Flushing - Main Street (7)

The biggest Chinatown in the city, catering to Chinese people more than tourists (at least relative to the more visitor-oriented Chinatown off Grand St in Manhattan). Throngs of people gather here for the produce markets, sidewalk spice and clothing stalls, lotto stands, cell data hookups, bakeries, and all sorts of stores offering Chinese cultural wares. Western influence seeps in, with a Popeyes and giant Duane Reade right outside the station. Tall, thick brick apartment buildings surround the periphery.

If you can’t read Mandarin, it will be hard to navigate the signs, or even know the name of the restaurant you pick. However, commerce transcends language, and it’s a delight to weave through shops and cafes, little and big. Good food is yummy whether you know what it’s called or not.

Right outside a subway station exit

Because it’s New York, other cultural influences seep into Chinatown’s boundaries, and that’s how I found my first Chinese-oriented synagogue.

The Free Synagogue of Flushing

If you walk southeast for about 10 minutes, you’ll see the landscape shift from East Asian to South Asian, with sari-clad women on the sidewalk marking the change, often coming from the Ganesh Temple. The temple is free to visit (you have to take off your shoes, no photo/video allowed), and I recommend trying the Temple Canteen in the basement for a proper South Indian meal, with prices that have staved off inflation.

Your dining pals in the Temple Canteen, the food hall in the basement of the Ganesh temple. 

If you go straight south from the station, you’ll get to the Queens Botanical Garden!

What did I miss? I’m guessing quite a bit - someone who is more familiar with Chinese culture is likely to be able to give more specific recommendations. Scroll past the pictures and drop your tips in the comments!