EAST MEETS BEST
Hungry for Thai or Tibetan, Chinese or Vietnamese? You’re in luck. A tasty new food court has risen in Queens, to add to NYC’s already ample Asian fare
CRAVING soup dumplings for dinner? Sure, but why not have it all: shrimp skewers and egg pancakes, Taiwanese fried chicken and chili-boiled fish, squishy coconut squares and bubble tea.
We know just the place: the new HK Food Court in Elmhurst (8202 45th Ave.). In a single-floor space
that used to be a Chinese supermarket, it’s a sprawling, cheery affair just a block from the Elmhurst Avenue stop on the R, M and E lines. Two dozen stalls hawk Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese fare. On a recent weekday, the 200 plastic chairs between the stalls were filled with families, couples and groups of friends sampling savory dumplings, pork cutlets and sweet beverages in neon colors.
Must-visit spots include Khao Ka Moo, an offshoot of brick-andmortar neighborhood restaurant Chao Thai, which specializes in plates of tender pork and chicken over rice served with cucumber and a tangy, sweet-and-sour sauce. Save room for the desserts a few shopfronts away at Khanom Thai, where Poky McCarthy hand-makes gelatinous desserts in traditional flavors such as milky-sweet pandan and coconut-y butterfly pea-flower jelly. The most popular item, though, is mango sticky rice, the glutinous starch molded into the shape of a heart.
Cousins Sarah and Esther Malonda, both 22, were trying out the food court for the first time and were impressed by the selection. The Elmhurst natives ordered a bento box with fried squid tentacles from Hey Chick, a purveyor of Taiwanese fast-food snacks, and an oversize, Sichuan-style, choose-your-own-ingredients hot pot from Lao Ma Spicy.
“The bento box was very good and very cheap,” says Sarah. (Most of the food court’s dishes are $10 or less.) “I will still definitely go back to try other things.”
Seek out harder-to-find regional cuisines at XinJiang House, named for the northwestern Chinese province populated by the Uighur
cuisines at XinJiang House, named for the northwestern Chinese province populated by the Uighur people and best known for hearty halal dishes with lamb and potatoes, and Yuan Muwu, which serves snacks such as barbecued beef skewers, peanut butter noodles and grilled oysters from eastern China’s coastal Fujian province.
Many patrons come to HK Food Court in search of dumplings, and they do not leave disappointed. At the Famous Food stall, workers churn out trays of neatly folded dough pockets; out of more than a dozen varieties, highlights include juicy pork soup dumplings and wontons in spicy chili oil. Nearby, Khawachen cooks up Tibetan staples, including the steamed, crenulated dumplings called momos. Whether you opt for the beef, chicken and chive or beef and chive filling — served in broth or on their own — don’t scrimp on the zesty orange sauce that goes on top.
Elmhurst is known for its diverse Asian community and corresponding array of cuisines, but Flushing is the undisputed food-court king. HK Food Court is actually a spinoff of Flushing’s Super HK Food Court (37-11 Main St.), in the basement of a grocery store. (Tip: The Elmhurst food court bathrooms are new and immaculate.)
While Flushing’s most famous food court is in the basement of New World Mall, its vendors are largely stable. But the Asian food hub has other food halls, including one at F&T Group’s new development, Queens Crossing. There, recent openings include Lin Lin & Leong, a Taiwanese
eatery whose go-to dish is beef noodle soup, and Taiyaki, whose vanilla, chocolate and green tea ice cream arrives in red bean-flavored, fish-shaped waffle cones.
At Canal Street Market (265 Canal St.), which opened in 2017, plant-based frozen treat purveyor Sweet Nova is offering a freeze bowl with its signature ice cream in dragon-fruit blueberry, sunflower cacao or matcha kale flavors topped with a liquid matcha or espresso “shot” and fruit via neighboring vendor, Office Coffee.
Along the East River, Time Out Market New York debuted in May with 21 vendors at Empire Stores (55 Water St.), Dumbo’s coffee warehouse-turned-retail space. Two notable outposts serving Asian fare are Fish Cheeks, with a focus on spice-infused Thai seafood, and Mr. Taka Ramen, which specializes in tonkotsu, a creamy pork broth that’s been simmering for hours. In Williamsburg, the year-old North 3rd Street Market (103 N. Third St.) tapped two new businesses: Vietnamese noodle and sandwich shop Bun and Hawaiian dessert maker Brooklyn Shave Ice.
The food hall craze has extended to new neighborhoods this year. Washington Heights’ first such venue, Northend Food Hall, opened in the spring at 4300 Broadway near West 183rd Street with Dashi Noodles and Rice. District Kitchen in Jersey City (210 Hudson St.), which opened in March, includes Little Sushi Shop (Japanese), Kimchi Grill (Korean) and Canteen Desi Dhaba (Indian).
Even old-guard food halls are constantly adding new offerings. In June, Chelsea Market unveiled a 45-seat offshoot of Elmhurst’s Thai staple Ayada (75 Ninth Ave.).
Although Chengdu Heaven at Flushing’s Golden Shopping Mall, which Anthony Bourdain loved, is closing at the end of July, there are plenty of other places where you can savor the tastes of the East this summer.