved it but most of my friends though it was too full of bones and difficult to eat. I also got wontons in hot oil, some nice scallion egg pancake thing that was insanely good for $1 and a crazy delicious vegetarian Chinese burrito type thing that was a thin pancake stuffed with veggies (dry tofu, carrots, celery, onion, greens and egg). I think I may have actually liked the veggie burrito thing the most because it was so refreshing and I never have had anything like that. I got some sausage from Sister Zhu as well and it's very good--fatty and spicy.
We got veggie dumplings and three treasure dumplings from the dumpling people and everyone agreed the filling was much better than white bear although the skins are slightly thicker. They literally made the dumplings and dropped them in the boiling water--really a stellar product. The proprietors of this stand have very limited English so hopefully someone who speaks Chinese can go by there and find out more about them.
We also got a bowl of ox tail soup from the hand-pulled noodle stand and it was so huge and cheap. The broth was great but the noodles were too soft for my taste. I guess they just keep cooking in the soup even when it is on your table? The broth was so good though that it makes up for that.
I feel addicted to this place.
Food stalls on the corner of Maple and Main street Flushing?
ok, this whole place rules. I went with a few people and had some snacks. We got the Taiwanese fried salt and pepper chicken from Stall #3 as an appetizer, for $4 it was a nice generous handful of perfectly fried dark meat chicken. There were some leaves fried in there too (probably basil). It was ridiculously delicious. The chicken meat itself was very very fresh and chickeny.
We also got a gua bao from the same stall and it was very ejoyable for $2.50. Again, tasted fresh and prepared skillfully. The lady at this stall was super-nice and friendly. In fact, everyone at all the stalls seemed to be very friendly. We also got an order of vegetable dumplings from the stall in the back ($4 for 12 dumplings) because there were vegetarians in our group. These were just amazing. Perfect wrappers and a complex flavorful filling that actually tasted like something and you could discern hand-chopped veggies and eggs inside of it. I kept being like...Wow, this is a veggie dumpling I would eat even if I didn't HAVE to! I can't wait to go and try the other offerings at the dumpling stand.
I really like Savor Fusion, the space is nice and clean and even the bathroom was clean :)
Going back next weekend for sure to try the szechuan stall.
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Savor Fusion
42-01 Main St, Queens, NY 11355
Best Trini/Jamaican/Roti shop in NYC?
I was super sad that Ram's closed, I loved their roti.
White Bear – My Favorite Dumplings in NY
They are dumplings with pork, shrimp and sea cucumber in them--I think they are the best ones there. They sell out of them pretty often so I guess a lot of people agree.
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White Bear
135-02 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11354
White Bear – My Favorite Dumplings in NY
hey, sure. I use about 2 TB black vinegar, 1 big tsp of hoisin, 1 tsp soy sauce and a squirt of sriracha.
They definitely have some kind of dumpling with sea cucumber frozen at White Bear. I just ate some out of my freezer :)
How does Fette Sau *work*?
prime dining hours on weekends, there's usually a wait. I'd get there closer to opening time if you can manage it. Sunday isn't as busy as Friday or Saturday but still...I hate lining up for food when there are so many options in the neighborhood.
White Bear – My Favorite Dumplings in NY
I just ate some White Bear dumplings out of my freezer. I cook them in boiling water for like 2 minutes and then pan fry them to finish. I make a sauce at home with hoisin, soy, black vinegar and sriracha and keep a bottle in the fridge to squirt over my cooked dumplings.
My favorite dumplings from White Bear are the ones with sea cucumber, pork and shrimp.
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White Bear
135-02 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11354
Flushing's best frozen dumplings?
I love the frozen dumplings from White Bear. I get the ones with sea cucumber in them. I prepare them by boiling for about 2 minutes then frying over high heat in a pan. I make a sauce with hoisin sauce, blck vinegar, sriracha and a touch of soy sauce.
They turn out great. I go through a whole bag of 40 pretty much every week.
While in Flushing, stop by Sifu Chio and get the HK style trio wontons--it's 3 kinds of wontons over lightly sauced noodles with broth in a separate bowl. There are condiments on the table to customize to your taste. This place is practically next to White Bear, has a red awning.
