YIPIN CHINESE CUISINE

He says:
I had the fortune of trying many obscure and excellent foods while quite young, so it’s rare for me these days to come across a dish that is so radically new and startlingly good that I am blown away. But such a thing happened to me at Yipin Chinese Cuisine, a small, unassuming shop at the edge of Chinatown in Flushing, Queens.

By most accounts, the Chinese cuisine in Flushing is the most authentic in the city. Far from the tourist-choked streets of Mott & Canal in lower Manhattan, the restaurateurs of Flushing are Chinese folk cooking for Chinese folk. Here, Mandarin is the standard language, and with few signs or menus in English, navigating the food scene can be a daunting challenge. Fortunately the New York Times recently published an eater’s guide to Flushing, and armed with this knowledge Uptown Girl and I took the number 7 train into the heart of Queens.

She says:
Having never been to China, I imagine it's somewhat similar to Flushing – crowded. As soon as we exited the subway station, we were pushing our way through crowds and being jostled in turn as we tried to locate the food stalls the article had identified as worthy. Admittedly, this wasn’t a very original idea… we saw several other couples carrying the same newspaper article and looking completely lost. One of these couples even had the audacity to ask to see our article, as they had left theirs at home!

We made several stops, sampling delicious shrimp pancakes, fried wontons, and the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had. Our last stop was Yipin, a spare little restaurant with tile floors and four small tables where strangers sat together, huddled over large noodle bowls. The cold sesame noodles we requested took forever to make, but how could we be irritated at the old lady who kindly took our order or the single cook busily boiling and straining noodles behind the counter?

He says:
I regret never having cold sesame noodles before since I have no basis for comparing Yipin’s to other restaurants. It’s a moot point, though, since this dish is like nothing else I’ve ever had. The noodles are thick with the perfect blend of chewiness and give. They sit over a rich broth of ground sesame paste, chili paste, soy sauce, and peanut oil served at room temperature, with everything topped with shredded cucumber. The result is spectacular. The sesame paste gives the dish its distinctive flavor and creaminess; the chili paste provides a dose of heat strong enough to take you aback but not enough to keep you away; the shredded cucumber provides a cool, crisp contrast. Everything about this dish was completely new to me, but I also recognize genius when I see it.

She says:
Although it wasn’t love at first taste for me as it was for Downtown Boy, I do agree that the noodles were quite different than anything I’d had before. Personally, my mouth was burning uncomfortably after several bites, but I did enjoy the density of the noodles.

He says:
I agree with the New York Times – these are indeed “paradigm-changing noodles.”



She says:
As far as noodles go, these just aren’t my favorite.



Yipin Chinese Cuisine
40-04 Union Street, Queens, NY 11354
718-939-3489