FLUFFY PASTRIES FLOURISH IN FLUSHING BAKERY

Sponge cake is a common pastry which can be a bit chewy or not even make a dent on your teeth, yet alone your jawbone.  Chinese bakeries tend to use egg whites to make the difference. According to Raymond Chen, owner of Maxin, the pastries have less butter and sugar as well. 

I visited one of three Maxin bakeries located in downtown Flushing at 136-76 Roosevelt Avenue.  This particular bakery, known as Maxin’s Café, is the largest of the three and where all the baking occurs.  Chen originally opened a bakery on 41^st Rd, near the corner of Main Street.  That was in the year 2003.  However, that location expanded to become a fast food Chinese restaurant featuring dim sum.  More about that in a later article!

Rush hour is the best time to see the lines of people.  In the morning, it’s a basic grab and go from the constantly stocked shelves of both savory and sweet pastries, many of which are inside of or topping a bun.

Hot and savory steamed buns rest an oven-like stand.  Here you have a choice of: roast pork, pork and vegetable, chicken, Chinese sausage, red bean or just plain.  Baked buns are also available and if you want something heated up…no problem.  

I first indulged in both the roast pork and chicken steamed buns.  They were tasty and had enough “filling”.  However, I prefer the baked ones as I find them less “doughy”. 

One of the biggest sellers is a box of almond cookies that are not the large ones with the almond in the middle.  Instead these “egg white” cookies are small with a sugar glaze and chopped almonds on the top. 

My taste buds were quite surprised when I introduced my teeth and tongue to the cheesecake.  There are two kinds. One rests inside a sponge cake bun that has a hint of lemon. The other was a square of a whole cake, sponge at bottom, lemon flavor.  Quite creamy, too.

I normally nix a Napoleon.  It was the combination of the flakey pastry and cream done their way that had me eating it layer by layer.  

Being steps away from the entrance to the #7 line, Chen told me breakfast grabbing tends to be a cup of coffee and a sandwich.  Not only do they make buns, white bread and whole wheat bread is baked in these kitchens.  Quick sandwich of perhaps scrambled egg and tomato, or turkey to take to work. A bun and pastry for lunch.  Another line forms in the pm as people stop in for a variety of pastries to take home for dessert. 

Sponge cakes come in whole or thick slices with various flavors such as banana and chocolate chestnut. Red bean pastries are always available.

A glass case holds another group of pastries where you can purchase a whole cake.  Here is where you get your drinks of various flavored teas and smoothies.  With the Lunar New Year approaching on February 8, expect some special cakes made from sweet rice, that come in four flavors which can be either sweet or savory.  

The other locations are: 134-24 40^th Rd. and 37-02 Main Street.  Oh, I must not forget the square of chocolate cake to go.  Another unexpected and satisfying to a chocoholic.  Went perfect with a glass of Ronnybrook Farm milk!!

SHEN YUN AT LINCOLN CENTER

Have you heard of the China known as “The Celestial Empire?” Ancient myths and legends throughout history record that the Middle Kingdom was continually guided by celestial beings. Traditional Chinese culture attributes all aspects of its civilization to the heavens, including its script, medicine, attire, music, and classical Chinese dance.

It is this tradition of divinely inspired culture that Shen Yun Performing Arts will be presented at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theatre April 18 to April 22. Shen Yun has toured the world for five seasons, sharing the beauty of this lost culture through classical Chinese dance.

Classical Chinese dance is one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. Dynasty after dynasty, it was passed down among the people, in imperial palaces and ancient plays. Thousands of years have refined it into a distinctive dance system embodying traditional aesthetics.

One of the strengths of classical Chinese dance is its expressivity. It can vividly depict a wide range of emotions and portray any cherished virtue— righteousness, loyalty, benevolence, and tolerance. It can be masculine and vigorous, soft and graceful, somber and stirring, playful and humorous.

Such range is achieved through bearing and form. Bearing describes the physical expression of one’s inner spirit. Spirit leads to movement, thus bearing leads to form.

Form refers to Chinese dance’s external appearance—hundreds of unique movements and postures. An accomplished performer makes them appear effortless, but they require a perfect coordination of the entire body that takes years of rigorous training. A dancer’s every cell—from toes to fingertips, from the angle of the head to the direction of the gaze—must be in perfect harmony.

Classical Chinese dance also has an extensive array of techniques—jumps, spins, flips, aerials and other very difficult tumbling moves. These supplement and enhance the dance’s expressive powers while adding vigorous physicality.

And yet, classical Chinese dance is still mostly unfamiliar to the West. But that is quickly changing. Shen Yun is the world’s premier Chinese music and dance company; promoting an authentic form of classical Chinese dance is part of its mission. Based in New York, Shen Yun is very different from companies coming out of China.

“With Shen Yun, we use classical Chinese dance in its purist form, we don’t mix in modern, contemporary, ballet, and other dance forms until you no longer know what you are watching,” says choreographer Vina Lee. “Authentic classical Chinese dance can really give the audience an uplifting experience of pure goodness and consummate beauty.”

And with 5,000 years of civilization to draw from, Shen Yun has plenty of source material. Through dance, Terracotta Warriors awaken from the dust, the Song Dynasty general Yue Fei comes to life, Monkey King and Pigsy escape another sticky situation, maidens grace a heavenly palace, drummers shake the yellow plateaus of the Middle Kingdom.

A renaissance of Chinese culture has begun and one of the world’s ultimate dance forms is blazing the path.

Okay, the above is what I wrote in the Queens Times and tonight I had the absolute pleasure of seeing the show. "Prepare to enter a magical world where the good and the righteous always prevail and where beauty and purity have never been lost".

I have to say that although I did appreciate the Chinese history and culture, what it really boiled down to it for me was the entertainment of it all beginning with the digital back drop...because it was just so impressive! I would see people on the digital screen and then they would approach. Just as the one or some would reach the raised platform, the actor(s) would jump up as if they came out from the screen. And then they did the same going back.

Screen dancers would approach from the side and then the dancers entered from the sides of the stage.



The dancers. It was a combination of mostly ballet and some martial arts when it came to the guys. The women were given much flower dancing. It was like watching bouquets of flowers being formed.

Each of the acts were introduced in English and Chinese They all ended in a photographic pose and all were stunningly colorful. The costumes were intricate with vivacious hues unto themselves.

At first I expected Shen Yun to have the performers simply dancing the night fantastic. Lo and behold, there were two singers, tenor Huan Xing and Soprano Haolan Geng.

Loved the orchestra. Both western and Chinese instruments and conducted by a woman!...Wen-Wen Chou. Loved the music!

It looks as though they have added another show here in NYC to extend the short run to Sunday, the 22nd. However, if you miss it in NYC, you may be able to catch it in another city in the U.S. For further information go to www.ShenYun2012.com/NYC