Spongies Cafe

"Here it is, The Infatuation’s foolproof, three-step guide to becoming the most popular person in your workplace. Step 1: Get off the subway at Canal Street and walk a block to Spongies Cafe. Step 2: Pick up a dozen assorted Hong Kong-style steamed sponge cakes (you can’t go wrong with any of the flavors, but we really dig the Lovely Butterscotch) for the eye-poppingly reasonable price of $15, neatly packaged in a cute pink box. Step 3: Bask in the adoration of your colleagues, and enjoy the moist, satisfyingly squishy cakes with coffee or tea." - molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja

"Spongies Cafe’s Hong Kong-style steamed cakes are one of the most delicious ways you can spend a dollar in New York City. Baked fresh every morning, the sponge cakes have a thin, crispy crust that gives way to a fluffy, almost custardy interior. Imagine a stress relief ball even more pleasurable to eat than it is to squeeze. Decorated with fairy lights, the storefront just off Canal Street has four small bistro tables and serves reasonably priced drinks, including thai teas, matcha lattes, and vietnamese coffees at $4 each. The original spongies are $1, and while they’re delicious as is, we’d recommend dropping an extra quarter for the $1.25 naturally flavored ones. The menu rotates frequently, but our favorites include Lovely Butterscotch, which contains secret chunks of brown sugary goodness, and the fragrant, extra-moist Purple Yam, which is a pretty (and also natural) shade of lavender on the inside. photo credit: Kate Previte" - Molly Fitzpatrick

"There's also a pair of cafés across the street from each other: Spongies (121 Baxter St.) and Kam Hing (118 Baxter St.). Both serve outrageously airy sponge cakes for 85 cents apiece. On my morning grocery runs, I try to get them fresh when they're still warm and enjoy them with a cup of yuenyeung, which is coffee and milk tea, half and half."