Like a Clint Eastwood movie, when it comes to Chinese Restaurants, there's good, there's bad, and then there's ugly. Regardless, over the years, these places arguably have become a one of the most important social anchors that binds Chinese diaspora communities. Thus, in what I hope to be a continuing thread, please contribute your Chinese eatery experiences here. It doesn't matter if you want to comment about your experiences as a diner, employee, owner, passerby with an observation, or notation of a bygone place that had newsworthy or historical significance. As long as it has something to do with a Chinese food establishment. But please try to be as detailed and as verbally expansive as possible, with photographs too if available. Also for those in a hurry; just read the Highlighted Red Bold Text For A Short Synopsis. Thanks to everyone for your interest and participation. *** P.S. This thread is an outgrowth of a PA Group, I Love Chinatown that I had recently started. I'm hopeful that it can be used to stimulate discussion about the goings ons of the past and present Chinatowns around the world. Please join and participate with info that you have on your own or favorite Chinatown.
Mellie's Seafood Restaurant 美丽华海鲜城 137-81 Northern Blvd， Flushing， New York 11354 Facade, Mellie's Seafood Restaurant, Flushing, New York. Photograph taken 27 APR 2011. The photo is corrected perspective distortion but is otherwise not retouched. Mellie's Seafood Restaurant One of the things that struck me was the incongruity of Mellie's. Taking a look at it's web site, it is a web page par excellence (see for yourself at the above link). They're also listed on Facebook. So, it seems that whoever runs Mellie's is obviously very net savvy; they're investing, advertising and showing tremendous insight about the return potential of having a presence on the net. On their FB page, is pictures of John Liu, the New York City Comptroller (and rumored future mayoral hopeful), taken at a dinner in Mellie's during Liu's 2010 campaign. So it seems that they also know the importance of rubbing elbows with people in high places. Further, if one reads the comments on user review sites like Yelp, one immediately sees that they get great marks on their private dinning and reserved party arrangements. So, that being said, why does the place look so distant and feel so shabby when one walks in? Well, some of the problems with this place literally have nothing to do with the restaurant but nonetheless puts a chill on their overall business. The first is their location, on the wrong side of Northern Boulevard. For those that understand Flushing, most of Chinatown sits southwards of that wide boulevard. If Mellie's was on the south side of the boulevard, it wouldn't be as bad, but unfortunately, they're stuck on the north side of that frenetic street. This means that for most of Flushing's Chinese residents to get there, they would have to walk (or drive) across Northern Boulevard, one of Queen's most traffic busy divides. If one includes the parking space located on the both sides of the street and the large traffic island in between, that's conservatively more than 10 lanes that one needs to cross from Chinatown proper to where Mellie's is located. Not many people (especially the senior and aged Yum Cha crowd) are willing to do that. South Side of Northern Boulevard, Flushing, New York (composite). Photograph taken 27 APR 2011. The image was combined from two separate sequential exposures taken from the southeast corner of Northern Boulevard and Union Street, looking north. Mellie's is the center left building with the burgundy colored awning. To make matters worse, if one is driving on Union Street from Chinatown, one cannot turn left onto Northern Boulevard. In the second picture, to the right of the image is a white police cruiser doing exactly that; making what would be considered an illegal left turn from Union Street onto Northern Boulevard. If that's not bad enough, one cannot simply go around the block; if one circles around the block (make a left behind the restaurant), and come back around on Leavitt Street (to Mellie's left), one still cannot get to the front of the eatery as that side of Northern Boulevard is one way traveling west; a driver coming from Leavitt must turn right, in effect traveling away from Mellie's, LOL... North Side of Northern Boulevard, Flushing, New York (composite). Photograph taken 27 APR 2011. The image was combined from three separate sequential exposures taken from the northwest corner of Northern Boulevard and Leavitt Street, looking northeast. Mellie's is the vertical burgundy colored hanging sign with yellow text. Thus, the only way that one can ever ensure that a vehicle can be placed directly in front of Mellie's is to prearrange an anticipatory route that arrives traveling westward on Northern Boulevard, or southwards on Union Street (which then allows a right handed turn onto Northern Boulevard). In their defense, I think Mellie's did try to combat this seemingly impossible traffic situation, as they do have a customer parking facility midway up the block on Leavitt Street. However, the lot itself is quite a walk from their front door and sits behind a run down rusted fence. On one side it is overhung with trees, another is bordered by a darkened unidentified warehouse type structure, and the lot (at the time that I saw it) was attended by a fellow that didn't look like someone whom I would trust turning my car keys over to. The only indication that this lot had anything to do with Mellie's is a small, battered and poorly hung sign to the right of the open fence. If the sign wasn't there I would have immediately thought chop shop (places where criminals strip and take apart your stolen