Noni and Noni Toki: The Flatbreads That Anchor Bukharian Queens Bakeries

Before plov reaches the table, many Bukharian meals begin with bread. In Queens, that often means noni—thick-rimmed, stamped flatbreads baked in tandoor-style ovens—and the thinner, matzah-like noni toki sold at neighborhood bakeries.

The Forward’s walk through Bukharian Queens stopped at Rokhat Kosher Bakery, describing an unadorned space filled with the scent of freshly baked goods: noni toki, samsa, and chak-chak (a fried honey sweet whose name means “chatter”). Brick Underground’s neighborhood guide similarly pointed readers to kosher Bukharian restaurants and markets along Forest Hills and Rego Park corridors, noting lepyoshka-style breads used to soak up broths such as kov roghan.

Nosher’s survey of essential Bukharian dishes places bread beside rice staples: samsa pastries adapted with non-dairy fats for kashrut, and meals where round Uzbek-style loaves accompany meat-and-potato stews. Food writers describe Bukharian seasoning as subtle—cumin, coriander, turmeric, herbs—letting bread and rice carry the meal’s substance.

For travelers and locals alike, a bakery stop remains one of the most accessible entries into Bukharian foodways: no reservation required, just a warm loaf stamped with the geometric patterns that have traveled from Central Asian tandoors to Austin Street ovens.

Brick Underground’s dining notes also steered visitors toward kosher Bukharian restaurants such as Cheburechnaya, Salute, and Arzu, underscoring that bread and rice dishes are not museum pieces—they are weekday lunch. As younger cooks reinvent plov for weeknights, the bakery loaf remains the constant that ties Forest Hills tables to Samarkand memories.

Sources: The Forward; Nosher; Brick Underground. Image: Bnwwf91 / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.