Northeast Taste Chinese Food revisited (CLOSED)

(ed. 10/2010--walked past this evening and it is indeed, as I had read, gone. I also read it had been around since at least 2007... RIP Northeast Taste. I'll miss you.)

Finally managed a return trip to Northeast Taste Chinese Food this evening with adventurous-eater friends--of whom I don't get to see nearly enough--Michael (Pan of the Chowhound and eGullet boards) and Maggie. And another satisfying meal was had by all.

Big hits of the evening were a lovely fish stew with an extremely diverse bunch of vegetables (several root vegetables, a couple of types of mushroom, tofu, tomato) and lamb stir-fried with hot pepper and cumin, both from the supplemental picture-menu. I'm beginning to think one simply can't go wrong stir-frying lamb with hot pepper and cumin: every one of these northeast Chinese restaurants around Flushing has its own version, each one unique, and each one successful. More dumplings--this time, pork and chive. Not quite as spectacular as the pork and sour cabbage ones, but excellent nonetheless. And this time, we were determined not to indulge in the usual over-ordering and save room for dessert. It was worth the effort: "sliced fried egg pancake" is the only Chinese dessert I have ever eaten with unalloyed enjoyment (disclaimer: I'm not much of a dessert person, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Asian desserts). One hardly knew what to expect from its name, but what appeared was a platter of what resembled bits of eggy funnel cake, which had been coated in a sugar concoction (just like the apple/taro/sweet potato dessert at Fu Run) and fried. (Pictures courtesy of Jose--who else?)


And just like that dessert, one dips the pieces in cold water just before eating to harden the sugar coating. Deliciously addictive.



Northeast Taste Chinese Food
43-18 Main St., Flushing 11355
718-539-3061
(7 train to Main St.-Flushing, then 9 blocks south on Main St.)

Lin's Taiwanese Gourmet (CLOSED)

(It's now a place called Taiwanese Specialties, by all accounts, a better restaurant.)  Last night I decided it was time to try an altogether new (to me) cuisine, so I headed to Elmhurst to a restaurant I had walked past many times before, but had yet to visit: Lin's Taiwanese Gourmet.

Since I had never had any Taiwanese food before, I have nothing to compare it to. But I liked it, and will go back--which already puts it in a category above 99% of the restaurants I try. Went mostly with the more famous dishes, like oyster pancake (excellent, much like Korean pa jeon) and "3-cup chicken" (the menu calls it "chicken with ginger and sesame oil"--also excellent, and unlike any chicken dish I've had before... I could develop serious cravings for this one). We also tried an appetizer called "fermented pork". Quite tasty, although a bit difficult to determine exactly how and why it was "fermented". It appeared to be a pork chop marinated in something that perhaps includes fermented rice wine, then fried up (it comes out red) and cut into strips. There are two dishes on the menu translated as "shredded beef with chili pepper" (with a couple of different Chinese characters in the name, and a difference of a dollar in price). When asked what the practical difference was, the waitress said the more expensive one had, additionally, hot yellow peppers (?--I think she may have meant yellow chives, but I'm not sure). We opted for that one, and it was great.

I'm looking forward to returning so I can try the stinky tofu, which my friend would not have liked at all. It's a bit on the pricey side, but not ridiculous, and it's open LATE--until 2 a.m., I believe.

Lin's Taiwanese Gourmet
84-02 Broadway, Elmhurst 11373
718-429-7818
(G, R, or V train to Elmhurst Ave. or Grand Ave.-Newtown. It's about halfway between the two.)

Northeast Taste Chinese Food (CLOSED)

There has been some internet buzz of late among Chinese food aficionados about a new Dongbei-style restaurant in Flushing that sounded like just my kind of place. A couple of evenings ago, I was able to gather the faithful--Jose and Jennifer--and give it a try. I'm happy to report my instincts were correct... Northeast Taste Chinese Food is my kind of place!

