Flushing, Queens is a place we’ve been wanting to visit for years. We’ve watched so many videos about it, seen all the food, and heard people talk about how great it is.
This is a part of New York neither Mark or I had ever been to. We’ve been to Manhattan’s Chinatown a few times, but kept hearing that Flushing was on another level. It’s bigger, there’s more variety, and there’s so much good food to try.
So we finally stopped saying, “We need to go to Flushing,” and actually went.
We had some really good food, walked around the neighborhood, and explored a little bit of Queens while we were there. Here’s what we did, what we ate, and all about our day trip to Flushing, Queens.
Getting There
Getting to Queens from where we live isn’t the easiest. Honestly, it’s kind of a pain in the ass, and that’s probably one of the reasons we kept putting off going.
The drive is about two hours, which really isn’t a big deal for us. We’ve done much longer drives. The problem is that it’s not an easy two hours. We spent most of the drive on the NJ Turnpike, and once we got off, we had to go through Staten Island and Brooklyn to get to Queens. There was plenty of traffic, lots of exits, and more than a few moments of us trying to figure out which way we were supposed to be going. It’s a little confusing, but we made it.
Before we left, Mark found a parking garage that was pretty much in the middle of everything we wanted to see. It seemed perfect.
Of course, as we were driving there, we realized there was a festival happening on the street where the garage was, and the whole road was closed for the day. Of course, that’s the one place we picked!
We ended up parking in a garage near a big shopping center with a Target, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and a few other stores. It was covered, cost a few dollars less, and we could use the bathrooms at Target, so it actually worked out really well.
It was also a little farther away from all the chaos, which ended up being a good thing. If you’re driving to Flushing, we’d definitely recommend parking there.
Here’s the address: 131-07 40th Rd, Flushing, NY 11354
The Biggest Chinatown in the United States
Oddly, despite Flushing being the biggest Chinatown in the Unites States, we hadn’t really heard much about it until a few years ago. I didn’t even realize there was a Chinatown in Queens. I just assumed the only one in New York was Manhattan. So here’s a little history of how Flushing became the biggest Chinatown in the US.
In the 1970s, immigrants from Taiwan began settling in Flushing. Flushing offered more space, better housing and a more suburban environment than Manhattan did. The new Taiwanese community became known as “Little Taiwan”.
Another major wave of immigration came in the 1980s – 2000s. Immigrants arrived from many parts of China and Flushing evolved from primarily Taiwanese into a diverse Chinese community. Following 9/11, even more Chinese residents moved from Manhattan to Queens.
After 2010, Flushing was being described as having the largest Chinatown in the United States. Today, the heart of the neighborhood is around Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, with Chinese businesses, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets and markets stretching well beyond that intersection.
What makes Flushing especially fascinating is that it isn’t just one Chinese culture. Many different Chinese and communities have all helped shape it.
White Bear: Wontons in Chili Oil
Our first stop was White Bear for wontons in chili oil.
This place is small and pretty unassuming. If you walked by, you probably wouldn’t think much of it. It’s basically a little takeout window, and they only take cash. Despite that, the food was so good. These wontons ended up being our favorite thing we ate all day.
It just goes to show that some of the best food usually comes from the smallest places.
White Bear is located at 135-02 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354.
Fu Yuan – Curry Fish Ball Rice Roll
Our next stop was Fu Yuan, another small place serving up some great food.
There was a pretty long line when we got there, so we figured that was a good sign. Fu Yuan is known for their rice rolls, and they had a bunch of different options. We stood there trying to decide what to get when a woman in line overheard us talking about the menu.
She told us we should get the Curry Fish Balls. She said they were one of the things they were known for, that they were delicious, and to get all the sauces on them. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about, so we took her advice. Glad we did! They were delicious and unlike anything we’d ever had before. Definitely not something we would have thought to order on our own.
So thank you to the nice lady in line who pointed us in the right direction! And they say New Yorkers are rude.
Fu Yuan is located at 135-43 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354.
Queens Botanical Garden
After eating at two places, we decided it was probably a good time to take a little break. So we walked over to the Queens Botanical Garden.
This is such a nice spot right in the middle of the city. It was a good break from the traffic, noise, and crowds, and a nice place to just slow down and relax for a bit.
If we lived in the area, this is definitely somewhere we’d visit often when we needed to get away for a little while.
Admission was $6 for adults, and the gardens were a lot bigger than we expected. We walked around for a while and really enjoyed it.
The Queens Botanical Garden is located at 43-50 Main St, Flushing, NY 11355.
Queens Museum
After the Botanical Garden, we decided to walk over to the Queens Museum to learn a little more about the area.
On the way there, we walked through Flushing Meadows Corona Park and came across two iconic statues from the World’s Fair. You might recognize them from the movie Men in Black with Will Smith. It was pretty cool seeing them in person after remembering them from the movie.
The Queens Museum was really interesting. They had a neat exhibit about Tiffany lamps. We didn’t previously know these were made in Queens. The museum also had a lot of memorabilia from the World’s Fair, which was really interesting to see. The main attraction was the Panorama of New York City, a huge model of the city that was originally created for the 1964 World’s Fair. It has been updated and restored over the years and it was fun to point out iconic places in all of New York City’s boroughs.
This is a pay what you wish museum that we recommend checking out of you’re in the area. Although the museum is small, we learned a lot.
The Queens Museum is located at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Building.
Xing Fu Tang – Brown Sugar Boba
After the museum, it was time for more food! We had successfully worked up an appetite again. Ha!
When we were walking to the Botanical Garden earlier, I spotted a boba place that looked really good. They were making the boba fresh right in front of you, so I wanted to stop there on the way back.
The place is called Xing Fu Tang, and they’re known for their brown sugar boba drinks. It was basically like having dessert in a cup. So good!
Mark isn’t usually a fan of boba, but even he liked this one. I think the fact that the boba was freshly made made a big difference. The cup was still warm when we got it.
It was definitely on the expensive side at $8.70, so it’s not something I’d get every day, but it was a fun treat and totally worth trying while we were there.
Xing Fu Tang is located at 40-52 Main St, Flushing, NY 11354.
Claypot Rice
After all the walking, we were both ready to sit down and have a real meal. So we decided to try a restaurant called King’s Kitchen known for its claypot rice.
Overall, we liked it. It was good, but compared to everything else we had eaten that day, it was at the bottom of our list.
I think there are plenty of other food options in Flushing that we’d choose before this, and there may even be better places to get claypot rice. That said, we didn’t have a bad experience and we’re glad we tried it.
If you’re doing a food tour and have limited time, this would probably be one we would skip and save room for some of the other places. If you’re curious about claypot rice though, it’s worth giving it a try.
King’s Kitchen is located at 40-12 Main St, Flushing, NY 11354.
Dessert at Spot Dessert Bar
Mark has a major sweet tooth, so there was no way we were ending our time in Queens without getting dessert.
He decided we should check out Spot Dessert Bar, which is known for their over-the-top desserts. We decided to share the Cookie Camp, which was a warm marshmallow cookie topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
This place was expensive. Our dessert was $15, so definitely not a place to go if you’re on a budget. It was good though and the perfect way to end our day in Flushing.
Spot Desert Bar is located at 39-16 Prince St, Flushing, NY 11354.