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White Bear
135-02 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11354
Sifu Chio
40-09 Prince St, Queens, NY 11354
How does Fette Sau *work*?
you walk in, there's a counter where the meat is. The types of meat and prices are listed on a board, as are the sides which are nothing special imo. You point at the meat and say how much you want, I think the minimum is a quarter pound which ends up being not that much really. They give it to you on a tray with a piece of paper on it, some Marten's potato rolls, there's sauces on the tables and you sit at a long picnic table to eat. There's a bar on the other side where you order drinks. There's free water pitchers/plastic cups over by the blackboard where they list the meats. My favorite thing there is the boneless beef ribs. The pork belly is too fatty I think.
It is usually very crowded and hard to get a seat. Go when it first opens or be prepared to wait.
Must try places in Downtown Detroit for Memorial Day weekend?
I would recommend Russell Street Deli
http://www.yelp.com/biz/russell-street-deli-detroit-2
amazing sandwiches, soups, breakfast. It's really busy on Saturday and Sunday mornings but you can always do take-out. I am so into the avocado melts they have there, and the turkey club...all of the sandwiches are awesome.
Also, I always bring nuts and dried fruit with me to keep in my bag for the festival/afterparty marathon. It really helps to have some fuel, even if you feel like your digestive system is going in reverse ;) Trader Joe's has these little packets of trail mix that are perfect for this.
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Russell Street Deli
2465 Russell St, Detroit, MI 48207
Shanghai Gourmet, Pell Street, yum!
thanks for the tip on 456 Scoop.
I really enjoyed the XLB at SG, machine-made or not, haha. They were very appealing!
Tattooed Couple looking for funky, trendy, fun, fancy dinner. And DRINKS!
before 10:30, I would say :)
I have been going around 7 on Fridays recently. There's a cheap sushi happy hour nearby until 7 and I go with my friends and get stuffed with crappy sushi and cheap sake then complete the evening by blowing our budget at White Star. The awful people start to roll in around 10:00 or so at which point I should probably stop being at bars anyway.
Maybe I am awful too, I don't know :)
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White Star
21 Essex St, New York, NY 10002
Young couple looking for good, cheap eats in/around Manhattan
honestly, I would avoid avoid avoid places that are super-popular and have long lines. I mean, NY has so much good stuff that you don't need to waste your time on it! Yeah, Artichoke pizza is good, blah blah blah but is it waiting for 45 minutes standing around good? I am not sure.
Same with Clinton Street Baking Company, that place is a total cluserf*ck at brunch, until like 4:30 in the afternoon.
A good thing to do is go to more popular places on off hours, like Otto is really mellow at 3 in the afternoon but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole at 7pm on a Friday. Service can be terrible with harried waiters trying to turn tables over, deal with clueless diners who are pissy because their reservation was a half hour ago, etc. Not just at Otto, at most popular places.
I would suggest, if you have a phone that is web-enabled, download the Yelp app. Then you can do searches by wherever your location is. Even though you have to take Yelp with a grain of salt, I find a lot of great places that way--being hungry in some random part of the city and just searching "tacos" near "my location"
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Otto
1 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003
Need best dim sum in NYC
I like Jade Asian in Flushing the best these days.
In Manhattan, I go to Dim Sum Go Go but the thing is that dim sum on weekends can be super-hellish if you are hungry because of the crowds and the waiting. I will either go on a weekday, show up at like 10:45 to get a table on a weekend or have a snack beforehand (in Flushing I get a couple duck buns from the duck bun window, haha) and then can wait for a table at Jade for 45 minutes and not care. I usually wake up very hungry!
So go on a weekday if you can, also, then you can choose a better table. I hate getting a crappy table at dim sum.
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Dim Sum Go Go
5 E Broadway, New York, NY 10038
Shanghai Gourmet, Pell Street, yum!
I had dinner at this place last night, it's located at 23 Pell Street in Chinatown. I had the pork xiao long bao, they were really good--not too big, pretty thin skin, flavorful soup and not slimy pork. Pretty balanced flavor over-all. Possibly the best ones I have had in recent memory. They kindly set them down on the table with a warning that the contents are hot and to eat them carefully :)
For my main course I had braised pork (I think it was pork belly) with tofu skin. It was served in a small cast iron pot and the tofu skin was tied into very pretty knots that were delicious, chewy-tender and flavorful the whole way through. The pork was in small chunks, the fat well-rendered and overall the whole dish had really great flavor and texture. It tasted like star anise, chinese wine and maybe dark soy? 5 spice? It was not spicy but some chili oil on the table remedied that.
