- You gotta just see a
close-up of this noodle
00:00
and in that chili oil.
00:02
Look at that beautifulness.
00:04
Good morning, everyone, it's Mark Wiens
00:18
with migrationology.com in New York City.
00:19
Ying and I are walking over to
the subway near Times Square.
00:23
And today we're on our way to Queens,
00:28
or more specifically, to Flushing, to eat.
00:30
We actually just waited on
the wrong track for like
00:50
15 minutes until Ying figured it out,
00:53
that we need to go downstairs
one more level to get
00:56
to train number seven.
00:58
Definitely on the right
track now, train number seven
01:00
heading towards Queens.
01:03
Oh, here it comes immediately.
01:05
To Flushing Main Street
Station, I think that took
01:18
about an hour, although
we took the local train.
01:20
I think it would've been
faster had we taken the
01:23
But the good news is, we are here.
01:27
We are heading straight for
the Golden Shopping Mall.
01:30
Okay, I think this is it,
the entrance to Golden Mall.
01:41
Oh, I'm loving this place.
01:46
(people chatter in a foreign language)
01:51
Made it to Flushing and then
made it down to the basement
01:54
of the Golden Shopping
Mall, and this is an amazing
01:57
You can smell the spices as
soon as you step down here,
02:02
particularly the cumin.
02:04
And the first place I had to
come is Xi'an Famous Foods,
02:06
and this is a very, very
well known restaurant
02:11
within New York, and they also, this is,
02:15
if I'm not mistaken, I think
this is the original branch,
02:18
but then they have branches
in Manhattan, quite a few now,
02:21
but I wanted to come to this branch here.
02:25
(people chatter in a foreign language)
02:28
Okay, they do have a row of
seats and one long table,
02:31
where you can sit down here.
02:35
The menu is all on the wall.
02:36
I ordered two things, I got
that spicy cumin lamb noodles,
02:38
which is one of their signature dishes,
02:41
and then I also got a side of pickles.
02:42
When I asked you all where
to eat in New York City,
02:45
this was one of the top recommendations,
02:47
so thank you all for your
recommendation as well.
02:49
And now I have a plate of
the spicy cumin lamb noodles
02:51
The noodles are on the bottom
and they are flat and wide
02:56
and handmade, and then you
can smell the cumin coming
02:59
off of it, the chilis, the Sichuan pepper.
03:03
I think there's some cabbage
in here, some onions,
03:05
some chilis, and then pieces of lamb.
03:08
And I gotta begin with this.
03:10
oh, the noodles are in a
lumpy pile at the bottom.
03:16
Very thik, very, very widely cut.
03:20
(people chatter in a foreign language)
03:24
That is insanely good.
03:33
Oh, it's so flavorful.
03:35
And you taste that cumin in there,
03:37
and taste a little bit of chilis,
03:38
but I also really like the green chilis
03:40
that are chopped in there,
as well as the onion.
03:42
And then the texture of that
noodle, the handmade noodle,
03:44
it's a little bit chewy.
03:48
We can taste the, like, doughiness of it.
03:50
And then just that oily
chili-filled, chili-infused
03:53
and cumin-infused gravy is just insane.
03:57
Follow that with a pickle.
04:03
And now the pickles are also
marinated in lots of chili oil
04:04
and garlic and maybe some Sichuan pepper.
04:07
(people chatter in a foreign language)
04:11
That has a nice sourness to it,
04:15
a vinegary, but then
also with the chili oil.
04:17
You can taste the garlic in there.
04:21
The cucumbers are incredibly crisp,
04:22
You gotta just see a
close-up of this noodle
04:27
and in that chili oil.
04:30
Look at that beautifulness.
04:32
It is unbelievably good.
04:41
I'm gonna add on just a
little bit of black vinegar,
04:43
give it a little bit of a sourness.
04:47
This is just such an unbelievably
good plate of noodles,
04:50
the mixture, the combination,
the freshness of the noodles.
04:53
And I love these tangly-like
sheets of noodles,
04:56
the lamb, the fresh
chilis in there as well.
05:00
It's just ridiculously
good, but that chili oil
05:03
with the cumin is just what
wraps everything together,
05:07
what makes it complete,
what just holds this dish
05:11
full of flavor together.
05:15
(people chatter in a foreign language)
05:18
I did not want that plate of food to end,
05:23
but I have reached my last final bite.
05:25
There's still a little bit of lamb.
05:27
And there's also celery in
here, which I didn't realize
05:29
(people chatter in a foreign language)
05:36
A couple of notes that I was
just reading on the wall.
05:56
Number one is that there's a
big warning that the noodles
05:58
taste the best within 15 minutes
of the assembling of them
06:02
or preparing of them.
06:06
And so they recommend that
you eat right on the spot,
06:08
and I would recommend that,
not only because the noodles
06:11
will taste better, but because,
after you smell the aroma
06:13
of them, there's no way
that you can go longer than
06:17
a couple of minutes without
starting to eat them.
06:20
And then I also love the sign
over there where it says,
06:22
chili oil is your friend.
06:24
And it really is your
friend, it's your best friend
06:27
But he, they say that he, the
chef, he perfected his recipe
06:30
for the chili oil and he makes
it fresh every other day,
06:35
and the oil contains no
trans fat and no cholesterol.
06:38
So it is almost worth
drinking, you should actually
06:41
almost drink it, it's so
good and so flavorful.
06:45
That was just an amazingly
good plate of noodles.
06:48
I am feeling exuberantly happy right now.
06:51
(people chatter in a foreign language)
06:56
Right next door to Xi'an Famous Foods
06:58
is Tianjin Dumpling House.
07:01
And I actually, I was reading through the
07:03
Serious Eats blog, and they
recommended this place.
07:06
They have a full menu at the
top where you can mix and match
07:09
your different dumplings
and they will make it
07:12
on the spot for you.
07:13
So you can choose your own combination,
07:15
but I just decided to go for
one that they already have
07:17
made up, which is the pork dumpling
07:20
with chives, shrimp, and
egg, which sounds like a
07:22
beautiful combination.
07:25
So I just ordered one plate of that,
07:27
and it should be hot
and fresh, coming soon.
07:29
That's one of the greatest
types of steam baths
07:32
you could possibly have,
a dumpling steam bath.
07:35
Okay, I'm gonna eat these
while they're hot and fresh.
07:39
Chopsticks, and you gotta
add on that chili oil
07:41
in this, what a beautiful
canister, tub of chili,
07:46
which I am going to generously apply.
07:53
We just go with half of them first.
07:57
I think it would be a
poor decision on my part
08:09
to take the whole thing in one
bite, as it is flaming hot.
08:11
So I should, I'm gonna just
bite it in half right now.
08:14
Yeah, that is a good dumpling.
08:23
The skin is gooey and doughy.
08:25
Inside you got the minced
pork, the chives in there.
08:28
And that dried chili oil, mmmm.
08:34
You can taste the fragrance
08:38
of the dried chilis, the
oil, the garlic in there.
08:40
I think I might add a
little bit of soy sauce.
08:44
A little bit of vinegar.
08:49
Oh, that's a lot of vinegar.
08:52
And then some more chili oil.
08:55
The chili oil is actually not very spicy,
08:57
but it is extremely fragrant.
09:00
(people chatter in a foreign language)
09:02
I think it cooled off enough,
I think I can take it all
09:13
Oh, that vinegar, mmmm.
09:18
That is the touch it needs.
09:21
This is an absolutely wonderful
little food court below here
09:22
in the Golden Shopping Mall.
09:26
Incredibly good food, I
wanted to taste everything,
09:28
but we have a few more places to try,
09:31
so time to move on.
09:33
Flushing is just amazing.
09:35
So many markets and restaurants.
09:37
It's hard to believe you're
still in New York City here.
09:41
Ying is gonna stop at
CoCo for her bubble tea.
09:51
It's not my favorite thing,
but Ying really likes it,
09:56
so that's our next stop.
10:00
Bubble tea, medium, no sugar, please.
10:01
(Mark speaks in a foreign language)
10:06
Mmm, it is pretty refreshing on a hot day.
10:11
We're walking up the road
now, on our way to a place
10:16
called White Bear, and they
are also famous for dumplings.
10:18
Gotta have another
plate of dumplings next.
10:22
And this place is well
known for their dumplings
10:29
in chili sauce, and this
was a recommendation from
10:31
foodiehub.tv and Joe
DiStefano, who is a blogger
10:34
Thank you for the recommendation,
I just ordered my plate
10:40
(people chatter in a foreign language)
10:46
This is just a really, really
small little restaurant,
10:53
and the kitchen is in the
back, there are two of them,
10:56
and they work kinda
slowly, taking their time,
10:59
but expertly preparing
the different dishes.
11:02
They have, they do have a full
menu, but I just came here
11:05
to have the plate of dumplings.
11:08
And one thing I immediately
notice about this dumpling
11:09
is that the flour in the
wrapper is very white in color,
11:12
so they might be using a
mixture of different flours,
11:16
I'm not sure exactly, but
it's very white in color,
11:19
and they've dressed it with the chili oil,
11:21
as well as dried chili flakes.
11:24
I think these are some kind of pickled,
11:26
maybe pickled mustard greens,
and onions and green onions,
11:28
and, yeah, what a, what a piece of art.
11:31
I'm gonna go ahead and stab the one
11:36
right in the middle there,
keep getting some of those
11:38
preserved greens, and oil as well.
11:39
(people chatter in a foreign language)
11:43
They didn't look that
hot from the outside,
11:53
'cause they're not steaming,
11:55
but on the inside,
they're flaming dumplings.
11:57
I think it's a combination
of minced port in the middle,
12:00
and then the wrapper is very kinda sticky,
12:03
rather than doughy.
12:06
It's more sticky and thinner.
12:08
And then, despite all of that
chili, it's not really spicy,
12:10
but it is very fragrant.
12:12
And the other flavor
that really adds to this
12:14
are the pickled mustard
greens, or the pickled greens.
12:16
You can taste that kind of fermented,
12:19
preserved pickle flavor to it.
12:21
A little bit of vinegar.
12:24
Let me add a little bit of,
I think this is the vinegar.
12:25
- [Ying] I don't know.
12:30
- It looks like fish sauce.
12:30
Okay, I better start off
with a little bit first.
12:32
And for this one, I will attempt to
12:36
Oh ya, that is vinegar, I can smell it.
12:43
Okay, come take a look inside.
12:46
I think it's a combination of minced pork
12:48
and maybe some chives in there.
12:49
And then you can see the layers,
the wrapper is very thin,
12:51
but it's wrapped a couple of
times so it has multiple layers
12:54
Get some of that oil.
12:59
This is a wonderful plate
of dumplings as well.
13:05
Just finished with that plate
of White Bear dumplings.
13:09
That was again a delicious
plate of dumplings,
13:12
but it was totally different
from that other plate
13:14
of dumplings that we had,
especially the wrapper.
13:15
The wrapper was really different.
13:18
I'm in a little bit of a
debate right now where to eat
13:20
I think we're gonna sit
down at a restaurant.
13:24
And right behind me, that big yellow sign,
13:26
that's a restaurant called Fu Run.
13:28
They are well known for
serving lamb chops with cumin.
13:30
Okay, I'm flipping though the menu here.
13:38
Oh, here it is, the Muslim lamb chops.
13:40
- But we don't have the salmon today,
13:44
and the watercress, spinach,
baby cabbage, baby bok choy.
13:45
- Sauteed string beans.
13:48
(people chatter in a foreign language)
13:51
This restaurant serves food
from the northeastern part
14:00
kinda north of Beijing, which is near to,
14:04
approaching Russia, and then
also part of inner Mongolia,
14:08
so you have Mongolia to the west.
14:11
And they serve a lot of lamb dishes,
14:14
and have a lot of chili-filled
dishes, it looks like,
14:17
on the menu as well.
14:20
But I came here mainly to
eat the lamb and cumin.
14:22
We're starting off with a
bowl of hot and sour soup.
14:25
Oh, I love that aroma, that
vinegary and spicy aroma.
14:28
I think there's also some
bamboo shoots in here as well.
14:32
(people chatter in a foreign language)
14:36
Yeah, that's very sour, vinegary.
14:40
Mmmm, it's very soothing.
14:43
(people chatter in a foreign language)
14:46
- [Server] String beans.
14:50
I want the rice, yes, thank you.
14:55
Wow, look at the size of
that plate of green beans.
14:57
Oh, that smells delicious.
15:01
Got two different dishes.
15:09
One is fried string beans,
and then the main dish,
15:10
the main event of this meal,
the reason I came here,
15:14
is to eat the lamb, the Muslim
lamb, with cumin just piled
15:18
And as soon as he brought it
to the table, just the aroma
15:23
of the cumin filled the
table, maybe even the whole
15:26
Oh, that smells incredible.
15:29
It's marinated in many
things and then deep fried,
15:31
and you can see how crispy it looks.
15:35
I think it's maybe even
coated in a little bit.
15:37
Let me pull one of these guys out.
15:38
And then you can actually just
see all of this cumin seed,
15:40
Wow, this smells unbelievable.
15:44
Woho, look at that.
15:46
Oh, yeah and you can
even see on the inside,
15:48
it's like stuffed with
redness, and then deep fried
15:50
all the way to its core,
with cumin just protruding
15:53
I think I'm just gonna
bite this like a drumstick.
15:57
(people chatter in a foreign language)
16:00
All the cumin comes in nicely.
16:12
I think there's a little bit
of Sichuan pepper in there,
16:15
and then that lamb is so tender.
16:19
Maybe that's a lot of garlic
as well, and dried chilis
16:21
which are fried on top.
16:24
But I really love that cumin.
16:25
The cumin is so strong.
16:28
And also I can see, I think
those are sesame seeds,
16:29
both white and black sesame seeds.
16:31
But then you can see those
cumin seeds all over there
16:34
that just shining beautifully.
16:38
(people chatter in a foreign language)
16:41
Absolutely beautiful.
16:49
And that was a fatty bite.
16:51
It's so creamy, so lamby, and so cuminy.
16:53
I'll try to take my last
piece off this bone.