car to sell its parts). The only thing missing from this picture is the mangy dog; I shudder in imagining what this place must look like at night. Parking Lot, Leavitt Street, Mellie's Seafood Restaurant, Flushing, New York. Taken 27 APR 2011 Upon entering Millie's I was instantly struck by how disjointed their decor appeared. On the left, an oversize modern marble counter top bar protruded prominently into the room, nearly taking up a good third of the space. There's plenty of room wasted behind that counter top. Even if they chose to employ grossly overweight bartenders, the floor area behind the bar would easily accommodate several of them working at the same time. That is, there is too much empty space back there that one could easily fit in an additional table in front had they designed a smaller bar instead. To the right of the entry is a bank of fish tanks. Half of this live water storage wall is blocked by a waiter's imposing work station near the entrance; the other half likewise by a customer's table. If another customer needed to inspect a fish or if staff needed to retrieve a selection, they would effectively have to walk behind a table of diners. If that were me seated there in the middle of my meal, I would find that to be monumentally annoying. Walking further in, between an aisle of tables one encounters the main dining room and it starts to look more like a typical Chinese restaurant. To the right (after the fish tanks) begins an exposed brick wall with three dimensional art displays highlighted by high intensity lamps. This art "gallery" sticks out from the wall into the dining area by about a foot or so, and prominently displays big artsy prints of nicely photographed Chinese cuisine. These posters hung on standing metal frames and the whole ensemble is then garishly illuminated by track lights. What is strange is that the posters are then partially obstructed by plant sculptures making a viewer uncertain as to what is the center of attraction. I imagine that they were aiming for "upscale" but the whole thing instead seemed rather amateurish and confused. Art Gallery, Mellie's Seafood Restaurant, Flushing, New York. Photo Source: http://albanyeats.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html At any rate, the decor of the main dining room is clean and decent if otherwise artistically bland. They have a few faux museum "art" pieces on wall mounted shelves that competes for diner attention if one becomes bored with their food posters and planters. And of course, there is the standard gold Dragon & Phoenix attending a large central "Double Happiness" (囍) character on red ground, a de rigueur Chinese wedding setting that any successful Chinese restaurant must have. Where Mellie's reportedly shines is in their private party service. On their FB page are several pages of photographs that highlights their private rooms up on the second floor. This I think, is the crowd this place aims for at the expense of the regular diner. I get the feeling that they understand that it would be very hard competition if they only went head to head with regular Chinese eateries (south of the boulevard). Thus they chose to go specifically for high end catering affairs, so they won't have to focus as much on their regular walk in service. However, their walk in regular service isn't bad at all. Mrs. Ralph and I went for Dim Sum yesterday and the food was comparably priced ($2 for small dim sum plate). One of the quality measures that I personally look for in dim sum restaurants is the temperature of their steam serving carts. Cheap or low quality eateries will always keep their carts at minimum temperature, to cut fuel costs. The problem is that as soon as food maintained in this manner hits your table, it almost certainly will turn cold immediately. But to Mellie's credit, I noted that every one of their heated carts resembled a rolling sauna. The dishes served from them continued to let off steam for a good minute or two before stopping; a sure sign of ample heat and thus, good tasting dim sum. Their main floor toilet facilities were exceptionally clean, pleasantly odored (ample air freshener), with spotless ceramic facilities, and the walls were graffiti free (which in New York is already amazing). Their urinals were motion activated (hands free) flushes, which IMHO is a hygienic must in today's environment. But curiously, their sinks (chic as they are) remain manual operation. They had a motion activated hand blower, with a stack of paper towels alongside. My only minor complaint is that the facilities were not adequately marked (from the main dining room, they're in a small hallway behind the blue half length curtain). Also, though they did have a wheelchair sized handicap stall, it was in fact the only sit down available in the entire ground floor men's room. So while two people can "number one" simultaneously, there can only be one "number two" customer at a time. I didn't get a chance to see the other facilities upstairs, but I believe they're only for the private party use. Overall, from the admittedly brief Dim Sum experience, I would give Mellie's high marks for it's food, table service, hygiene and general cleanliness. Their decor is better than average (despite it being somewhat artistically confused). Unfortunately, I would rate their location as only average (despite their being "in Chinatown") because of their difficult traffic access and their parking facility as below average. They need to seriously spruce up their lot, and they could do much better had they used a much larger color coordinated sign that matched their storefront or corporate logo. Their lot attendant should have been wearing some sort of uniform with the restaurant name to dispel doubt as to his identity.
