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Queens Bakery Cafe W Sells Hit Onigiri Croissants

The onigiri croissant at Cafe W Bakery in Murray Hill, Queens.Onigiri croissants, or cronigiri, showed up last month at Cafe W in Murray Hill, Queens. Luke Fortney/Eater NY

  • REPORTS

Cronigiri? Yes, and It’s a Stunt Pastry That Actually Works.

It took two months to turn a croissant into a Japanese rice ball

by Luke Fortney  

 

Earlier this year, John Lee, the owner of Cafe W, asked his employees to make a new kind of croissant — an “onioissant,” as he would later call it — just as bakers had done in Singapore, South Korea, and Australia. Easier said than done. To be an onioissant — or cronigiri, as some bakers call them — it had to have three curved points, like onigiri, and the flaky texture of French pastry.

It took them over eight weeks to get right. Of course, there were issues with the shape. But the bigger problem was the dough: “We spent lots of time to determine the precise number of layers and the optimal thickness of the dough,” says Sara Kim, Cafe W’s manager. It had to be pliable (to shape into a triangle) but also quite sturdy (to hold fillings that might be used in actual onigiri, like mayonnaise and roe).

In May, they cracked the code and added the onioissant to the menu. It has a crisp, buttery crust and an ornamental piece of seaweed wrapped around the bottom. The pastry inside is soft and denser than your average croissant (35-29 154th Street, off Northern Boulevard).

Cafe W sells about 1,600 of the $6.50 pastries each week, and each batch takes over 11 hours to make. The bakery rolls out its dough in the evening. In the morning, it’s shaped into triangles using a mold. After it’s filled with one of two flavors — chive bacon cream cheese or mayonnaise with roe — the pastries are set out for sale in the morning. More are baked throughout the day.

On weekends, the croissants sell out in a few hours. If you miss them, it’s a perfect excuse to try another one of Cafe W’s experiments: the crone, a croissant ice cream cone used for soft serve. It was added to the menu last summer.

A hand holds an orange tray with two onigiri croissants and a hot dog.Cafe W sells cronigiri for $6.50 each. Luke Fortney/Eater NY

 

https://ny.eater.com/2024/6/6/24170708/onigiri-croissant-cafe-w-flushing-murray-hill-queens

Move Over Crookie, the Onigiri Croissant Is Taking Over

Japan meets France in this new, savory treat.

There’s a new croissant trend making the rounds. Surpassing the Cronut, cruffin, crookie, and flat croissant is a brand new hybrid melding a savory Japanese onigiri and a croissant: the onioissant —  also referred to as the onigiri croissant.

The onigiri croissant was first seen at Le Levain Bakery in Singapore. Onigiri-like triangle-shaped croissants are filled with combinations of Sicilian pistachio cream, scallion sour cream, Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, and more — all wrapped with a thin slice of nori.

Across the pond in Vancouver, Chez Christophe offers an onigiri croissant combining flaky French pastry with a Japanese-inspired creamy tuna and mayonnaise filling. It’s also in Seoul, South Korea and Sydney, Australia.

Now, the onioissant — or onigiri croissant or cronigiri (the best name for this Franco-Japanese combo, in my opinion) — has made its way Stateside at Cafe W Bakery & Desserts in Flushing, Queens. The bakery specializes in pastries that blend Asian and French influences, so the onioissant was a natural addition to the menu of fruit-flavored mousse cakes, ciabatta sandwiches with red bean paste, matcha tiramisu, corn cheese croissants, and much more.

“As New Yorkers, we are always mindful of how diverse cultures blend together, and we always would like to live up to the diversity with new attempts and new experiences for our patrons’ palate,” says Cafe W CEO John Lee. The bakery team had yet to see any onigiri pastries in New York and wanted to create a new one for their customers, using their croissant dough to create a new onigiri-shaped triangle pastry and stuff it with Japanese-inspired fillings.

“The R&D process for the onigiri croissant was both exciting and challenging,” Lee says. “It took a lot of experimentation and fine-tuning. We had to perfect the dough to keep it flaky and buttery, while also nailing the triangular shape of an onigiri. Finding the right balance for the filling and flavor to complement our buttery croissant was another big task.”

The bakery team spent countless hours in the kitchen testing various techniques and recipes to uphold the classic croissant’s texture and flavor intact in this new form. “We’re really proud of the final product that blends the best of both worlds,” Lee says.

Currently, Cafe W offers two savory fillings for its onigiri croissant: a mayo and pollack roe and a chive bacon cream cheese. The team is actively testing more flavors and will soon introduce additional options.

