Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is a Sichuan dish of soft silken tofu cooked in a sauce of fermented black bean paste (豆豉), chili bean paste (豆瓣酱), ground pork (sometimes pork and beef), Sichuan peppercorn (花椒), and sesame oil. The defining sensations are mà (numbing from Sichuan peppercorn) and là (spicy from chili). It is served in a bowl over rice. In Flushing Sichuan restaurants, the authentic version uses significant Sichuan peppercorn, which produces a distinctive tingling numbness on the tongue and lips.

What is hand-pulled noodles (la mian) in Flushing?

La mian (拉面, hand-pulled noodles) are noodles stretched and pulled by hand to order. In Flushing, you can find them at specialized noodle stalls, often associated with Lanzhou beef noodle soup (兰州牛肉面, Lánzhōu niúròu miàn) — clear beef bone broth with sliced beef, hand-pulled noodles, chili oil, and daikon. Watching the noodle-maker stretch the dough is part of the experience. The noodles are cooked fresh for each order, giving a chew and texture distinct from dried or extruded noodles.

← Guides By Ray Lei Published 2026-11-14

What to order at a Flushing Chinese restaurant

Q: What type of Chinese food is in Flushing?

Flushing, Queens has restaurants representing a wide range of Chinese regional cuisines: Cantonese dim sum and roast meats, Shanghainese soup dumplings and braised pork, Sichuan spicy noodles and mapo tofu, Dongbei (northeastern Chinese) dumplings and cold dishes, Fujianese seafood-heavy cooking, and Taiwanese night market snacks. The Golden Mall and New World Mall food courts contain stalls from multiple regions. The restaurant diversity in Flushing is significantly greater than in Manhattan's Chinatown.

Q: What are xiaolongbao and how do you eat them?

Xiaolongbao (小笼包) are Shanghainese soup dumplings: thin-skinned steamed dumplings filled with minced pork and a hot pork gelatin that melts during steaming, creating a soup-filled interior. To eat safely: pick up a dumpling with chopsticks or a spoon, place it in a spoon, bite a small hole in the skin, let the soup cool slightly, then drink the soup and eat the dumpling. Biting directly will cause hot soup to burst outward. The standard dipping sauce is Zhenjiang black vinegar with thin-sliced ginger.

Q: What is dim sum and how does ordering work?

Dim sum (點心) is a Cantonese meal of small steamed, fried, or baked dishes traditionally served with tea (yum cha). Common items include har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (BBQ pork buns), cheung fun (rice noodle rolls), turnip cake, and egg tarts. In Flushing dim sum restaurants, you either check items off a paper order form brought to the table, or order verbally from a staff member. Some traditional restaurants use roaming cart service where servers push carts of dishes past your table and you select directly.

Order soup dumplings (小笼包) at any Shanghainese restaurant, mapo tofu at a Sichuan spot, and hand-pulled noodles (拉面) at a Dongbei or Lanzhou stall. Flushing covers Cantonese, Shanghainese, Sichuan, Dongbei, Fujianese, and Taiwanese cuisines — look at the restaurant name and the script on the menu to identify the regional style before you order.

Flushing's Chinese food landscape

Flushing, Queens is one of the most concentrated and regionally diverse Chinese dining destinations in the United States. Unlike Manhattan's Chinatown, which is predominantly Cantonese and Fujianese in character, Flushing has significant representation from Shanghainese, Sichuan, Dongbei (northeastern Chinese), and Taiwanese cuisine in addition to Cantonese dim sum restaurants.

The key to ordering well in Flushing is identifying the restaurant's regional style before sitting down. A Cantonese restaurant will have roast ducks in the window, a dim sum menu, and dishes like congee and stir-fried vegetables with oyster sauce. A Sichuan restaurant will advertise fish-fragrant shredded pork, dry-pot dishes, and mapo tofu. A Shanghainese restaurant will prominently feature soup dumplings and lion's head meatballs. Reading the name in Chinese often gives a direct region indicator: 四川 (Sìchuān) = Sichuan, 上海 (Shànghǎi) = Shanghai, 东北 (Dōngběi) = Northeast China.

The food courts in the basement of New World Mall and in the Golden Mall on Main Street contain dozens of single-dish stalls representing many of these regions in one location, making them an efficient way to sample broadly.