Canton Gourmet 避風塘 38-08 Prince Street Flushing, New York, 11354 (718) 886-9288 Canton Gourmet Restaurant Facade, Flushing, New York. Taken on 29 APR 2011. Photograph taken on the east side of Prince Street looking west."Canton Gourmet is very fond of frying things and then sprinkling them with little deep-fried bits of garlic, scallions, and shallots..." - user review found on Yelp The gist of the above observation is correct (though he neglected mentioning the chili peppers); the comment was left by a reviewer on the user ratings site, Yelp, and yes, that part of the review is very true. However, it also reflected reviewer lack of knowledge in a particular kind of Cantonese cooking, called 避風塘 (literally: typhoon shelter). A bit of background is in order. The Causeway Bay area 銅鑼灣 (Tong Lo Wan) of Hong Kong had historically been home to a fisher village and the many that made their living from its surrounding waters. After an especially serious 1874 typhoon, the British colonial government built a typhoon shelter 避風塘, completed in 1883. It was expanded following another devastating blow which killed thousands in 1906. Years afterwards, it was subsequently displaced by the land reclamation for Victoria Park, forcing it to be moved northwards to it's present location (next to Hong Kong's first cross harbor tunnel). During that century plus duration, the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter thus became home to generations of a scrappy fisher people. These folks literally lived on board their tiny boats, a floating wooden mass, toiling a bare existence from the local sea. Over that time they developed their own variation of stir fried that employed a heavy aromatic seasoning consisting of garlic, chili peppers, salt, scallions, and black bean. It is distinctive enough to be recognized even in Hong Kong as its own unique cuisine. Over those years, the hardy boat dwellers then began to market this style of cooking, and it became a local dining phenomenon known colloquially by its Cantonese reference to the typhoon shelter itself, or 避風塘 (Pronounced in Cantonese as: BAY FUNG TONG). One would go out onto boats for hire, which were equipped with empty dining tables. Once out onto the waters of the Typhoon Shelter, local boaters would pull up alongside to shill their wares; some took orders for stir fried sea food (which they then cooked on the spot and handed over the gunwales) while others sold fruits or drinks. Some even offered minstrel performances, plucking at instruments and shrilly crowing fisher ballads over the grease ladened waters for a fee. Unfortunately this activity, as successful as it was, became a blight to the environment; trash was usually just thrown overboard and after decades the shelter's waters became black with both cooking and diesel grease. The colony was also fearful of safety issues on these unregulated and not inspected sampans (舢舨, formerly 三板), specifically because of the potential for shipboard fires or drunk and drowning diners. The boat bound community itself was also a large source of burgeoning social problems; illness, illiteracy, crime and accidents were common. Thus, since the 1970's the dining was banned by Hong Kong. However, the practice didn't really die out until the 1990's when the government finally removed all those small sampans. Sadly, the entire Typhoon Shelter community has been replaced instead by rows of well appointed yachts. The former shelter inhabitants were brought ashore and dispersed within the Hong Kong population. Despite the demise of the Typhoon Shelter's original boat community however, their characteristic manner of cooking thankfully remains extant in Chinese restaurants around the world. And luckily for us, one of these restaurants is right here in Flushing's Chinatown. Sampan Cooking & Dining, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, Hong Kong [1985]. Photo Source: found on web of Flickr user Skinnie Minnie Their name in English, Canton Gourmet, belies what their name in Chinese, 避風塘 (literally: typhoon shelter), reveals. Most Chinese (especially Cantonese), would almost immediately recognize the distinctive gastronomic meaning in the written characters. Thus, being able to read the Chinese text would let one know that this place didn't just offer Cantonese style cooking, but specifically 避風塘 (ie. typhoon shelter) cuisine. Mrs. Ralph and I were walking by the place, located at 38-08 Prince Street Flushing, New York, 11354, and we decided to give it a try. It was around noon so we were just in time for the lunch