New York

In Bangladesh, Chinese food is held in high regard, rarely relegated to fast food status and often fused with the local masala. In New York, there are just a handful of places where you can find Chinese food prepared the Bangladeshi way--Sagar Chinese in Jamaica is one of them. Dishes like vegetable hakka noodles and sizzling chicken aren't as explosive as you might expect here, but Gobi masala (curry-battered cauliflower with onions and bird chilies) and chili fish (in a delicious garlic-powered brown sauce with more bird chilies) draw customers from as far away as Virginia. Do not leave without eating dessert, which comes from their sister restaurant around the corner at 168-25 Hillside Avenue. Sagar rasmalai (cottage cheese and flour balls flavored with cardomom and bathed in sweet milk), mango ice cream with actual chunks of mango, and sweet dhodi (yogurt mixed with caramelized sweetened condensed milk with a texture somewhere between cheesecake and mousse) are all spectacular and worth the long journey on the F train.

Photo:  Layne Mosler