For some, in a borough where people speak in 140 tongues, during the overnight hours some of the city is still wide-awake. Italian food, burgers or plain bacon and eggs just don’t tempt the palate.
With the widespread popularity of Asian cuisines and the burgeoning Asian populations, the number of restaurants offering such fare has skyrocketed – but most of them close relatively early.
A handful, however, combining Korean and Japanese menus are “24 hour” establishments, mostly in Asian neighborhoods.
Arguably the pioneer among these all night Korean-Japanese BBQ/Sushi Bars has been in Queens – Elmhurst, to be exact (although many consider it to be Jackson Heights) – for more than a generation.
Chung Kiwa Korean Restaurant (the “-Japanese” disappeared when the original sign was replaced some years ago) stands at 40-06 74th Street, just off the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, Broadway and 74th Street.
In the mid 1970s, when the Italians and Jews who had followed the Irish and Germans to the neighborhood were following them out of it, the Bauhaus, a German-styled bar, closed its doors.
The high ceiling allowed for the exhaust ductwork connecting the hoods over the tables, each equipped with a gas burner for Korean-style BBQ.
Over the sushi bar up front and the awning outside, simulated tiles gave the place its name – Chung Ki-wa means “tiled roof” in Korean.
It’s a significant transportation hub, with the No. 7 train rumbling above, the E, F, G, R and V trains below – and six bus lines running past or from the street level terminal.
The odd angles of the streets and structures, rumblings from above and below and dubious-looking characters milling about give the area an eerie, “sketchy” feel in the wee hours of the night.
At those hours, when a remarkable number of people, mostly Koreans nowadays, find their way there, the neat grid of tables, floor tiles, exhaust hoods and the bright lighting form an oasis, where it’s always dinnertime.
The finance and banking workers coming home from a “day” of business with other parts of the planet and youths seeking a meal after a night of clubbing can also be found in similar, more upscale places in Flushing and parts east.
Chung Kiwa, being more central, attracts a specialized group – even from Manhattan.
Some Korean groceries that are “Mom and Pop” shops are also open all night. When families leave the store with the young men who restock the shelves, polish the apples and the like, some head here rather than having mom cook.
A few hours later, when pop relieves the boys at the store, some of them gather here after work. It’s a situation that’s worked well for over 30 years.
There are slack times. About 12:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, only one couple was found having dinner and the staff was either tidying up or prepping.
“You just missed the owner; she went home about 20 minutes ago,” said Yun Ok, a slight woman with an even more slight command of the English language. Ok, a 10 year veteran, said it had been slow all night. “Maybe later,” she shrugged before deftly filling in as Sushi chef.
Sure enough, some time later, a couple, obviously dressed for the nightclub scene, giggled their way through the door and to a table near the back.
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In honor of The Queens Courier’s 24 years of serving you, our readers, and the communites you live in, we bring you a look at 24-hour Queens. We shadowed some of the people who work in and watch over the borough through the night, and, in addition, we have listed the places that you can go before the sun comes up if you need gas, feel like bowling, or get the munchies.
Read our other 24-Hour Queens Features by clicking below:
