Trying to force myself to realize a documentation of a thousand eating experiences can start with one post. So let this one be about our most recent Sunday outing to Flushing to connect with our Asian-eating\/eating-Asian group, at a new spot specializing in Henan cooking. I deliberately do no research before jumping on the C train to the 7 train because a little knowledge can be a disruptive thing when the Lazy Susan leaders can speak and read Cantonese and have scoped out our destinations so smartly. And I keep my mouth shut except for regular infusions of hot tea as the ringleaders suss out the menu and decide on the order. Or, in this case, the over-order. For once we were at two tables (14 of us) and decided doubling up on everything was fairest. I cringed, especially when the waiter volunteered in English: \u201cIt\u2019s too much food.\u201d And he was right, but we still got away for the usual $20 a head (with generous tip).<\/p>\n
The blowaway dish was the one I once would have vetoed because it was built on a nasty bird, but the \u201cbig plate chicken\u201d\/\u201dchicken with special sauce\u201d was fabulous, the leading flavor indicator being the star anise pods strewn over the top. I tasted the NB, which was great for NB, but it was the deep red sauce and the sublime noodles that pushed this over the top. Everyone asked for rice to sop up the sauce, but the smartest move was requesting more fresh noodles. Having just been to the food show, where everyone fantasizes about coming up with a liquid moneymaker, I\u2019d say someone should start bottling this stuff ASAP.<\/p>\n
I passed on the \u201csaut\u00e9ed chicken tripe with hot pepper\u201d and tasted only enough of the \u201clamb soup with breast\u201d to feel sickened (lamb is my deer meat). But the lamb-braised noodles were palatable to me and scarfed by everyone else. I also was underwhelmed\u00a0 by the steamed whole tilapia despite the expert cooking — mud is mud to me. But the \u201cstir-fried lecture\u201d (crisp greens with wood-ear mushrooms) was outstanding and the braised tofu in brown sauce way better than it had any right to be. Pork dumplings with Chinese cabbage, landing too late in the rotation, were nicely executed but very bland, even with vinegar splashed on. And by the time the \u201cwok vegetables\u201d arrived, complete with meatballs in a stellar sauce, everyone looked over-satiated. That broth was amazing, though. WIGB? Absolutely, but only with someone who could communicate with the chef (in his coat emblazoned \u201ccelebrity chef\u201d) and servers. While there are slick photos of the specialties festooning the walls, it really would be hard to know how to order. The place does not even have a name in English either on the sign or on the takeout menu (which does, however, list numbers for everything from Emergency to Public Housing Application, all those resources given in Chinese characters). 40-26 Union Street, 718 353 2816. Open daily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trying to force myself to realize a documentation of a thousand eating experiences can start with one post. So let this one be about our most recent Sunday outing to Flushing to connect with our Asian-eating\/eating-Asian group, at a new spot specializing in Henan cooking. I deliberately do no research before jumping on the C… Continue reading