78 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JANUARY 17, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
in the bar ��������������
1/17 6-9PM
CELEBRATE 75 YEARS!
��������������������������������
������������������������������������������
������������������������������������
75��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
dining out
Photo by Jenna Bagcal
Enjoy dessert with
Mahjong in Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A new dessert spot has just opened up
on Bell Boulevard in Bayside off ering up a
range of sweets, coff ee and tea with a free
game of mahjong.
Justin Cheng, the owner of Mahjong
Cafe located at 38-36 Bell Blvd.,
recently held the shop’s soft
opening on Dec. 18 and
its grand opening on
Jan. 1, in time
for the start
of the new
year.
Cheng
s a i d
that he
and his
business
p a r t -
ner Kai Lin
were attracted
to the relatively
lower rent prices in
Bayside as compared to other
areas in Queens.
“A lot of places are too popular, like
Flushing-Main Street, the rent is very
high,” said Cheng.
He added that “a lot” of people live and
work on Bell Boulevard, which was also a
contributing factor for situating the cafe
in a location previously occupied by Bell
Formal Tuxedos.
Th e owner and his family moved to the
United States from China in 2007. Cheng
shared that he has been baking for about
three years and was also a barista for “fi ve
or six years” before opening the cafe.
Cheng and Lin make all of the desserts
and drinks on the menu, which features
more “Asian-style” products. Items
include the popular mille crepe cakes fl avored
with green tea, mango and rose,
milk puddings and fruit toast.
Drinks include several milk teas and
coff ees that Cheng learned to
make from his days as a barista.
In the front righthand
corner of the shop is
a cozy mahjong
corner where
c u s t o m -
ers can
sit down
and play
a game.
C h e n g
also took
the time
to write the
rules down for
people who may be
unfamiliar with the game.
Cheng shared that the popular
Chinese tile game is one of his favorite pastimes
and added that winning and losing is
not important when it comes to mahjong.
“I would love to share the Chinese things
with anyone who would love to learn or
would love to know about it,” he said.
Mahjong Cafe is currently opened
Sunday to Th ursday from 11 a.m. to 11
p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 11 a.m.
to midnight.
Check them out on Facebook or
Instagram or call the store at 929-999-
6996 for more information.
Mahjong Cafe on Bell Boulevard in Bayside
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
