FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 10, 2019 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
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Whiskey cos. sponsor DIME Best of Brooklyn Festival
Whiskey lovers rejoice! Johnnie Walker
& Bulleit are on board as the exclusive
spirits sponsors of the DIME Best of
Brooklyn Food & Beer Festival, which
is coming to Industry City on Saturday,
Jan. 26.
Not only will you enjoy unlimited
Brooklyn craft beer, guests can enjoy a
sample of Johnnie Walker Red, Johnnie
Walker Black & Soda and Bulleit’s famous
BLT cocktail along with other variant tastings
during the event. Participating breweries
include Island To Island, Sixpoint,
Coney Island Brewing, Five Boroughs
Brewing Company, War Flag Brewing,
Wartega Brewing, and Brooklyn Brewery.
Pair the brews with food for sale from
Lion City Coff ee, Baked By Dawn, Twisted
Truffl es, MozzArepas, Taste Buds Required,
Oaxaca Taqueria, Dinosaur BBQ Brooklyn,
Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza, Dining With
Bee, Tojo Kitchen and lots more!
To get the party started, DJ Get
Summered will be spinning hot tunes and
there will be break-dancing performances
by Wondrous Studio of Breaking.
Tickets are available at www.
BestofBrooklynFestival.com and start at
$39. Industry City is located at 220 36th
St., Sunset Park, Brooklyn and is easily
accessible from the D and N trains, M14A
and X17 buses. Ample parking is available
to those who wish to drive in.
Whimsical new tea & snack bar opens in Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
When you fi rst walk into Momo Ashi
Tea & Snack Bar in Bayside, you’ll immediately
be greeted by a bright pink wall
adorned with friendly cat and dog illustrations.
On the left most side of the decorative
wall is a light-up sign that bears the
words “Be Pawsitive.”
Th is whimsical world of bubble tea
and Asian snack foods was created by
Fresh Meadows resident and owner Fiona
Cheng, who soft -opened the shop at 40-06
Bell Blvd. this past December.
Cheng and her business partner founded
the original Momo Ashi in Flushing
back in 2017. Prior to opening the shop,
the Taiwan native had a career in design
but later transitioned into the food industry.
“My partner had some business background
so we worked together to do
the research of the recipes and we worked
together to create all of the snack items,”
Cheng said.
Th e eatery is known for its range of
aff ordable teas and snacks popular in
Taiwan and Japan. Aft er experiencing
success at their Flushing shop, they wanted
to open up a second location to reach
more people.
She and her partner had been searching
for a prime location “all around New
York” that would cater mostly to families
and a younger demographic. She shared
that an important factor was fi nding a
place large enough to have a seating area.
“In the Flushing store, that place is
like a take-out place so you don’t have the
nice seating area to enjoy the food, snacks
and everything,” Cheng said.
Th ey heard that the former SweetPea
Nail & Spa storefront in Bayside was
available for rent and decided that the
neighborhood was a good fi t for them.
“We think that people here have an
interest in the product,” the owner said.
Th e bigger location also allowed them
to serve more handcraft ed food, including
“Momo Toast,” a Taiwanese snack made
with thick pieces of white toast covered
in custard, “Mo-Nigiri,” seaweed covered
rice triangles fi lled with fi sh or meat and
their unique “WaMochi” mashup that
combines the texture of crisp waffl es and
chewy mochi.
Photo courtesy of Festival Media Group
According to Cheng, recipe testing
involved some trial and error while she
and her partner worked to perfect the
taste and texture of their products. Th ey
met up twice a week for two months to
test the WaMochi recipe, which Cheng
said they tweaked from a Taiwanese recipe.
In addition to the recipes, Cheng was
also involved in the store design and
decor, which heavily features drawings
of her cat and a former dog who passed
away. Th e name “Momo Ashi” literally
translates to “peach feet” which Cheng
explains is directly related to the pink
pawprint in their logo.
She added that the “squishy” feel of animal
paws is representative of “the foundation
behind a lot of things that we do.”
Cheng said that the new store has been
a popular backdrop to their customers’
photos on social media in the short time
that they’ve been opened.
Th e owner shared that treating her customers
as a part of the family is important
to her business model.
“Our customers mean everything to us.
For us personally, we try to treat each customer
like they’re part of our family. We
care about the people and it does mean a
lot. We’re not here without them,” Cheng
said.
Momo Ashi is now opened seven days
a week from noon to 10 p.m. For more
information, visit them on Facebook and
Instagram or call 718-819-8848.
Photo: Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
The exterior of Momo Ashi on Bell Boulevard in Bayside
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