This is my second repeat post in a row. I did a retrospective post on White Bear and after our recent visit to New York decided it, too, was worth another post.
Joe DiStefano's article "The Absolute Best Chinese Restaurants in Flushing" on grubstreet.com listed White Bear as no. 7 and said the following: "There are 34 items on the menu...You, along with everybody else, are there for only one item though: wontons with hot sauce. Hesitate for a moment and the proprietess will put you in your place with a curt, 'No. 6, sit down.' The thin-skinned white morsels, known as hong you wonton, filled with pork and topped with scorched chile oil and crunchy bits of pickled vegetables are simply amazing."
I found White Bear listed quite a bit in searches on restaurants in Flushing, including a Google search "best chinese restaurant flushing" where White Bear was listed as one of four with a photo of the wontons, at least on my computer.
In a comment on my last post, Judy said, "I'd love to go back." Well we did. The no. 7 train to Main Street in Flushing was shut down several stops short for maintenance and we were taking a bus shuttle into downtown. Judy noticed White Bear from the bus and said, want to try it again. I said, "sure," and we hopped off the bus and went in. I was wrong in my last post, it is item no. 6.
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| This page from an article hangs on the wall: "We like to imagine that, once upon a time, some uninitiated guy came upon White Bear by accident and the wontons blew his goddamn mind. This dingy little place on the main strip is that good." |
The wontons are good. Very soft and moist. I particularly loved the hot oil and the ground up chilies on top. I would have liked more of the oil and chilies.
However, I'm not ready to crown them as the jewel of Chinatown Flushing. There are some lamb dishes that push them down the pecking order.
If you can repeat a review, I can repeat my response: I'd love to go back. I could eat two plates of these by myself. Let's just make it our New York tradition.
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