Onioissant (onigiri + croissant)

 
     
Wikipedia: Croissant
A croissant(UK: /ˈkrwʌsɒ̃, ˈkrwæsɒ̃/, US: /krəˈsɒnt, krwɑːˈsɒ̃/; French: [kʁwasɑ̃]) is a French pastry made from puff pastry in a crescent shape.
 
Wikipedia: Onigiri
Onigiri (お握り or 御握り), also known as omusubi (お結び), nigirimeshi (握り飯), or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in nori. Onigiri traditionally have sour or salty fillings such as umeboshi (pickled Chinese plum), salted salmon, katsuobushi (smoked and fermented bonito), kombu, tarako or mentaiko (pollock roe), or takanazuke (pickled Japanese giant red mustard greens). Because it is easily portable and eaten by hand, onigiri has been used as portable food or bento from ancient times to the present day. Originally, it was used as a way to use and store left-over rice, but it later became a regular meal. Many Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets stock their onigiri with various fillings and flavors.
 
Cafe W (Onioissant articles)
CAFE.W
35-27/29 154th Street,
Flushing, NY 11354
BAKERY & DESSERT
35-29 154th Street,
Flushing, NY 11354
     
TimeOut—New York 
Croissants meets onigiri in this oddball new fusion treat
Meet the “onioissant.”
Written by Christina Izzo Wednesday May 29 2024
(...)
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.
 
Secret NYC
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
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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.
   
Food & Wine
Over Crookie, the Onigiri Croissant Is Taking Over
Japan meets France in this new, savory treat.
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner Published on June 1, 2024
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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.
 
ater—New York
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@lucasfortney Jun 6, 2024, 1:57pm EDT
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).