New Korean Place on Restaurant Row

 KUKU Korean, which opened recently on 70th Road (Restaurant Row), looks amazing. They have other locations in Williamsburg and Long Island City. I have yet to try it, but really looking forward to it. If you have, share what you think in the comments below...

Nan Xiang Express Opening in Forest Hills

Soup dumpling establishment Nan Xiang Express will be going in near where Fey Da Bakery is off of Queens Blvd.  

Renwen Opening August 22nd

This new restaurant is located on Queens Blvd. near the corner of 71st Continental Ave. next to Vitamin Shoppe. 

Jade Restaurant Plans to Reopen Soon

Jade Eatery and Lounge in Station Square is planning to reopen in a few weeks, once the construction in Station Square is finished. I saw this news online and was also contacted by one of the blog's readers, Shawn Ball, who said he spoke with Jade's owner today and confirmed it.
The news about Jade is interesting because I've heard both that they were planning on closing for good, and also that they were planning to reopen.
In any case, if they do indeed reopen in a few weeks it's good news. Jade is one of the better pan-Asian restaurants in Forest Hills and is in one of the nicest settings in the neighborhood as well.

Tamashii Red Getting Ready to Open

Many Forest Hillers have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the specialty ramen restaurant Tamshii Red on Austin St. This will be its third Queens restaurant, with others in Long Island City and Astoria. Here's a peek inside, thanks to one of my Twitter followers.

Spy C Chinese Restaurant Opens on Austin

The hostess says this new place, down near Ascan, is Asian Fusion cuisine. It opened on Tuesday. They do not have takeout menus yet. I took a glance at their menu and they had some traditional favorites, like Kung Pao, for example. Here's a look at the interior. I was surprised at how much table space there was inside. Anyway, I haven't tried any of the food yet. Soon. Add comments below if you have already.

Two Excellent Asian Takeout Options on Austin

I just wanted to call everyone's attention to these neighbors over on the eastern portion of Austin St., near Ascan and across from the church: Violet's Vietnamese Shoppe and Xin Taste Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodle. The two shops, which are right next to each other (photo below was taken from inside La Boulangerie), are both excellent additions to the growing number of quality restaurants that have been opening in the past few years in Forest Hills.

Violet's specializes in Vietnamese cuisine. When it first opened it served mostly pastries. But, its owners rightly summed up the situation here in Forest Hills (way too many pastry and dessert places!! Way too few places for excellent takeout food!!) and righted that wrong pretty quickly. Today, Violet's offers a spectacular variety of Banh Mi sandwiches, from pork to chicken to flounder and vegetarian, along with noodle soups, and noodle bowls and rice bowls. It also offers a variety of specialty drinks and bubble teas.

Right next door is the new Xin Taste, which just opened in December. Given how cold it's been, I immediately dived into their noodle soups, but that is just a small part of their menu. They offer a variety of hand-pulled and hand-peeled noodle dishes (see the link for what I believe is an explanation of the difference. Though, if I am wrong about that, please let me know in the comment section below. I have yet to talk with the owners about the difference and get the low-down firsthand.)

In any case, I'm happy to report that the soups I've had at Xin Taste have been just great. When it comes to soups like these - big, filling bowls of noodles, broth and meat  - the standard against which I always judged has been Ollie's in Manhattan. Well, the roast pork noodle soup I've had a few times from Xin Taste comes damn close to that! The pork is tender, sweet and delicious, the broth tasty, the noodles really good, and the portion size just right.

By the way, Xin Taste offers a decent amount of tables so you can also eat in. Violet's also does, but if I recall, not as many tables.

I'm looking forward to delving further into the menus of both of these excellent additions to the Forest Hills food scene.

Xin Taste's menu