(This venue is closed.) Teatime in Tianjin?
At the bakery counter, that small brown disk is labeled a sesame scone (75 cents). It marries the typical dense quickbread texture with a less-typical flavor; the dark red pip on top probably signals "sesame" and suggests the availability of other flavors, too. Another British-leaning item, uncovered by Joe DiStefano on a separate foray, is the long wan zi, which he fairly likened to a scotch egg. Both may be relics of a long-gone British concession within the boundaries of Tianjin, not far from Beijing. (I also spotted, but did not try, something that looked much like kielbasa; Robert Sietsema made a similar discovery at another Tianjin joint nearby. Many European countries, it seems, had a foothold in this Northern Chinese city.)
The congee in the foreground isn't one of the rice-based renditions that are standard in Southern China; here the options run to red bean, mung bean, and millet (shown; small, 75 cents; ordered via "shoot and point," to the amusement of the counterwoman). Millet congee, I found, is very plain, but it's good for balancing heavy or oily baked goods and for putting something warm on the belly.
Guangyuan Jinweishifang
135-23 40th Rd. (Main-Prince Sts.), Flushing, Queens
(the brighter red awning, behind the hand truck)
718-888-0880
