Hello Kitty Restaurant

Nothing in Taipei yet has excited our girls more than the thought of going to the Hello Kitty restaurant. Ever since my girls saw Judy Hodowany’s post and pics on Facebook (a friend here in Taipei), they’ve been itching to go. As extra incentive, as I posted earlier, the girls were tasked with ordering one full meal for our entire family in Mandarin. Brianna was VERY motivated and ordered breakfast for us on Tuesday and has hounded us day and night to take her to the Hello Kitty restaurant as her reward. So, on Saturday afternoon, the day of the Harvest Moon Festival, we took the girls to this famed place.

At first glance, it appeared exactly as I had pictured. The outside was decorated much like an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, with a giant pink sign outside announcing that Hello Kitty was inside. The window on the store-front was stocked full of those beautiful Asian cakes that one can find at the Soho bakery (for those of you back in CA), except that they ALL are in the shape of Hello Kitty. The girls were positively electric with excitement as soon as they got out of the taxi.

The store inside looked like a princess’ room. It was entirely PINK, with glass chandeliers adorned with dangling Hello Kitty dolls, over-stuffed Hello Kitty chairs (in the shape of HK’s head!), pink tulle-wrapped stair railings, bedazzled tissue boxes, and waitresses in frilly costumes (which were so short that even the slightest bend left little to the imagination…which I found VERY odd given that the clientele is mostly female!).

We were seated right away downstairs at a booth with the HK-shaped cushioned seat. Terry and I quickly realized our mistake in not giving Brianna limits as she was soon overwhelmed with the choices and was whining about what lunch entrée to order, and which dessert, as she was ADAMANT that she have her own and not share (which is our family’s custom). Trying very hard not to spoil the mood, but also reign in her over-sized expectations, we decided that Terry and I would order entrees and she and Elaine would order their own desserts. That seemed to appease everyone, which helped get the mood back on track.

We didn’t stay in our seats very long as there was so much to see when we arrived. As a matter of fact, I believe it took us about 15-20 minutes to order our food as we were so distracted by everything going on around us! There was the barista station behind us, where they make latte’s and hot cocoa’s…of course, the frothed milk is stenciled in cocoa with the HK logo in such a flawless way that I wondered if it was real. Off to our side was the pastry station with windows low enough that we could see them making their famed desserts. While perhaps not as fancy as a high-end patisserie, these desserts were a mix between a high-end Disneyworld treat and an upscale SF pastry shop. All of the custards, cakes and crème brulees, etc., were adorned or shaped like HK and then embellished with the most intricate chocolate and fruit work. All of this was then dusted with powdered sugar. Amazingly beautiful!

Brianna ordered a chocolate mousse and some sort of passion-fruit soda, which came with what appeared to be fruit inside. A closer look revealed not fruit, but fruit-shaped flavored ice. The drink was beautiful, tasting both sweet and a bit tart at the same time. Elaine ordered a cheesecake of sorts (I think…couldn’t really tell), which came decorated with a dark and while chocolate piece. It was complimented with a fruit decoration (peaches, oranges and strawberries dripping with simple syrup and whipped cream) and a crisp sesame wafer, affixed to the plate with more whipped cream. Upon seeing Elaine’s delicate dessert, Brianna was positively teeming with jealousy. Thankfully enough, Elaine is a generous soul and happily shared with all of us.

My salad was probably the most plain-looking dish of all, but boy did it hit the spot. After weeks of eating hot, greasy, heavier foods, this refreshingly light salad was exactly what I needed. It was served with smoked salmon to ensure that I didn’t get hungry later on. Terry’s burger was, yes, shaped like Hello Kitty. The burgers here in Taipei, I’m discovering, do not taste like your average burger. The burgers here taste more like the Salisbury steak TV dinners one can find back in the USA. I have a feeling I’m going to be craving a real burger sooner than I care to admit! The French fries were the highlight of Terry’s entrée as they were flavored in garlic, and were perfectly seasoned and very crispy. The girls enjoyed nibbling off both of our plates and we found the tension and excitement we brought in with us waning with each subsequent bite. You may have noticed in the pictures that both girls are tired. I made the mistake of letting them both stay up VERY late the night before as Terry’s mom was with us, and I we went out for a late dinner. I don’t think I’ll be letting them stay up that late anytime soon!

I think it took us twice as long as usual to eat as Terry kept taking picture after picture of the food…it truly did look too good to eat! Normally, I would have felt somewhat embarrassed by the sheer number of pictures we took (I’ll probably post a web album later as there are simply too many to post here); however, EVERYONE in the restaurant was snapping photo after photo of the scenery and the food. Terry was simply green with camera-envy as many of the clientele had cameras with special lenses designed for taking food pictures (yes, there are such things, and many people in Asian cultures take food-pictures very seriously!).

With our bellies full and the memory card in our camera approaching full, it was time to leave. I think that Terry was feeling the strong desire to work out and lift weights afterwards…not so much from the sheer amount of food that we ate, but more to be around a bit of testosterone after all that pink! What a real man, hanging out with his favorite girls amidst all that girly-stuff!

I think the girls are already scheming to see what they have to do next to earn a trip back. Hopefully for me, it won’t be anytime too soon…I don’t think I can handle that much frill and lace for quite some time too!