tofu | Chopsticks and Marrow

03/08/21 1:41pm

Soybean Chan Opens Elmhurst Outpost

***Soybean Chen’s new location opened at Broadway Food Mart last week.***

Last Tuesday I was on my way back from my weekly foray to Warung Selasa when I noticed a smiling Chinese man waving to me outside Broadway Food Mart. For a moment I didn’t recognize him. Then I realized it was Soybean Chen, the cheery face behind Flushing’s only spot for fresh creamy dou hua—silken tofu—and fresh flowers. The creamy, comforting pudding like tofu has long a staple of my food tours. I was curious what brought Uncle Chen to Elmhurst.

Soon he and his son Jimmy told me that they were opening a tofu stand in Queens’ second smaller Chinatown. Just like the original Flushing location, Soybean Chen’s Elmhurst satellite offers sweet ginger syrup and Chen’s spicy topping of pickled veggies, baby shrimp, and chili. It’s also added a few new toppings, including boba in ginger syrup, which I tried the other day.

***Uncle Chen and me in the O.G. Flushing location.***

I’m so glad that Uncle Chen’s tofu is now a mere 10-minute walk from my apartment. It’s sure to become part of my breakfast rotation as well as my Elmhurst food tours. By the way I have started giving tours to small groups once again. Please click here for more details.

Soybean Chen Satellite, Broadway Food Mart, 83-20 Broadway, Elmhurst

Chinese, dou hua, Elmhurst, food tours, Soybean Chen Flower Shop, tofu

Twofer Tuesday

by Joe DiStefano

07/31/18 4:01pm

Wenzhou Cold Apps & Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup Delight

by Joe DiStefano

2 Comments

A trio of cold appetizers at Wenzhou Noodle House.

In my perambulations around America’s Greatest Chinatown, aka downtown Flushing, I encounter many, many cold appetizers. One of my favorites can be found at Chengdu Tianfu. Liang ban san su—cold salad three vegetables—consists of seaweed, julienned carrots, and chewy noodles showered in cilantro dressed with roasted chili oil, black vinegar, and a healthy dose of garlic. The other day though I took a dive into the 42-item roster of special cold appetizers at Wenzhou Noodle Restaurant and discovered a trio of new favorites.

(more…)

chicken feet, Chinese, Flushing, noodle soup, noodles, offal, squid, tofu, Wenzhou, Wenzhou Noodle Restaurant

Taste Drive

by Joe DiStefano

01/27/15 12:09pm

Chipotle’s Sofritas Incite Snow Day Veganism

by Joe DiStefano

5 Comments

Nothing quite says disaster preparedness like a visit to Chipotle.

Winter storm Juno nee Snowmageddon/Blizzard of 2015 sparked all sorts of irrational behavior in New York City. Declaration of martial law, oops I mean subway closure and a driving ban; a hipstervore kale crisis; even a Craigslist bonanza of potential blizzard booty calls. Over in Brooklyn some poor soul jumped out a third-story window with barely a foot of snow on the ground to break his fall. Here in Queens, I got in on the snowmageddon madness by visiting Chipotle Mexican Grill. (more…)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, fast food, Forest Hills, kale, Mexican, tofu, veganism, vegans

News

by Joe DiStefano

09/29/14 11:53am

Flushing’s Crazy Crab Gets its Closeup

by Joe DiStefano

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PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Crazy Crab, a stealth Burmese restaurant masquerading as a Cajun crab boil/pan-Asian eatery might just be one of my favorite places in downtown Flushing. The crab boils themselves—get the off menu green curry sauce—make for some fun, messy eating. But it’s the Burmese specialties like tea leaf salad, ohn-no kout swei, and Yunnanese yellow tofu that get me really excited and really hungry. So when Gina Liu asked me to stop by for a taping of Eyewitness News New York’s Neighborhood Eats with Lauren Glassberg I immediately said yes. (more…)

Burmese, closed, Crazy Crab, Flushing, Gina Liu, Lauren Glassberg, Neighborhood Eats, recipes, seafood, tofu

The Seven

by Joe DiStefano

01/31/14 10:51am

Celebrate the Year of the Horse with our Favorite Dishes

by Joe DiStefano

2 Comments

Gong Xi Fa Cai! The year of the Wood Horse is upon us. To aid in your celebration of the 15-day Chinese New Year, here’s a short list of some of my favorite dishes in what I humbly consider to be the tastiest Chinatown in America.

Fu Run’s festive looking golden corn pancake.

1. Golden Corn Pancake, Fu Run
The granddaddy of Dongbei cookery in Flushing is best known for the Muslim lanb chop, but it’s specials, like the festive looking huang jin yu mi lao, or golden corn pancake ($15.95) that keep me coming back. Despite the name it’s not stack of hoe cakes, but rather some lovely fried corn croquettes. The loosely bound kernels are interspersed with carrots and peas and laid out in a star pattern. Other standout specials include the spicy fried crabs. Fu Run, 40-09 Prince St, Flushing, 718-321-1363 (more…)

Biang!, chicken, Chinese, Chinese New Year, closed, dim sum, Dongbei, dumplings, fish, Flushing, Golden Mall, holidays, lamb, noodles, tofu

Queens Eats

by Joe DiStefano

10/01/13 10:28am

K-tropolis: 1962 Tofu Comes to Northern Boulevard

by Joe DiStefano

2 Comments

1962 Tofu has its roots in South Korea.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

The real K-town in New York City is in Queens, stretching for about five miles from Northern Boulevard and Union Street in Flushing all the way out to Manhasset . This vast K-tropolis is lined with dozens of BBQ restaurants, kimbap joints, large Korean supermarkets, fried chicken spots, a store that sells Korean stone beds, and even a Korean-run Third Wave espresso bar. There are so many places it would take an entire lifetime to document them all. So it is with some trepidation that I announce a new feature on C+M: K-tropolis. Today, a look at 1962 Tofu a Korean soft tofu chain that opened its first U.S. branch over the summer. (more…)

clams, closed, Flushing, K-tropolis, Korean, mussels, Northern Boluevard, seafood, shrimp, tofu

Dish O' The Day

by Joe DiStefano

03/21/13 10:14am

Batagor: A Savory Indonesian Tofu and Fish Cake Fryup

by Joe DiStefano

Elmhurst

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Batagor, a popular snack in Indonesia and Elmhurst alike.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Jakarta style fried fish cake with peanut sauce doesn’t sound so appetizing at first, but the batagor ($6.50) at Mie Jakarta is a tasty surprise. Batagor takes it’s name from bakso (fish cake), tahu, (tofu), and goreng (fried). It’s a popular street food in Indonesia. At Mie Jakarta its takes the form of chewy fried fish cakes, blocks of tofu, and other crunchy bits. Dressed with peanut sauce; the sweet sticky soy sauce kecap manis; a bit of chili; and fried shallots it’s a tasty snack or side dish. I consider myself lucky to have this and other Indonesian delights a mere three or four subway stops away from C+M headquarters in the neighborhood I like to call SEA Elmhurst.
Mie Jakarta, 86-20 Whitney Ave., Elmhurst, 718-606-8025

closed, Elmhurst, fish cake, Indonesian, tofu

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