“The Mayo and Pollack Roe is a regular filling for the original onigiri with rice, so it really stands out as a twist of Asian and French traditions,” Lee says. “For the Chive Bacon Cream Cheese…we’re New Yorkers, we can’t help it.”

Since the pastry went viral this May, new customers have flocked in to try it — with many already becoming regulars. One customer drove from hours away in Maryland just to try it, and added a few extra to her order to bring home for friends. Within minutes of finishing her own, she added a few more onigiri croissants to her order.

Cafe W Bakery & Desserts opened in May 2024 and bakes bread, pastries, and desserts from scratch every morning. “We still have a long way to go, but we will continue to develop new products,” Lee says. “The response to the onioissant has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re thrilled to see such enthusiasm. The feedback has been incredibly encouraging and motivates us to keep pushing the boundaries of creativity in our bakery.”

https://www.foodandwine.com/onigiri-croissant-food-trend-8657024

Cronigiri: The internet’s new favorite pastry is a mashup of Japanese and French classics

Onoissaint? Cronigiri? Whatever you’re calling it, this pastry is a hot-ticket item.
Onigiri and croissants

Courtesy Cafe W Bakery & Desserts

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By Joseph Lamour

Move over, flat crossaint! Get out of here, crookie! There’s a new croissant hybrid trending on the internet: the onigiri croissant.

This French and Japanese fusion treat — which also goes by “cronigiri,” “oniwassant” and “onoissant” — is making the rounds online. It is a brand-new hybrid bake that combines Japanese onigiri with a croissant for a serving of flaky, savory bliss.

The pastry was first popularized by La Levain bakery in Singapore, which introduced the treat to its menu in the fall of 2023. The bakery first dropped this treat in four filling varieties: Lao Gan Ma chili crisp, scallions with sour cream, Sicilian pistachio and Taiwanese taro.

The Asian bakery later added a flavor dubbed Mentaiko Cheese, which is a combination of spicy cod roe and creamy cheese. “This croissant offers a umami-packed bite with a subtle spice,” the bakery writes on its website.

All of La Levain’s onigiri croissants come wrapped in a slice of seaweed, just like the rice balls they’re modeled after.

The onigiri croissant has gone worldwide. TikTokers have spotted the buttery triangles in South Korea, Australia and Canada, where Vancouver bakery Chez Christophe sells an oniwassant with “tender tuna and creamy mayonnaise.” A baker in Indonesia has also developed their own version of the dish, cluing in TikTok viewers as to how the three-sided delicacies are made.

The trend has also spread stateside to Queens, New York. Cafe W Bakery & Desserts bakes its goods fresh, and the menu now includes its version of onigiri croissants dubbed the Onioissant.

“We currently have three chefs creating all of our delicious bread, pastries, and desserts from scratch every morning,” John Lee, Cafe W’s CEO, tells TODAY.com. Recently, Lee says, they’ve all been very busy.

Lee says the idea to make an Onioissant came from one of their younger bakers who, along with the rest of the team, noticed there weren’t any versions of the onigiri croissant available yet in New York. After first deciding to make the new creations in late April — paying homage to Asian, French and New York flavors — Onioissants made their debut at the bakery on May 14.

Onigiri and croissants
Courtesy Cafe W Bakery & Desserts

“The Mayo+Pollack Roe is a regular filling for the original onigiri with rice, so it really stands out as a twist of Asian and French traditions,” Lee says over email. “For the Chive Bacon Cream Cheese — we’re New Yorkers, we can’t help it.”

He adds the response to the bakery’s new offering has been overwhelmingly positive. Cafe W recently celebrated its first anniversary in May, and Lee says the team is actively workshopping new sweet and savory flavors. The CEO says they bake 150 Onioissants a day during the week and 300 a day on the weekends — they sell out every single day.

“It’s incredible,” he says of the demand, adding the team is looking to increase daily production as some customers come a long way just to try the viral treat.

“There was even a customer from Maryland that drove all the way here for the Onioissant,” Lee says. “She had one, bought some for her friends, then came back after 10 mins to buy more for herself.”

https://www.today.com/food/news/viral-onigiri-croissant-trend-rcna155925

CROISSANTS MEETS ONIGIRI IN THIS ODDBALL NEW FUSION TREAT

Meet the “onioissant.”

Written by 

Christina Izzo

From Cronuts to Cruffins to croissants topped with rainbow cookies, New York isn’t afraid to play fast and loose with croissant tradition. And the latest into the flaky pantheon is a new fusion treat that puts a savory spin on the French classic: meet the “Onioissant” from Cafe W + Bakery.

