Durian Durian and Flushing adventures

One of the great advantages of living in NYC is that in the spur of the moment you can immediately travel to a faraway land...on the subway. Inspired by the NYT article ahead of the Beijing Olympics, I took advantage of the beautiful weather over Labor Day Weekend and before I knew it, I was on the 7 train off to Flushing. Yes, plenty of other tourists were heading that way.. to the U.S. Open but for those willing to endure one more stop, great food was the big prize. A little knowledge of mandarin might have come in handy, but nevertheless I was able to taste precious soup dumplings, not that precious turnip puffs, and a wonderful cold noodle salad (with cucumbers, seitan, and a garlicky and spicy concoction) at an adventurous eating spot. Run and try them, but don't bank on a romantic dinner. You will eventually find them, as they have readily posted the NYT article marked with the dishes that you should try there (I missed the lamb sandwich but one has to leave things for a next visit).

Dessert was a nice egg custard at the local bakery, but hardly the ones to match at Hong Kong (and yet the most impossibly delicious ones I've had were in Lisbon called Pasteis de Belem).

Once I was well fed, i thought it an obligation to get some "weird" fruit at one of the shops. A couple handfuls of longnuts (refreshing minty taste with lots of texture), and another couple of handfuls of lychees for good measure. But I could not resist trying that wonderful (if scary looking) Durian fruit. It certainly was not one of the "new kind" that have been "genetically enhanced" to cut out the smell. Oh, and it was pungent once I manage to cut it in my kitchen. Several neighbors and friends were kind enough to let me know if there were any kitchen gas leaks that I was aware of. No wonder the fruit is forbidden at some parts of South East Asia. The taste is indeed hard to describe... a very creamy custardy taste but with a hint of citrus and garlic. Yup... the fruit can be eaten both as dessert and in savoury preparations, so I can understand why. Definitely worth to try more than once.