Tong Restaurant টং রেষ্টুরেন্ট

Bangladeshi Street Food Cart Tong Opens First Permanent Location in Queens | Eater NY

"Now housed in a permanent Jamaica storefront at 153-35B Hillside Avenue (between Parsons Boulevard and 155th Street), Tong — the Bangladeshi fuchka street-cart phenomenon founded by Naeem Khandaker — opened on July 29 and brings its street-food roots into a 20-seat dining room. I note the decor keeps the cart vibe with a green street-cart illustration on the awning and counter, protruding green corrugated roofing, and hand-painted murals of people enjoying street foods in Bangladesh. The expanded menu adds six labor-intensive items, including the savory fuchka on fire (where each stuffed puff essentially becomes a candle) and a luchi platter whose beef chaap is made from ground beef marinated up to 10 hours, shaped into patties and pan-fried, and served with palm-sized luchi, a saucy dal, and a cucumber-yogurt salad. Drinks and desserts include lemonade; pagla pani, a sweet-sour-spicy mix of 16 masalas; valobashar sharbot (a watermelon beverage); and falooda with small sago pearls in ice cream. After launching six outdoor outposts across Queens and the Bronx and sparking broader interest in Bangladeshi street foods since 2018, Khandaker says running a storefront is “a lot more responsibility,” but the larger kitchen gives him room to experiment as he continues his mission to spread Bangladeshi snacks; Tong is open daily from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m." - Caroline Shin