Flushing
Hot pot hits the spot at Ice Fire Land.
* THE EXPERT: Danielle Chang, founder of Luckyrice Asian food festival
There’s plenty to taste in Flushing, home to one of the country’s biggest Chinatowns. “I like Flushing Chinatown because it’s a little more Taiwan-oriented,” says Chang, a fan of cold pig’s ear and Taiwanese shaved ice.
Start with soup dumplings: “It’s so hard to make really good soup dumplings,” Chang says of the house specialty at Nan Xiang Dumpling House (38-12 Prince St.; 718-321-3838). Delicate, paper-thin dough envelops pork ($5.50 for six) or crab ($6.50 for six). Other treats: cold spicy pig’s ear ($5.95) and jellyfish ($4.95).
Dipping into dim sum: A daytime trip to Flushing seems incomplete without a visit to a Chinese banquet hall such as Asian Jewels Sea Food Restaurant (133-30 39th Ave.; 718-359-8600) for dim sum. In addition to pork buns in puff pastry ($2.95) and pan-fried leek dumplings (delicious! $3.95), Chang orders tea-leaf-wrapped sticky rice stuffed with salted egg yolk, scallops, sea cucumber, dried mushrooms, chicken and more ($6.25).
Going to hot pot: The hot pot involves cooking one’s own food in a pot of broth at your table. At Ice Fire Land (135-11 40th Road; 718-886-8600), a waitress brings a big bowl of soup (spicy chicken, $14.95, with a 25 percent lunchtime discount), raw meat or seafood, as well as a tremendous assortment of vegetables, tofu skins, egg and fish balls.
Cooling down: “There’s no English name for this place,” says Chang of the Taiwanese shaved-ice shop on the basement level in the Flushing Mall (133-31 39th Ave.). Whatever its name, it’s well-worth a try. For only $3.65, you get a heaping mound of ice, flavored with Aiyu jelly, taro, mung beans and even grass jelly.
Jackson Heights
* THE EXPERT: Vikas Khanna, filmmaker, author and executive chef of new Indian restaurant Junoon in the Flatiron District
“Whenever [an employee] joins Junoon who doesn’t know Indian food, I take them here,” says Khanna. “A lot of my chefs are going to have to find inspiration.”
Savory street food: Khanna starts at Rajbhog Sweets (72-27 37th Ave.; 718-458-8512), a kosher, vegetarian and Jain-friendly restaurant modest in appearance, but ostentatious in its flavors. He orders karela (a bitter gourd, $4.49), dhoka (steamed lentil cake, $3), daal (lentil stew, $4.49) and a samosa chaat ($4.99). “ ‘Chaat’ means ‘to lick,’ ” explains Khanna. “It’s a savory street food.” The smoky dish, with a sweet undercurrent, consists of a crushed samosa in a yogurt, tamarind and cilantro sauce, with chickpea noodles on top.
Get your meat fix: At Kabab King (73-01 37th Road; 718-457-5857), Khanna orders chicken ($5.99) and goat ($6.99) biryani and a huge, sizzling platter of grilled meats (from $2.99 to $12). “It’s not an expensive place because they don’t use the highest-quality ingredients,” says Khanna, “but the technique makes up for it.” Indeed, the goat biryani is tender and tangy, and the meat platter is full of flavor.
And for dessert: Stop by Patel Brothers (37-27 74th St.; 718-898-3445), which has Indian frozen food (“big with Indian professionals”), tubs of ghee (clarified butter) and bins of lotus root, white pumpkin and all sorts of other exotic veggies. Khanna chooses jalebi, a deep-fried batter shaped to look like yellow pretzels and soaked in saffron syrup ($2.99).
Elmhurst
* THE EXPERT: Zak Pelaccio, world traveler and chef at Fatty Crab, Fatty ’Cue and other Fatty enterprises
“I used to have a lot more time for flaking off and cruising around Queens,” says Pelaccio, the shaggy wunderkind behind the temple to Malaysian food, Fatty Crab. It’s no wonder he’s a fan of this ’hood, given its many mouthwatering little restaurants serving food from the various corners of Asia.
Thai the knot: First up is Thai restaurant Ayada (77-08 Woodside Ave.; 718-424-0844), where Pelaccio orders three kinds of sausage — Thai Northern sausage; E-Sarn sausage, which almost tastes like the Italian version; and pink Namm sausage made of fresh ground skin and meat ($8 each). A minute later, a waitress appears with delicious beef tendon soup ($9) and a platter of raw shrimp dressed with garlic and bitter melon ($9). “Try to get it all in your mouth,” Pelaccio advises. The spice dances on your tongue.
A little sweetener: At Thai Grocery @ Woodside Avenue (76-13 Woodside Ave.; 917-769-6168), ask for the kanam krok, a spongy cake that’s salty on the outside (like a soft-charred bun) and has coconut cream on the inside ($3).
Slurp away: The noodles are stupendous at Uncle Zhou Restaurant (83-29 Broadway; 718-393-0888). Pelaccio gets a plate of lamb dumplings ($3 for eight), a bowl of cold noodles heated only with spicy oil ($5) and whole fish bathed in a sweet-and-sour sauce with crispy fried noodles on the side ($16.95). “There’s a beautiful fry on that fish,” notes Pelaccio. But the star might be “lamb knife-shaved noodle soup” ($5.75) — thick noodles cut with a knife in hot lamb broth. “Those shaved noodles were cooked perfectly,” says Pelaccio. “They really were al dente. This guy’s good.”
