Back in Town for a Flushing Adventure: Friendship Plaza and Minzhongle

Hey you fressing faces, time flies when you are locked in the library! Besides full time studenthood, Philly has really been keeping me busy with all the lunch reports and other adventures I require to keep sane.

But every now and then I have to return to my hood for a food adventure with my family. A recent trip to Flushing was so particularly noteworthy, that it was... worth... noting.

So, I chose a new route to get back home- the Chinatownbus from Chinatown Philly to Chinatown Manhattan. Then, a few blocks from that bus station, I hopped on a smaller bus that brought me directly to Flushing! Brilliant. Only $12.75 and 3 hours to get from Philly to Flushing... why aren't more Philadelphians (and Manhattanites) making the trip??






While on my last leg of the trip driving on Main St, I noticed a "plaza" that I had never seen before. The sign let me know that Best Northern Dumpling had moved there, so I wondered what else could be inside. Was this another food court?

In the middle of the plaza (a long hall really) was good Ol' Best Northern, it was comforting to see the same menu, like seeing an old friend. We enjoyed some fluffly veggie buns here, as they were out of most other things.

At the end of the hall was a stall with zero English posted anywhere and zero English spoken. I didn't want to give up, because the little pork wontons being made looked so good, so after several minutes, I got them to serve me something. I just wasn't sure what.... For $3 I got a boiling hot (no, really, I burnt my mouth badly) cup of pork wonton soup. The wontons with their silken wrappers and slightly sweet pork contents were the star, though the delicate broth was impressive too. And they don't cheap out on the wontons, the soup was full of them. There is a bit of a timing issue here though, you want to let the soup cool, but as you wait the wonton skins slowly disintegrate. The proper gobble method must be a skill learned with practice.




This was just a side trip for the main event, so we took our burnt mouths down Main Street to Minzhongle, a relatively new restaurant recommended by the only guy who I trust for Flushing tips, Joe DiStefano.



We were almost foiled by the entrance, a bustling tea counter is on your left as you walk in and a clothing boutique almost disguises the entrance at the very back of the building.



According to Joe, the food is a crazy Korean-Chinese combo because some of the chefs come from a Korean province located in China. Who knew?

Blood vessel in cumin sauce? Extreme spicy beef veins? Ummm, not this time.

But a spicy squid salad appetizer sounded perfect. While this was probably the least unique of the dishes, this was an amazing version of a squid salad. The tender squid was spicy and appropriately balanced with cooling cucumber and cilantro. I would have to order this again.



On Joe's recommendation we had the popcorn in egg sauce. We almost didn't get it at first, but the fried corn kernels and pignolis grew on us- a lot!


The other recommendation we used from Joe was the crispy duck leg. This was a triumph of cooking technique. We all agreed we had never had duck that was this crispy with the usual grease. Equally impressive was how perfectly the meat was cooked under that glorious skin. A dish of salty something is on the side to add more flavor, but use sparingly.


Lastly, we had a sizzling platter of saucy ribs. The traditional Korean influence was most prominent in this dish. The little nibs of ribs were cooked until soft and served in a mildly sweet sauce.


This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. I'll just have to jump on the series of Chinatown buses to make another pilgrimage soon.


Friendship Plaza:41-42 Main St
Minzhongle: 37-14 Main Street

Fressa does Lunch!

Check out my new website, Midtown Lunch: Philly. I hope to tempt you with non-boring, under $10 lunches around Philadelphia.

Let me know what you think, especially if you like it!

South East Asian Grub on Washington Ave

Down on Washington Ave you can find several plazas and stand alone Vietnamese Pho joints. Pho and Cafe Viet Huong, located in one of several Viet-centric plazas, has a sit down restaurant in the back and a counter for easy access to take out, banh mi, bubble teas, and other prepared snacks.






The summer rolls are huge and fresh, stuffed with shrimp, mint, noodles, thin slices of pork and a thick peanut sauce on the side. And order is $3.50 and comes with 2, prepackaged versions are available up front- but you are probably better off ordering them to ensure maximum freshness. I took home two types of sticky rice, both only 2 dollars. The banana leaf wrapped sticky rice was not my favorite, it had some kind of tamale like thing going on in there. The small pre-wrapped portion of xoi lap xuong on the other hand was pretty great. Its a perfect thing to pick up as part of a lunch.... throw in a summer roll order and your coworkers/classmates/friends/cat will be jealous.

