The highly anticipated LIC Food Hall finally celebrated its grand opening this past August, offering the neighborhood a diverse array of delicious cuisine to enjoy on the go, from onigiri sandwiches to Vietnamese soup and noodles, Hong Kong comfort food and much more.
The food hall, located at 27-17 42nd Rd, Long Island City, features 10 vendors across its expansive two-floor space. The food hall was inspired by providing a more convenient option in the area for those who prefer to skip a formal sit-down dinner and easily find an array of delicious dining options, whether they’re grabbing lunch during a workday or looking for something simple and quick to take home after a long day.
“I used to work a corporate job in consulting for a long time, and when I came home from work, sometimes, there’s nothing to eat, and when you’re super tired from work, you just want to grab something easy and go home, and the neighborhood has always lacked that kind of option,” said David Lee, who co-manages the food hall and owns HK Marathon Diner, one of the restaurants in the space. “Lately, there have been more and more restaurants [in the area], some of them are more like sit-down, and you might not want that on a typical weekday. I think this food hall fills in that white space there, because you can just come in, grab, and go. It’s very quick and easy, so I think it’s going to attract a lot of traffic and returning customers.”
LIC Food Hall, located within the Star Tower Development, includes eateries such as Marathon HK Diner, specializing in Hong Kong comfort food, Pho Vital, offering Vietnamese cuisine, Gua Gua Bo Bo Chicken, offering Szechuan street food, Taipei Hang, specializing in Taiwanese snacks and street food, and Hunan Noodle, offering a variety of noodle dishes. The venue also features Fat Cat Flatbread, serving authentic Guokui and Shimiaodao, which offers traditional Yunnan cuisine, as well as Duomi Rice Yogurt House, Cozy Tea Loft and U Ni Rice, specializing in Okinawa-style rice balls from Japan. The array of vendors offers visitors the option to visit their favorite eateries or try something new that they’ve never experienced before.
“The food hall has a lot to offer from entrees to snacks to drinks,” said Lee. “We have a total of 10 vendors here, two of them are drink-focused like Cozy Tea and Duomi Rice. A lot of people even come here after dinner, when they walk by, they’ll come just to get a drink, and most of the other vendors offer full entrees-two of them, like U Ni Rice and Fat Cat Flatbread, offer more of a snack.”
While the space is easy to stop in and order food to go, it is just as inviting for those looking to sit down and take their time, with plenty of tables upstairs, as well as a separate downstairs area with even more seating options. The space’s decor and overall atmosphere are another reason to stop by. The entire venue is filled with beautiful decor and artwork, and plenty of modern and sleek designs.
“The whole design is basically like an Asian, Chinese hotel,” said Lee. “They have the brick flooring; it’s like a historic town.”
The new addition has been attracting curious passersby and those looking to explore the diverse and delicious dining options in the area. The variety of vendors fits perfectly into Queens’ food scene, which is known for offering cuisine from all over the world.
“A lot of customers who might not be familiar with these kinds of cuisines find it super interesting, like the whole design and the menu, so it’s a great opportunity to promote different cultures,” said Lee. “That’s what makes New York great, it’s a melting pot of different cultures, and especially Queens, because it’s the world’s most diverse neighborhood in the whole world, so I think it fits in very well.”
LIC Food Hall is open daily from 11 a.m.- 10 p.m. Follow them at @licfoodhall or visit their website.