Long Island City
* THE EXPERT: Leah McLaughlin, editor and publisher of Edible Queens magazine
McLaughlin calls LIC, a four-minute train ride from Grand Central, the gateway drug to Queens. “LIC is less ethnic or international, in a way,” she says. “It’s a good entry point for New Yorkers who want to explore Queens.”
You say tomato — I say soup: At year-old eatery LIC Market (21-52 44th Drive; 718-361-0013), McLaughlin can’t pass up fresh tomato soup ($5), which smells like tomatoes straight out of the veggie patch and “tastes like a puréed caprese salad.” She also loves the softshell crab BLT ($15). “The bacon is really thick-cut, and there’s not a ton of breading on the crab,” she says. “It’s butter and pork and just great.”
Cutie Thai: At unassuming Thai takeout shop Gaw Gai (23-06 Jackson Ave.; 718-706-0999), try the wonton lovers’ soup ($7.75), a large bowl of broth with poached chicken, cilantro and pork dumplings. “It’s light and fresh and full of lemongrass,” she says.
Swoon for sweets: Try Little Oven (12-07 Jackson Ave.; 718-440-9438), a pretty bakery with macaroons ($1.75 each). McLaughlin covets raspberry (filled with chocolate ganache), pistachio and caramel fleur de sel. “The macaroons are small, so you don’t have to make a big commitment,” she says. “You can have a small, really, well-done bite.”
Astoria
* THE EXPERT: Tamara Reynolds, cook and co-host of “Unique Eats” on the Cooking Channel and host of the Sunday Night Dinner supper club, which meets in her apartment
Reynolds moved to the neighborhood, known mostly for its Greek offerings, 13 years ago from the West Village. “I couldn’t believe I was moving to Queens,” says the spirited redhead. “But I was completely seduced by the neighborhood — and I wouldn’t be the cook I am now without moving here.”
Jump into Japanese: Sleek Japanese restaurant Linn (29-13 Broadway; 718-204-0060) is owned by chef Tanaka Shigenori, a Masa alum, whose Nipponese small plates and raw fish dishes are sumptuous. “No one in Astoria is doing what he’s doing,” Reynolds says. Her standard fare? The yellowtail cheek, a fish face broiled in a salt crust (“like fish butter — fatty and sweet,” $12); red-and-blue wakame salad (“the white miso dressing is one of the great wonders of the world,” $5) and pork belly marinated in soy, ginger and sake (“irresistible,” $7).
Taco tasting: Cheery Mexican newcomer Pachanga Patterson (33-17 31st Ave.; 718-554-0525) is a welcome addition, partly thanks to its “proper cocktails,” such as hibiscus and basil margaritas. Beyond the drinks, the 13-table spot, with a charming backyard, is building a reputation for its unusual Mexican fare. Reynolds loves the fish tacos ($12 at dinner, $9 at lunch), which come stuffed with pickled red onion and cilantro and are served on tortillas made in Corona, Queens. “To me, these are the perfect fish tacos,” she says.
Shopping stop: “This is awesome,” says Reynolds, staring at the window of her favorite butcher’s shop, International Meat Market (36-12 30th Ave.; 718-626-6656), where skinned baby rabbits, whole goats and huge cuts of beef rib are on display. “These guys cater to old-school housewives, but there’s also foie gras and quail eggs,” she enthuses.
Woodside
* THE EXPERT: Jeff Orlick, food blogger at iwantmorefood.com and culinary tour guide
Orlick moved to Woodside four years ago for the food. “That’s the No. 1 reason,” he says. A graphic designer, he leads tours of Woodside’s culinary gems and organizes dinners in ethnic restaurants.
My Thai: New York foodies may be familiar with SriPraPhai’s terrific Thai food, but Thailand Center Point (63-19 39th Ave.; 718-651-6888) is cuter and completely under the radar. When ordering, he prefers to go off-menu. “I always ask the owner what she likes,” he says. The tamarind fried rice ($8.95) — which comes with salty preserved eggs, sweet shredded pork and cucumber slices — “is the owner’s own creation. It’s unique to this place,” he says. The shrimp with herbs and spicy sauce ($12) is another original: a plate topped with fried shrimp in a spicy, rich gravy.
Put pork on your fork: At bustling Filipino joint Fiesta Grill (69-12 Roosevelt Ave.; 718-205-4010), the language barrier isn’t a problem because you point to your poison. And at two dishes, plus rice, for $5.95, the buffet-style offerings are a steal. “This block is the center of Filipino food. And this place is a great introduction to the cuisine,” Orlick says. He recommends diners eschew the meat skewers for chopped greens with shredded pork and coconut sauce, tripe and marinated pork stew.
Just say oui oui: Chef Patricia Chu opened her delightful creperie, Fresca La Crepe (39-82 61st St.; 347-768-1488), after a trip to Paris, which explains why her savory pancakes are made in the French style, with buckwheat instead of white flour. Orlick orders the Pepper Chic ($7), filled with chicken, Swiss gruyere and hot peppers. The food blogger also likes an off-the-menu dessert crepe called The Bomb ($8), which comes with marscarpone, Nutella, berries, banana and nuts.