FiDi's New Golden Mall: What To Eat There Now
Some of Downtown's best noodles, at the very least
The influence of Flushing’s Golden Shopping Mall on the food scene in the first decade of this century was incalculable. Located at the corner of Main Street and 41st Road, it was founded in 1990 as a Chinese discount mart, peddling brooms, kitchenware, cheap undergarments, and plastic furniture. But downstairs a frowzy food court slowly developed. By 2005 there were nine stalls that presented regional Chinese cuisines in a new light, and it attracted the attention of enthusiastic Chowhounds and other foodies. Soon, celebrities like Anthony Bourdain, Jonathan Gold, Eric Ripert, and Jamie Oliver were trooping downstairs, camera crews in tow.
There was a Sichuan stall that sold offal and pickled vegetables; one of the earliest Lanzhou hand-pulled noodle establishments; a counter from Tianjin that vended handmade dumplings and thick garlic sausages that seemed positively Polish; and a first outpost of Xi’an Famous Foods, which introduced us to Shaanxi noodles swimming in chile oil and Chinese pita burgers for the first time.
The downstairs gradually became more decrepit, as flashier food courts and entire restaurants specializing in these same cuisines emerged. By 2022 Golden Shopping Mall had gone kaput. But two years later, the brand was revived as a slicker destination in the same basement, still with interesting regional fare. From Guizhou came a stall selling beef tripe soup, while at another customers assembled Sichuan hot pots, while still another provided a glorious pig-foot meal from Tianjin.
But that was not the last we were to hear of Golden Mall (the “shopping” part of the name having long since disappeared). A few weeks ago a new Golden Mall was christened at 47 Broadway, a stone’s throw from Wall Street. It occupies the ground floor of a reconditioned 1900 building, with nine stalls strung along a narrow hallway, seven of them currently tenanted.
Upstairs, a video game and claw-machine parlor glows eerily, making this a one-stop entertainment destination. More food stalls are promised for the basement: Joju, the Elmhurst banh mi shop that manages to slip some Korean ingredients into its sandwiches; Mala Panda, doubtlessly a dry hot pot outfit; Ginza Don Japanese Grill; Lou Yau Kee, yet another Hainanese chicken joint; and Prawnholic Collections, selling Southeast Asian noodle stir fries and soups, the same counter already represented at Times Square’s Urban Hawker.
But don’t let the sparsity of its current main floor offerings deter you from visiting. In its early state, plenty of comfortable seating is available, and the prices are lower than they might eventually be. Two of the seven stalls must be rated excellent, and another merely good. Here are my current recommendations.
Lucky Duck House
This stall specializes in Cantonese-style siu laap — including char siu pork and poached chicken — in various assortments, most of them less than $20. The quarter Peking duck ($19.80) is a steal, the skin crisp as a potato chip, the fat expertly rendered, and the flesh dark and slightly sweet. It comes with 10 steamed pancakes, hoisin, and shredded cukes and leeks, making it a good candidate for sharing.
Golden Bull Handmade Noodles
This is the one counter you shouldn’t miss. It’s also the longest, with a noodle maker thwapping long ropes of dough on the counter at one end. These noodles, of uneven dimensions, chewy and soft at the same time, go into seven noodle bowls and soups, of which the best I’ve tried so far is pork zhajiang dried noodles ($13.95), a recipe associated with Shandong and Beijing. The noodles are smothered in a fermented bean paste dotted with pork chunks, producing a rich flavor.
Also memorable, and a great candidate for a lighter meal or snack, are the Chinese sandwiches, wedged into a folded flatbread — not quite the same thing as the Chinese hamburger of Xi’an Famous Foods. The beef sandwich ($5.95) contains lots of sliced beef in a chile jus, and it’s the best roast beef sandwich that I can remember having, better than Salt Hank’s french dip, at a literal fraction of the cost.
Snail Dim Sum
As with all counters at the new Golden Mall, the menu is compact. This place mimics the dim sum parlors of Chinatown with 13 dumplings, buns, and over-rice dishes of an obvious sort. The quality is high and the prices reasonable: $11 for eight steamed pork-and-chive pot stickers, or a bowl of decent wonton soup. Char siu bao is $3, and two almost make meal.
Here are the other four counters currently operating, not recommended
Xing Fu Tang
This Taiwanese bubble tea parlor with nine location in the city specializes in milk teas, fruit teas, and brown sugar boba in a variety of styles, and there are stunt beverages using gold foil, Oreo cookies, and purple ube yam.
Ella’s Candy Street
Bubble waffles, cookies, ice cream, smoothies, and tanghulu — a Chinese street treat of fruit covered with a candy glaze — are the province of this sweets counter.
Zhengxin Chicken Steak
Offering nine versions of its fried chicken, plus french fries, this Guangdong-based chain boasts over 20,000 branches worldwide, making it the world’s largest fast-food chain. The chicken is especially crisp, but its $7.99 flagship spicy chicken sandwich was neither especially good nor a good deal.
Sakara Sushi & Poke
Sushi rolls, chirashi, and poke, displayed in glass cases on the counter — make your own decision as to whether to eat this stuff.
So many fond memories of the original Golden Mall!! That duck sounds amazing!
I work right around there so I've stopped in a few times. as of last week, the candy shop place has changed. there's a lot less candy / ice cream and there is now a guy making jianbings. they're pretty damn good and only 7 dollars. however, the second time I went during the lunch rush it took me more than half an hour for him to make my order because he's got to make them one at a time.