Off the Beaten Path: Ming Chan Dong's Giant Kimchi Bun

"Nothing screams glamour more than a gargantuan kimchi-filled bun marked with furrows deeper than a Klingon's forehead."

[Photos: Joe DiStefano]

The awning reads "Oriental Glamour," but the Korean name of this spot is Ming Chan Dong. After a chat with Paulie Sunhine, my dry cleaner to whom I regularly turn for advice on all matters Korean, I'm pretty sure the name roughly translates to many bright appetizers from the East. Indeed, as this Chowhound post shows, there are tons of appetizers and entrees both Northern Chinese and Korean. I stopped by the other day with my heart and stomach set on trying just one: kimchi jjin bbang. After all, nothing screams glamour more than a gargantuan kimchi-filled bun marked with furrows deeper than a Klingon's forehead.

Looks like a dumpling, but it's not. It's a steroidal steamed bun, roughly the size of a baby's head.

After a few bites of warm, puffy bread, the core reveals itself. It's a spicy reddish hash of chopped kimchi, translucent bean thread noodles, and bits of ground pork. (Note the kimchi magma stains on the crust of this planetoid-sized bun.)

Ming Chan Dong charges $1.50 for its hunger-curbing kimchi jjin bbang. Not sure how much Dunkin' Donuts charges for its kimchi donuts, but it's a safe bet MCD's kimchi buns are better, cheaper, and tastier.

Ming Chan Dong

36-24 Union Street, Flushing NY 11354 (map) 718-358-3935

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