specials. She went with the Sautéed Vegetables with Groupa while I decided on the Singapore Styled Vermicelli. Both came with a house soup du jour and prices were exceptionally reasonable. Mrs Ralph and I typically try out places and order simple things, just to see how well they can do simple. The tableware was utilitarian ceramic, mildly to moderately worn, but otherwise spotlessly clean and chopsticks were hygienic single use disposables. The tea served with the meal was pre-steeped (containing only the liquid and no tea leaves) but nonetheless hot. Their furniture was standard eatery seats and tables, slightly worn but fully functional and sturdy. Their physical plant was rather small though I wouldn't say tiny. On casual glance, its apparent that it was once expanded into an adjoining storefront. From the outside, one can clearly see the other (former) storefront's door (on the left, now closed off) and internally, there was still the remnant of a dividing wall that once separated the two. It looks like small parts of that wall were removed to create a passage and windows between the two store spaces, though the bulk of it remains (likely for structural integrity reasons). That wall remnant also serves as a partitioned glass enclosed corridor leading into the center of the restaurant. I suspect that on busy nights, this is where waiting diners would queue. Canton Gourmet Restaurant, View of North (right side) Dining Area, Flushing, New York. Taken 29 APR 2011. The entire place is amply festooned with large (at least 20 x 32 sized) professionally photographed posters of select items from their menu. On each poster is the name of the dish in both English and Chinese. Their regular table and lunch special menus are likewise bilingual, laminated and liberally illustrated with similar photographs. The restaurant is clean, bright, and well lit, though the decor is decidedly a bit plain. I wouldn't call it austere, but if not for the colorful menu posters plastered all over their walls, the entire place would be rather spartan. In addition, their drop ceiling is old and slightly water stained. While it shouldn't affect any aspect of their food, it was nonetheless visually unappealing. Their floor was a clay colored tile that was spotlessly clean and stain free. Walking through the dividing wall from the right side of the restaurant to the left, I was greeted by an almost identically sized room. We had gotten there just as they had opened and were the only customers in the place. So at the time, it didn't seem crowded. However, I imagine that if every table was filled by chattering diners busily eating and waiters bustling the aisles, then I suspect the place may start to feel a bit claustrophobic. There was a small bank of live fish stock for customer selection in the rear of the left side dining area, and in the hall behind that was the single user WC. The toilet was clean, odor and graffiti free. It was an older ceramic unit that employed a rear tank reservoir, with a manual user operated push handle. The sink was likewise manual; there was a hand blower but it too, had to be push button activated. A potentially dangerous dead bolt lock is on the door, in addition to the push button door knob lock. Canton Gourmet Restaurant, North Wall Menu Posters, Flushing, New York. Taken 29 APR 2011. Municipal Parking Lot at Prince Street & 39th Avenue, View from window of North Dining Area of Canton Gourmet Restaurant, Flushing, New York. Taken 29 APR 2011. Traffic access to Canton Gourmet isn't great as Flushing Chinatown is generally extremely congested, but it is easily walkable to all major mass transit. Parking access can also be relatively good depending on how lucky one is. There was a municipal parking lot directly across a two lane street and if one sat by the restaurant's windows, you're so close that you can actually keep an eye on your car. The only problem with this muni lot is that it is a part of busy downtown Flushing, hence, it fills up rather quickly. There is another option at the end to the block, on 39th avenue across the street in the underground lot at the Sheraton La Guardia East Hotel. But of course, it is much more expensive to park there. Unfortunately, another parking lot that was previously at the southwest corner of Prince Street and 39th Avenue is now closed. As of the time of this writing, they were busy pile driving steel girders for the planned One Fulton Square complex. Canton Gourmet Restaurant, Flushing, New York, Overhead Satellite View. Taken from Google Maps 30 APR 2011. The