Gastropub Gourmet: Arang's KJD

I used to think of rice cakes (떡, or dduk) as tofu’s chewier cousin. Bland and painfully uninspiring. But Arang*, a Korean gastropub located in Flushing at 161-16 Northern Boulevard, casts doubts on this worldview: 

Kimchi Jaeyook Ddukboki.
$17 for half portion.
$25 for full portion (pictured above). 

—In seriousness, the "KJD" (김치제육떡볶이와 치즈, or kimchi jaeyook ddukboki) takes the “cake” for certifying that rice cakes can be the crowning achievement of a menu with other formidable cheesy and/or carnivorous offerings, two of which are pictured below.**

$9 Kimchi cheese fries (gimchigamjatwigim, or 김치감자튀김).

Beef tempura meatballs (sogogitwigim, or 소고기튀김).
$10 for half portion (pictured above).
$19 for full portion. 

This shouldn’t surprise many Manhattanites. Before Arang set up post in Flushing, the KJD made up 70% of menu sales at the original 9 West 32nd Street Arang location for going on eight years.

And you might very well be converted too; that instant you bite into your first #kimcheese-y pillow. Each slightly-oversized puff of dduk sits in a sizzling bed of cheese, kimchi, and pork. Yet, the dduk retain all of their exquisitely airy texture. 

Magic.

Heavenly rice cakes aside, there's plenty else worth savoring at Arang. Service couldn’t be better; Sunny expertly guides you through the menu to best pair up your day’s cravings with the menu’s offerings.

From left to right: Helen, Sue Song, and Sunny Lim.

As for décor, this establishment is nothing short of a labor of love. Someone tasked each and every wall fixture, choice of lighting and color temperature, accent material, and piece of tableware a role in creating the moody interior whole.

First floor, or "gastro" level.

Second floor, or "pub" level.

And let’s not forget the alluring stairway lady creature seguing your party between floors or bidding you adieu on the way out:

"Hello. See you."

May Flushing Food suggest: Did you read the first four paragraphs?! While Arang is a gastropub, staff note that patrons will come here just for the dduk. 

Dumpling Rising

Want handmade dumplings but not in basement settings? Try Dumpling Galaxy (42-35 Main Street, on first floor of Arcadia Mall). This newly-minted, above-ground space delivers the same caliber of made-to-order juiciness you’ve come to expect from Flushing-famous Tianjin Dumpling House.*

But don’t take Flushing Food’s word for it. New York Times and Times Ledger have already featured Helen You’s Dumpling Galaxy.

Dumpling Galaxy’s modern, fiery-red décor belies the menu complexity.**

Let’s say you order pork dumplings. Your pork dumpling options include cabbage, eggplant, lotus root, cucumber, green squash, string bean, pickled veggies, mushroom, hot peppers, bamboo shoots, bitter melon, and even pumpkin!

Flushing Food settled for some simple $6.95 pork and chives (豬肉韭菜, or zhūròu jiǔcài) dumplings:

Before the dumplings arrived, Flushing Food started out with $7.95 green bean noodle with assorted vegetables (大拉皮, or dà lā pí):

For veggies, our server recommended trying the $14.95 sautéed black wood ear mushroom with Chinese yam (木耳山藥, or mù'ěr shānyào).

Finally, we feasted our eyes and bellies on some $18.95 crispy sweet and sour fish (松花魚, or sōnghuā yú).

May Flushing Food suggest: ordering online if you’re spending under $30 to avoid paying for parking.