Flushing, Queens, is home to some of the most diverse and authentic Chinese food courts in New York City. Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting three of these food courts: Golden Shopping Mall, New World Mall, and New York Food Court. Here’s a review of my experiences at these culinary gems.
Golden Shopping Mall
Located at 41-28 Main St, Flushing, NY 11354, Golden Shopping Mall is a legendary destination for food enthusiasts. The basement level food court is particularly famous for its variety of ethnic food stalls, including Szechuan cuisine from the Chengdu Heaven stall. I sampled two dishes from Chengdu Heaven: cold strips of cooked potato seasoned with vinegar and chilies, and a seaweed salad dressed with vinegar and sesame oil.
New World Mall
At 136-20 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354, New World Mall boasts over 32 different ethnic food vendors. Stall number 10, Xiang Ba La, caught my attention with its slippery mung bean jelly noodles coated in chili oil and cucumbers dressed with vinegar, sesame oil, and Sichuan peppercorns. These dishes complemented each other perfectly, with the heat from the noodles balanced by the sharp vinegar and cooling freshness of the cucumbers.
New York Food Court
Located at 133-35 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354, the New York Food Court offers a variety of dishes, including those from Guchun Private Kitchen, which specializes in Northern Chinese cuisine. They use a type of Chinese pancake in many of their dishes, including one where the pancakes are sliced into noodles and stir-fried with veggies and spices. This dish reminded me of a Sri Lankan dish called kothu roti, but with less Indian influence and more fresh vegetables.