Essential Flushing dishes by regional style

Dish	Chinese name	What it is	Regional style
Soup dumplings	小笼包 (xiǎolóng bāo)	Thin-skinned steamed dumplings with pork filling and hot soup inside; eat from a spoon to avoid burning	Shanghainese
Mapo tofu	麻婆豆腐 (má pó dòufu)	Silken tofu in a spicy, numbing sauce of chili bean paste, fermented black bean, and ground pork	Sichuan
Hand-pulled noodles	拉面 (lā miàn)	Fresh hand-stretched noodles in beef bone broth with sliced beef and chili oil (Lanzhou style)	Dongbei / Northwest Chinese
Pork and chive dumplings	猪肉韭菜饺子 (zhūròu jiǔcài jiǎozi)	Boiled or pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and Chinese chives; staple of northeastern Chinese cooking	Dongbei (northern Chinese)
Peking duck	北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā)	Lacquered roast duck with crispy skin, served with pancakes, hoisin, cucumber, and scallion	Northern Chinese / Beijing
Braised pork belly	红烧肉 (hóngshāo ròu)	Fatty pork belly braised in soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar until gelatinous and deeply savory	Shanghainese
Shrimp dumplings	虾饺 (xiā jiǎo / har gow)	Translucent-skinned steamed dumplings filled with whole shrimp; the benchmark dim sum item	Cantonese dim sum
BBQ pork bun	叉烧包 (chā shāo bāo)	Steamed or baked bun filled with sweet-savory barbecued pork	Cantonese dim sum
Spicy cold noodles	凉面 (liáng miàn)	Cold wheat noodles dressed with sesame paste, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn, vinegar, and soy sauce	Sichuan
Lion's head meatballs	狮子头 (shīzi tóu)	Large, tender braised pork meatballs in a light broth with napa cabbage; a Shanghainese banquet dish	Shanghainese / Jiangsu
Scallion pancake	葱油饼 (cōng yóu bǐng)	Layered pan-fried flatbread with scallions, often flaky from the layering of dough with oil	Northern Chinese / Taiwanese
Turnip cake	萝卜糕 (luóbo gāo)	Pan-fried cake made from shredded turnip and rice flour, golden outside and soft inside; a Cantonese dim sum classic	Cantonese dim sum

How to eat soup dumplings

Xiaolongbao (小笼包) contain hot soup inside the skin. The standard eating method in Shanghainese restaurants is:

Pick up one dumpling with chopsticks — hold it by the pleated top, not the body, which may break.
Place it in a ceramic spoon.
Bite a small hole in the side of the skin to let steam escape.
Drink the soup from inside the spoon.
Dip in the dipping sauce (usually Zhenjiang black vinegar with thin-sliced ginger) and eat the remaining dumpling.

Biting directly into an intact xiaolongbao will cause the hot soup to burst. The soup is served significantly hotter than the temperature of the visible food suggests. Allow it to cool for a moment before drinking.

Navigating a Flushing food court

The food courts at New World Mall (basement) and Golden Mall (40-09 Main Street) each contain 10–20 or more individual stalls. Each stall serves one or two specialty dishes. Payment is typically per stall — there is no central register. Menus are posted above the counter, usually in Chinese with photos; some stalls have English translations. Pointing at a photo and holding up fingers for quantity is a universally understood ordering method.

Peak times are weekend lunch and dinner, when seating is competitive. The food quality at these stalls often matches or exceeds the sit-down restaurants nearby. Prices are significantly lower than comparable dishes in Manhattan.

Frequently asked questions

What type of Chinese food is in Flushing?

Flushing has restaurants representing Cantonese, Shanghainese, Sichuan, Dongbei (northeastern), Fujianese, and Taiwanese cuisines, among others. It is one of the most regionally diverse Chinese dining destinations in the United States. The food courts at New World Mall and Golden Mall concentrate many regional styles in one location. Identifying the regional style of a restaurant before ordering helps you understand the menu and choose dishes the kitchen does well.

What are xiaolongbao and how do you eat them?

Xiaolongbao (小笼包) are Shanghainese soup dumplings — thin-skinned steamed dumplings filled with minced pork and hot soup (formed by melted pork gelatin during steaming). Place one in a spoon, bite a small hole to release the steam, let the soup cool briefly, drink it, dip the dumpling in black vinegar and ginger sauce, and eat. Biting directly causes the hot soup to burst. The standard serving is 6 or 8 per bamboo steamer basket.

What is mapo tofu?

Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is a Sichuan dish of silken tofu in a sauce of fermented black bean paste, chili bean paste, ground pork, Sichuan peppercorn, and sesame oil. The two sensations are mà (numbing from peppercorn) and là (heat from chili). In a Flushing Sichuan restaurant, the authentic version will produce a noticeable tingling numbness on the tongue and lips from the peppercorn. It is served over rice. Order it if you want to experience Sichuan's numbing-spicy flavor profile.

What is dim sum and how does ordering work?

Dim sum (點心) is Cantonese small-plate dining traditionally paired with tea (yum cha). In Flushing, Cantonese dim sum restaurants use a paper check-off order form, verbal ordering, or traditional roaming carts. Classic items include har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork-shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (BBQ pork buns), cheung fun (rice noodle rolls), turnip cake, and egg tarts. Dim sum is a morning and afternoon service (typically until 3 pm); it is not served in the evening at most traditional Cantonese restaurants.

What is la mian (hand-pulled noodles) in Flushing?

La mian (拉面) are noodles pulled and stretched by hand to order. In Flushing, the most common form is Lanzhou beef noodle soup (兰州牛肉面): clear beef bone broth with hand-pulled noodles, sliced beef, chili oil, daikon, and scallion. The noodle width can be chosen at some stalls (round, flat, extra-wide). The noodles are made fresh for each order. This is one of the most popular single-dish stall items in the Flushing food courts.