Muah Cotton Candy owner Sonya Song works on creating handcrafted cotton candy creations at her shop in Chicago’s Water Tower Place on Oct. 7, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Tucked away on the seventh floor of Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue is a tiny candy shop creating mighty and magical confectionery creatures and more. Disc Plucker
Muah Cotton Candy brings the latest spun sugar trend to Chicago with giant candy creations that have sweet teeth of all ages buzzing. Adults and children alike line up to choose their character at one of the kiosks for handmade cotton candy, or vending machines that crank out cotton candy sculptures on their own.
Sonya Song and Shu Zhang started the business in July after seeing a video on social media featuring a cotton candy vending machine. They remembered how their own two children, an 8-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son, have “always asked” for the sugary substance when passing street vendors downtown, and the beginning of their business was born.
Lea Kipnis, 10, of Hinsdale, takes a bite of her cotton candy creation alongside friend Marissa Pekal, 11, of Willowbrook, at Muah Cotton Candy in Chicago’s Water Tower Place on Oct. 7, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“We always got the cotton candy for the kids,” Song said. “That touched a soft spot for me and reminded me of those carefree childhood times.”
Song bought a cotton candy vending machine about a year ago, but it sat in the garage at home for eight months before getting used. The couple initially thought to place their vending machine in an existing business or venue, such as a restaurant or a popular destination like Navy Pier, but they had trouble finalizing a deal.
Eventually, Song said they thought of opening their own business to not worry about sharing space with another entity. She went even further and decided to not only create the space for the vending machine, which can whip up cotton candy in different shapes like flowers and hearts, but also for the cotton candy characters she would start to make by hand.
“I started practicing at home early this year,” she said. “My first attempt was a bunny, and when I asked my kids how much I can sell it for, they said these wild prices like, ‘$400 million bucks’.”
Song said she moved to Chicago from China about 20 years ago. Zhang, originally from Beijing, met Song in Chicago in 2004, and the two got married in 2009. Song was formerly a full-time accountant, while Zhang worked as a software engineer.
The couple came up with the name and branding of Muah — “like a kiss,” Song said, a name “as sweet as candy.”
Zhang said they’ve been contacted about working private events and even franchising the business, opportunities they would look into more as time goes on.
“Right now we’re only a few months old and we’re still learning,” Zhang said. “We need to perfect our operation first then we can start looking into more possibilities.”
The store now has two cotton candy vending machines that customers can use to order and pay for cotton candy sculptures directly. The machines offer different flavors and shapes.
Jordan Kilpatrick digs into her cotton candy creation at Muah Cotton Candy in Chicago’s Water Tower Place on Oct. 7, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Everything ordered at the kiosks is handcrafted in store and customers can watch as their chosen characters come to fruition. Mix and match between some 16 characters and 10 different flavors, like strawberry, bubblegum and cherry.
Song said some of the more difficult characters to make are the unicorn and duck, while one of the most popular characters is the panda. A new character just in time for fall festivities is “Jackie” the jack o’lantern.
The menu also includes fluffy ice cream, which is ice cream wrapped in three layers of cotton candy, as well as cotton candy cakes, with layers of cotton candy, and cotton candy clouds.
Muah is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. — Shanzeh Ahmad
Muah Cotton Candy; 845 N. Michigan Ave., seventh floor; 312-287-1551; muahcottoncandy.com
Pioneering chef Rick Tramonto (Nisos Prime), now food and beverage director at Parker Hospitality (Hampton Social), follows recent West Loop projects with a Mexican restaurant and lounge inspired by glamorous beach vibes. Costera Cocina Tulum opened on Oct. 4 in Fulton Market. Executive chef Aldo Ayala makes a guacamole luxe with prawns, tres leche cake spiked with Mezcal and an elote margarita cocktail poured in three sizes: pequeño, estándar and grande. 850 W. Fulton Market, 312-300-0774, costeracocina.com
Not one, but three new fried chicken shops have joined the family of the first name in chicken shacks in Chicago. Harold’s #39 and #17 (under the corporate wing) and a second location of #55 (an OG franchisee) hatched recently in the city and suburbs. Insiders know the numbers are mostly random, but your order isn’t and should always include chicken, fried hard or not, tossed with lemon pepper and mild sauce. Harold’s Chicken of Bourbonnais #39; 1674 Dolton Road, Calumet City; 708-933-0792. Chicago Lawn Harold’s Chicken #17; 2900 W. 63rd St., 773-424-6041. Harold’s Chicken #55 on 87th, 129 W. 87th St., instagram.com/haroldschicken_on87th.
Four industry friends are collaborating on a creative South Asian cocktail bar with food. Chefs Zubair Mohajir (The Coach House) and Won Kim (Kimski), with restaurateur Ty Fujimura (Arami) and beverage director David Mor (Cindy’s) brought Lilac Tiger roaring to life in Mohajir’s former Wazwan space in Wicker Park on Sept. 20. They’ve kept the fan favorite THC Sando (a tandoori honey fried chicken sandwich), added a Tiger poutine with Korean curry sauce and housemade paneer, plus a Lilac Tiger beer by Marz Brewing. 1742 W. Division St., 312-722-6911, lilac-tiger-chicago.com
Chef and culinary director Rick Gresh and executive pastry chef Maria Mac both worked at David Burke’s Primehouse and now they’ve brought their impressive skills to a new Mediterranean restaurant in the southwestern suburbs. Pella Signature set sail in Burr Ridge on Aug. 29. Look for one of the wood-fired dishes, one of the hottest trends of the year, plus foie gras branded with a hot iron tableside, a baklava strawberry cheesecake and a 700-bottle wine display. 720 Village Center Drive, Burr Ridge; 630-686-8621; pellasignature.com
The former chef and co-owner of the wildly popular Oooh Wee It Is has made her own solo debut. Shae Mitchell launched Simply Shae Soul Cafe in Calumet City on Aug. 17. Get her Hennessy-glazed smoked turkey leg loaded with greens plus mac and cheese, garlic Parm wings loaded on curly fries and sweet cucumber lemonade. 1674 Dolton Road, Calumet City; 708-933-0792, instagram.com/simplyshaesoulcafe
What may be the biggest plant-based food hall in the Midwest has taken root in the city. XMarket Food Hall unfurled with six culinary concepts and a bar in Uptown on Oct. 5. The vendors include Bloom Sushi Counter (by Bloom Plant Based Kitchen), Chicago Not Dogs (vegan hot dogs and other fast food), El Hongo Mágico Taqueria (mushroom-focused tacos), Kale My Name (an award-winning vegan restaurant), 2d Restaurant (mochi doughnuts and boba tea) plus Kitchen 17 (vegan deep dish). 804 W. Montrose Ave., 773-739-9114, plantx.com/pages/xmarket-food-hall
The Signature Room and The Signature Room Lounge, on the 95th and 96th floors of the tower formerly known as the John Hancock in the Gold Coast, open as a restaurant and bar in the skyscraper space in one form or another since 1970, closed abruptly and permanently without notice, even to longtime employees who are now suing, on Sept. 28.
Le Select, the expansive French brasserie by the Boka Restaurant Group in River North, originally opened with suburban native and Parisian restaurateur Daniel Rose, closed as a restaurant after only 10 months but reopened as a private event space on Oct. 10.
Café Selmarie, the cozy American restaurant and bakery in Lincoln Square, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, announced owner and co-founder Birgit Kobayashi wants to retire, with plans to close in early 2024.
Know of a Chicago-area restaurant or bar that’s new and notable? Email food critic Louisa Chu at lchu@chicagotribune.com.
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