Formosa Cafe

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.

Great, cozy place to sit down and relax. The presentation of their food is adorable. They add smiles to the drinks and powder the plates with cute stencils.
I ordered a classic Milk Tea, which tastes AMAZING. They add a layer of [I think] chopped up ice and foam to the top. I highly recommend it. They have a Formosa Signature Milk Tea which includes pudding in it or something (I don’t remember).
I also got a Strawberry and Mango waffle with Nutella and Vanilla ice cream. Initially, they served me the wrong fruit and gave me bananas instead of mangoes. But the waffle tasted great.
Overall, lovely place and affordable food. I would definitely come back.

I’ve been here since their grand opening. This is the only place around town that sells riceballs and it’s definitely the place to catch up with friends. The place feels very cozy. The noise level doesn’t get too loud because there are 7 – 8 tables. The Taiwanese popcorn chicken here is really good. It’s not as oily and fatty as how other places make it. I usually get a shrimp tempura or their Taiwanese traditional riceball. For drinks, I tried their Formosa signature which is very good but a little too sweet for me. Now, I switched it over to Jasmine Milk Green Tea. If you’re dining in, the drinks come in a medium or a large mason jar with handles. The large one is more than enough for one person.
Aside from the food and the environment, the only problem I had was with their cashiers. Some of them don’t know much English and there was a language barrier. I recalled that they have messed up our drink once or twice and that was my only concern. Overall, it is a good place for lunch or late night snack.

Cause here because it was closeby and was a place to warm up on a cold winter day. I ordered the special bubble tea, taiwanese popcorn chicken and eel rice ball. The presentation of the chicken was super cute and taste was pretty good to me at first. After eating it for awhile, taste started lacking… perhaps I was really hungry when I came in that it made a good first impression. The riceball was okay, nothing too special but had a lot of ingredients inside which was a plus. Bubble tea was also standard. The workers were really nice and accommodating though which is always pleasant :).

A cute and cozy place to catch up with friends. I had the build-​your-​own waffle with mango, cantaloupe (they ran out of strawberries! :’() and green tea ice cream. It wasn’t my favorite since the fruit was kind of bland and the waffle tasted dry. But it was presented nicely. The green tea yogurt drink is my favorite! It’s not too sweet and not too watered down. The calamari and popcorn chicken is delicious here! A plus is that it’s crunchy and has a nice texture and not soggy! It is a good size to share with friends. I would defintely come back.

A great place for hangout to catch up with friends! Over here is one of my most visited hang out spots. The drinks we order use to be good, but the past two times we came the drinks did not have any flavor. My Jasmine milk green tea came tasted like it just had abit of milk mixed with water. The second time I order green tea yogurt drink, they told me they did not have much macha because they ran out but that’s okay. Even when there isn’t much macha she added in the drink, the drink should at least have some flavor, but it stilled didn’t have any taste of the yogurt and green tea. The popcorn chicken and fried calamari taste delicious here! It’s not too salty and has this crunchy texture to it. The green tea crêpe is a little over price but it taste pretty good and my friend said the Duran crêpe is delicious!

Cute décor. Friendly staff. Decent lunch specials (riceballs+drinks). I ordered a Lychee Green Tea and it was on point. I ordered to go so I couldn’t sit and enjoy the lovely atmosphere but I’ll definitely come back next time to dine in. Looking forward to try their desserts and bubble tea.

I absolutely love this place. The seats are so plush and comfy.
The servers are super friendly. They add smiley faces on top of the drinks and decorate the plates with powdered hearts, stars, and moons.
Jasmine Milk Tea– Perfection! It was so fragrant and delicious. It makes me happy seeing my drink smile at me. It’s $ 3.25 for medium, but you get a free large upgrade when you check-​in.
Waffle– Your choice of two fruits (strawberry, banana, mango, blueberry, or honeydew) and one ice cream (vanilla or green tea). They add whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, and powdered sugar designs. ($ 6.95)

Solid solid rice balls. The small was actually not that much smaller than the large ($ 2.75 vs $ 4). They’re not meant to fill you up anyway so why get the large. Just try it for the experience.
The drinks were pretty well portioned and came in glass jars. I got the passion fruit red tea and mango red tea and honestly, they almost taste the same except the mango was sweeter while the passion fruit was more tangy. Overall, a solid 4 stars. Oh and the décor was pretty nice there too so that’s a plus.