An order of pork over vermicelli proved a bit perplexing, the pork element came in slices that were joined by some over foreign sliced thing (tripe?).





There are several dessert option, I tried che chuoi, a kind of tapioca banana pudding, not bad.






Out the plaza and across the street you can find Cafe de Laos. A sit-down restaurant serving Laotion, Thai, and Laotion-Thai fusion food (that section is lovingly titled "Thai-Laos Relationship Bridge"). Its a really cute byo and alternative date spot. I don't know much about Laotion food, but I do know I like how they handle their sausage. As a guide, the Laos sausage is under the salad section of the Laos menu, naturally... The sausage are housemade and are a must order. I felt like I was eating chorizo injected with Tom Yum soup, which makes sense, its packed with lemongrass and lime and well crisped on the outside.

An order of beef Om Laos curry proved neither impressive nor unique. Hor Mok Pla w catfish (steamed marinated fish in banana leaf) was more entertaining. The pieces of cat fish were joined by lightly pickled bamboo shoot strings that were subtle but tangy. The menu is HUGE and we barely touched the surface.


Pho and Cafe Huong-1110 Washington Ave
Cafe de Laos- 1117 South St

Paul's Tuesday Neighborhood Appreciation Menu, $20

Get on this Tuesday train! Paul is a tiny BYO that would certainly fall into the category of a "cute, neighborhood spot." It offers a menu of creative but not crazy American fare, including a $30, 3 course limited prix fix. But, the real night to go is Tuesday (neighborhood appreciation night) when 3 courses set you back only $20.

You get the choice of pretty much any appetizer (minus cheese plate) and entree on the menu and then a choice of creme brulee or choc pancakes for dessert. All the portions are smaller than are normally served, but were enough to be filling for me, could potentially be less filling for others.

I would recommend my appetizer- a duck prosciutto salad with pear spheres over a gorgonzola patty.





I was also pleased with my entree, short ribs with a polenta queso fresco tamale and braised radicchio. The tamale thing could have been served warmer but the radicchio was not at all bitter, it was extra vinegary (kudos to you if you get the south park reference) and sourkraut- like which I loved.




The skate was your typical lovely brown butter caper skate, can't go wrong there. It was served with a bacon hash that was less typical and just as appetizing.

Desserts are definitely an afterthought, but its still nice to end with something sweet. Again, this place is really really small, so you might want to make a reservation.


1120 Pine Street

Flying Monkey Cupcakes + O Sandwiches

While passing by the Flying Monkey's newest location, I noticed a new sign...
Today was the first day that they started carrying banh mi sandwiches ($5.50) and summer rolls ($6) from O Sandwiches. Though its a bit of mark-up, its pretty exciting news for the gayborhood. Now we can be that much trendier over here.

I wasn't in the sandwich mood so I just went with a champagne cupcake, but I will be back soon enough to try out these highly acclaimed sammiches.

Noodles from the Chinese Noodle Factory

On this little Chinatown street, the Noodle factory makes their own buns and rice noodles for you to bring home and gussy up. They also sell prepackaged noodles with a tangy sauce that makes for a convenient lunch. They give you a ton of noodles graciously topped with a fork. I went for the shrimp version which cost all of $1.60.

Lee How Fook: business in the front, party in the back

Lee How Fook has a reputation for serving legit Chinese food to the Philly community.

A recent bday partayyy allowed us to sample the goods, while taking advantage of their semi-private back room and byo policy. Spinning wine and beer around and around on a lazy susan is really fun.

I don't even know exactly what we eat, things just kept spinning at me. Each dish held its own, but nothing blew my mind
The duck meat with ginger and pineapple came close though.

They have a godzilla sized menu and are accommodating to the vegetarians (like a mapo tofu without any meat) and eaters of all adventurous levels (from general tso's chicken all the way to duck feet abalone hot pot) Our bill for our large party was ridiculously low. According to the website, Lee How Fook means "good food for the mouth" and they have been working at that for over 20 years.

219 North 11th Street