On a frosty Tuesday afternoon, Flushing Food set out for some spicy remedies at HLY Chinese Cuisine. We had heard that HLY’s cooks hail from Chengdu, the fierily-beautiful capital of Szechuan (also Sichuan).
We sat down near the window to soak in some 2:00 P.M. sunrays. Aside from one rowdy table, HLY was equal parts pristine and tranquil.** The designers had embedded a fish tank in the dividing wall. Tastefully-arranged pictures adorned remaining walls.
Our lunch special meal began with complimentary small bowls of stew beef with potato, and a plate of pickled daikon mixed with celery and carrots. While the daikon dish was a bit on the salty side, the light beef broth was just perfect on flavor:
Following the beef stew and pickled daikon and celery appetizer, we tried two more tasty appetizers from the buffet display. One was Szechuan-style cucumber ($6.50), chopped into perfectly-even rhombuses. We paired this with doupi, which was incredibly tasty:***
For our entrées, we cranked up the heat full blast. First, we dug into some stew beef with potato (only available as a before-4:00 P.M. lunch special for $5.75). Each potato wedge was bursting with chili flavor, prompting me to fan my mouth and chug some tea (in vain).
We also tried a plate of Ma Po Tofu (also mapodoufu; $5.75 for lunch, and $9.95 after 4:00 P.M.). HLY’s version of this Szechuan favorite was your typical mala (numbing spicy) dish, and paired beautifully with plain white rice.
May Flushing Food suggest: asking staff to use less salt if you’re going light on starches. Non-soup dishes here are flavored to be paired with plenty of rice.
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* Respectively, spelled “Ch’eng-Tu” and “Szechuan” in Wade-Giles spelling system.
** http://www.yelp.com/biz/hly-chinese-cuisine-flushing
*** Doupi isn’t printed on HLY’s menus, so specifically request it!
Media credits: Helen Y.
Gadget: Nikon® Coolpix™ AW110
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