New York City has not one Chinatown, but many.
In addition to Lower Manhattan’s, which is more than 150 years old, satellite Chinatowns have formed in neighborhoods like Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Elmhurst, Homecrest, and Flushing.
While most were rooted in historic immigration from Guangdong and other southern Chinese provinces, Flushing has hosted large numbers of new immigrants from more diverse regions, including Sichuan, Hunan, Dongbei, Shanghai, Shandong, Xinjiang, Shanxi, and Yunnan, as well as Taiwan.
But an even newer Chinatown is appearing where glass towers are rising in Long Island City’s Dutch Kills neighborhood, just west of the Sunnyside Yards. And while other Chinatowns, including Flushing’s, feature street scenes lively with vegetable stands, fish markets, employment agencies, street vendors and Buddhist temples, this new Chinatown is mainly composed of residential buildings with restaurants on the ground floor. These dining establishments offer modern versions of regional Chinese cuisines.
There are about 30 Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood. Many are branches of chains based in mainland China and Taiwan, showcasing the latest culinary sensations. How are their menus different from those of Chinese restaurants you may know? Well, they tend to concentrate on meal-size soups, wheat and rice noodles and barbecued skewers. The food tends to be spicier, often using Sichuan peppercorns along with chiles in various forms. The menus also tend to be heavy in offal, running from chicken gizzards to pig ears to cow intestines.
Queens Plaza (E, F, R) and Queensboro Plaza (7, N, W) anchor the neighborhood like twin poles of a magnet, making this new Chinatown an easy one to get to. Here are eight great restaurants and one food court worth visiting – and marveling at.
Red Sorghum
Robert Sietsema
Red Sorghum, opened in 2024, is the jewel of the neighborhood’s upscale restaurants, with the elegant décor mimicking an old movie set. The menu features Hunan and Sichuan fare inspired by a film of the same name about a family that makes wine from sorghum grain, and cocktails made from sorghum-based baijiu liquor form the heart of the beverage program. Hunan food is famous for its dried, smoked, and pickled meats and vegetables, and you can’t go wrong with the soup of red dates and pork meatballs, or the cold dish of eggplant, green chiles and black century eggs. Main courses are $18 to $88. 28-03 Jackson Ave.
Fer
Robert Sietsema
Fer, located on the corner of a quiet residential block on the edge of Dutch Kills, is a great place to drop in for a bowl of rice or egg noodles, either with soup or without. Bowls have names like juicy lamb, heavenly intestines, and spicy chicken, and smaller appetizing dishes like pork tongue and bitter melon salad are also available. Most bowls are $14. 41-10 29th St.
Hunan Tapas
Robert Sietsema
Despite its name, this spot with comfy booths feels and looks like the Chinese equivalent of an American diner. Yes, there are Hunan dishes that originated in Hengyang, the province’s second largest city, like a railroad bento box, and stir fried pork belly with green chiles. But there are also non-Hunan classics like ma po tofu and tomato with egg sauce over noodles. A $12.99 lunch special includes soup, rice, and a main course; otherwise, most dishes are $20 or less. 41-07 Crescent St.
Gulp
Robert Sietsema
Speaking of wonderful deals, tiny lunch counter Gulp specializes in everyday Taiwanese fare, served on trays with voluminous side dishes. Spicy beef soup almost qualifies as the island’s signature dish, but the menu also offers chicken rice and “braised pork dry noodles.” All trays come with tea, popcorn chicken, and a side dish of mixed vegetables and marinated mushrooms. Trays run $20 to $27. 42-45 27th St.
Jiang Nan
Robert Sietsema
This small Chinese chain with several locations on the East Coast (three in NYC) calls itself Chinese fusion, but what it really means is chiefly adaptations of modern Chinese pan-regional cuisine. Up a twisting flight of stairs there’s an elegant, off-white dining room, where tableside preparations – smoking pork neck in a box, for example – vie with pungently flavored dishes like whole grilled sea bass in aged pickle sauce. Most main dishes are $25 to $45. 29-17 Thomson Ave.
Dun Huang
Robert Sietsema
Also known as DH Noodles, the name refers to the ancient Silk Road city of Dunhuang in Northwestern China, offering various noodles from the province of Gansu and nearby Xinjiang, many flavored with Asian cumin and chile oil. Lanzhou noodles are its signature – hand-pulled wheat noodles that caused a sensation in New York when they appeared two decades ago – but there are many other noodle dishes, and grilled skewers, too, plus mutton, still on the bone, to be gnawed on. Noodles are $14 to $19. 27-23 Jackson Ave.
LIC Food Hall
Robert Sietsema
This compact Chinese food court sandwiched into a narrow space – most of the seating is in the basement – demonstrates how valuable the area’s commercial real estate can be. The 10 counters offer a broad range of Chinese food, plus a Vietnamese and a Japanese stall. Two in particular are recommended, as follows. 27-17 42nd Rd.
Marathon Hong Kong Diner is the name of the counter that provides a thumbnail sketch of the food found in its European-influenced cafes, called cha chaan tengs: pineapple buns thickly buttered, twisty macaroni with beef in a “tomato soup” casserole, and chicken cutlets in black pepper sauce. Main courses $13 to $18.
Robert Sietsema
Fat Cat Flatbread sells stuffed breads called guokui from the province of Shaanxi. Eleven choices are available, including salted egg yolk and pork floss, barbecue chicken, and red bean. This is now one of New York’s greatest carry-and-eat snacks. $5 to $7.25.
Koufuku Mart
Robert Sietsema
If you want super inexpensive food and lots of it, this Chinese and Japanese supermarket with an eatery attached is for you. Combinations of two or three freshly made Chinese dishes over rice are provided, with a daily choice of 20 or so. I recently picked Chongqing chicken, green stem cauliflower, and garlic Napa cabbage, and took half of it home. Two dishes, $10.75; three dishes $13.40. 42-43 27th St.
Naisnow
Robert Sietsema
This new Chinese tea parlor with healthy intent has recently opened its first American branches, and this one, at least, is perpetually mobbed. It specializes in large beverages made with avocado, cheese, fruit juice, and kale, as well as delicious small flaky tarts, both savory and sweet. Beverages $5 to $9; tarts $4 to $5. 27-53 Jackson Ave.