restaurant is marked by the letter A. Mass transit subway station (Number 7 train line) is at bottom right corner of map (Not marked by Google, but in front of Magic Cuts hair salon). Parking lot shown at southwest corner 39th & Prince no longer exists (currently is construction site for planned 1 Fulton Square). In terms of the food, not only were we not disappointed, but we were rather pleasantly surprised. The house soup of the day was exceptionally good tasting and served piping hot. IMHO, a soup should remain deliciously at temperature until one gets to the bottom of a bowl; this soup did exactly that. Further, it tasted great because of the way that it was made. The ingredients we saw included many regular soup vegetables, but more importantly there was conch, pork strips, and real traditional Chinese medicinal cooking herbs. Shortcut or cheaper ways of providing a soup base would be to boil the bejesus out of yesterday's unsold, about to rot vegetables, throw in some monosodium glutamate, and serve it with a smile. The chintzier places will do this because it's easy, they can get away with it, and frankly, they're not going to make money anyway from what is essentially a freebie provided with their lunch specials. Hence, I'm glad that Canton Gourmet didn't take this easy out. Their soup was not only free, but it was literally done as well as I could make at home; using ingredients that I myself would use. Moreover, for those that have ever made and appreciate the effort to cook soup from scratch, it is a given that one has to attend to several hours of slow cook in order to bring out the delicate subtleties of the ingredients and meld them into a flavorful edible bouquet. This is especially true with those medicinal herbs they used, Euryale Seeds 芡实, and Polygonatum Rhizome 玉竹, as these things usually takes hours to soften within a soup; it's about as "home cooked" as you can get. Menu Card, Lunch Specials, Canton Gourmet Restaurant, Flushing New York. Taken 29 APR 2011 The entrée were equally delicious. The sautéed vegetable were done right; cooked well enough, but also retaining just enough snap to remain crisp and flavorful. The Groupa was likewise soft without being raw, and flaky but not overdone. The sauce was delicious and we didn't taste any large amounts of MSG. Her special came with a bowl of white rice. My only complaint was that the entrée portion was (to my jaded eye anyway; Mrs. Ralph didn't think so) a tad small. The Singapore Vermicelli was also very good (but then it's pretty hard to get such a common dish wrong), and the serving size of this was just right (even to my hungry eye). Frankly, the food was so good we even ordered two other lunch specials to take home for the kids. The best part was that it all came to $27. I left an extra $5 for tip for a total of $32 USD, not bad at all, IMHO for what would be the equivalent of a meal for four. One oddity is that they don't take credit cards (which in this day and age, one wonders why), so one must remember that they're cash only. I also read something on Yelp that I think I should address. One customer complaint was over the cost of a Dungeness Crab dish, which she complained had came to about $50 USD. My feeling is that given the cost of fresh seafood, this was hardly surprising. I went by a market today and noted that the price on Dungeness Crabs are about $10 per pound. Given that just one of those monster crustaceans can weigh (on average) between two to four pounds, the raw cost of the beast alone runs between $20-40 USD (off season can be much higher). So there probably isn't a lot of margin in that; while expensive, I think that's a fair price for such a dish. Those that want to watch their pocketbooks can always go with many other less expensive items on the menu. Thus, I give Canton Gourmet superior marks for their food (especially their fabulous soup), and I rate their location grade as very good. Despite the dense Flushing traffic and scarce parking, they're still also only two blocks walking distance from all the major buses and trains. However, their one person at a time toilet facility with manual user operated accoutrements, despite it's cleanliness, remains seriously wanting. I wouldn't call that a meal or deal breaker, but perhaps one should bear in mind that "going" before getting there may be a good idea. Additionally, I have to remind myself that they're cash only (no credit cards). All said, we eagerly look forward to eating there again, when we'll be sure to try more of their 避風塘 (typhoon shelter) style cooking.
Shame you dont live around my area, lots of Chinese Restaurants here that I havent tried. When I see 避風塘 (typhoon shelter), I just think of their style of fried crabs. If you can get some pics next time, even better. Look forward to more reviews, good day from Australia =)
I been to the Canton Gourmet 避風塘 and it's always pack around dinner time. The food is very good, just have to know what to order. This area has quite a few good restaurants but I had seen a couple of places that has no customers around dinner time on the same block. So that tell you a lot.
whoaaa how does the 'flag counter' work..??....new pa thingy...??.. ralphieee....did ya takey them piccies yourself of inside the restaurants too..??..so dedicated..! ^^
okkayy.. here's mine: 金龍軒 - Golden Dragon 28-29 Gerrard Street, London, W1D 6JW Went there last week to eat and: rubbish service... like there was no trying to sell their food or anything, rude waitress [big 6], had to ask them where's our food, when we already asked them!! Terrible!! Worst restaurant ever!!
Just click on the Flag Counter itself and it will take you to the website where you can get your own flag counter. And yes, I do take my own pics. The ones that I find on the net I usually annotate provenance. Dedicated? LOL, hardly; just being really anal. And @ Susie-Dang-1988, That's a real shame about the Golden Dragon; their facade looks excellent.
Hey ralph, you can blog your individual posts, that way you can get more views. Also I put you in front page
Hey, that's a great idea. Just question though, am I obligated to contribute a set amount of articles in a certain time frame? I really don't have too much time to spare if that's the case. LOL... I just tried to blog the first post, got rejected because it was too long... Maybe I should just stick to here.
The Golden Shopping Mall 黃金商場 Mom's Ma La Hot Pot 老媽麻辣烫 41-28 Main Street, Flushing, Queens, NY 11355 More than a century ago, the Chinese quarters within such places as the Bay Area of San Francisco, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and even in Tacoma, Washington, all had an undeniable air of mystique. Tales were often told of secret Chinese tunnels that went underground into a veritable subterranean metropolis hidden and carved beneath their very own city, but to where no white man had ever been allowed. It was rumored that all manner of vice and services were discreetly available, reserved strictly for the Celestials themselves, all of which who had been sworn by blood oath to secrecy. Of course Hollywood movies like Confessions Of An Opium Eater [1962] with its salacious depiction of exotic Chinese women being sold into sexual servitude (paid for in bids of opium) only further stoked the occidental imagination to wild new heights of fascination. The American populace was horrified and disgusted yet also remained intrigued, enticed, and almost compelled, wanting to see more. Thus, Chinatowns across a growing America became a favored tourist destination, and that curiosity in large part exists even to this day. In this regard, the Golden Shopping Mall, located in Flushing, New York, continues in that macabre tradition (of alluring horror) though it may only be a hardy aficionado who appreciates such efforts. Firstly, the word "mall" in their title is rather overly generous. It would be more apropos to refer to the place as The Slum Stores, or perhaps Back Alley Outlets. Next, for those that have never seen the place, if you can picture a rabbit warren in the sub-basement of a condemned building which houses too many starving illegal immigrants; then one may begin to get a feel of what the Golden Shopping Mall is all about. This is a mini mall with special emphasis on the word mini. Street Stalls, Exterior Of Golden Shopping Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. Photograph is a composite of three separate exposures. View from southwest corner of Main Street and 41st Road looking southwest. From the middle of the picture where the sun glasses are displayed, the dark opened doorway immediately behind it (to the left) is the front entrance to the basement level of the Golden Shopping Mall. On the street to the right is the Q58 Ridgewood Bus. Rear Doors, Exterior Of Golden Shopping Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. Photograph is a composite of three separate exposures. View from south side of 41st Road looking southeast. The open doorway to the right leads up the upper level of the mall. The door just to the left of it (held open with a tied white string) with the broken glass leads to the corridor into lower basement level. Rear Door Entryway To Lower Level, Golden Shopping Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 01 MAY 2011. Photograph is a composite of two separate exposures. View from just inside rear entryway from 41st Road looking south. The vendor directly ahead is a dumpling and noodle shop. The big blue letter "A" on their window stated