Manhattan’s Chinatown is a staple on travelers’ checklists. It provides an opportunity to enjoy the cultural diversity of New York City’s Asian American community through the neighborhood’s many restaurants and boutiques
But the island’s Chinatown is only one of nine across New York’s boroughs. An hour-long subway ride east is the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, which may be the most thriving Chinatown in New York City.
“You’re tasting tradition in Flushing,” 81-year-old Asian food influencer Shek Wong Lau, better known as Uncle Big Lau, tells Afar. “You can find dishes from all over China. Many of the chefs here are immigrants who bring real family recipes from back home.”
He cites Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodles, Sichuan skewers from street carts, Hong Kong–style dim sum, and baked goods at Taipan Bakery as prime examples. Out here, he says, every dish is more regionally accurate and affordable.
And it makes sense. With 15.6 percent of the city’s population identifying as Asian, more than half of New York City’s Asian immigrants have settled in Queens. That density means a more diverse range of tastes that are held to the highest standard.
“If they’re selling something specialized, there is a much bigger audience in Flushing,” says John Wang, founder of Queens Night Market, which runs from 4 p.m to midnight Saturday nights from the spring through the fall. “The idea that you have so many variations of Asian cuisine in such a dense area is remarkable,” adding that there’s representation of “nuanced, provincial cuisines.”
While getting to Flushing is a cinch on the subway, the bustling streets can be overwhelming, especially with so many eateries tucked away in food courts or in mall basements.
Here are some recommendations from Flushing insiders on how to eat your way through one of New York’s peerless food destinations.
Eight Jane Food is a Chinese jianbing take-out restaurant worth trying.
Photo by Robert K. Chin/Alamy
Eight Jane Food
37-12 Main Street
The first stop for Chloe Chan, who cofounded Chinatown walking tours company Mott Street Girls, is always Eight Jane Foods, a tiny take-out spot technically located in the appropriately named Busy Mall. Folks line up here for the freshly made Chinese crepe called jianbang with sausage, which she describes as “crispy, savory, and makes the perfect grab-and-go breakfast.”
New World Mall Food Court
136-20 Roosevelt Avenue
While shinier food halls have emerged, like the one inside the $800 million development Tangram, which opened in 2023, every person we spoke to called out the food court in the basement of New World Mall, which opened in 2011. Wang referred to the roughly two dozen stalls down the escalator as “the OG food court,” adding that it has “great prices and great food—and a more unique variety of available foods than any other.”
Here, Chan enjoys Shanghainese fried pork buns from Panbao66, which she describes as “golden and crispy on the outside, juicy and soup-filled on the inside,” as well as Nai Brother, which serves Sichuan sauerkraut fish stew with green peppercorns that she says is “spicy, tangy, and incredibly comforting.” Uncle Big Lau sums it up best by saying about the stalls, “You really can’t go wrong with any of them.”
White Bear
135-02 Roosevelt Avenue
“White Bear was one of the first Flushing hole-in-the-walls my born-and-raised New Yorker friend brought me to,” says Gianni Lai, marketing director of Meals for Unity, an AAPI nonprofit focused on food insecurity. Orders are taken from the window of the cash-only joint, best known for its dumplings with hot sauce. “I’ve never had wontons and dumplings like it—it has this special mix of spices that screams comfort food.”
Spring Shabu
136-20 38th Avenue, 2nd floor
While hot pot restaurants with larger or spicier soup bases have been trending, Wang depends on the Japanese buffet-style Spring Shabu upstairs at Queens Crossing. “The counter space is huge and snakes through the entire space,” he says. Dumplings and noodles are part of the offerings, but he’s always most impressed by the fresh vegetable selection. Wang calls watercress “gold,” because it tends to be expensive, but there’s no limit on portions here. Along with the sauce station, he says it’s probably “worth the price of admission.”
Nan Xing Soup Dumplings
39-16 Prince Street #104
Flushing’s Chinatown has also unofficially become an incubator for Asian food chains that have grown all around the city, most notably with Xi’an Famous Foods’ first location being in Golden Mall, now with 16 locations in three boroughs, and Nan Xing Soup Dumplings, one of Lai’s picks. With six East Coast locations today—and another eight on the way—this is where it all started, says Lai: “I’ve seen Nan Xiang grow since I moved 10 years ago, from a small spot on Prince Street, taking over two spots on Prince, to a bigger spot further down that same street in Flushing before quickly expanding into the city, and now there’s Nan Xiang Express.” She’s a fan of the Michelin-recommended restaurant’s soup dumplings and pan-fried dumplings.
Emperor Seafood
136-59 37th Avenue #2/F
Dim sum is about the food as much as the experience, and Uncle Big Lau’s go-to is Emperor Seafood, which he has showcased in multiple viral food posts. Among his favorite items are the cruller rice rolls, crispy taro puffs, clams in black bean sauce, braised beef honeycomb, chicken feet, ginger-beef tripe, black pepper short ribs, and egg custard bun.
Maxi’s Noodle
135-11 38th Avenue
This cozy spot just around the corner from the Chinatown hubbub is best known for its wontons. (Not only does Uncle Big Lau vouch for it, so does Drew Barrymore.) Soups are customizable with wontons, dumplings, or dace fish balls, and they can also be paired with noodles: Have your choice of duck egg noodle, flat rice noodle, vermicelli, or udon.
Chayann
40-09 Prince Street
Since its grand opening in April, Chayann has elevated the bubble tea scene with creative, hand-crafted drinks. Its floral fresh milk tea series includes blends with osmanthus petals and camelia, while its floral fruit tea is anchored by a Wuyi Rock Lemon Tea. Even the toppings have a twist, with highland barley and oatmeal popping beads among the offerings.
