Infamous Taste of Pakistan – Student Biryani Food Cart
*Second Update*
Great news! The Student Biryani truck is back but with a different look! They took off the red poster on the side of their truck and replaced it with LED neon light animated sign! Unfortunately I forgot to snap a photo for your viewing pleasure, but I will next time! My friend and I have spoke with the person there that night and apparently the Student Biryani truck was always there, but only during the day time. Since it was just one person working there, it was hard to take the night shift as well. Fortunately, this new guy is hired and he is working the night shift. Now, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, check him out! You can’t go wrong with $5 plus in my opinion you will have a damn good delicious meal!!
Until next time,
<3 FCG
*Update*
I was advised by my loyal readers that this Student Biryani cart is no longer there. I took a trip over there, not once but twice, just to see if this was the case, and unfortunately he’s no longer there. How disappointing.
If you happen to see this cart, hit me up!!
-FCG
Student Biryani Food Cart
Btw 37th Road & 74th Street (right outside of Kabab King)
Jackson Heights, Queens 11372
Student Biryani Truck, Jackson Heights, NY
For those of you who doesn’t know, I am a HUGE fan of biryani! HUGE! My Pakistani friend Tahsin and Indian friend Leena was ever so generous to share with me their mother’s home cooked version of chicken biryani which I will share you pictures of. Both have obvious and similar ingredients like rice and the usage of chicken, but the seasonings and other spices is what separates them in taste and style. This is what I love about ethnic food. Check out my post on the Pakistani take on biryani.
I did not make a post on the Indian version of biryani but I will post you up a picture for you to see:
Kam Hing Coffee Shop
Kam Hing Coffee Shop
119 Baxter Street
(Near Canal Street)
(212) 925-0425
Hours of operation: 8am-6pm
Kam Hing Coffee Shop
If you ask the locals of Chinatown, they will tell you that this coffee shop sells the best Chinese sponge cakes ever and I cannot agree with them more. Growing up in this neighborhood, my mother would take my brother and I after school to this small and old shop and order many warm and individually wrapped sponge cakes to go. Of course she also orders a cup of coffee for herself and two warm cups of milk teas for my brother and I to drink with the cakes. Those were happier and more delicious times.
Kam Hing Coffee Shop
Kam Hing Coffee Shop Store Front
Recently I was in Chinatown to meet a dear friend of mine from work. She wanted to try all the delicious food that this town has to offer and I figure that the infamous Kam Hing Coffee Shop should be the first stop because they were closing soon and it would be something that I know she will like. We walk in there around 5:50pm which was perfect because the store closes on time at 6:00pm, and was greeted by a Latino cashier who speaks fluent Cantonese. Ever since I was a child, there was always several Latino cashiers who speaks fluent Cantonese which impressed me each and every time. We were fortunate enough to order the last two cakes. The cakes are $0.60 and was $0.50 when I was a kid. Nonetheless it’s quite a bargain and you will never find a bargain like this anywhere else. Even at that time, the cakes were still nice and warm and we decided to eat it right away. While we were eating, this guy came in and ordered a cake and was disappointed with the bad news that it was all sold out. So my advice to you is to come here way before it closes because you never know.
Kam Hing Coffee Shop's Sponge Cakes
The difference between this sponge cake and the other sponge cakes in the other Chinese bakeries is that this cake is very moist, light, fluffy and slightly sweeter. You just have to try it to see the difference!
Anyways, until next time,
<3 FCG
Cafe Astoria Bakery – Belarusian Marshmallow Candies
Cafe Astoria's Belarusian Marshmallow Candies
Cafe Astoria Packaging for Belarusian Marshmallow Candies
As I was making my rounds at work during my lunch break, my co-worker Tina stops me by her department and generously offered this mysterious looking pastry to try. At first I thought that it was glutinous rice flour with walnuts, but when I took a closer look, it was not made of that material. Tina, told me that her mother bought her this from Taiwan and asked whether I had tried this before. Of course I did not, and when I tried it, all I can say that it tastes like a powdery marshmallow with walnuts. There was something unique about it. It wasn’t oozing with flavor, it was a simple desert that literally is a combination of walnuts and marshmallow. Somehow I enjoyed it and it was a unique eating experience. Now whether this was a Taiwanese specialty or not, I had to find out.
Cafe Astoria is located in Taipei, Taiwan.
7, WuCheng St, Sec 1
(02) 2331-7370
Hours: 8:30 am-8:30 pm
From what I learned from the above website and on the Wall Street Journal page, this gourmet cafe is known for their marshmallow candies and great over a cup of coffee. The owner who was from Belarus, opened their first shop in Shanghai and then moved to Taipei. This candy is a Belarusian treat and it is very light and fluffy. Eating this is like eating a piece of cloud. At least that’s how I’d imagine it to be.
If you are fortunate to be in the neighborhood, stop by and share your eating experience there!
Until next time,
<3 FCG
Winter Wonderland!
Winter Wonderland in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn
Now usually I don’t blog about my daily life experiences, but, today I thought I would share the beauty that was dumped in my neighborhood. This Thursday morning, like any other weekend, I woke up, got ready to work and opened my door to leave my house when all of a sudden I saw nothing but snow everrrrywhere! I knew it was snowing, but I didn’t think we would get this kind of snow. I couldn’t even see the stairs from my house leading me down to the sidewalk. I stopped and muttered, “Holy $heit” and carefully walked down the stairs. When I successfully got down the stairs, my knees were completely covered in snow and the wind howled loud as it blew cold freezing snow in my face. Of all the times that it has snowed, nobody shoveled and I can definitely see why.
Boots in Snow
Never in the twenty something odd years of my life where I had to walk in snow as deep as this. Perhaps this picture doesn’t do justice to the amount of snow that we got, but I have to say that it was quite difficult going into work. But as my friend Tahsin says, “Sometimes you have to do it for the team!”
My Snow Tracks
Look! I created snow tracks so the next person who walks this path can have an easier time!
Beautiful White Snow
Train Station Covered in Snow
I finally got to my train station and luckily did see people there. Unfortunately we waited for about 30 minute on the platform going out to Coney Island, battling against cold icy snow in our faces. How dangerous it must be to drive a train with so many passengers in this weather. If you know anyone who went to work on that day or attempted to go to work, give them a round of applause because it is not easy for sure.
Anyways, until next time!
<3, FCG
Chinese New Year Cake – Neen Go
Pan Fried Chinese New Year Cake
Growing up, the Neen Go (Chinese New Year Cake) is pretty much one of the many star items on the dining room table. I was never attracted to the look and the taste of the cake. For such a simple and dull looking cake, as a child, I simply could not fathom why it was such an important item to have before the starting of the lunar new year. There are so many other delicious cakes, like the prosperity cupcakes, but none of them are as important as this neen go.
Neen go, which literally translated in Cantonese, “Year High” or in another words, highly prosperous year, is one of the many items offered the day before New Year’s to the Kitchen God. Yes the Kitchen God and this is the widespread belief. The new year cannot kick off to a fresh new and prosperous start without this cake. And so, a week before the new year, I decided that I would like to make this cake. I did come across with a few snafus, recipe problems not the user’s fault, and then I found the light at the end of the tunnel with the help of my dear co-worker Mei-Ling who offered me a foolproof recipe. The attempt to take on the responsibility of making this VIP cake has befuddled my sweet mother. She could not take me seriously and decided that it is better to use her inexperience hands over mine to make the cake.
Now here is the now infamous recipe from Mei Ling:
