Stop #1: Sagar Chinese

Sagar Chinese is a Chinese-Bangladeshi fusion joint so popular amongst the Bangladeshi community that there are multiple locations in Queens. Unlike Americanized Chinese food, the Bengali version of Chinese food is held in high esteem in Bengali culture. As such, Sagar Chinese has become the place to celebrate special occasions like a birthday dinner or anniversary. The food is priced reasonably in comparison to other high-end restaurants in New York City, as the Bangladeshi community is largely a working-class customer base. During Ramadan, so many families choose Sagar Chinese as a place to break their fast that it can be hard to find a seat if you don’t come early. Source: have been sadly turned away ten minutes before sunset. Sagar Chinese is most famous for their lollipop chicken, chicken drumsticks that are infused with spices and then fried. This delightful meal comes with a spicy mayo sauce that my sister and I fight over.

Stop #2: Mamun's Tutorial 

In Asia, entrance to university is often determined by one exam, which meant that the SAT was one of the only parts of the college admissions process that our immigrant parents understood. The culture of test prep centers is also exported from Asia, with each ethnic group having centers of their own. This test prep center was run by a man from my mom’s ancestral village, chock full of Bengali-American kids. In addition to learning about it through word of mouth, families learned about Mamun’s Tutorial through advertisements in the Bengali newspaper or its sponsorship of community events. For me, going to a test prep center was not just for improving my academics, but also for my social enrichment. Surrounded by other Bengali-American students and tutors, I remember my classes as a special time in my youth where I did not have to worry about being “Meril, the Bengali person.” I was just “Meril.”

Stop #3: Apna Bazaar

In Bangladesh, guavas are as plentiful as apples in America; falling off of trees and fed to cattle. But in America, the fruit is a delicacy, eaten with deep nostalgia as years pass without immigrants and their families being able to visit their homelands. Apna Bazaar, the biggest South Asian grocery market in Jackson Heights, is also the cheapest, offering great weekly deals on fruits and produce. 

One day after SAT prep, I headed to Apna Bazaar to buy some South Asian cookies. There, I saw it. The ever-rare but incredible sale on guavas, making them affordable for the first time that year. I called my mother, telling her the exciting news, and I got clear instructions to stay put. 

An hour and many calls later, she arrived. 

It seems ridiculous to wait an hour for your mother to come to Jackson Heights. But as an American teenager and forever baby in my parent’s eyes, I did not possess the expertise to choose the best guavas to take home. Guavas are also quite heavy, which is why they are priced by the pound, and also is why I had to stay behind to help my mother carry our treasure trove to the subway and back home. 

My parents often talk about how in South Asia children are more subservient to their parents, even going as far to let their parents choose what career they go into. In comparison, I’d rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, my rebellious nature ranging from breaking curfew to solo traveling in a foreign country. But on this particular day, I basked in the knowledge that I had brought my entire family the opportunity to have a small abundance of guavas, proving myself to be a good child indeed. 

Stop #4: Gurung (Tamu) Society

This unassuming building includes the headquarters of the Gurung (Tamu) Society, a nonprofit that acts as the cultural hub for the Gurung people, an Indigenous group from Nepal. The nonprofit hosts events like celebrations of Gurung New Year and annual camping retreats in the summer. It also offers more formalized support to those who have more recently arrived in America. It is also the place where the endangered Gurung language is being revitalized and sustained, through the organization’s language classes, which cater to Gurung people of all ages. 

Stop #4: Om Wok 

Om Wok is an Asian fusion restaurant owned by Tibetan immigrants. Anyone visiting absolutely must try their momos. Momos are a type of dumpling from the Himalayas which have also become popular in the neighboring countries of South Asia. What puts Om Wok on this list is that last year, their momos were dubbed the winner of the annual Momo Crawl in Jackson Heights.This food festival happens every September, with live cultural performances and appearances by local politicians. It’s organized by Students for a Free Tibet, a cause that this restaurant also heavily supports. 

Stop #5: SriSri Radha Krishna Temple

As one learns about the different ethnicities that populate Jackson Heights, it is easy to compartmentalize countries by the majority population. But the SriSri Radha Krishna Mandir, bordering Woodside, stands as evidence to the contrary. Despite how the majority of Bangladeshi people and Bangladeshi-Americans in New York City are Muslim, the SriSri Radha Krishna temple serves the Bangladeshi and Bengali Hindu community. Run by the Sreemadbhad Gita Sangha organization, communications are predominantly in Bengali. Among the many Hindus that call SriSri Radha Krishna Mandir home, one such ethnic group is the Bishnupriya Manipuri community. As their ancestral homelands stretch across the borders of Bangladesh and India, they also speak their own language, one that is becoming increasingly endangered. As modern-day Hinduism as it now exists is a mix of local folk practices and influences from the broader South Asian diaspora, the Bishnupriya Manipuri have chosen SriSri Radha Krishna as a place to celebrate Kangar Pali, a holiday which is unique to their ethnic group. Other localized celebrations that have been brought to SriSri Radha Krishna include Raas Purnima, which is typically confined to the Nabadwip and Santipur regions of India, as well as the Manipuri Indigenous people of Bangladesh. This establishes this mandir as a living testament to the vast religious diversity that exists not just within Bengal, but in the practice of Hinduism as a whole. 

Stop #6: The United Sherpa Association

The United Sherpa Association is in the same building as a Buddhist monastery, living proof of how for the Sherpa people, spirituality is an integral part of community-building. This is reflected in the announcements for the weekly puja (prayer) on the United Sherpa Association website, alongside details for the upcoming cultural New Year celebration. Although the Sherpa ethnic group is internationally recognized for making a living as guides to those looking to summit Mount Everest, in New York City, they work the same jobs as many other immigrants, as cab drivers or childcare providers. Although the latter two professions are less exciting than summiting the highest mountain in the world, they are also much safer in terms of mortality rate and offer a dependable income as well. 

That does not mean the Sherpa community wishes to separate themselves from the mountain entirely. In 2019, they lobbied for the street in which the United Sherpa Association is located to be officially named “Mount Everest Way.” Members of the United Sherpa Association also keep the ancestral climbing tradition alive by participating in climbs hosted by the U.S. Nepal Climbing Association.