The Flushing-based baked-goods spot frequently combines French tradition with Asian flavors—along with pâtisserie classics like a good ol’ pain au chocolate, there’s buttery pastry loaded with red bean and croissants flavored with black sesame and raspberry. But the “Onioissant” takes the cake: the savory treats take inspiration from onigiri, Japanese rice balls that are formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes, wrapped in nori and traditionally feature salty or sour fillings, from salted salmon to pickled plum.

In this case, the creations do away with the rice entirely and instead is made of buttery, flaky viennoiserie (the bakery only uses premium French flour, butter and chocolate in their pastries) that is shaped into a triangle, its airy interiors piped with a savory filling, and finished with a cheeky piece of seaweed. The “Onioissants” come in two different flavors—a breakfast-y edition made with bacon, chives and cream cheese, and a seafood version with Pollack roe and mayo—which is great for those who don’t have much of a sweet tooth but still want that classic croissant experience. The treats are priced at $6.50 each.

Along with those fusion goodies, the Queens bakery-cafe also bakes up salted butter breads (squid ink and cheese, cream and chives), fresh campagne loaves (olive, cream cheese), flavored lattes (strawberry, blueberry, pistachio cream) and cakes. Along with cream cakes, cheesecakes and tiramisu, the bakeshop offers a range of signature mousse cakes, available in flavors like mango-yogurt, lime-pineapple, chocolate-caramel, Earl Grey-cassis and raspberry-pistachio, among others.

Check out those cool-looking “Onioissants” treats from Cafe W + Bakery below:

Main Home

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/croissants-meets-onigiri-in-this-oddball-new-fusion-treat-052924

Onioissants, The Newest Croissant Hybrid

There’s a new croissant hybrid in town, and this one is for the savory lovers!
 BRIANNA PERRY – STAFF WRITER • MAY 29, 2024

We’ve seen pretty much every iteration of croissant hybrid we thought possible–the croffle, a croissant waffle, the cronut, a croissant donut, and at one point even the cruffin, a croissant muffin.

But just when we thought a new hybrid couldn’t be dreamed up, we were proven wrong. Meet the “onioissant,” the newest croissant hybrid.

While at first glance the name may look like it’s an onion + croissant hybrid, it’s actually even better–it’s an onigiri + croissant hybrid. Sounds absolutely delicious, right?!

The brilliant new creation comes from Cafe W & Bakery–which is, you guessed it, a Korean café and bakery located in the heart of Flushing, Queens.

The onioissants come in two mouthwatering flavors: bacon, chive, and cream cheese and pollack roe and mayo. The’re made using premium French flour and butter, which creates the perfect balance of butteriness and crispiness with a crispy, buttery exterior and luxuriously flaky interior.

And those that aren’t too big on sweets will be happy to hear that both flavor combinations make for a deliciously savory filling.

The onioissants are priced at $6.50 and can only be found at Cafe W & Bakery! And, if you ask us, this is definitely a walk, don’t run situation!!!

https://secretnyc.co/onioissants-onigiri-croissant-hybrid/

The croissant revolution continues in the form of ‘onigiri’

The onigiri croissant takes over from the cronut.

BY LAURA PÉREZ

Pastry experimentation with the croissant has become a constant in the current era, leading content creators, chefs and pastry chefs to apply a wide variety of creative techniques to the French classic. Whether in the form of a ‘smash or flat’, a cronut or a croissant roll. They are all breaking the mould of conventional pastry shapes.

Now, Japan meets France to present the new trendy croissant, which goes by the name of ‘onigiri’. A hybrid that combines the triangular shape of a tasty Japanese nigiri with the texture of the croissant. It’s a trend started by Singapore’s Le Levain bakery with croissants filled with Sicilian pistachio cream, chive sour cream or a crispy Lao Gan Ma chilli, all topped with a thin slice of nori.

In most cases, ‘cronigiri’ or ‘onigiri’ creations dispense with rice altogether and are instead made of buttery, flaky viennoiserie that is formed into a triangle, with airy interiors with a savoury filling.

The so-called onioissant has also made its way to the United States through a series of bakeries such as CafÊ W Bakery specialising in pastries that blend Asian and French influences. There, they display a flaky, buttery cultural mix with mayonnaise and haddock roe or cheese and bacon fillings.

The croissant revolution continues in the form of ‘onigiri’

Opening Hours

Monday 07:30 - 21:30
Tuesday 07:30 - 21:30
Wednesday 07:30 - 21:30
Thursday 07:30 - 21:30
Friday 07:30 - 22:00
Saturday 07:30 - 22:00
Sunday 07:30 - 21:00

Contact us

management@cafew.com
(718) 799-0264

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    locations

    Cafe.W
    35-27/29 154th Street,
    Flushing, NY 11354
    Bakery & Dessert
    35-29 154th Street,
    Flushing, NY 11354

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