Flushing Chinatown Food Tour: Street Eats & Local Markets NYC

4.97

(183 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We stepped off the 7 train at Flushing Main Street, and honestly, it felt like I’d landed in another city—maybe even another country. Our guide Li waved us over by a bakery window fogged up from steaming buns. The air was thick with that mix of roasted duck and sweet bread; I caught a whiff of something fried too (turned out to be Taiwanese salty chicken later). We started weaving through crowds—families chatting in Mandarin, shopkeepers calling out prices—and Li pointed out how this Chinatown is where real New Yorkers come for food. Not the touristy spots in Manhattan. It’s bigger here, louder too.

I tried saying “jianbingguozi” when we stopped for those crispy Chinese pancakes—Li laughed at my accent but handed one over anyway. The egg was still warm, the sauce sticky on my fingers. Next was roujiamo—the Chinese pork burger—juicy enough that I had to wipe my chin after every bite. There was this moment in a tiny dumpling shop where an old man folded dough so fast it looked like magic. He smiled when I asked for chili oil (“not too much,” he warned). The noise faded for a second while I tasted it—spicy, chewy, perfect.

We wandered alleys where neon signs buzzed above us and kids darted around holding bubble tea cups bigger than their heads. At one point I lost track of time just watching a woman roll rice noodles behind a steamy glass counter. Lunch ended with bottled water and sticky fingers, everyone grinning like we’d found some secret club. When we walked back toward Roosevelt Avenue station together, full and a little sleepy, I realized I’d barely glanced at my phone all afternoon. That’s rare for me.