Formosa Cafe
“I got the lunch special B = small milk tea (which can upgrade to large if you checkin on yelp) + two rice balls.”
“I ordered Combo A for $8.95, which includes:
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken- The best ones I've had so far.”
“We loved that they come with spicy mayo though.”
Formosa Cafe
Take-out: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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I was so sad to find this place right before my fiancée and I moved. We honestly missed these kind of Taiwanese style cafes. The kind where you can spend all afternoon just sitting there chatting and drinking some bubble milk tea and munching on popcorn chicken.
In a way, I'm glad we found it. Very popular during the day time which makes it quite difficult to get a table. The service here is pretty good for an Asian cafe, the girls behind the counter works quick. The drinks and food are also very good. I've been getting their Bubble Milk Tea non-stop whenever I'm in the area. I love a good milk tea where I can taste the tea and not entirely too sweet. This place does it right and does it well. The Jasmine Milk Tea is also a winner here, taste light and refreshing.
Our first time at Formosa, we stayed and chatted the night away. We ordered the bubble teas, Taiwanese Curry Popcorn Chicken, and Durian Crepe Cake. Everything was good; chicken was crispy and not just covered in flour, crepe cake wasn't too sweet and had a light hint of durian.
We keep coming back here to just get their bubble tea whenever we're in Brooklyn. Definitely recommend.
Great spot for a snack pick me up. They offer combo deals all day so you can not only get a snack but a drink for a bargain.
Combo A:
Spicy popcorn chicken – crunchy, semi spicy and just the right tenderness. I liked this so much I ordered another batch but curry flavor instead. Curry was actually spicier than the spicy flavor.
bubble milk tea – creamy and heavy on the tea, the tapioca was soft and chewy as well.
Chicken rice ball – I like that they heat it up before serving it to you. Most of the time I've eaten rice balls cold from the Japanese marts.
In addition to the combo, I had the durian Mille crepe cake. It was amazing! The texture is pretty comparable to Lady M and the durian flavor was spot on! Highly recommend it!
POPCORN CHICKEN & DURIAN CREPE CAKE IS A MUST HERE! I was pretty skeptical about stepping in and trying all these new cafes that are popping up left and right on 7th Avenue of "Brooklyn Chinatown" but I can tell 7th ave is growing.. in a great way too, with actual good cafes coming now! This cafe is clean, cozy, modern and cute!
Popcorn chicken – packed with flavors, crispy and juicy!
Durian crepe cake – this is for durian lovers… And even if you normally hate durian.. I would still highly convince you to try it anyways! The crepe cake is made well.. Almost as perfect as lady m's that I almost thought they special request it from them just for their business. It's creamy, and the durian sweetness is there. Even though my boyfriend isn't a fan of durian.. He still kept biting out of it.
For drinks I had the Formosa signature drink. It's in a really big mug, loaded with everything I love inside from tapioca to herbal grass jelly.. Topped with a cute smile on top. However I felt like my drink was more just watery/milky than anything else of tea.
Im not comfortable about trying new places sometimes but I've had great food experiences for most of the times I've been here. The staff is a bit odd to me. I've been here really early in the morning and you get a loud Chinese crowd or seniors just shouting as they talk. It just makes me wonder if they notice that I'm actually sitting there enjoying my breakfast. Then, there were a few times where the staff didn't know how to answer my questions and talked so low that I could barely hear them.
The atmosphere is decent, spacious, nice, comfortable, modern looking place. There's an average amount of seating and they offer free wi-fi.
Now, onto the food. I like most of their items. Their rice balls are at a decent price and I just have to compare them to Yaya's. I prefer Formosa's rice balls because they offer more for the price. Almost all of Formosa's rice balls has seaweed and dried shredded meat in it. The teriyaki chicken is my favorite one. I like their taiwanese popcorn chicken and those came in a decent portion as well. Skip the shumai though, nothing special about those. Their waffles is a good choice too and you get to select the toppings of your choice. There are a few combo choices that might give you the bang for the buck. I prefer combo A. I've only tried the Formosa signature milk tea and it exceeded my expectations.
