Rural Restaurant

Does anyone know where they moved to? The restaurant is under new management and isn’t as good.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to eat with his father in this area and we came across Rural Restaurant. They looked like they had good reviews on Unilocal so we decided to eat there and we were not disappointed!
When you first walk in, there are about 6 tables. We went for lunch on a Friday afternoon so there was only one other table occupied at this time. There are signs with other dishes on the wall but everything was written in Chinese so I’m not too sure if those dishes were special or if they were also on the menu.
We decided to get 3 dishes — Cumin Lamb Chops, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, and a Conch dish. If you’ve even been to FuRan Restaurant on Prince St. (also in Flushing), I feel like their style of cuisine are similar. I’m not sure about the Mongolian classification as I’m not as familiar with Mongolian cuisine.
The Conch dish came out first. It was topped with scallions and put over some sliced cucumbers. It was in a soy sauce type sauce which at times became too salty if the conch was swimming in it for too long, but the conch overall was delicious. It had such a great crunch/​chewiness that conch should have. My boyfriend doesn’t really like conch but he really enjoyed this dish!
The Cumin Lamb Chops were so tender and fall off the bone. They were covered in cumin and had such a great flavor to them. Gets a little messy so make sure you have enough napkins to wipe your fingers and mouth off.
The Eggplant with Garlic Sauce came out last and had a great light crisp on the outside. It was mixed in a sauce with bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Eat them quickly so you can get that crispness on the outside. If they sit for too long of a time, they end up getting slightly soggy that takes away from the deliciousness of them. The menu says it’s supposed to be in a garlic sauce but there wasn’t a strong garlic flavoring at all.
Overall I would say the food was great but a little overpriced. We spent $ 60 before tip for 3 people but that could have been cause the conch and lamp chops were part of the Chef’s special. We also had to pay for rice. Granted it was only $ 1 a bowl but for a Chinese place to charge for rice kind of sucked. Regardless would definitely recommend to others and come back for another meal!

The original plan was Hunan Kitchen but my family decided to visit this restaurant given some unique specials and well worth it! This is Northeast Chinese food.
Opened in 2011, surprised to see so little reviews.
Waitress understands English.
Definitely order:
1) Dongbei style pasta (~$ 10) Similar to other mung bean cold noodle dish but also has shredded pork.
2) Cumin Flounder ($ 17.99)
3) Homestyle Beef tendon — if you like the texture, served with minced meat in a delicious gravy sauce great with rice.
Skip:
Fish in Hot Chili Oil ($ 17.99) — not so spicy, better order this at a Sichuan place.
Mongolian Lamb ($ 24.99), not served as a rack and was a little dry/​overcooked.
Veggie dishes well portioned at ~$ 10

Coming with a dining group, I found that I was the only one who wasn’t enthusiastic. If someone asked me for a decent place to get authentic Chinese food in Flushing, then ok. Everyone (except me) was crazy about the cumin flounder and cumin lamb. I will vouch for the eggplant with garlic – that I would get again. The conch dish and the tofu strip dish were bland and uninspiring, and had no fans in our group. The fried squid was similarly met with ‘meh’. The décor is utilitarian, but the prices are cheap. That said, I would try another place over this.

Gotta disagree– in part– with other reviewers. This is NOT Mongolian food. (I lived in Mongolia.) There are too many spices, and too much seafood to be Mongolian. Plus, no one at the place SPEAKS Mongolian. Can you say Sain bain yy?
The FOOD, however– whatever it is– is great. We had the Cumin Lamb chops and the fish with similar heavy seasoning. It was terrific… a rare case of being really spicy, but not really hot. Just a great mix of tastes that will make you wonder where in the world they DO serve this kind of food.
I think Tsing Tao is the only beer they have… There’s nothing on tap.
–Eat Club is a roving group of NYC gluttons. A different restaurant every month.

Very delicious food. A Chinese friend brought me here and I loved their eggplants. Small place but worth eating here. Very affordable too. I’ll visit again soon. I’m from the Bronx and worth the trip to queens.

Most authentic Northern east style Chinese food in town. Must try their cumin flounder, fried pork in scoop, sour cabbage soup with pork belly. So so so yummy! Their owner is also super nice. Every time I went there I was feel like back to my home town.

