Flushing doesn’t need another restaurant to prove it’s a food destination—but it just got one anyway. Nong Geng Ji, a Hunan cuisine group that built its name in China, will open its first New York City location in Queens on January 18, bringing unique countryside-rooted flavors to 37th Avenue.
Founded in 2017, the brand has quickly expanded to more than 100 directly operated restaurants across China, Southeast Asia and Canada. Now, Flushing gets the U.S. debut with no franchised shortcuts or watered-down menu, just the same regional cooking that made the restaurant a hit back home.
If your idea of Hunan food stops at “very spicy,” this place is here to widen the frame. There’s plenty of heat on Nong Geng Ji’s menu, but it’s also layered with smokiness, tang and that elusive wok hei. The menu leans into classics that are meant to be eaten the way Hunan families do: piled over rice.
Standouts include pepper pork stir-fry with a biting kick; tea-oil stir-fried free-range chicken; snowflake beef; and a surprisingly comforting signature staple: high-pressure-cooked sweet potato rice. Instead of sleek minimalist interiors, Nong Geng Ji goes earthy, pulling inspiration from agrarian life and Hunan folk culture through Batik textiles, porcelain details and visible ingredient displays…