- You gotta just see a
close-up of this noodle and in that chili oil. Look at that beautifulness. (rhythmic music) Good morning, everyone, it's Mark Wiens with migrationology.com in New York City. Ying and I are walking over to
the subway near Times Square. And today we're on our way to Queens, or more specifically, to Flushing, to eat. (rhythmic music) We actually just waited on
the wrong track for like 15 minutes until Ying figured it out, that we need to go downstairs
one more level to get to train number seven. Definitely on the right
track now, train number seven heading towards Queens. Oh, here it comes immediately. (rhythmic music) To Flushing Main Street
Station, I think that took about an hour, although
we took the local train. I think it would've been
faster had we taken the express train. But the good news is, we are here. We are heading straight for
the Golden Shopping Mall. (lively music) Okay, I think this is it,
the entrance to Golden Mall. Oh, I'm loving this place. (people chatter in a foreign language) Made it to Flushing and then
made it down to the basement of the Golden Shopping
Mall, and this is an amazing food court. You can smell the spices as
soon as you step down here, particularly the cumin. And the first place I had to
come is Xi'an Famous Foods, and this is a very, very
well known restaurant within New York, and they also, this is, if I'm not mistaken, I think
this is the original branch, but then they have branches
in Manhattan, quite a few now, but I wanted to come to this branch here. (people chatter in a foreign language) Okay, they do have a row of
seats and one long table, where you can sit down here. The menu is all on the wall. I ordered two things, I got
that spicy cumin lamb noodles, which is one of their signature dishes, and then I also got a side of pickles. When I asked you all where
to eat in New York City, this was one of the top recommendations, so thank you all for your
recommendation as well. And now I have a plate of
the spicy cumin lamb noodles in front of me. The noodles are on the bottom
and they are flat and wide and handmade, and then you
can smell the cumin coming off of it, the chilis, the Sichuan pepper. I think there's some cabbage
in here, some onions, some chilis, and then pieces of lamb. And I gotta begin with this. Hohohohohoho, yes. The noodles are, oh, the noodles are in a
lumpy pile at the bottom. Very thik, very, very widely cut. (people chatter in a foreign language) That is insanely good. Oh, it's so flavorful. And you taste that cumin in there, and taste a little bit of chilis, but I also really like the green chilis that are chopped in there,
as well as the onion. And then the texture of that
noodle, the handmade noodle, it's a little bit chewy. We can taste the, like, doughiness of it. And then just that oily
chili-filled, chili-infused and cumin-infused gravy is just insane. Follow that with a pickle. And now the pickles are also
marinated in lots of chili oil and garlic and maybe some Sichuan pepper. (people chatter in a foreign language) Mmmm. That has a nice sourness to it, a vinegary, but then
also with the chili oil. You can taste the garlic in there. The cucumbers are incredibly crisp, and juicy as well. You gotta just see a
close-up of this noodle and in that chili oil. Look at that beautifulness. It is unbelievably good. I'm gonna add on just a
little bit of black vinegar, give it a little bit of a sourness. Okay. This is just such an unbelievably
good plate of noodles, the mixture, the combination,
the freshness of the noodles. And I love these tangly-like
sheets of noodles, the lamb, the fresh
chilis in there as well. It's just ridiculously
good, but that chili oil with the cumin is just what
wraps everything together, what makes it complete,
what just holds this dish full of flavor together. (people chatter in a foreign language) I did not want that plate of food to end, but I have reached my last final bite. There's still a little bit of lamb. And there's also celery in
here, which I didn't realize at first. (people chatter in a foreign language) A couple of notes that I was
just reading on the wall. Number one is that there's a
big warning that the noodles taste the best within 15 minutes
of the assembling of them or preparing of them. And so they recommend that
you eat right on the spot, and I would recommend that,
not only because the noodles will taste better, but because,
after you smell the aroma of them, there's no way
that you can go longer than a couple of minutes without
starting to eat them. And then I also love the sign
over there where it says, chili oil is your friend. And it really is your
friend, it's your best friend when you are here. But he, they say that he, the
chef, he perfected his recipe for the chili oil and he makes
it fresh every other day, and the oil contains no
trans fat and no cholesterol. So it is almost worth
drinking, you should actually almost drink it, it's so
good and so flavorful. That was just an amazingly
good plate of noodles. I am feeling exuberantly happy right now. (people chatter in a foreign language) Right next door to Xi'an Famous Foods is Tianjin Dumpling House. And I actually, I was reading through the Serious Eats blog, and they
recommended this place. They have a full menu at the
top where you can mix and match your different dumplings
and they will make it on the spot for you. So you can choose your own combination, but I just decided to go for
one that they already have made up, which is the pork dumpling with chives, shrimp, and
egg, which sounds like a beautiful combination. So I just ordered one plate of that, and it should be hot
and fresh, coming soon. That's one of the greatest
types of steam baths you could possibly have,
a dumpling steam bath. Okay, I'm gonna eat these