that that was their hygiene rating by some food inspection authority. To the right was a video pirate selling knock off discs what looked to me like every Chinese movie ever made. I make no apologies; the Golden Shopping Mall is seriously a dump. It sits in a building that is a run down, decrepit looking fire hazard, which appears likely to be a single phone call away from being shut down by the City for Department of Health or Fire Code violations. It it a wonder that anyone can think to open an eatery in such a dismal place. But having seen the insides of Hong Kong's infamous Walled City of Kowloon (about 20 years ago, just before the government finally moved in and demolished it) I must admit that we Chinese can literally set up shop and conduct business even in the most squalid or improbable venues. Golden Shopping Mall, Satellite View, Flushing, New York. From Google Maps, retrieved on 02 MAY 2011.The mall is marked by the letter A. There is a very busy municipal lot one block north on 41st Avenue. The Number 7 Train line is three blocks north. The Ridgewood bound Q58 Bus stops right outside the mall on south side of 41st Road. [video=youtube;lDidck5spxI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDidck5spxI[/video] Review singing praises of the Golden Shopping Mall found on Youtube. Damn! Get a load of those Mangoes !!! Perhaps it is this incongruence which has led to curiosity, and that may be also what contributes to it's wild success. Over the years, the Golden Shopping Mall had acquired a hip reputation on consumer review sites such as Yelp. There are also a variety of net adjuncts that sing praise about the place. It's so damned nasty that perhaps it's actually become chic to say that you've eaten there. In truth, the place really began as an oasis of survival cuisine for many of the city's Chinese immigrant underclass. These Lazarun poor, having arrived tempest-tost on the number 7 express; tired, starving, yearning to eat but without confirmed reservations at the Jade Asian, had no recourse but to find any hole in the wall willing to boil a dumpling for a dime. Thus, the lamp was lit beside the Golden Shopping Mall's door, and the masses that came had to be willing to put up with spartan decor, surly servers, and not be the least bit mortified by the occasional vermin scampering underfoot . The place itself is divided into two levels filled with a variety of competing food outlets, some even assuredly bearing notices in English (lest there be any doubt) that it is actually "safe" to eat there. Be forewarned though; regardless of what they say on the net, no one seems to speak a word of English or Cantonese; go in with Mandarin or else go away hungry (more on the point and pay method later). There are also a few other non food vendors that hawk pirated Chinese entertainment media, cheap shoes, children clothes or toys, and there's even a Chinese version of Western Union's MoneyGram service (on the upper level, you can't miss the large bullet resistant booth even if you don't read Chinese). But of course, we were only interested in the cuisine. Vendor #15, Mom's Ma La Hot Pot, Golden Shopping Mall Lower Level, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. Photograph is a composite of three separate exposures. View from seating booth looking out into general access hallway. The vendor across the hall sold thick skinned boiled dumplings. Vendor #15, Mom's Ma La Hot Pot, Golden Shopping Mall Lower Level, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. View from seating booth looking at service counter. Photo Menu displays can be seen above the counter. On that note, Mrs. Ralph and I ventured down into the basement food court, taking the left bend and stopping at Vendor #15, Mom's Ma La Hot Pot 老媽麻辣烫 counter. Ma La is a descriptive term that has come to define a cuisine style. The word Ma 麻 refers to numbing, and La 辣 meaning spicy hot; taken together to mean that it is literally so spicy that your mouth becomes numb. The origins of this style of cooking is thought to have originated from southwest China in the 1800's from the docks of Chongqing 重慶. Its base ingredient is the Sichuan Pepper 花椒. The Ma La sauce is usually combined with other flavoring ingredients that provide fullness, body and distinctiveness to a dish. Otherwise, it would just be spicy but without much interest. Mom's Ma La Hot Pot has taken to what a lot of other non English speaking Chinese eateries have done to lure non Chinese speakers. They have a large menu poster right on the wall outside their stall, and above their counter, showing a picture of each of their dishes, so all a customer has to do is point and pay. As far as I could tell, they're all identical except for your choice of topping (beef, fish, crab, Spam, mushroom, clam, shrimp, or tripe) and the atomic energy rating of the hot sauce used in your broth. The rest of your large disposable plastic bowl is apportioned with a filler