Spongies Cafe

Original Spongies

Spongies Cafe opened on November 20th, 2020, by Fernando Ponce. Fernando came to the US alone from Mexico when he was 14. His first job was at a Jewish bakery in Sunset Park. Two years later, he became an apprentice at Kam Hing at the recommendation of a friend who worked there.

Training alongside Kam Hing’s founder, Mr. Zeng (whom Fernando fondly refers to as “si fu,” or Cantonese for “master”), Fernando realized these Hong Kong-style sponge cakes were similar to the Mexican-style sponge cakes (“mamón”) he used to make with his grandmother. According to Fernando, Mr. Zeng was a father figure to him since he started working at Kam Hing in his teens. Because of that, he felt a close connection with Mr. Zeng.

Soon, he became Mr. Zeng’s most trusted helper. He not only made the bakery’s famous sponge cakes but was also in charge of training new staff. While serving customers on the storefront, he even learned how to speak Cantonese! To this day, many old customers from Kam Hing recognize Fernando.

After working at Kam Hing for almost 30 years, he decided to open Spongies Cafe to continue his master’s legacy. The current location of Spongies is also next to the original location of Kam Hing and brings back a lot of memories of his days working alongside Mr. Zeng.

At Spongies Cafe, our favorite is the original, but they also have green tea, Thai tea, cappuccino, black sesame, Japanese sweet potato, ginger coconut, pandan, dragon fruit, mango, lemongrass, and chocolate chip!

Tip: They have a 3 for $2 special for the original flavor right now.

📍 Spongies Cafe
121 Baxter St, New York, NY 10013