Layover at Kennedy? Go for Chinese, Korean Food
Discover Ethnic Restaurants and Fresh Dumplings–20 Minutes from JFK
Oct 13, 2009
Get away from the endless boredom of a long layover at JFK airport, and explore ethnic restaurants in one of New York City's most colorful (and yes, safe) neighborhoods, Flushing, Queens. Flushing's many Korean and Chinese restaurants are just eleven miles and a twenty minute cab ride away from Kennedy Airport. The numerous Asian restaurants are beyond authentic; they cater mostly to the local clientele, who come from Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, and South Korea.
It's fun to explore the biggest the biggest “Little Asia” on the east coast. Visitors can find trinket shops, branches of Asian banks, housewares stores and huge Asian supermarkets here.
Or, if Indian or Latin food are cuisines of choice during aJFK layover, travelers can head from Kennedy Airport to Jackson Heights for a meal.
Korean and Chinese Restaurants to Visit During Long Layover at JFK Airport
Here are three top restaurants to make that JFK layover a memorable, not a miserable, experience.
- Kum Gang San Korean Restaurant. This well-known Korean eatery is open 24/7, which is perfoect for travelers moving through different time zones. Good bets are the scallion pancakes (pa jon), galbi and bulgogi, and various marinated fish or meat dishes cooked at your tableside in traditional Korean BBQ style (gui) over a charcoal fire. It's informal, but elegantly so; the decor includes features a waterfall and, in the evenings, live music played on the kayakum, a stringed instrument. (138-28 Northern Blvd. bet. Union and Bowne Sts., 461-0909.)
- Spicy & Tasty. Come here for lunch, or dinner until about 10 pm, and expect very tasty, sometimes excruciatingly hot food. The specialty here is Sichuan cuisine. Large groups might order the communal lamb hot pot, which is cooked at the table. (39-07 Prince St. off 39th Ave., (718) 359-1601.)
- Minni’s Shabu Shabu and Hibachi. Daily 11am-1:30 am. For the uninitiated, shabu shabu is similar to fondue. The waiters will deliver a large pot of delicious hot broth, and skewers of food; customers cook their own at the table. For sides, order fish balls bean curd, udon, oyster, and egg dumplings. It's often busy on weekends, but there are plenty of other eateries nearby. (136-17 38th Ave. off 138th St., (718) 762-6277)
Flushing, a "Little Asia" with Colonial-Era Landmarks, Close to JFK Airport
If there's time to both got to a Chinese or Korean restaurant in Flushing,and also sight-see, it's interesting to take a self-guided walking tour of Flushing's historic landmarks, (lasting about an hour) and to explore contemporary ethnic sites, including an enormous Hindu Temple.
For much of the 20th-century, Flushing was a Jewish and Italian neighborhood. It went into slow decline after World War II. Today, Flushing has the largest concentration of Asians in the United States, outside of California according to the 2000 census. The varied communities of Asian and South Asian immigrants have worked a small economic miracle, transforming Flushing from a down-in-the-dumps neighborhood into one of the New York’s up-and-coming commercial centers.
 |
