Toli Moli Burmese dessert concept pops-up at EatsPlace

Chef JoJo and her daughter, Simone, prep for their big Jan. 30 Toli Moli launch. (photo: Les Joueurs Photography)

Holy moly, these desserts look good! A new mother-daughter team are trying out their Burmese dessert concept called Toli Moli! at a pop-up at EatsPlace (3607 Georgia Avenue NW in Park View) at the end of January. The new pop-up is the passion of Chef Jocelyn (JoJo) Law-Yone and her daughter, Simone Jacobson, and will open on Saturday, January 30th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. 

The pop-up will offer three distinct flavors of falooda, a layered dessert drink popular throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East. (Just google it and drool at the images.) Drawing inspiration from the many variations of this beloved street snack, Toli Moli's novelty faloodas are stacked with superfoods and use primarily natural ingredients.

Chef JoJo preparing a "Royal Falooda" with pomegranate-ginger jellies, basil seeds, ginger milk, homemade rosewater syrup, pumpkin seeds and slivered almonds. (photo: Les Joueurs Photography)

After a year of experimenting to create her own falooda with the best possible ingredients, Chef JoJo (Law-Yone) will debut a limited menu at the Toli Moli launch, including mango, coffee and pomegranate flavors of falooda “shakes,” reminiscent of the sweetest bites of her childhood in Burma.

Toli Moli’s falooda will range in price from $7 - $9 and will be available until sold out on a first-come, first-served basis. You can RSVP via Eventbrite so they can get a handle on headcount. (They were offering free t-shirts to the first 50 reservations, but those have sold out already.)

Chef JoJo preparing a "Black Eye" falooda with coffee jellies, basil seeds, sweetened iced coffee and a marshmallow-oat crumble. (photo: Les Joueurs Photography)

Chef JoJo grew up in Rangoon, Burma during a robust era and learned at an early age that quality food is an essential ingredient for good dinner conversations. As a child, she often followed her relatives to the market and watched how they used fresh ingredients to create fragrant and delicious meals from scratch. Remembering her falooda days in Rangoon fondly, Chef JoJo hopes her own version will be enjoyed anytime people seek to create new memories with their own family and friends here in Washington DC. 

“Guests at my family’s dinner table in Rangoon were from all parts of the globe and our kitchen was always bustling to meet their culinary needs,” said Law-Yone. “But no matter how animated the conversation was or how full our guests were, if ever there was a mention of a trip to the falooda shop, there would be a scramble to pile into cars to get that sweet treat.”

View from the top of a "Mango Mogul" falooda with shaved coconut, mango gelato, vanilla ice cream, fresh mango, basil seeds, and mango-carrot jellies. (photo: Les Joueurs Photography)

Simone Jacobson, Chef JoJo's daughter, is a restaurant manager, performing artist and community organizer with a strong passion for empowering women, Asian American advancement, and the arts. Together, they strive to bring falooda, the favorite dessert drink of Chef JoJo’s youth, and other Burmese sweets to the widest possible audience.

Toli Moli's surprise offerings of little crunchy, snacky things and falooda toppings. (photo: Les Joueurs Photography)

WHAT: Hello, Toli Moli! A Burmese Dessert Pop-Up
WHERE: EatsPlace, 3607 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20010
WHEN: January 30, 2016, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
COST: Free Entry, $7-9 per serving

More information about Toli Moli is available online at:

Website: http://www.tolimolidc.com/
Eventbrite RSVP: http://www.hellotolimoli.eventbrite.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolimolidc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolimolidc

About EatsPlace
EatsPlace is a neighborhood restaurant and bar, a food incubator and a restaurant accelerator. They provide community commercial kitchen rentals and a marketplace with dining space to host pop-up restaurants and guest chef residencies. EatsPlace’s mission is to be an evolving culinary enterprise that lives, breathes, and changes according to what’s in season, what chefs are dreaming up and what neighbors crave.