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Terrific Burmese Food Down Inside A Jackson Heights Subway Station
By
Scott Lynch
Published Sep 1, 2020
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By
Scott Lynch
Published Sep 1, 2020
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Our latest installment of Quick Bites brings us to a subway station in Jackson Heights for a hidden gem serving up Burmese food.
THE VIBE
You don't go to Yun Cafe for the atmosphere. Located downstairs inside the Jackson Heights - Roosevelt Avenue subway station — where the F, E, M, 7, and R lines all converge — the overall experience of visiting this first-rate Burmese takeout joint features all of the noise, grit, and chaotic energy you'd expect along a corridor in a major transit hub in one of the city's most densely populated neighborhoods.
Yun Cafe is owned by Jackson Heights residents Tin Ko Naing and Thidar Kyaw, who moved here six years ago from Singapore and also operate a small Burmese grocery store nearby. They clearly have taken to the neighborhood, setting down roots and creating community with admirable vigor, and their daughter Yun can often be found behind the counter as well, unless she's on her college Zoom classes. Needless to say, they didn't even consider skipping town when things got tough back in the spring.
There are a couple of tables set up in front of Yun Cafe, near the open-air stairwell; you can wait on your order there, but the better move is to head up the stairs to Diversity Plaza — one of the few open public spaces in Jackson Heights — to enjoy your feast. There are a number of tables and chairs out there, and enough room to set up your own little dining area comfortably distanced away from everyone else.
THE BITES
Yun Cafe sells a lengthy menu of things like coffee and smoothies, paninis (Grilled Turkey, Tuna Melt) and salads. These all may be good, but really, you come here for the Burmese food, a relative rarity even in Jackson "167 languages spoken" Heights.
There's a spectacular Tea Leaf Salad, for example, one of the rowdiest dishes I've had all year, with varying textures and strong flavors from the likes of soy nuts, tiny dried shrimps, tons of garlic, no-joke green chilis, and the tea leaves themselves, which have been fermented long enough to achieve a wonderful funkiness. The Seafood Salad is equally lively, packed with shrimp, squid, salmon flakes, some sort of white fish, and fiery as hell.
Also delicious was the Beef Tripe Soup, the organ meat expertly cooked to a springy tenderness and submerged within a bold, unctuous broth. For dessert (or just as a refreshing treat) get the bowl Snow Ice Char Char, a pile of freshly shaved ice drenched in rose syrup and topped with dried fruits, gummies, nuts, and shredded coconut. The ice didn't hold up well in the August heat, but this dish still hit the spot.
THE VERDICT
Great food from a lovely family. If you travel through the Jackson Heights - Roosevelt Avenue subway station on your way home (on the 7 it's called 74th Street - Broadway) definitely pick up a few things to try for dinner one night. But I'd say Yun Cafe is also worth a special trip, and a picnic in Diversity Plaza.
Diversity Plaza
Yun Cafe is located at 73-05 37th Road, within the Jackson Heights - Roosevelt Avenue subway station directly below Diversity Plaza, and is currently open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (646-920-6723)
Tagged
quick bites
queens
jackson heights
Yun Cafe
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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