Meh, came here on a cold and windy Saturday night and it wasn’t busy at all. I love the decorations in this café. Flavors are typical, as in any bubble tea café. They have rice balls, appetizers, waffles & sundaes as desserts but I only gave the flavored and milk tea a try. The Jasmine milk tea was okay, nothing special and served in a mason jar with a powdered smiley face to add on the top. My friend had the mango slush was okay as well, nothing special and a tad too sweet. I also gave the golden grapefruit a try thinking it was a unique flavor but it was just citronella… disappointed.
Reason why I gave it three stars: bathroom was dirty and table wasn’t cleaned after two people left as we settled down.
Be sure to check in for an upgrade from regular to large!

Delicious Formosa milk tea and lovely décor! I want to come back already and try their other rice balls because we had the Formosa rice ball, which has pork and the fried fish one, which were both ok. We loved that they come with spicy mayo though. Their curry popcorn chicken is delicious too!

Great little café with modern décor. Met up with some friends here and relax at the café.
They serve food from fried chicken to sandwiches. Hot or cold bubble teas. They offer WiFi but I couldn’t sign in for some reason. Seatings were limited.
This place is relatively new. Don’t forget to check in for a free large bubble tea!

The food is great. Prices are reasonable too. The bubble tea may be too sweet but they offer different sugar levels for your own preference. Waffles are cooked great, a bit soggy but it can hold well.

The environment and décor are chill to hangout at.
I got the lunch special B = small milk tea (which can upgrade to large if you checkin on Unilocal) + two rice balls. The milk tea is pretty sweet so get less sugar Id say. The rice balls were solid, pretty good. They were interesting cus it was wrapped like sushi.
My friend got the mango slush and thought it was too sweet so again less sugar please. And he kept whining about it so i just drank it for him lol. I think he shouldve been happy to have «a place at the table.»

1) They have wicker chairs with arm rests and pillows that cushions your back for extra support which makes it very comfortable when you want to lean back. At night you’ll see a cute table light on each table, and they try to be decorative during the holidays. The bathroom is spacious and tiles are a plus (you’ll see what I mean when you sit in there). The only table that I’ll probably be unsatisfied to eat at is the really low table that is near the entrance. Thankfully, it’s just one table that is like that.
2) Their rice balls is bites of meaty warmness in a sea of rice. But the only sad thing about it is that you might want to put napkins on the table when you eat your rice ball I recommend to eat over the table– the rice ball is bound to fall apart whether you take the wrapping off correctly or not. My favorites are the Teriyaki and Shrimp Tempura! Oh and each rice ball comes in with mayo sauce in a cup. Not a lot but just ample enough for flavor-​which is good enough!
3) I am not completely familiar with their whole menu but sometimes I would order fried, calamari, or popcorn chicken. Drinks wise– I would choose Formosa signature or cappuccino slush.
4) There is lunch specials from 11am-​4pm! I’m interested in the Formosa Signature-​Fried Calamari-​and Chicken Katsu Riceball combo (I think i can substitute Katsu with Teriyaki)
5) The seats alone is inviting for me to come back again and again! It’s also a plus that they have added No Smoking signs almost everywhere. +++They have free wifi ! :)

This place offer a little of everything; riceballs, small asian appetizers, boba/​tea, and dessert. The place looks really clean and comfortable with the pillows on the chairs. They offer combos on food and drinks, but my friend and I didn’t realize that till we already place our order.
I ordered the Mango Green Tea, which was too sweet for me to finish. My friend got the Jasmine Milk Tea, it came with a little happy face foam on top which I think is a very cute touch.
I also ordered the Formosa Mango Sundae. It took a really long time for it to arrive, but I wasn’t bother by the wait since we were busy chatting. The sundae had Entenmann pound cake, mango pieces, mango ice cream, and whip cream on top. It taste pretty good, not too sweet and very simple.

