Noodles and Fried Things at Chinese House – NYC

For months I’ve been hearing about a really good Korean-Chinese restaurant in Queens. Personally, I’m quite happy with Mandarin in Palisades Park, so I never felt a strong desire to look any further. This was apparently not the case for Hannah, however, who texted early Saturday morning about going to Chinese House, or Joonggukjip (중국집), as the restaurant is more commonly called. The following night, we converged at Joonggukjip ready for a feast.

First up was lajogee (라조기; $15.50), fried chicken with red pepper sauce, which although a bit soggy, had a nice smoky heat.

Better was the tangsooyook (탕수육; $16.95), fried beef with sweet and sour sauce, which Chinese House is famous for. In general, I’m not a huge fan of tangsooyook (or anything with sweet and sour sauce to be exact), but I did agree it was very tasty. The fried shell was crunchy and thin, and there was good amount of beef inside. There’s also a version with pork on the menu, but supposedly the beef is better.

Jajangmyun (자장면; $6.95), noodles with brown sauce and pork, was also delicious with lots of whole beans and large chunks of soft potato throughout. And unlike a lot of jajangmyun restaurants, the sauce was mild with a gentle garlic flavor. Chinese House doesn’t use MSQ, but not to the detriment of flavor. The only issue — minor or major, depending on your preference — was there wasn’t too much meat. My mother wasn’t with us, but if she had been, she wouldn’t have been too thrilled. Her greatest joy when eating jajangmyun is picking out the pork. I, on the other hand, have a thing for potatoes, so I get excited when there’s a lot of potatoes, so if you’re like me, you probably won’t mind. If you’re like my mom, yeah, it would be problematic.

For those who like jjambbong (짬뽕; $8.50), translated on the menu as “noodles with chop suey soup,” jjambbong was also solid with lots of seafood and not too much grease. No red oil-slicks here.

Were the rumors correct? Is Chinese House the best Korean-Chinese restaurant in the NY/NJ area? I’d say it’s up there, but whether it’s the best or not is up for debate. But if you do go, one thing for sure, order the beef tangsooyook. That dish, in particular, may be the best in town.

Chinese House (중국집)
149-08 41st Ave (b/n 149th Pl & 149th St; map)
Flushing, NY 11355
718-358-0468