To make it clear, this is not a Chinese Restaurant; instead this is a Mongolian Restaurant that seriously serves amazing food!!!
I came here last night and my experience was absolutely impressive. With a husband and wife runned business; this small humble looking restaurant can seriously bat home-​runs when it comes to their dishes!
To be honest, all their dishes were delicious! Those that really stood out were their Mongolian Lamb Chops (sooooo good) and their Cumin Fried Flounder.
Their lamb chops were not greasy what-​so-​ever and the home-​made spices that they used to season it were perfect! As for their flounder, it was fried to a crisp but yet the meat was still tender and moist inside. Their Garlic Basil Eggplant is also another dish to note. It was not too oily and the infused flavor from the garlic and basil helped brighten the taste of the eggplant.
This hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant might not seem like a contender to compete with all the other giant restaurants that are lined up along Main Street. However, I’m sure that once people start to dine here, they will continue to keep on coming back as they realize that this restaurant can definitely pack a good punch!!!
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— They serve beer
— This restaurant can only house about 35 people
— Their more authentic dishes are written in Chinese and are plastered on the walls (ask for recommendation)

We followed the Village Voice review (
) out to Main Street and I’m somewhat sad that we didn’t head out there sooner.
We ordered four dishes for three people (obviously this was too much so we had to take the rest home for late night leftovers). The menu is in Chinese and English, and if there are some items that seem confusing to you, the female server/​owner is super friendly and is happy to explain what the dishes are.
I guess since the Voice review, they’ve realized that more non-​Chinese would be arriving so they also have some of their more popular dishes pictured on the window outside. One of our orders, the Mongolian cumin lamb chops, wasn’t on the paper menu but I’m thinking it’s one of their specials.
The prices are incredibly reasonable; most of the food ranges from $ 4.50-$ 14.99, with a few of the more exotic seafood items (such as conch, lobster, sea cucumber) clocking it in the low $ 20s. Best bring a smallish group along so you can eat family-​style and try as many items on the menu as your stomachs will let you.
If I lived in Flushing, I would keep going back till I tried the majority of the menu. It’s just that great.

I bought the Kung Po Chicken over rice for $ 5. I guess it’s the price you pay for b/​c I was disappointed with what they gave me. Rice was ²⁄₃ the carton and the dish itself wasn’t superb, or spicy like they stated it was. I would not come here again.

The first time I went here I ordered off the chinese/​english menu. I had some chicken and pepper dish which was nice, but nothing to rave about. However, the lady at the restaurant was so incredibly warm and friendly and there were specials in chinese on the wall and the chinese clientele seemed to be eating tastier food than I, so I decided I would go back the next day and order something off the wall. Boy am I glad I went back!
The lady was nice enough to translate as best she could the chinese-​only specials. She said one ‘bird’ dish was very popular — I assumed ‘bird’ meant duck. What I got was something like duck buffalo wings. The duck wings were crispy and delicious. They weren’t spicy at all but rather had a very herbal fragrance and taste. I honestly wanted more and more. It was truly succulent. I will definately be making return trips!

Hidden gem! I was shocked to see no reviews about Rural Restaurant– maybe the name scares people away.
This is a Nothern Chinese eatery, appropriately hole-​in-​the-​wall-​like. No frills here, but the service is great! A very motherly lady is happy to take your order and give recommendations.
First, we ordered the La Pi… cold wide cellophane noodles mixed with soy sauce, hot sauce, and some kind of horseradish sauce. Sounds weird right? It’s really good it’s kind of wasabi-​like! There’s also cilantro and cucumber slices. Apparently this is a very authentic norhern chinese dish, and it is definitely unique, a must try.
Then, we got this Sour Soup with Pork… again this sounds weird (not sure that this is the actual name), it’s kind of like a saurkraut soup, but basically it consists of cabbage and pork and some fen si (thin cellophane noodles). We had them add some frozen tofu to this, again this is apparently very authentic and a signature dish of the north.
Lastly, my FAVORITE dish, which I am dying to go back for is this one dish that has roast pork, chinese string beans, potatoes, and wide cellophane noodles. I have absolutely no idea what this is called, but I’m sure the helpful Chinese lady will help you/​me figure out what it is. The Chinese roast pork flavor saturates the noodles and the string beans, make them both super tender and tasty. If you get just one dish here, make sure you get this one!
PLUS, all of this was about $ 30, for 3 people with huge huge huge portions, enough for a second meal the next day.
Anyways, I think this place deserves a lot more hype than it gets. I get that it can be a bit intimidating, since it’s not right near the Main St Flushing 7 train, and… most of the menu is in Chinese. But, grow some balls, grab your friends, and get yourself out to Rural Restaurant!