TONG_NYC
Bangladeshi restaurant · Jackson Heights ·
Bangladeshi street food cart serving fuchka with tamarind water
Bangladeshi street food cart serving fuchka with tamarind water
"Tong is a food truck in Jackson Heights serving Bangladeshi street food, and it's where you'll find some of the best fuchka in the city. After years of being reliably parked outside of the Duane Reade on 73rd Street, they’ve now expanded with additional locations in Jamaica and The Bronx. Tong's fuchka consists of a wreath of puffed puri that’s been filled with boiled yellow peas and potatoes and topped with raw red onions and shaved egg yolks. Fill each puri with sweet or spicy tamarind water, position your mouth squarely over the aluminum tin, and pop the whole thing in your mouth. If the pani puri didn't break before making it all the way in, congratulations, you've mastered the eating portion of the fuchka experience. You can get a couple other variations of fuchka, including a sweet one, but the original is best. While you’re there, make sure to get some other Bangladeshi street food, like a fruit vorta. Our favorites are the aam and the guava, which are sour and sweet, with some tang from the masala. Order a lassi to reset your mouth in between bites." - Neha Talreja
"This Bangladeshi food truck is always parked outside of the Duane Reade on 73rd Street, and it’s where you should be going to eat incredible fuchka. Each order is served with a wreath of puffed puri that’s been filled with boiled yellow peas and potatoes and topped with raw red onions and shaved egg yolks. There are two other fuchka carts on the street that are also very good, but we’re partial to Tong’s extra sour tamarind water. In case you’re closer to Jamaica, Queens, Tong also has a brick and mortar location there. " - bryan kim, neha talreja, hannah albertine, carlo mantuano
"Tong has a brick-and-mortar location now, but we still prefer the cart at 37th Ave and 73rd St in Jackson Heights. Take some visiting friends here, and get a wreath of puffed puri that come stuffed with peas and potatoes and topped with onions and shaved egg yolk. Tong's Bangladeshi fuchka is the perfect walking-around food, so turn your afternoon into a restaurant tour and head down the street to grab some momos at Nepali Bhanchha Gar, or stop by Los Chuzos for a big stick of chorizo." - Bryan Kim
"On a late-night visit to the Tong NYC cart in Jackson Heights I watched the "bhaiya" crack crispy fried semolina balls, fill them with spiced chickpeas, potatoes, and onion, top them with grated hard-boiled egg, cilantro, and optional green chiles for extra “jhal,” then douse them with tangy tamarind water — the fuchka ($6) is the perfect bite to pop into your mouth in one go." - Eater Staff
"“‘Tong’ in Bengali literally means ‘stall,’” says Islam, of this street cart found in Jackson Heights and Jamaica. Tong, similar to Jhal (although Tong started after, Islam points out), sells Bengali street snacks like fuchka. “It’s similar to the Indian street snack pani puri,” he says, which are made from puffed, crunchy puri filled with yellow peas and potatoes, and topped with raw red onions and shaved egg yolks before pouring tamarind water over the whole bite." - Devorah Lev Tov 1