Flushing nosh: Eyili Kabab King and Shen Jing

After dim sum I went to the Flushing Library to finish up a proofreading project, but despite all I had just eaten I felt like I had to arm myself with a snack for later (shh, don't tell the librarian). I popped my head into the newly opened Roosevelt Food Court to see if there was something I could pick up and spotted the baked samsas at Eyili Kabab King.

I'd had a samsa before (at Cafe Kashkar in Brighton Beach), but this one was so much better. It was given to me piping hot, and the outer shell was flaky and a little crunchy on the bottom. The lamb filling was fragrant with spices and sweet with a mess of slow-cooked onions. At a dollar each, the samsa was a really good value. But be warned, the lamb meat is definitely funky, so anyone adverse to gaminess should probably steer clear…I do love that funkiness though.

After the library closed, I called up MH to see if she wanted to meet me for dinner and ended up picking up some items from Shen Jing to bring over to her apartment instead. The above steamed buns were both vegetarian: one with mustard greens and thin rice noodles, and the other with cabbage and egg. Both were huge, packed with filling, and tasty.

I also got a sweet bing filled with a maltose and sesame paste, which tasted even better when heated up later in a pan. The outsides got crisp while the sugary filling melted and got gooey, and for a non-sugar fiend like me, the level of sweetness was just right.

With each of these items hovering around a dollar, this snack-ish stuff is a bargain. There's nothing like Flushing for eating cheaply and well.