(This venue is closed.) Garlic whisperers: shrimp mandu with minced pork and beef. Thanks to Sam, a fellow customer, for providing translations from the Korean, background on the business, and mandu, too.
Yong Gung (Dragon Palace)
163-24 Northern Blvd. (163rd St.-Sanford Ave.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-344-1494
The name "mandoo" (or "mandu") might bring to mind the image of thin-skinned Korean dumplings that are boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. A "wang" ("king"-sized) mandoo, by contrast, generally resembles a bun; here the English language signage calls it just that. Shown: kimchi with pork.
For the evocation of eating "inside a small dumpling factory to get an intimate look at the process while you wait," H/T Wander Sauce, whose very name suggests napkins at the ready.
Northern Wangmandoo Dumpling (aka Northern King Dumpling — Wang Mandu)
14944 Northern Blvd. (149th Pl.-150th St.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-461-8878
(This venue is closed.) In the Hokkien dialects of southeastern China that are also widely spoken in Singapore, cai tow kueh (chai tau kway) can be translated to English as "carrot cake." As you might guess from the color, however, this Singaporean carrot cake contains no carrot. The menu describes the featured ingredient simply as "radish," but the more precise name is "daikon." The mild-flavored root is shredded, mixed with rice flour, steamed, and sliced into chunks, then stir-fried with egg and, in this instance, a mildly spicy sauce. Yummy Tummy prepares a version with sweet soya sauce, too; next time, I'd kick up the heat and ask for a bespoke stir-fry that's both sweet and spicy.
Yummy Tummy Asian Bistro
161-16 Northern Blvd. (near 162nd St.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-888-0220
www.Facebook.com/YummyTummy-Asian-Bistro-539131056529830
Not quite a soufflé, but not a Korean gut bomb, either.
Unless you're angling only to nip off a "tentacle" or two, it's easier to approach from the "tail": squid-ink chile-pepper corn dog ($5).
The Basac
158-09 Northern Blvd. (158th-159th Sts.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-762-8484
www.Facebook.com/TheBasacNY
Using color to impart meaning is a common practice among graphic designers and signmakers. Sometimes single colors are applied to entire words; for example, "hot" and "cold" can be depicted, respectively, in red and blue. Sometimes a word will be rendered in many colors, one for each letter, to suggest a variety of flavors.
And sometimes color is used in a manner that resists easy interpretation. Consider the signs of three Korean businesses: Chang's Family Restaurant, Daheen Wang Mandoo (now called Dong's Family Cuisine, with different signage), and Jahn Chi Jahn Chi. Their principal lettering is rendered in a single color, respectively white, black, and blue, but in each case two of the figures are tipped in red. The repeated appearance of this motif suggests some meaning that I haven't been able to fathom.
My inquiries at these businesses (and others, with similar signage) have proved unavailing. If you can shed any light, please do.
Red-tipped Korean script
Various locations, Queens
(This venue is closed.) Amid baked pastries flavored by sweet potato, chestnut, and especially red bean, this fried soboro bread ($3) stands out. The topside is thinly coated with the namesake streusel-like topping, to which Bangjangsoo — a new outpost of a South Korean bakery chain — adds slivered almonds. Imagine a flattish, sweetly encrusted, red-bean-filled donut not long from the fryer, and you'll have the idea.
Bangjangsoo (a.k.a. BJD Bakers)
154-02 Northern Blvd. (at 154th St.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-888-9440
www.Facebook.com/BangjangsooNY
(This venue is closed.) Toward the tail end of the three-course black-goat feast, you may wish that you'd paced yourself better.
I'm charmed by the many ways that bakers signal what's inside their wares. You can't, however, always judge a nut by its shell. The oreshki of Lithuania, Russia, and neighboring countries, for example, take the form of walnuts but are filled with cooked, sweetened condensed milk called sguschonka. (Many writers of Eastern European descent frequently and not unfairly refer to this filling as dulce de leche.)
Similarly shaped hodokwaja, or walnut pastries, are a popular snack on the streets of Korea. (You may also see the spelling hodugwaja, and I suspect that "Cocohodo" is a nonstandard, brandable transliteration of "cake walnut.") Though you might track down plastic-wrapped trays of locally made hodokwaja in Korean markets, they can't compare to little cakes that are still piping hot — like this free sample — especially when there's a chill in the air. Inside the baked-dough "shell" you'll find red bean paste and, yes, a chunk of roasted walnut, too. It's a nice combination.
Cocohodo
158-07 Northern Blvd. (158th-159th Sts.), Murray Hill, Queens
(The first New York location of a California-based chain)
917-808-5306
www.CocohodoUSA.com
(This venue is closed.) I'm not sure what's more curious about this Korean-Mexican menu item — that the churros are apparently oven-baked rather than deep-fried, or that someone has given so much thought to how a hands-on, grab-and-go food should be properly plated. Seen in passing, not yet sampled.
Cafe Vine
150-13 Northern Blvd. (150th St.-150th Pl.), Murray Hill, Queens
718-460-2425
Thank you!
