Infamous Taste of Pakistan – Student Biryani Food Cart

February 28, 2010 · Posted in Cart Food, Cheap Eats, Halal Food, Pakistani, Quick Eats · 2 Comments 

Student Biryani Food Cart
Btw 37th Road & 74th Street (right outside of Kabab King)
Jackson Heights, Queens 11372

Student Biryani Truck, Jackson Heights, NY

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:

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Sunshine Restaurant, Queens, NY

June 28, 2009 · Posted in Cheap Eats, Fast food, Halal Food, Indian, Pakistani · 2 Comments 

Sunshine Restaurant
69-15 Northern Blvd.
Woodside, Queens
(718) 639 – 6900
Cuisine Category (As listed in the Restaurant): Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi

Sunshine Restaurant

Sunshine Restaurant

Sunshine Restaurant

Sunshine Restaurant

*7/19/09 Update:  I returned here for the second time and I love the haleem and naan! It’s so savory and enjoyable to eat especially when the naan is fresh out of the oven!  I highly recommend you guys to try!

Lesson of the day! As my friend points out, when a restaurant or store lists a few countries for the cuisine type, the country that is listed first is usually the primary group.  So in this case, even though the restaurant lists 3 countries, it is owned by a Pakistani and the cuisine type is Pakistani.   The reason why the other countries are listed is to attract customers of those nationalities.   Yes, what an interesting tidbit!

The world of Jackson Heights is bristling with fast-paced people primarily from South Asia of all hours of the night.   See in Chinatown, it’s gets dead around 11pm, but here supermarkets are shops are opened 24hrs!  Restaurants are opened late night, but not all of them are.   I have to admit, yes there are people walking around late night, but they are mostly men.   I have yet to see any women besides my friend and I, so it made us feel a little uncomfortable.  Now, there are halal carts on almost every block so you can be sure that you’ll never go hungry.  After shopping for Indian spices and ingredients at the infamous Patel Brothers supermarket,  my friend and I decided to look for a restaurant to settle down to eat.   So we drove to Woodside, which isn’t too far away, to a restaurant that I have yet to explore.

Sunshine Restaurant Interior

Sunshine Restaurant Interior

Restaurant Interior of Sunshine Restaurant

Restaurant Interior of Sunshine Restaurant

Excited to what I have in store for my taste buds, my friend orders a bunch of dishes that you can see below!

The Meal

The Meal

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Late Night Dinner: Chicken & Rice (Halal Guys NYC on 53rd/6th)

Halal Guys NYC

53rd & 6th Avenue (Next to the Hilton Hotel)
New York, NY
Operations: 7:30pm – 4:00am

This halal cart is famous for its chicken and rice platter. As you may see many other vendors like this one, the taste and quality of the food is completely different. Every day there is a long line queued with many hungry New Yorkers as well as tourists just to get a taste of this delicious platter. The line moves very quickly and the wait is definitely well worth the wait.

Chicken & Rice: Halal Guys 53rd/6th Ave Long Line

Chicken & Rice: Halal Guys 53rd/6th Ave Long Line

More pictures after the jump! Read more