The original Flushing Mall permanently closed down a week ago, I cried. It was there I could find some of the most authentic Taiwanese dishes and great noodles and dumplings.
Naturally, I'll have to get my noodles and dumplings fix from the newer and more popular food court in New World Mall. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-world-mall-flushing)
I have heard a lot of praises for this newest food court addition in Flushing, but honestly I am not impressed. It may seem like an Asian cuisine heaven for the uninitiated, since they don't really have a deep understanding of what constitutes as authentic and good Asian cuisine. Most of the shops offer very simple dishes that are either good or mediocre at best.
By the way, the "uninitiated" include the so called food experts who write for publications such as New York Times and other major news outlets. I often find these experts highly praise the restaurants that are actually in the bottom of my list. How they can fall in love with some of the worst Flushing has to offer baffles me all the time.
However, for the price you pay, you do get a lot in return. To keep the prices low, the ingredients are simple and cheap. But as long as they taste good, who cares right? I haven't really counted, but I think there are at least 20 different restaurants/shops, the variety definitely makes it a good experience; sometimes I eat dishes from 3 different places at the same time. You can't do that if you go to a traditional restaurant.
Some of the noodle shops offer real "ramen" for a mere five dollars, and they are fresh made in front of you. For those who are confused to see/hear "ramen" in a Chinese food court, you need to re-educate yourselves. "Ramen" is a general term for any noodle that is hand pulled; it can be Japanese, Chinese, Korean or of any other Asian origin. The sole criteria for ramen is actually missing from 90% of the most popular Japanese ramen places in the city. Most of the highest rated ramen places actually buy their noodles machine-made from the same company. (I'll have a whole post about ramen at another time)
I have tried about 75% of the noodle places in New World Mall, and my current favorite is from a stone-pot place, located directly to the left once you get off the escalator. It is nothing special like other places that offer authentic ramen or special ingredients. It has neither; it is simple, but it is tasty. Some of my favorite snacks are directly in front towards the end after you get off the escalator.
Enjoy the photos.
Beef noodle soup. Simple but tasty. Sometimes you do get more vegetable than this one.
Taiwanese popcorn chicken, deep fried with deliciousness.
Fish tofu and turnip cake. Both are Taiwanese style.
Next time I'll post some photos of the takoyaki from the shop right next to the popcorn chicken.
