Then & Now: Downtown Flushing, Queens, NY

Then:

Sometime in 1999. I was in high school and primarily knew my home borough, Queens, via MTA bus routes I could take with my student MetroCard (RIP). Most of the time, I took the bus with my friends to Downtown Flushing to study at the then-new Flushing Library. When we weren’t studying, we went to the Gap, Wendy’s or Morning Glory1 to look at the latest Blue Bear and Babu stationery (the pre-bubble tea2 Millennial fun activity of choice). It wasn’t quite a Chinatown yet. It was just busy.

Over the years, the fast food and American fashion brands vanished and Flushing became way more Asian. By the time I graduated NYU, moved away and moved back home during the 2008 recession, the NY Times declared, “Hey, did you know there’s good Asian food in a place called Flushing??” (I’m kidding, but also, this is how it felt back then; NYT mostly covered everything in Manhattan and Brooklyn hipster trends).

I don’t have many photos from back then because we weren’t as phone photo-happy in the 2000s and the phone cameras weren’t as good yet. But I dug up some random ones that I found on an old external drive. The filter is 2010 BlackBerry phone (RIP).3

In July 2010, I moved to Los Angeles to attend grad school at USC, but of course, I returned to NYC over the years…but mostly Manhattan. In 2018 and 2019, my editor job at a major publication flew me in to work in the office near Madison Square Park. When I was in Queens, I mostly took photos of food in Astoria and other spots while seeing my parents.

Now:

After a few years of my parents telling me about how much Downtown Flushing has changed, I visited them during USC’s Spring Break and they really wanted me to see how much Downtown Flushing has changed.

First of all, forget the New York Times — Downtown Flushing is the subject of thousands of culinary TikToks. So much that one guy made one to say stop posting the same places in Downtown Flushing.

There are countless malls, including Tangram, The Shops at SkyView, and a few I walked through and didn’t know their name. The best boba, ahem, bubble tea shops are located on the same block. And it’s busier than ever.

Here are a few highlights:

Fay Da Bakery

This one’s an old favorite from my childhood and teen years, because there’s nothing my dad and I love more than an Asian bakery filled with savory breads. Fay Da (this one is in the Shops at Sky View) sells my longtime favorite hot dog rolls and a green tea with honey drink that is perfect for a blustery, still-wintery day walking around the Flushing crowds. But watch out if you’re waiting for a seat — the folks who hold court here tend to stay at the tables for hours.

Tangram Mall

The mall that launched a thousand TikToks. The relatively new addition to Downtown Flushing has a Kokoro Cat Cafe, a Kura Revolving Sushi restaurant (with robot servers), MeetFresh and enough other bubble tea spots to make my Millennial head spin, and a cyberpunk food hall. More restaurants (!!) will open in the summer.

Xi'an Famous Foods

Xi’an Famous Foods is also in Tangram Mall, but it deserves its own entry. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been to the original Flushing location, but I did learn about it while working for that online publication years ago, which had an office near the Flatiron location. The Spicy Cumin Lamb Noodles were as excellent as always. They also have lamb burgers and an impressive beef soup (pictured).

Molly Tea

Of course, I had to hit at least one bubble tea spot (especially one not in LA). My methodology: According to my TikTok research, Molly Tea and Tea Pulse were the two best ones and they’re located on the same block. Then, I looked around Tangram — everyone carried Molly Tea’s pastel pink cups and Molly Tea itself had a huge crowd there at noon on a Tuesday, so clearly Flushing folks loved it. I braved the crowd to get the Premium Jasmine Milk Tea and it was some of the best Jasmine tea I’ve ever had. Worth the wait.