The Sweet Spot

04/15/18 11:20pm

A Ruby Red Gem of a Dessert for Thai New Year

My usual routine for Songkhran, or Thai New Year, involves a visit to Elmhurst’s home of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram to partake of the food and festivities. Unlike in years past the weather was quite chilly, making for less than optimal conditions for a holiday that involves plenty of water splashing.

So instead of visiting the Emerald Buddha to ring in the year 2561, I partook of some Thai rubies. Not actual rubies mind you, but rather the Thai dessert called thabthim krub, which translates to crunchy rubies. I’d just polished off three bowls of boat noodle soup at Pata Paplean, when my dear friend Cherry, the cook and ringleader of the weekend noodle popup, dropped a half quart container on my table with the gruff affection she reserves for those she truly cares about. I poured the contents of the container—rubies, emeralds, jackfruit, young coconut, and coconut milk stained red from sala syrup—into a bowl.

The sweet, cold dessert soup was quite refreshing after a few rounds of of spicy noodles. The red and green jewels consist of bits of crunchy water chestnuts encased in tapioca. Even though it was freezing outside it warmed my heart and soul to eat this dessert made by one of the older ladies in the Thai community. Best of all its available every weekend, although I did feel especially blessed to be eating on the day of the neighborhood’s Songkhran celebration. Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2561.

Pata Paplean, 76-21 Woodside Ave., Elmhurst, 718-651-2076

dessert, Elmhurst, Pata Paplean, Songkhran, thabthim krub, Thai New Year, Wat Buddha Thai Thavorn Vanaram

04/13/18 10:48am

Shanghai Mochi: A Savory, Sweet Seasonal Trifecta

Qing tuan, piping hot, each filled with a savory-sweet surprise.

As anyone who talks to me about xiao long bao for more than five minutes knows, my favorite soup dumplings in downtown Flushing can be had at Shanghai specialist Diverse Dim Sum in the New York Food Court. The skin is so thin as to be translucent, and the balance of savory pork and crab broth is perfect, making the little packages a staple on my Flushing Chinatown food tours.

Last week I had a guest with a gluten allergy. I knew the rest of her party would enjoy the soup dumplings, but also wanted to give the gluten-free guest a taste of Shanghai. And that’s where the trio of multihued spheres—purple, green, and yellow—come in. I first noticed them around Easter time and suspected they were a seasonal specialty. Normally I don’t chance trying new things on a food tour, but after learning they were made from rice and various sweet-savory fillings I made an exception. (more…)

Diverse Dim Sum, dumplings, food tours, pork floss, qing tuan, red bean paste, salted egg yolk, Shanghainese, soup dumplings

11/17/17 4:29pm

Khao Nom’s Pandan Cake: Modernity Meets Old School Thai

Best Thai dessert hamburger ever!

Khao Nom, the sweeter little sister of wildly popular Thai steam table specialist Khao Kang opened about a month ago with the promise of old school Thai desserts and a short menu of savory items, my favorite being the sticky sweet and spicy chan noodles with prawns. Until recently though, none of the desserts has knocked my socks off. Sure they were good, but nothing revelatory. Dessert epiphany finally dawned the other week when I spied a tiny cake with a golden top and a spongy bottom sandwiching a layer of creamy spheres. (more…)

dessert, Elmhurst, hamburgers, Khao Kang, Khao Nom, pandan, Thai

09/23/17 12:55pm

A Taste of Childhood at The Lemon Ice King of Corona

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The King’s bubble gum ice in all its shocking pink glory!

For more than 60 years The Lemon Ice King of Corona has held court on the corner of 52nd Avenue and Corona Avenue supplying frozen treats to Mets fans, neighborhood children, and even the local FDNY company. In an effort to squeeze out the very last bits of summer, I’ve found myself stopping by there rather often. And, since it’s going to be almost 90 tomorrow, I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you. Lemon’s the classic, but I also like orange/vanilla swirl, vanilla chocolate chip, and a newer addition, spumoni.

