2 Forest Hills Spots Make Michelin List As Best Cheap Eats In NYC

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Two Chinese restaurants in Forest Hills have remained on the Michelin-vetted list of New York City’s best spots for cheap eats — no small feat during a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the restaurant industry.

This year’s Michelin Bib Gourmand guide details the 131 best affordable dining options in New York City and Westchester according to renowned Michelin inspectors, including Memories of Shanghai and Spy C Cuisine in Forest Hills.

The Bibs were released on Tuesday, marking Michelin’s first return to the city since the start of the pandemic. The Red Guide is slated to release their more well-known starred selections Thursday.

Restaurants that make it on the “cheap eats” list are all joints where the Michelin inspectors can supposedly order a full meal — two courses and a glass of wine or dessert, not including tax and tip — for under $40 per-person, though as in years past this would be challenging at some spots on the list.

The two Forest Hills eateries that were awarded Bibs this year are among 18 standout dining options in Queens, seven of which are newcomers to the list.

Both Chinese restaurants are located on Austin Street — what multiple sources have dubbed the heart of Forest Hills’ so-called Chinatown.

Spy C Cuisine, a Sichuan restaurant located at 72-06 Austin St., received a glowing review in the New York Times in 2018, followed by its first Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2020. Among reviewers’ favorite dishes this year are the stir-fried cumin lamb, fish sauteed with fermented black beans, and spicy cucumber salad, which they write is reason enough “to travel across town.” The spicy cucumber salad, created by Spy C Cusine’s Chef Thomas Lei, is also what initially catalyzed Chef Thomas Lo to join the restaurant’s operation. This past year Lo, who is both an anesthesiologist and chef by profession, gained notoriety on social media for working as a frontline doctor and helping to keep his restaurant afloat.

Down the street at 68-60 Austin St. is Memories of Shanghai, a family-owned and operated dim sum restaurant, which (in the before times) reportedly went through as many as 50 orders of soup dumplings per day. The Michelin reviewers also recommend ordering the shop's pan-fried buns, scallion pancakes, and, in colder months, spicy beef noodle soup. “The limited menu speaks to the narrow focus of this humble storefront, and no matter the hour, you can always spot a chef in the back carefully folding dumplings,” states the guide.

Here's the full 2021 NYC Michelin Bib Gourmands.