Upon being seated, we were brought a complimentary plate of pickled cabbage that looked and tasted very much like a slightly sweet kimchi. Not surprising, since the area is literally just above Korea: Dongbei apparently refers to the three northeastern provinces of China--Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. I felt compelled to order many of the dishes I had already read about, and they all lived up their hype. The "stupid chicken" was a hearty stew of pieces of what must be a freshly-killed free-range chicken (it certainly didn't taste like any chicken I've bought at the grocery store lately) with wild brown mushrooms and mung bean noodles in a broth seasoned with star anise. A lovely winter dish. Boiled dumplings filled with pork and sour cabbage were spectacular, and a huge hit with our trio. The fresh leek and pork pastry was delightful--hearty and delicate at the same time. "Stuffed minced mutton in fish" is a slightly misleading name for the dish that arrives at ones table: a whole fried fish, covered in a light brown sauce with chunks of mutton. I'm a big fan of fish preparations with meat (okay, I'm a big fan of almost anything prepared with meat!), but I have to say that tasty is it was, it's no match for Little Pepper's fish with spicy minced pork. Similarly, I would probably change the name of "sauteed pine nuts with corn" to "sauteed corn with pine nuts". Still, the dish was a delicious contrast to all the meat and fish.

But the most astonishing dish--and that is not too strong a word--was the "sauteed egg with egg". Egg is cooked slowly, while being stirred constantly, until thick--almost solid, but very creamy. The mound of egg presented on the platter retains the shape of the bottom of the wok, and is topped with a light brown sauce with shrimp. It is ambrosia.

Northeast Taste Chinese Food
43-18 Main St., Flushing 11355
718-539-3061
(7 train to Main St.-Flushing, then 9 blocks south on Main St.)

Fiza Diner

As a Manhattan dweller, I keep hoping to find great, cheap ethnic joints a bit closer to home than, say, Flushing. Instead, I find outrageously good food even farther away. This evening I tasted the most delicious Pakistani I have tried in the course of my wanderings so far in the Glen Oaks/Bellerose/Floral Park section of Queens, a few blocks before it turns into Nassau County, at Fiza Diner.

It's little more than a hole-in-the-wall, and it's definitely no-frills (of the Dera variety): the prepared dishes are on display at the counter, and kebabs are grilled to order in the back. But Michael, Elizabeth and I all literally moaned with pleasure when we tried the chicken tikka kebab--tender, juicy, and expertly spiced. Apparently, we were all in the mood for chicken... in addition to the kebab, we ordered chicken tikka masala (perhaps the most delicious I've had anywhere), chicken korma (korma with a kick--fantastic), and chilli chicken (all those peppers looked more intimidating than they actually were--sweet and delicious), and even a chicken roll as an appetizer (rather like a deep-fried, Indian-spiced spring roll filled with ground chicken--quite tasty). A couple of vegetables did make their way to the table, too: a good chana masala (chickpeas) and Elizabeth assured me--because I DETEST okra--that the bhindi masala was delicious. Purely in the interest of research, of course, we felt compelled to try three of the breads, all of which were fantastic: garlic naan (best I've ever tried), onion naan, and keema naan.

As if the great food weren't enough to make one very happy, it's unbelievably cheap, too. I'll be back, especially since I'm a big fan of bhatura bread (one doesn't find that everywhere) and didn't notice it on the menu until after we had already ridiculously over-ordered!

A second trip with Jose and Jennifer yielded a couple of things (besides a great meal): the information that they only serve bhatura bread for breakfast (dashing any hopes I had of ever trying it), and.... pictures!

Top left to right: salad/garnish, rice, and chicken tikka masala (which identically reproduced the "moan effect" from the first visit--EVERY time any of us took a bite of it), with a spicy lentil dal just below it. Bottom left to right: chicken tikka kebab, naan, and spinach with potatoes.

Naan, dal, and aloo sag (spinach with potatoes):


Kebabs--the stupendous chicken tikka, and the delightful new discovery, chapli (spiced ground meat):


Keema naan and garlic naan:



Fiza Diner
259-07 Hillside Ave., Floral Park 11004
718-347-3100
(F train to 179th St., then the Q43 bus out Hillside Ave.)