while they're hot and fresh. Chopsticks, and you gotta
add on that chili oil in this, what a beautiful
canister, tub of chili, dried chili oil, which I am going to generously apply. We just go with half of them first. Oh, yes. Okay. All right. I think it would be a
poor decision on my part to take the whole thing in one
bite, as it is flaming hot. So I should, I'm gonna just
bite it in half right now. Yeah, that is a good dumpling. The skin is gooey and doughy. Inside you got the minced
pork, the chives in there. And that dried chili oil, mmmm. You can taste the fragrance of the dried chilis, the
oil, the garlic in there. I think I might add a
little bit of soy sauce. A little bit of vinegar. Oh, that's a lot of vinegar. That's okay, too. And then some more chili oil. The chili oil is actually not very spicy, but it is extremely fragrant. (people chatter in a foreign language) I think it cooled off enough,
I think I can take it all in one bite. Oh, that vinegar, mmmm. That is the touch it needs. This is an absolutely wonderful
little food court below here in the Golden Shopping Mall. Incredibly good food, I
wanted to taste everything, but we have a few more places to try, so time to move on. Flushing is just amazing. So many markets and restaurants. It's hard to believe you're
still in New York City here. (lively music) Ying is gonna stop at
CoCo for her bubble tea. It's not my favorite thing,
but Ying really likes it, so that's our next stop. Bubble tea, medium, no sugar, please. (Mark speaks in a foreign language) (Ying exclaims) Mmm, it is pretty refreshing on a hot day. We're walking up the road
now, on our way to a place called White Bear, and they
are also famous for dumplings. Gotta have another
plate of dumplings next. And this place is well
known for their dumplings in chili sauce, and this
was a recommendation from foodiehub.tv and Joe
DiStefano, who is a blogger from Queens. Thank you for the recommendation,
I just ordered my plate of dumplings. Thank you. (people chatter in a foreign language) This is just a really, really
small little restaurant, and the kitchen is in the
back, there are two of them, and they work kinda
slowly, taking their time, but expertly preparing
the different dishes. They have, they do have a full
menu, but I just came here to have the plate of dumplings. And one thing I immediately
notice about this dumpling is that the flour in the
wrapper is very white in color, so they might be using a
mixture of different flours, I'm not sure exactly, but
it's very white in color, and they've dressed it with the chili oil, as well as dried chili flakes. I think these are some kind of pickled, maybe pickled mustard greens,
and onions and green onions, and, yeah, what a, what a piece of art. I'm gonna go ahead and stab the one right in the middle there,
keep getting some of those preserved greens, and oil as well. (people chatter in a foreign language) They didn't look that
hot from the outside, 'cause they're not steaming, but on the inside,
they're flaming dumplings. I think it's a combination
of minced port in the middle, and then the wrapper is very kinda sticky, rather than doughy. It's more sticky and thinner. And then, despite all of that
chili, it's not really spicy, but it is very fragrant. And the other flavor
that really adds to this are the pickled mustard
greens, or the pickled greens. You can taste that kind of fermented, preserved pickle flavor to it. A little bit of vinegar. Let me add a little bit of,
I think this is the vinegar. It's that vinegar? - [Ying] I don't know. - It looks like fish sauce. Okay, I better start off
with a little bit first. And for this one, I will attempt to bite half of it. Oh ya, that is vinegar, I can smell it. Okay, come take a look inside. I think it's a combination of minced pork and maybe some chives in there. And then you can see the layers,
the wrapper is very thin, but it's wrapped a couple of
times so it has multiple layers of wrapper. Get some of that oil. This is a wonderful plate
of dumplings as well. Just finished with that plate
of White Bear dumplings. That was again a delicious
plate of dumplings, but it was totally different
from that other plate of dumplings that we had,
especially the wrapper. The wrapper was really different. I'm in a little bit of a
debate right now where to eat our next meal. I think we're gonna sit
down at a restaurant. And right behind me, that big yellow sign, that's a restaurant called Fu Run. They are well known for
serving lamb chops with cumin. Okay, I'm flipping though the menu here. Oh, here it is, the Muslim lamb chops. - But we don't have the salmon today, and the watercress, spinach,
baby cabbage, baby bok choy. - Sauteed string beans. - Okay. - Yeah. (people chatter in a foreign language) (water splatters) This restaurant serves food
from the northeastern part of China, kinda north of Beijing, which is near to, approaching Russia, and then
also part of inner Mongolia, so you have Mongolia to the west. And they serve a lot of lamb dishes, and have a lot of chili-filled
dishes, it looks like, on the menu as well. But I came here mainly to
eat the lamb and cumin. We're starting off with a
bowl of hot and sour soup. Oh, I love that aroma, that
vinegary and spicy aroma. I think there's also some
bamboo shoots in here as well. (people chatter in a foreign language) Mmmm. Yeah, that's very sour, vinegary. Mmmm, it's very soothing. (people chatter in a foreign language) And hot. - [Server] String beans. - Thank you. I want the rice, yes, thank you. Wow, look at the size of
that plate of green beans. Oh, that smells delicious. Thank you. Got two different dishes. One is fried string beans,
and then the main dish, the main event of this meal,
the reason I came here, is to eat the lamb, the Muslim
