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Dong Yi Feng / Good Kitchen
135-29 37th Ave Flushing, NY 11354
Happy year of the dragon, readers. Since half the WBC is of Chinese descent, it’s only appropriate that we have adopted an annual tradition of a dim sum breakfast to mark the Chinese New Year. Apparently, we’ve already sampled the two worthwhile dim sum establishments in Westchester (see Central Seafood from 2010 and Aberdeen from 2011), so this year we headed to Queens. Yes, Queens. Was the dim sum more authentic? Did we see any dragons? And what made Reid so angry? Read on.
Attendees: :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Andrew:, :jump_to_Reid:
:a_Sylvia:
Dim sum means different things to different people. Just like the activity itself, for some, dim sum is a vessel for nostalgia, a foray into something new and exciting, or a means to reconnect with old friends. For me, it is a reconnection to my old friend…Yum-cha.
As a child, I lived in the suburbs. For what seemed like every weekend, we, along with every other Chinese family living outside of New York City, would descend upon Chinatown in Manhattan to get dim sum before going off to do a week’s worth of grocery shopping from the stalls lining the streets. There would be other errands, piano lessons, this and that, but we would not start until we had our dim sum.
As I grew older, I started developing a love/hate relationship with this ritual. Maybe it was because I genuinely did not care for Chinatown and all its chaos, griminess, and seeming lawlessness. I was tired of sharing tables with little old ladies who had table manners that may be acceptable in China, but were not the table manners I adopted from living here in New York. Everything felt dirty: the floor, the tables, and don’t even get me started on the bathrooms.
But, the food was still good. It was still super filling and enjoyable.
After a prolonged absence, dim sum and I reconnected. I began to appreciate it more beyond something that was simply just good to eat. I began to appreciate the history and significance of the activity. It was no longer just eating, but a leisurely activity. Dim sum is really the food: the actual act of going out for it is called “Yum-cha” (drink tea). You go out to drink tea and enjoy a few snacks.
This weekend, in honor of Chinese New Year, the WBC goes out to Yum-cha again. We have already visited the two places in Westchester that offer dim sum, so we decided to make a trip out to the one place where you go if you want really great Asian food (Korean, Chinese…north, south, east and west, Thai etc.): Flushing, Queens.
Flushing is really where all Asian cuisines converge. It is as hectic and crowded as the Manhattan Chinatown, minus the tourists, anwho are replaced by all the immigrants and suburbanites. If you want good, closer to authentic food, this is where to go.
For this occasion I chose a place called Dong Yi Feng. The English on the sign actually says “The Good Kitchen.” Why? I never ask anymore, just go with it. Parking was a bit tricky, with the New Year and everyone probably trying to avoid the mess that is Chinatown when the New Year’s Parade is happening. After circling the main lot, which was already filled with cars waiting for people to leave, I went to my secret public lot that not many people know about, and I was able to snag the last spot in there with nary a soul fighting me for it.
When we got there at around 11am, we also snagged the last free table before the wait started building up. Double score! Then the food began. This place still utilizes the carts to push their wares around. We got some basics, the rice noodle wrapped beef and rice noodle wrapped shrimp, steamed pork buns, pork shu mai, tripe, turnip cake, and other various dishes. Overall, I thought what we had was good. The tripe was especially good and still tender rather than overcooked and chewy. They also had a round of freshly made rice noodle wrapped fried dough (the kind you eat with congee), which was quite tasty and well made. I was just a little disappointed in the limitations of dishes available. Some of my absolute favorites either were not available (egg tarts, chinese chive filled rice dumplings, etc), or I just couldn’t hear their names through the quick run down by the cart ladies.
In the middle of our meal, we were entertained by an impromptu “lion” dance by some group going around to all the establishments. Let me tell you, the drums and cymbals out in the street is fun, but when it is 10 feet away from you indoors, not so fun. It got old fast. Plus it would have been more exciting if it was an actual lion dance, as opposed to what seemed like a bunch of middle-aged, non-Asian men just going through the motions. It almost seemed like they were a bunch of guys who owed the organizers of this thing money and this was how they were paying them off.
Also, if you ever want to see efficiency, the moment we got up, a swarm of busboys, waiters, and one of the managers carrying the tub for dirty dishes descended on the table to clear it for the next waiting party before I even got out of the way. That, my friends, is the way a table should be turned over in a busy restaurant. I know of many American restaurants that should take note.
The czar says: The Good Kitchen is pretty decent. Is it the best in Flushing? Probably not, but I would say it’s a sure thing. The quality of food is pretty solid. However, I do warn you, they will try to push you to take whatever it is they have on their carts. They will go as far as to take it and put it on your table without waiting for an answer. Have an answer, and be firm if you don’t want it. This is just the way it is.
P.S.: They do have a lot around the corner from the restaurant. After you pass the restaurant, make a right at the light. It is in the middle of the block, and the sign consists of a wooden hand painted sign with the restaurant name. It is sketchy looking, but if you absolutely cannot find parking, this is the place to go if you want to dine there.
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:a_Andrew:
Being on day 25 of a 30 day Paleo Diet challenge, the number of dishes I could eat was severely limited. What I could eat though, was delicious. The beef tripe stew with diakon has a very savory taste but it’s the texture that really makes it a favorite. The pieces of beef tripe themselves are firm and squishy and have an aerated texture. The taste is so different than any other food that you’ll either love it or hate it, and I love it. Another dish that I could eat was this bowl of steamed pig knuckle, or pig joint. I’m a big fan of tendons and connective tissue. Again, the texture is what’s so great about it. My taste for connective tissue is unique in the breakfast club as I had the entire dish to myself. The last thing I could eat was half a roast squab. I love roast anything, roast chicken, roast beef, pot roast, etc. Roast squab is no different, it’s more or less like a miniature chicken, only a little bonier.
Besides the food, my favorite aspect of dim sum is the carts of food that are pushed around. Instead of having to decide everything you are going to eat at the beginning of the meal, you can decide as you eat. Eat something savory, follow up with something sweet, light, heavy, whatever you like. Dong Yi Feng is traditional in this regard all the way down to pushy cart ladies trying to get you to sample all of their dishes. This is a great place to sample dim sum as all the dishes are good and there is a lot of variety.
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:a_Reid:
The Case: Some dim sum place the name of which I couldn’t remember the name of even when I was in the damn place v. The WBC
The Venue: The ass end of Queens.
The Facts: As per WBC tradition, we decided to get dim sum in honor of Chinese New Year. Since we had already exhausted all the dim sum options in Westchester, and because we’ve always been curious what happens at the end of the subway line (Do they just pile up next to the tracks? Is there a big crane that moves the train to the Manhattan-bound track?), we decided to try Flushing’s Chinatown. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about the meal. After the fifteenth straight minute of cymbal crashes directly in my ear I blacked out. When I came to, I was covered in pig knuckles, and had trouble hearing anything.
The Verdict: Though my doctor isn’t sure my hearing will ever come back, she is confident that the smell of pork should come off after a few more days.
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