Some Little Pepper pictures

(Little Pepper has moved.)
I can't think of any food I would rather have on a cold Christmas day than Little Pepper... I can almost feel these hot peppers warming me up right now. Luckily, it appears to be open (as are most Chinatown restaurants in NYC), so out I go--just as soon as I do some practicing!

Some pictures from a recent outing there by the tireless Jose...

Wontons in red hot oil:

The broth is not as fiery as it looks. In fact, the overall effect is (for me, at least) that of comfort food!

My favorite cold appetizer, chicken in spicy sauce:


My new favorite rice dish here, the fried rice with Sichuan brined vegetable (what the name doesn't mention is the minced pork!):


Enhanced pork (similar to twice-cooked pork):


Braised sliced fish in spicy soup base:


Cauliflower with smoked pork belly:


Shredded pork with dried bean curd:


And, what is probably my favorite dish here, the whole fish with spicy minced pork:




Little Pepper
133-43 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing 11354
718-939-7788
http://www.little-pepper.com/
(7 train to Main St.-Flushing, then a block and half west)

Café Sim-Sim, revisited (CLOSED)

Café Sim-Sim continues to be my all-round favorite restaurant in New York. I eat here on an average of perhaps once a week, and let me tell you, it is NOWHERE close to where I live. But for food of this quality, prepared with this kind of care, it is worth every bit of the effort it takes to get the there. And folks, it's not such a bad trip: 3 blocks from the Ditmas Ave. stop on the F-train. Go. Enjoy. Return. Try everything on the menu. I've worked my way through probably two-thirds of the menu and haven't hit a dud yet.

Here's some food porn from one of my many recent visits, courtesy of Jose. Unfortunately, we still don't have a picture of my favorite thing so far on the menu, the home-fried potatoes with chanterelle mushrooms (described here). And for you sturgeon fans, Aron cures all of his fish in-house and offers two kinds of smoked sturgeon--I am especially partial to the Sevruga. Also not pictured are the sturgeon kebabs, which are, as one would expect, fantastic. But this should entice at least a few of you to give this place a try.

The "Stolichniy" salad, or Russian salad--a delicious take on egg salad, with the addition of ground chicken:


The wonderful lipyoshka bread (лепёшка), served warm:


Piti, a hearty soup made with lamb on the bone:


Kharcho, a soup of lamb, vegetables (tomatoes, onions sweet red peppers), and rice, garnished with cilantro:


Kebabs and fried potatoes: chicken lyulya (each wrapped in its own piece of lavash flatbread), and a piece of pork neck:


My favorite kebab on the menu, pork neck, starring in its own solo shot:


As I recently found out the hard way, it's probably a good idea to call ahead just to be sure they're not closed for a private party. Although it's not a bad trip if one gets to eat upon ones arrival, it's a huge annoyance to be go and be turned away, and you'll get no apology from anyone for it.

Café Sim-Sim
312 Ditmas Ave., Brooklyn 11218
718-484-1031
(F train to Ditmas Ave., then 3 blocks east)

Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House

Tonight I understood that it's worth a trip from almost anywhere to eat the beef stew hand-drawn noodle soup at Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House. The noodles are pulled right when you order them, and the stewed beef is sublime (and not to be confused with the "beef hand-drawn noodle soup", which is just thinly sliced brisket--sort of--and beef broth). Be undaunted by the chunks of tendon and cartilage: they add flavor--not to mention texture--dimensions to the dish that are vital to its fabulosity.

I was also told here that hui xiang is dill, but it appears that fennel is the more accurate translation. I think I like the pork and hui xiang dumplings even more than the pork and chive ones.  (This place has since moved around the corner to 83-05 Broadway, where I don't actually know if it's still possible to watch them pull the noodles when you order them.)

Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House
83-05 Broadway, Elmhurst 11373
718-639-3996
(G, R, or V train to Elmhurst Ave., 1 block south on Broadway, then left on Whitney)