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New York City will get a taste of Asia's nightlife and culinary scene thanks to Tangram's new food hall and beer garden (hoi polloi) that officially opened on December 1, 2022.
Justine Golata - Staff Writer
An exciting new 24,000-square-foot Food Hall and hoi polloi has just opened at Queens’ Tangram. The mixed-use development spans 1.2 million square feet in the heart of Flushing, Queens, bringing the best in retail, dining, and entertainment to one space.
The food hall has been in the works for over seven years and promises to elicit the same energy and atmosphere as the open-air markets found in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Taipei.
Thanks to the partnership between BHDM Design Principal Dan Mazzarini and F&T Group, visitors will be able to experience the “authenticity and diversity of Asian culture and cuisine” at this immersive environment.
Though Tangram is an enormous, multi-purpose space, visitors will clearly feel they have arrived at a new destination with the food hall’s custom stalactite ceiling and eye-catching interior.
The design, best described as “Organic Industrial meets Cyber Punk,” is made from materials such as concrete, cedar, steel, and ceramic. During the day, these elements will catch the natural light coming in from the windows, and at night they’ll illuminate by bright neon ceiling signs, gobo textures, and kinetic lights.
The food hall will feature a wide array of delicious vendors, currently including:
At the back of the dining destination, visitors will stumble upon hoi polloi, the neighborhood’s first beer garden. The phrase originally stems from the Greek term for “the common people.” The garden, from project designer Karen Lim and graphic designer Camille Lee, will front as general seating for the food hall by day, and transform into a futuristic, cyberpunk hotspot by night.
Guests can check out live entertainment, a unique gaming alcove, and three private event spaces. Stay for awhile and enjoy the neon LED lights, disco ball, and colorful graphics. Similar to the rest of the project, sounds by DJ Samu will honor the people of Queens through Hip Hop, Latin, Afro, House, Dance, Pop and RnB. Visitors will be able to make their way to the dance floor glowing with a hundred balls of light on Fridays and Saturdays with a spinning DJ from the second-floor booth.
“Over time, I saw the need for a place like hoi polloi where all the different people of New York can come together to mix on the weekends and to celebrate life’s events. Our partners are all American-born Chinese, but we built this place for the hoi polloi of Queens. We will have Asian kids – 21 and over only please – grooving to Bad Bunny songs they don’t understand next to LatinX kids moving their hips to the sounds of BLKPNK next to African American and white kids engaged in debate about which New York craft beer is the best,” said representative from Tangram, Todd Leong.
Hoi polloi will feature a 24-tap lineup, with 19 of the taps reserved for international and locally-focused beers while the others are for sparkling cocktails. Some beers include MC2 from Equilibrium Brewery, Ball Lightning Pilsner from Catskill Brewery and award-winning Grimm Artisanal Ales.
And once you locate the main feature wall that resembles a lava lamp (it can be seen from the street so it won’t be hard to find), you’ll be lead to an expansive 40-person terrace. Guests are welcome to sit outside and sip on drinks while they admire the city below them.
Inspired by the grilled meats you find on the streets of Queens, the food menu from Chef Doron Wong offers an array of skewers using the robata grill, pulling flavors from countries like Korea, Jamaica, Germany, Japan and Mexico to differ with the Chinese and other Asian flavors available at Tangram.
Head over this week to explore it all and even catch a game during the World Cup that will be shown on their big screen all week long. Find the viewing schedule here.
Find out more on the Tangram website here.
: 133-33 39th Ave, Queens