Tianjin Xianbing
“Golden Mall, but it has an open kitchen and although tiny, the place looks clean.”
“The braised meat is tender and fatty, rolled inside a scallion pancake for about three dollars each.”
“I got the beef roll/burrito thing and it was the best 3 dollar I ever spent.”
Tianjin Xianbing
Take-out: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Amazing find. Huge portions loaded with taste at a crazy price. We split two servings between three people and were full afterwards. The lamb and green squash dumplings were extremely succulent, and the standard pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings were great. Be sure to use some of that chili oil! And get some frozen ones to go.
Compared to the dumplings, the assortment of liangcai (cold plates) may seem a bit pricey but the portions are quite large. We split a portion between pigs ear and mu er (wood ear?).
Nice ladies, great food. Can't wait to come back!
Usually, I wont give comment on Chinese food.
But for outstanding foodstand, I will give my supporting efforts by writing reviews for them.
TianJin XianBing is awesome.
Not only the owner is nice, but also the food is authenticly delicious.
I think the dining quality can prevent people from going but I doubt it is dirty.
Anyway, it is delicious.
For those people who are interested in Chinese food and never be in China, come here, give it a try!
Last year I was too turned off by the awful smell at the top of the staircase to go down to this place. This year it was better, so I went down. It's dirty but a very cool experience. We only had the vegetable dumplings- they were good but not mind-blowing good. The skin/wrapper was thin and excellent. Wish they came with a better dipping sauce rather than the hot sauce and the vinegar.
My guess is the lamp and squash dumplings (or the pork) are the ones to get here.
You have to get past eating in a basement on little fold-up stools that feel like they are going to buckle. Once you do you'll be in dumpling heaven. I highly recommend the special with shrimp, pork, chives and egg. It was the best of all the dumplings we tried. Super fresh, inexpensive and tasty!
For $4, you get a plate full of jiao zi which is good for a meal for yourself or to share as an appetizer with 7 other people.
Now, I'm not usually the one to dive first into a review and say how cheap it is but not only is the food super cheap, I would've gladly paid twice that amount for the quality and taste of it.
The service was great and helpful and if you spoke some Mandarin, they'll be extra accommodating, plus they'll be aware not to say shit behind your back or to your face if you didn't understand.
I digress. There's really no space here as this basement is shared with a few other eats and the stools and bar table is short. So you'll be best off standing and eating your food or take it outside.
My biggest gripe is for a Tianjin spot, I had hoped they served gou bu li bao zi, which is a specialty from Tianjin and something that I do really enjoy eating. Oh well…
Price: Super cheap
Okay, Im still not sure if I was in the right place but finally found the spot that had the beef wrapped in a scallion pancake. I had my YELP pictures out and thanks to some friendly New Yorkers they helped me find Tianjin Xianbing. However, after rereading yelp reviews I am not sure if I went to the correct booth. I went to the booth outside right on Main Street and ordered the scallion pancake w/ beef roll. It was too greasy and I didnt like the flavor of the beef. I loved that it was affordable and easy to eat on the go if you had to but I would have to pass on this one.
There are a lot of things about Golden Mall that can make some turn away. This itty bitty stall in the basement turns out some fine dumplings. On a day when there was plenty of heat outside and in these soft little pillowy balls of goodness stuffed with lamb and squash (#2) were irresistible and a total bargain at $5 for a dozen. Paired with the pepper sauce, some soy and garlic they were more than enough of a meal for one. I decided to avoid the "build your own" ingredients, sticking with a proven choice. Heavenly. Yes, the Golden Mall is hot, sweaty, dirty in places and run down, but personally I find a lot of charm in the place, and the people working this business couldn't be nicer. Highly recommended if you'd like a great meal at a cheap price and don't mind a wacky ambiance!
I would have never known about this place, but fortunately I was with some Taiwanese parents who took us to all the hole in the walls they knew in Flushing.
Get the Niu Rou Xian Bing (Beef). It tasted delicious even after microwaving. The filling is addicting.The savoriness is so worth all the grease and cheap to boot, because food in Flushing is cheap. We also tried the Jiu Cai He Zi (Chives), which wasn't as great as the Niu Rou Xian Bing. It needed more chives/egg and less noodles.