I’ve been branching out with the fruit flavors like the lovely cantaloupe, but the other day I tried a decidedly non-fruit flavor: bubble gum. Perched atop the medium-sized paper squeeze cop was a rosette of bubblegum pink ice flecked with yellow and green bits. (more…)

Bazooka Joe, bubble gum, Corona, Italian ices, The Lemon Ice King of Corona

03/15/17 10:52am

Give Winter A Sweet Sendoff with Homemade Maple ‘Taffy’

Hugue Dufour making maple ‘taffy.’

By my calendar there are only five days left until the start of spring. Winter’s reasserted itself in what some New Yorkers, myself included, deem a rather weak blizzard. Nevertheless there’s plenty of snow on the ground, which means two things: one, tromping around the park, something I’ve been doing for years; and two, making homemade maple taffy/snowcones, something I tried for the first time this past Sunday. (more…)

dessert, Hugue Dufour, M. Wells, Maple syrup, Sarah Obraitis, snow, Sugar Shack, taffy

01/19/17 1:52pm

Sugar Club’s ‘Thai Rice Krispy Treats’ Rock

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Khao taen: crunchy, sweet, craveable.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Last time I checked Rice Krispies weren’t part of the traditional Thai pantry. That doesn’t prevent me from thinking of khao taen—crispy disks of fried rice drizzled with cane sugar caramel—as Thai Rice Krispy treats. They’re a common street food in Thailand. Here in Queens, I found them at Sugar Club.

They’re made with sticky rice as I learned from reading a recipe over at She Simmers Thai Cooking. Truth be told they’re way crunchier than Rice Krispy treats and eminently craveable. I usually buy a box for dessert with Thai coffee after chicken and rice soup at Eim Khao Mun Kai. I always promise myself that I’ll eat only one or two pieces—four at most—but wind up polishing off the whole lot.

Sugar Club, 81-18 Broadway, Elmhurst, 718-565-9018

closed, dessert, Elmhurst, khao then, Rice Krispy treats, sticky rice, Sugar Club, Thai

09/06/16 8:18pm

Ice & Pan’s Ice Cream Taiyaki is Flushing’s Craziest New Sweet

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Tasty and Instagrammable!

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

When it comes to Chinese frozen desserts I’m half traditionalist/half adventurous. Shaved ice gets a resounding yes—whether the granular form or the fluffy one that’s been showing up at spots like Snow Days. Ice rice, which my pal Tyson Ho of Arrogant Swine said seemed disgusting also get the nod. Novelties like the ubiquitous rolled ice cream are simply that, good for Instagram hits and little else. (more…)

authenticity, Chinatown, Chinese, closed, dessert, Flushing, ice cream, Japanese, soft serve, Taiyaki, teriyaki, waffles

07/25/16 7:56pm

Thai Sticky Rice and the Pleasant Shock of the Neuw

Sugar Club’s revelatory khao neuw na pla.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Half a lifetime ago Zak Pelaccio taught me to ball up khao neuw or Thai sticky rice and dredge it through the bracing liquour that sat at the bottom of a platter of papaya salad. We were gathered around the table at what was then the best Thai restaurant in Queens, Zabb Elee. Zabb is gone and Zak decamped for Hudson, New York, a while back. As for me I’m still in Queens, and have watched the Thai restaurant scene in the environs of Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Woodside blossom.

Whenever I’m at a Thai table there’s always sticky rice. Sometimes it acts a foil for savory dishes. Sometimes it’s the centerpiece of a dessert as with the pandan-scented sticky rice that acts as the foundation for Sugar Club’s over-the-top mango sticky rice. (more…)

closed, dessert, sticky rice, Sugar Club, Thai, Woodside, Zak Pelaccio

06/20/16 12:51pm

Celebrate Summer with Ye Dang’s Cinnamon Shaved Ice