consisting of a liberal amount of Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy greens, tofu (soft, fried and skin), rice cake and potato slices, radish, black fungus, kelp strips, and vermicelli. Chopsticks and soup spoon are thankfully one shot disposables with the caveat that the soup spoon is anemically small. Depending on your choice of topping the cost varies upwards to $7 USD per serving. The soup is basically hot water with a large dose of Mono Sodium Glutamate. Condiments are available on each table. The place was fairly busy, so when someone finished and got up, Mrs. Ralph and I immediately grabbed the still dirty table assuming that someone will be along to clean it; we were wrong. After waiting a few minutes and being ignored, we simply pushed the used dishes out of the way and cleared a spot in front of each of us. Mrs Ralph (who speaks Mando way better than me) then went and ordered our food. I went with the fish and she, the beef. The fish filet pieces were boneless, seemed to have been marinated, and were cooked through without any sign of being raw. The beef slices were thin and not too stringy. Both the fish and beef looked like they were cooked seperately and then laid on top of a standard bowl of soup with the aforementioned filler. An MSG broth at your chosen level of spiciness is then added. The food itself wasn't bad at all considering the place we were in, but neither was it very good. We paid a total of $14 USD for the two servings. We did not get tea served with this meal. Beef Ma La Hot Pot Serving, Golden Shopping Mall Lower Level, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. Fish Ma La Hot Pot Serving, Golden Shopping Mall Lower Level, Flushing, New York. Taken 02 MAY 2011. Their decor can be best described as post apocalyptic abysmal; furniture was serviceable but frightfully dirty. The floor had a visible film of dust on top of a greasy sheen; it otherwise had so many other dark spots on it that one may as well consider it an overall part of the original design. I was about to go check the WC facility but Mrs. Ralph stopped me, citing a comment by her sister, who had previously told her that she would rather shit in her pants than have to ever set foot in that bathroom again. Luckily, I did not personally see any vermin. Driving there is impossible if you need to get out of your car to eat (there is no reliable parking except the street meter), but it is doable if someone only gets dropped off. One can always try the Long Island Rail Road Muni-Lot on 41st Avenue but in my experience that lot is usually always full. Otherwise, the nearest Mass transit is the Q58 Bus (Ridgewood bound) which stops right outside the Golden Shopping Mall (on the southwest corner of 41st Road & Main Street). Or else one can walk the two or three blocks to the number 7 train line or other buses. There is also the Long Island Rail Road Port Washington line and the Chinatown Commuter Shuttle Bus service, one block away on 41st Avenue & Main Street. The section of street that this mall sits on probably one of the most pedestrian dense streets in all of Flushing. I only sampled the food from that one vendor so my food comments only apply to them. Overall, I rate Mom's Ma La Hot Pot (Vendor #15 at the Golden Shopping Mall) a below average on their food. It wasn't bad but it wasn't very good either. Just plain MSG in hot water (in my book at least), cannot not be considered even average. They get a poor on Traffic and Parking, but very good on Mass Transit access. In terms of Cleanliness, Service, and Decor, I would also rate them a poor. I don't want to use hearsay to provide a rating for their Toilet (as I didn't personally see it), but I strongly suspect that they wouldn't be any better in that category either. I don't usually consider the safety of a place but in this case, I really have to mention it. If a fire ever happened there, the small constricted and labyrinthine passages would ensure maximum smoke inhalation casualties. Given that cooking happens there daily, with the combination of oil, flames, and narrow spaces, it is a death trap waiting to happen. While the food is arguably dirt cheap, I would say eat there at your own risk.
i've only been to one actually... LOL http://eyesonme-foodies.blogspot.com/2011/04/shanghai-gourmet.html i wonder how many of those you recognise? =P
Sounds great, but what did you have and what did you think about the food? Any other comments, like the decor, service, location, et cetera? At the link you provided, the Xiao Long Bao with crab roe sounds delicious; I want to go try some!
the stuff i posted there was what i ate... LOL =P its a cheap eat... wouldn't say its great, good value for $$ tho the xiao long bao - i still think the memory of the one in shanghai was better haha i wouldn't recommend u trekking down from flushing to here just for that tho!! organise a yum cha... i'll consider trekking all the way to flushing hahaha
