Writes of Passage

40-46 Main Street
Flushing, NY

Qingdao restaurant is next to the LIRR east bound station. It has been there for a very long time, over 10 years, which is long in Flushing. Actually I never paid any attention to its name until now. For some reason, I thought it was a Taiwanese restaurant [changed hand(s)?].

It’s convenient for me to zoom in and grab something then catch the train. And the one item I’ve buying is the popular Sichuan appetizer Couple Lungs – 夫妻肺片 fuqi feipian. It’s made of thinly sliced beef and beef offal, and could serve cold or at room temperature – great with beer or chill white or rose. I think theirs is the better one in and around Flushing. Today I ventured a little further and bought two full bags…

• Pork Hock 猪肘子 is NOT soft at all and too hairy.
• the mini meatballs not sure what they’re made of.
• the giant meatballs are ok (not really to my taste).
• fried fish – why so so salty? To cover something?
• the wheat pancakes are pretty good.

As I was looking for it name, I found there are nine reviews on Yelp and 3 on TripAdvisor. … Rudeness is a common complain. I do speak Chinese but …

Ok, you may say, it’s a cheap eat. But I don’t seem to recall any other ethnic vendors (or even street vendors) treat their customer like dirt or non exist. Is it our tolerance that led the Chinese vendors to treat other Chinese like dirt?

Today as I was buying, the woman behind the counter was constantly serving other patron.
Me, “hi, can we finish up here? I’ve a train to catch.”
She, “I’m not delaying you. I’m just taking a payment …” And next moment, she went to clean up a table.

When I saw the slow saut

自豪游行日/ 同性恋游行 纽约和三藩市

I went to city to shop for a pair of sneaker in the morning – don’t ask me why there because I have no answer. As soon as I got off the LIRR, I saw rainbow: rainbow outfit, rainbow flags … Shortly before noon, 7th Avenue from 34th Street toward downtown is closed. Didn’t buy any but saw this one which is appropriate for the day.

These two are from San Francisco

45-46 Bell Blvd
Bayside, NY 11361

Won’t return: bland and over priced. The shrimps NEED bath – cleaning.

We set to dine at another restaurant but someone didn’t want buffet. It was about to rain and we crossed the street … Obviously it’s a wrong move.

A waste: they use a lot of raw shredded cabbage as garnish, which made me wonder their sense: neither Korean or Chinese eat raw cabbage. And the abundance is just overwhelming and silly.

The chive and pork dish: made me feeling like a cow, chewing on long and tough grass.
…
…

A hot summer day, the once empty beach is come alive now, with a guard at the font.

75 N. Station Plaza
Great Neck, NY 11021

I initially rated it at 3.5 and marked as ‘will return, probably.’ But as I was looking up the bill to find the spelling of babaghanoush for this post, did I realize they charged us wrongly. (Note: do check your bill, which I don’t … which is why I try to keep a photo of the bills…) So the conversation went like this the following day.

^{Babaghanoush $9.50}

Me: ” … you should have charged us for Babaghanoush but instead Bademjoun.”
A gent at the restaurant ” … oh … right, I remember you …” We were the only Asian family there. He continued, “let me look up the bill … it will take a day or two. What’s your number?”
After my phone number, he then said, “so I owe you. How much is Bademjoun? $21.50?”
I, looking at the bill, “it’s $22.50” and not amused. Their menu is rather small and simple.
The gent, “So I owe you $12.”
I, “No, it’s $13. And the sales tax too.” I won’t be this petty but didn’t like the fact he’s trying to lowballing it.
The gent, “ok, how much do you think I owe you?”
I, “I just spelt it out for you.” I only want what was owed to me.

Throughout the conversation, there was not a single I’m sorry … He took my credit card but the refund didn’t come. So days later, I called my credit card company to dispute it.

^{Lamb kebab $37.50}

The following review was done before the phone conversation:

Pricy. Homey. This Kosher Mediterranean grill has been there for ages. And I’m glad we finally decided to give it a try. The light color scheme makes it airy (regular ceiling) and likable in a homey way – lacking the flair like Zaytinya, etc. We got there at 7 and was quiet but by 8, on a Wednesday the place is humming.

Their hums and babagunish are excellent. I wanted the Branzino but they’re out … so I ate off my companions’ – Lamb Kebab (the green rice with dill is great but the red rice is bit too sweet for my taste) and Ghormeh Sabzi (a little bit like the Indian dish). Over all, good food but pricy. Their house wine Carb and Shiraz are good.

The underground station at 59th Street and Broadway/8th Avenue or there about is pretty nice: with many shops … and the Beijing Duck is on a limited offer at Pok

333 W 86th St,
New York, NY 10024

This Atria on the West Side isn’t as nice as their in Roslyn.

The neighborhood is pretty nice. A street vendor who sells good cotton clothing from India – should have bought something.

The rebuilding had completed and now the little park looks nice.

It’s been raining like cats and dogs and on and on … Can’t believe. So I went to the library hoping for a break of a sort. It rained as I entered and shortly after, the sun came out …

550 Middle Neck Rd
Great Neck, NY 11023

Spacious and inviting, good breads but probably won’t return for the price – I’m not a bread eater. Sometimes in the restaurants when the breads taste yummy, especially when they’re warm, I’ll have one or two.

Most pastries I saw there are dark – not sure it’s their style or over baked -:). A croissant costs $2.50 and in all honesty, they aren’t as good as the Costco’s – which I recalled was about $6 for ten (or six? – a huge pack … I haven’t been there for a couple of years …) and certainly not as good as Paul – a franchise in Paris or France which I frequent whenever I’m there. This past May, a croissant costs