An homage to gluttony

Has it been two weeks already? I was somewhat remiss in posting last Monday, as has become this blog's custom (posting on Mondays, that is, not being remiss). However, while I had spent a lovely Easter weekend in New Jersey with family, I didn't have too much to say about it. No point in blogging just to hear oneself type, as they say. 

At any rate, this weekend I did something a little more interesting, at least by own ranking of how interesting I think people will find things. A friend organized a culinary tour of Flushing, the neighborhood in eastern Queens that contains our borough's Chinatown. I'd eaten at restaurants in Flushing before, and always with someone who knew what they were doing/where they were going. Flushing is far too crowded, chaotic, and full of options for me to feel comfortable navigating on my own. Or at least without doing research first, which so far I've been too lazy to do.  

Our friend/guide had a number of places he wanted the troop to hit up. I skipped eating in a couple of them because I have a finite amount of stomach space, but everything was so good that after a short rest in a random Irish bar (we stepped in to avoid the rain), I was able to eat a full dinner as well. Below are some of the things we ate.

Sam enjoying his dumplings

 The first place we went (photo above) was known for its dumplings. While Sam and some others were inside the store buying food, the rest of us waited outside (because it was a tiny hole in the wall place, and we couldn't really fit). A random guy came by and warned us in both English and French that the place we were standing in front of was bad news and had been previously shut down for sanitary reasons. Since our friends had already gotten a feast of food for like $3.50, we decided not to heed his warning. And since it's a couple of days later, I guess I can say that was a good idea. I have no idea what was in the dumplings, but they certainly tasted good.

Sam enjoying some spicy duck neck. You can see the duck heads in the background that no one in our group was adventurous enough to try. 

A market

Dragon fruit within said market

 I was surprised that the prices on produce weren't actually any cheaper than the produce market in Astoria. They did however have a greater variety (see above).

One of Sam's artsy photos.

 My favorite thing from the pre-sit-down-meal portion of the day was the Peking duck bun below. There was a woman sawing pieces off whole roasted ducks and putting them into rice buns to order. Whatever sauce they put on it was delicious.

This duck bun deserves its own photo

The place we went for dinner was Biang and it was also wonderful. By that point, I'd tired of taking photos of my food, but trust me, it was all highly photogenic. I recommend the place for anyone looking to enjoy Flushing from a comfortable seated position. While there was a bit of a line by the time we left, it was also relatively crowd-free. 

I spent the rest of the weekend continuing to eat things and not exercising at all.