16:57
Oh, that just slides right out.
17:01
That just slides right out like a sock.
17:05
Mmmm, an edible sock.
17:11
Wow, look at how clean that bone is.
17:16
The next step, for those string beans.
17:20
That's really good, too,
nice and salty and garlicky.
17:29
And you can actually taste like,
17:32
the skin of the green beans
17:34
are blistered because
they've been fried on such
17:37
I was just eating my second piece of lamb,
17:40
but you have to get a
close-up look at this lamb.
17:43
I took my first bite over here,
17:46
but look at this lamb under here.
17:47
It's so tender, it's so juicy,
it's so everything you want
17:50
in lamb, and then more, with
all that cumin and chilis.
17:54
I'm gonna break up that piece of lamb
17:59
and I'm gonna dip it.
18:01
Some of my crust, all that cumin fell off,
18:03
(people chatter in a foreign language)
18:10
I finished with that plate of lamb,
18:12
and this is another
case of the lamb sweats.
18:15
I'm definitely feeling the lamb sweats.
18:18
Flushing is a place that's
worth it to get a hotel room
18:21
and stay here just to eat.
18:25
Oh, I would love to just go
to my hotel room right now
18:27
and then come back out to eat again.
18:30
Gonna go right here.
18:34
But I think we are walking
back to the metro station,
18:37
Gonna head back to Manhattan.
18:41
Flushing, you have been
insanely fantastic.
18:43
There's so much good food here.
18:47
(pedestrians chatter)
19:15
- We're gonna walk all the
way through Times Square
19:19
on our way to Central Park.
19:22
I think today is a fantastic
day to do a little walking
19:24
around Central Park
after all of that food.
19:27
This is a monstrous park.
19:43
We're just gonna kinda
take it easy, walk around
19:46
and just enjoy the park for a while.
19:48
The weather is fantastic today.
19:59
Enjoying the Central Park.
20:01
Central Park is huge, I've
been looking at the map,
20:03
and we've been walking around
for about 10 or 15 minutes,
20:05
and we've barely even
covered maybe about 10%
20:08
of the first part of Central Park.
20:12
It goes way over that
way, but we are enjoying
20:13
the relaxation right now.
20:18
And just like the rest of
New York City, there's always
20:29
so much going on and so much
happening in Central Park,
20:31
people running around, people
playing musical instruments
20:35
and singing, people dancing,
people laying in the grass.
20:38
Some people walkin' around and
just talking to themselves.
20:43
Everything going on in Central Park.
20:46
I had a lot of meat today
already, that entire rack of lamb.
21:04
So I thought for dinner, we're
actually very, right around
21:08
the corner from our hotel
there is a place called
21:10
I think they serve salads.
21:16
I've looked through the window
and I think you can choose
21:17
your own salad and your mixture.
21:19
That sounds like a
fantastic dinner tonight.
21:21
I'm gonna go have a salad.
21:24
It's not a fully vegetarian
restaurant, but they do have
21:25
many vegetarian options.
21:27
It's a little bit expensive,
but looks like really good,
21:28
high-quality ingredients.
21:31
I got this salad and I
got the gaucho salad.
21:32
I didn't film inside 'cause
I wasn't so sure about their,
21:35
if they would allow filming inside.
21:38
But, anyway, I got this
salad, he mixed it up,
21:40
and I'm gonna take it up to
the hotel room and eat it.
21:42
(pedestrians chatter)
21:46
Oh, that just smells of freshness.
21:52
Uh, there is kale in here, there's corn,
21:55
there are kidney beans, cucumbers,
21:57
avocado, and it's vegan so
there's no meat in here.
21:59
And then he added crispy
onions, oh yeah, crispy onions,
22:04
I think that's what, I
think I got that correct.
22:08
All right, salad time.
22:11
That's really good because
it's all coated in avocado,
22:20
so it has that creamy factor to it.
22:22
And then I think down below here
22:24
are more, oh yeah, more
kidney beans and corn.
22:27
In the videos, I often
show a lot of meaty dishes,
22:38
but I do really, really
love vegetables and,
22:43
oftentimes, when I'm
not filming, I am eating
22:47
a lot of salad, a lot
of vegetables, a lot of
22:49
But I do love meat as well.
22:53
But vegetables are fantastic.
22:55
Expensive, an expensive
salad but a good salad.
22:59
And on that bite of kale,
I'm gonna end today's video.
23:05
If you love to eat, and
especially if you love
23:08
Chinese food, I think making
a trip out to Flushing
23:10
when you come to New
York City is mandatory.
23:13
Amazing food, great place, well
worth the trip to Flushing.
23:16
Thank you all very much
for watching today's video.
23:21
Please remember to give it a
thumbs up if you enjoyed it,
23:23
and also make sure you click
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23:26
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23:29
Thank you again for watching,
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23:31