Honestly, the quality of this dish was close to something I would find at one of the better places in Flushing. I hope that this is a sign that Manhattan's Chinatown is on an upswing again!
The space is clean, sparse and pretty nice actually. Think typical Chinatown non-decor but new-seeming and they have a decorative fish tank. The staff was really nice and friendly, I came in by myself on my way home and they weren't weird about a solo diner. The menu overall had a lot of interesting stuff on it, including some braised noodle soups that I would like to try. A table of tourists ordered beef with broccoli and I have to say, it looked pretty awesome so I think in future I'll try some of their more Americanized fare too, perhaps as part of a lunch special or something.
The prices are a little bit higher than some places in Chinatown. My bill was $20. But I would rather pay more for what seemed like better ingredients and more than competent cooking. Not to mention how nice the waiters were, especially compared to other nearby restaurants.
I ate the leftovers of my pork dish today for lunch and omg, so good! That's why I am posting this now.
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Shanghai Gourmet
23 Pell St, New York, NY 10013
Tattooed Couple looking for funky, trendy, fun, fancy dinner. And DRINKS!
I think White Star is better than ever these days. I go there all the time, especially on weeknights. The drinks are well-done and the bartenders are fantastic, they'll help you figure out what you are in the mood for. It is a lot less nice there on Fri-Sat nights after like 10:30 (LES prime douche time) but generally it's really mellow and relaxing compared to other bars in that area. I recommend popping in for a visit. The cocktails do vary in price depending on what they are made out of, so don't be afraid to ask how much your drink is gonna cost.
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White Star
21 Essex St, New York, NY 10002
Flushing Review: Deyi Peking Duck House
this place looks so good! I am definitely getting together a group field trip for peking duck! If you call to make a duck pre-order, do they speak english?
Thanks for the recommendation Scoop.
Sunset Park Chinatown: "Rice Noodle" Dim Sum From Scratch
so yeah, this guy is actually in front of the HSBC on 56th and 8th, not further up. The noodles are good :)
There is also a crazy cart like a block away, near 57th street where a lady has a virtual mini-restaurant going. She has a deep fryer and a grill and will fry like anything you want including fish balls, tofu, eggplant (?) and hot dogs. Also, fried chicken, noodles. Lots of toppings and sauces to go on things as well. Pretty neat.
In terms of sunset park dumpling places, I think Prosperity has been knocking it out of the park lately. Went Wednesday and got 5/$1 and the skins were amazingly chewy and delicious. The filling was good, not spectacular but I liked the skin so much and the filling/skin ratio was really good.
I also bought a take out container of tiny wontons from a lady near the rice noodle cart guy. She was making them there on the street to take home and cook. They were feather-light and super-tiny with like a thimble full of pork in each. I boiled them for a minute and ate with black vinegar at home. Anyone know anything about this? They were pretty good. She had noodles and some other stuff on her cart, which was basically like a granny cart with a piece of wood on it. She didn't speak English but was very nice, explained to me how to cook the wontons...in Chinese, haha, doing that thing where you speak louder to make someone understand you. I guess boiling them was the way to go?
where can I find white hots?
Does anyone sell these in the city? Looking for Zweigle's or any other comparable brand. For those who don't know, white hots are amazingly delicious white hot dogs made with pork and veal.
Thanks!
desperately seeking Delish Bajan Pepper Sauce with cucumber!
I haven't seen it, sorry. I know it has to be around here somewhere but it's been too hot to wander around much. I've been sticking to the stores on my immediate block and they don't have it. Definitely email them, I'm sure someone here has it.
Pies 'n' Thighs recs?
yeah, the biscuits are what is really good there. I like the fried chicken a lot more at No. 7 Greene. I have heard the burgers are good at Pies 'n' Thighs--I think I'm going to get that the next time I go because the fried chicken didn't measure up, imo. I still like it there though, would return.
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No. 7
7 Greene Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
Best Bubble Tea (aka Boba/Pearl/Tapioca Tea)
What about Teariffic, or whatever that place on Mott Street is called? I like their mocha milk tea. The tapioca is good there.
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Teariffic
51 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
desperately seeking Delish Bajan Pepper Sauce with cucumber
I live in Flatbush, I'll look around for it and let you know if I see it anywhere.