After coming back numerous amount of times, me and my BFFs decide to make Formosa our hang out spot!
Pluses
–They close at 11:00PM
–Pillows for comfortable seats
–The place is clean most of the times
–Staffs are nice majority of the time
(There is normally 2 – 3 people staffs)
–Creativity in their drinks
–Great Management for a newly open location
Minus
–Only have snacks and rice balls
(More varieties in Chinatown’s Formosa)

This is a cute little café that offers bubble tea and snacks right off of the busy streets of 8 Ave. For customers who stay, the drinks are served in adorable glass jugs with the store mascot and the popcorn chicken is served in the little basket. The café seems pretty spacious with plenty of seating and a relaxing décor.
I recommend their taiwanese style rice balls which are very filling. Their chicken teriyaki rice ball filled with chicken, seaweed salad and dried pork shreds is so far my favorite. The popcorn chicken is juicy and tender but highly recommend getting it with spice or curry.
All in all, I would definitely come here again. Make sure to check in to get a size upgrade on drinks.

I am super impressed! Stepping into this casual and relaxing café from the busy streets of Brooklyn, Chinatown is quite a refresher! It almost seems like this place is out of place, however, I did noticed a few cafes and dessert spots popping left and right on 7^th Avenue time to time. I love the kpop music jamming in the background during my stay. My siblings and I were just hanging out after a dreadful Monday after work. You can consider this our type of ‘happy hour’. We ordered various drinks and snacks to share.
Grapefruit Green Tea, (of course) is my choice of drink. Fresh grapefruit juice, evident from the hints of seed nicely infused with green tea. Perfect drink for such a hot summer evening. Check-​in on Unilocal and get an instant upgrade to a large!
Snacks we shared include: Taiwanese Sausage, Popcorn Chicken — Curry (a MUST!), and Fried Calamari.
Taiwanese Sausage, was so juicy and tender and not at all oily. Texture is a lot softer than what I am used to but every bite was nice and sweet.
Popcorn Chicken was the major highlight of our visit! Extremely crispy and flavorful with hints of curry. It was not overly fried with flour compared to others. Presentation was really cute as the plate sat on top of a wooden basket when you eat it there. Best in the neighborhood!
Calamari was pretty fancy for it tasted a lot like the salt and pepper fried squid like in Chinese restaurants. It comes with a sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Looks like we are definitely returning!

Was here last night with my sis. Its a great place for a drink and snacks. For a place near 8^th Ave, Brooklyn? Its up a notch.
Pros:
Rice balls and waffles are a bang. I’ve ordered rice balls, waffle, Taiwanese sausages, popcorn chicken, shumai, gyoza, calamari and drinks… Food, is good if I have to compare to what’s around the area. The atmosphere is not bad, the place is warm and comfy decorated. Except the mosquitoes for the door being left opened. :(I had the Formosa signature milk tea, it’s a pass. No complain for that. The jasmine green milk tea was a surprise. Its jasmine aroma and the smoothness of the milk was great… Must try. Another surprise to me, they actually use Maeda-​en ice cream rather than those unknown brand. Makes me feel like it’s more worth it the have the waffle with the ice cream on top! Lolz.
Cons:
Food came out just a bit unexpectedly slow. So if you’re starving, heads up. I ordered 2 slushy drinks and 2 milk tea drinks, I would say, to make the teas first then the slush… Cause my slush was out sitting there while the make the tea… By the time they brought it to my table. my slush was half melted. Not so satisfying. Next, sweetness. I was surprised to hear my food machine niece to tell me to never order this drink again, she had the honeydew slushy. It was over the board sweet, although they we’re nice enough to remake us another cup without the extra sugar, it was still sweet. So unless you’re an all time sugar maniac, I’d say stick with the milk teas or the yogurt drinks.
Overall:
Will definitely go back for a tea break whenever I’m nearby again. If you’re just around, it’s totally worth the trip.
:)