Eating In Translation

Ma Youngae Pyongyang Soondae

When she defected from North Korea some 20 years ago, Ma Youngae "wasn't a very good cook," she acknowledges. In the years since, Ms. Ma has perfected at least one dish, which she sells to fund her mission to rescue North Korean defectors. However served — stir-fried, on a recent afternoon, at a street cart, or without adornment, as shown below at an autumn festival — her soondae, blood sausage, is superb.

Ma Youngae Pyongyang Soondae
Cart on the north side of Northern Blvd. between 153rd and 154th Sts. (and flying the flag of South Korea), Murray Hill, Queens
718-400-8400
Monday through Saturday, 11-8, barring extremely bad weather

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Yukun Shaobing

Burger under wraps? A black pepper beef bing, from a bill of fare whose fillings also include cabbage with bean curd, spicy squid, five varieties featuring pork, and "Orleans chicken." Small type on the menu identifies the proprietors with the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.

Corrections: Stefanos Chen, who has since written much more about this small business for The New York Times, clarifies that one of the two proprietors hails from Qingdao, in Shandong, the other, from the northeastern province of Liaoning. Chen also corrects what I'd given as a tentative translation — Yuyin Shaobing — of the business name.

Yukun Shaobing
13621 Roosevelt Ave. (Main-Union Sts., inside the Landmark Quest Mall), Flushing, Queens
929-300-9118

8090 Taiwan Cuisine

Like all indoor dining rooms in the city, Flushing's New York Food Court is closed to customers except for ordering, picking up, and washing up. It did offer well-sheltered tables in the parking lot; my cuttlefish thick soup provided the only warmth.

8090 Taiwan Cuisine
133-35 Roosevelt Ave. (Prince St.-College Point Blvd., inside the New York Food Court, stall 24), Flushing, Queens
646-683-1763
www.Instagram.com/explore/locations/1239641742722591/8090TaiwaneseCuisineNY

Maxi's Noodle

Antidote for noodle-soup indecision: getting all the toppings. Shown in the photos that follow: a fish ball, in biteaway view; the fighting fish of all dumplings; a wonton lit by a low afternoon sun; and the noodles themselves. The pork bone broth is wonderful, too.

Maxi's Noodle
13511 38th Ave. (Main-Prince Sts.), Flushing, Queens
917-908-0808
www.MaxisNoodle.com

Delicious Jin

(This venue is closed.) Dongbei hand pies? The proprietors of this stall come from Dalian, a port city on the southern tip of Liaoning province, in northeastern China. (A century ago, one district of today's Dalian was an independent city then called Port Arthur, the namesake of a celebrated restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown.) Shown, in biteaway view: a purple yam bing, not so sweet as it might appear, and a chive-and-egg pocket. Mine concealed a few baby shrimp, too.

Delicious Jin
13621 Roosevelt Ave. (Main-Union Sts., inside the Landmark Quest Mall, several stalls past Joe's Steam Rice Roll), Flushing, Queens
917-868-9518
www.DeliciousJin.com

BapBap

(This venue is closed.) Celebratory sujeonggwa soft-serve, flavored by gotgam (Korean dried persimmon) and spiced pear.

BapBap
16006 Northern Blvd. (at 160th St., inside New Age Market), Murray Hill, Queens
718-353-3425
www.BapBapNYC.com
Closed Tuesday

Tian Jin Dumpling House

This beef-filled bing is very juicy, and the waxy wrap offers little protection from drips and stains. If you've ever propped yourself against a counter to eat a Philly cheesesteak, why not adopt that posture here? Call it the "Tian Jin lean."

Tian Jin Dumpling House
41-41 Kissena Blvd. (Barclay-Sanford Aves.), Flushing, Queens
212-518-3265
(A takeaway-only successor to a former stall inside the Golden Mall)

Han Shi Bao Zi

Ring bell for service: a socially distant ramp-and-basket bao delivery system. Inevitably these fluffy steamed buns flatten when you take a bite. Mine was filled with vegetables — presaged, on top, by a tiny curl of carrot.

Han Shi Bao Zi
4002 Bowne St. (Roosevelt-41st Aves.), Flushing, Queens
917-687-1789

Tu Jia Jiang Xiang Bing

(This venue is closed.) Jiang xiang bing is a spicy griddled flatbread that's dressed with sesame and scallion, then served in one- or two-bite snippets. Wait for a fresh batch, and get 'em while they're hot!

Tu Jia Jiang Xiang Bing
13621 Roosevelt Ave. (Main-Union Sts., inside the Landmark Quest Mall, three or four stalls past Joe's Steam Rice Roll), Flushing, Queens

Sweet rice ball vendor

This glutinous rice and black bean ball originally appeared on a street vendor's display, one of many along the lively stretch south of the 7 train terminal. Evidently the rice ball, after its skin was filled and then sealed with a bit of leaf, was rolled in whole rice grains, after the fashion of nonpareils. The skin left exposed was still very, very sticky.

Sweet rice ball vendor
Hand cart on the west side of Main St. south of 41st Ave., Flushing, Queens