lamb, with cumin just piled on top of it. And as soon as he brought it
to the table, just the aroma of the cumin filled the
table, maybe even the whole restaurant. Oh, that smells incredible. It's marinated in many
things and then deep fried, and you can see how crispy it looks. I think it's maybe even
coated in a little bit. Let me pull one of these guys out. And then you can actually just
see all of this cumin seed, the chilis. Wow, this smells unbelievable. Woho, look at that. Oh, yeah and you can
even see on the inside, it's like stuffed with
redness, and then deep fried all the way to its core,
with cumin just protruding through it. I think I'm just gonna
bite this like a drumstick. (people chatter in a foreign language) All the cumin comes in nicely. I think there's a little bit
of Sichuan pepper in there, and then that lamb is so tender. Maybe that's a lot of garlic
as well, and dried chilis which are fried on top. But I really love that cumin. The cumin is so strong. And also I can see, I think
those are sesame seeds, both white and black sesame seeds. But then you can see those
cumin seeds all over there that just shining beautifully. (people chatter in a foreign language) Absolutely beautiful. And that was a fatty bite. It's so creamy, so lamby, and so cuminy. I'll try to take my last
piece off this bone. Oh, that just slides right out. (Mark laughs) That just slides right out like a sock. Mmmm, an edible sock. Wow, look at how clean that bone is. The next step, for those string beans. Mmmm. That's really good, too,
nice and salty and garlicky. And you can actually taste like, the skin of the green beans are blistered because
they've been fried on such a high heat. I was just eating my second piece of lamb, but you have to get a
close-up look at this lamb. I took my first bite over here, but look at this lamb under here. It's so tender, it's so juicy,
it's so everything you want in lamb, and then more, with
all that cumin and chilis. I'm gonna break up that piece of lamb and I'm gonna dip it. Some of my crust, all that cumin fell off, so I'm gonna, oho, yes. (people chatter in a foreign language) I finished with that plate of lamb, and this is another
case of the lamb sweats. I'm definitely feeling the lamb sweats. Flushing is a place that's
worth it to get a hotel room and stay here just to eat. Oh, I would love to just go
to my hotel room right now and then come back out to eat again. Oh, that was good. Gonna go right here. But I think we are walking
back to the metro station, to the subway. Gonna head back to Manhattan. Flushing, you have been
insanely fantastic. There's so much good food here. (rhythmic music) (pedestrians chatter) - We're gonna walk all the
way through Times Square on our way to Central Park. I think today is a fantastic
day to do a little walking around Central Park
after all of that food. (rhythmic music) This is a monstrous park. We're just gonna kinda
take it easy, walk around and just enjoy the park for a while. (rhythmic music) The weather is fantastic today. Enjoying the Central Park. Central Park is huge, I've
been looking at the map, and we've been walking around
for about 10 or 15 minutes, and we've barely even
covered maybe about 10% of the first part of Central Park. It goes way over that
way, but we are enjoying the relaxation right now. (rhythmic music) And just like the rest of
New York City, there's always so much going on and so much
happening in Central Park, people running around, people
playing musical instruments and singing, people dancing,
people laying in the grass. Some people walkin' around and
just talking to themselves. Everything going on in Central Park. (rhythmic music) I had a lot of meat today
already, that entire rack of lamb. So I thought for dinner, we're
actually very, right around the corner from our hotel
there is a place called Fresh&Co. I think they serve salads. I've looked through the window
and I think you can choose your own salad and your mixture. That sounds like a
fantastic dinner tonight. I'm gonna go have a salad. It's not a fully vegetarian
restaurant, but they do have many vegetarian options. It's a little bit expensive,
but looks like really good, high-quality ingredients. I got this salad and I
got the gaucho salad. I didn't film inside 'cause
I wasn't so sure about their, if they would allow filming inside. But, anyway, I got this
salad, he mixed it up, and I'm gonna take it up to
the hotel room and eat it. (pedestrians chatter) All right. Oh, that just smells of freshness. Uh, there is kale in here, there's corn, there are kidney beans, cucumbers, avocado, and it's vegan so
there's no meat in here. And then he added crispy
onions, oh yeah, crispy onions, and lemon. I think that's what, I
think I got that correct. All right, salad time. (Mark munches) Mmmm. That's really good because
it's all coated in avocado, so it has that creamy factor to it. And then I think down below here are more, oh yeah, more
kidney beans and corn. (Mark munches) Mmm. (Mark munches) In the videos, I often
show a lot of meaty dishes, but I do really, really
love vegetables and, oftentimes, when I'm
not filming, I am eating a lot of salad, a lot
of vegetables, a lot of healthy food. But I do love meat as well. But vegetables are fantastic. Good salad. Expensive, an expensive
salad but a good salad. (Mark munches) And on that bite of kale,
I'm gonna end today's video. If you love to eat, and
especially if you love Chinese food, I think making
a trip out to Flushing when you come to New
York City is mandatory. Amazing food, great place, well
worth the trip to Flushing. Thank you all very much
for watching today's video. Please remember to give it a
thumbs up if you enjoyed it, and also make sure you click
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see you on the next video.
