actually, the term ‘food court’ is misleading. it’s more like a collection of half a dozen Chinese food stalls in the basement of a place called Golden Mall (also a misnomer because the ‘mall’ appears to consist entirely of this basement).

after hmm-ing and [...]]]> the best food I’ve had in NYC was in a Flushing food court.

actually, the term ‘food court’ is misleading. it’s more like a collection of half a dozen Chinese food stalls in the basement of a place called Golden Mall (also a misnomer because the ‘mall’ appears to consist entirely of this basement).

after hmm-ing and haw-ing awhile between the different stands we finally settled upon a place run by a guy from Xi’an. like all the other stalls, the menu items are displayed on the wall, with nothing in english (though the proprietor here spoke english and even some japanese, as he was joking with a couple of japanese girls that stumbled upon the place). I ordered the liangpi (涼皮) and cumin lamb hand-pulled noodles (孜然羊肉扯面, zi1 ran2 yang2 rou4 che3 mian4)–he asked if I wanted the lamb noodles fried or in soup, and I opted for the fried.

I haven’t tasted anything so good since being in Beijing, where I used to be able to get liangpi for about a dollar, served in a plastic bag: cold noodles with sesame oil, chili oil, some wheat gluten ‘skin’, bean sprouts, cucumber–really tasty on a hot summer day. the cumin lamb has also been hard to come by outside of China since it is a specialty of the Uighurs, a Muslim population from the western province of Xinjiang. it was this type of food that surprised me most in China: the liberal use of cumin and chilis combined with a chinese style of cooking = culinary phenomenon.

Though not in Xinjiang (it is the capital of Shaanxi province), Xi’an marks the start of the Silk Road and has a large Muslim population–the most popular foods of which were offered at this Golden Mall food stall (you could also order lamb sandwiches and yang rou pao mo, a mutton stew with crumbled bread).

these dishes were so good. so so so so good.

despite its humble appearances, Golden Mall has already hit the culinary radar big time: the top google results for ‘liangpi’ led me to a nytimes article about the guy who runs this Xi’an food stall (he makes the liangpi noodles and wheat gluten from scratch “in a sauce that hits every possible flavor category (sweet, tangy, savory, herbal, nutty and dozens of others)”) as well as a detailed blog from seriouseats about the ‘mall’ (apparently mr. liangpi sells 300-400 orders of the dish a day!).

I have to go back. I have to go back. anyone who comes to visit me in new york will have to suffer the hour-long trip to Queens for this.

Golden Mall
41-28 Main St
Queens, NY 11355
(Flushing)

To give some perspective on this project, many of the 13,000 families who live in the city belong to the Uighur ethnic minority, a people who–like the Tibetans to the South–have in the past been targets [...]]]> Chinese officials are demolishing Kashgar’s Old City to prevent calamity in case of earthquake in this tremor-prone region of Xinjiang.

To give some perspective on this project, many of the 13,000 families who live in the city belong to the Uighur ethnic minority, a people who–like the Tibetans to the South–have in the past been targets of clampdowns by the Chinese government, fearing their separation from the country. (Kashgar lies on the western border of Xinjiang province, which is technically an Autonomous Region of the PRC.)

Similar to the face-lift done for Beijing’s old neighbourhoods, a new “Old City” for Kashgar will be rebuilt, with modern buildings and plazas, but also reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture (“to preserve the Uighur culture”). Needless to say, the destruction of old family homes is not popular and requires, shall we say… some media persuasion.

On Kashgar television, a nightly 15-minute infomercial hawks the project like ginsu knives, mixing dire statistics on seismic activity with scenes of happy Uighurs dancing in front of their new concrete apartments.

(–nytimes)

back at that xinjiang restaurant on st-laurent in chinatown. the hotpot was pretty good as far as what I’ve had in montreal. interesting because it was spicy with a reminder of that flavouring they use on 羊肉串 (lamb kebabs)–probably just cumin, but still makes it taste vaguely exotic. or addictive. or whatever.

[did I [...]]]>

spicy hotpot

back at that xinjiang restaurant on st-laurent in chinatown. the hotpot was pretty good as far as what I’ve had in montreal. interesting because it was spicy with a reminder of that flavouring they use on 羊肉串 (lamb kebabs)–probably just cumin, but still makes it taste vaguely exotic. or addictive. or whatever.

[did I ever mention the urban legend of how in sichuan they would put opium in their hotpot to keep their customers coming back? sadly illegal now.]

but, as you could probably tell from the picture, the food wasn’t enough. and a bit pricey. but cannot complain, since there are no longer any alternative uyghur restaurants in town–the one on côte-des-neiges seems to have disappeared. must be the fierce, fierce competition. of the always empty gigantic restaurant on st-laurent.

I’m still dying to find a real sichuan restaurant in montreal. maybe I’ll just have to suck it up and go to toronto to gorge myself one weekend…

I really miss this kind of food–there are muslim restaurants all over beijing, whose specialty is lamb, lamb, and lots of lamb. After I came back I tried an older xinjiang restaurant on côte-des-neiges, and was refreshed by the waitress and her distinctive accent when [...]]]>

Lamb dumplings on naan at a xinjiang restaurant in chinatown.

I really miss this kind of food–there are muslim restaurants all over beijing, whose specialty is lamb, lamb, and lots of lamb. After I came back I tried an older xinjiang restaurant on côte-des-neiges, and was refreshed by the waitress and her distinctive accent when she greeted us in chinese: the xinjiang people are both beautiful and multilingual (as most minorities are)…not bad for the most landlocked desertous area in the world.

the food in both places is fine, but not quite the same (I probably prefer the one on côte-des-neiges though). oh what I’d do for some 羊肉串…