I'd definitely skip out on the mango pomelo though.
I have never been to the location in Chinatown, but have heard of this place. I was in the area and sorta hungry so I decided to stop in and try their onigiri (rice balls). It was late afternoon so the place wasn't too packed, but there isn't a lot of seating to begin with. Mostly jhs/hs students and mothers with their kids. Anyway, warmly greeted upon walking in and my questions answered without hesitation, win for service! I got the small traditional Taiwanese and the small shrimp tempura. I think both were pretty good and obviously made to order. The traditional Taiwanese rice ball has Taiwanese sausage. The shrimp tempura one came out very hot and a little oily…
I think the onigiri basically comes with pork floss and seaweed. I felt like the ratio of rice to filling could've been better, not much filling. There wasn't much flavor either, but that's where the sauce comes in I guess, spicy mayo? I might be biased, but if you can travel to that other onigiri place, you should do it. This place is more of a convenient location with snacks and drinks if you just wanna hang a little while. Prices are mostly the same as or higher than other places offering similar menu items. Might come back to try their drinks or snacks, but I'll pass on the onigiri next time.
Ever been to a place that made you feel "OLD"… Not just "feel" your own age but like x10… (single tear…) – no? Then you haven't hit Formosa Cafe. Don't be surprise when the average age is in the tween! It is cater towards that age group. Laugh it off peeps…
Located in a busy area of Sunset Park, good 'ol Brooklyn… (Yes, it is going through a massive gentrification… The landscape is changing to cater to the new middle class of the young hipsters). More condos are being built and cramped onto an already busy section of Sunset aka the unofficial 2nd Chinatown. Along this street, there are quite a few of these cookie cutter "Taiwanese" type snack shops and Formosa is one of the bunch.
Decor: oversize wicker lounge chairs with colorful throw pillows, which doesn't exactly line up correctly to the table height (makes it really hard to sit up & enjoy your food, when these chairs make you feel like a child!ugh!) The space is nice & airy, however the furnitures manage to make it feel small. [TIP to management: change your chairs, that will add more seating space!]
It is not a "server" type of establishment, the worker will give you a paper menu, when you're ready, head up to the register and order your food & pay up front. However, the worker will bring out your drinks & food… Which gave me anxiety because I didn't know who or where to tip!!! Aahhh! (Manage to find a tip jar by the register… )
Food: This is where Formosa lost all the stars… None of the food items were good.. My expectations were low to begin with so to be even more disappointed.. Makes it a 2 star eatery. Which totally sucks because I wanted to like this place… even though it makes me feel like a retiree…
We got: Taiwanese popcorn chicken (yes, yes, a dime of dozen… Just wasn't good), pork gyoza (yes, I should know better – yea it is frozen), corn hotdog, 4 rice balls (bbq eel/grilled pork/beef and Taiwanese). The rice balls were decent but for $3.50 – $4.00 a pop, way over priced! 3 milk teas with herbal jelly… Total bill: $34.00 for mediocre eats… it sounds like a lot of food but see the pic… LOL
Overall, my kid enjoyed himself… However, I wouldn't recommend anyone over 25 to have a date there… There are lots of better adult dining options in Brooklyn!
Happy feasting fellow Yelpers!
Had brunch here and got onigiris (rice balls). Got the chicken ones. They were alright. Nothing fancy or wow about them. The store is very spacious. There's quite a lot of seating. It's very cozy and chill there.
Also, got their Honey green tea & regular bubble milk tea. Nothing wow about it either
Just when I thought I couldn't love this place more than I already do.
I ordered Combo A for $8.95, which includes:
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken- The best ones I've had so far. They were perfectly crispy and flavorful.
Chicken Teriyaki Rice Ball- Filled with chicken teriyaki, dried shredded meat, and seaweed. I love that they fill up their rice balls with more ingredients than other places offer. It was wholesome and delicious. The spicy mayo that was included gave it a nice finishing touch.
Bubble Tea- Rich, milky goodness. Who wouldn't love seeing a smiley face on their drink?
This place always has me coming back for more!