Something new: Hello Kitty Secret Garden
Olivia Rosenman
Dear Hello Kitty fans, are you sitting down? Because we have big news. Many years after a chain of Hello Kitty-themed cafes in Hong Kong closed their doors, the idea has been revived. But before you make a beeline, consider this - there's likely to be a four-hour queue to dine with the fictional Japanese pussycat.
With little fanfare or publicity, the Hello Kitty Secret Garden Cafe sprang up this month on a nondescript backstreet of Tai Hang, following in the footsteps of similar cafes in Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo. Within 24 hours, a Facebook post showing the cafe's facade had attracted more than 200 likes.
When went to investigate at 5pm one Tuesday evening, a line to enter the cafe stretched along the entire street. Jo Ng Po-ying, 22, had been queuing for 3½ hours in the June heat.
"I had to come," she says, leaning on her tired boyfriend's shoulder.
Inside, we discovered a British country garden-themed cafe where every item has the Hello Kitty touch - her face is carefully toasted onto dainty sandwiches and artfully recreated in the foamed milk of cappuccinos and lattes. A miniature white chocolate Hello Kitty sits on top of each creamy cake.
Anita Gan, the cafe owner - who plans to open an Italian-themed Hello Kitty cafe in Kowloon next year - says, "Hello Kitty likes to cook for her friends and goes around the world to taste a lot of dishes. We want the fans to have nice meals like she does."
Hello Kitty Secret Garden is at 19 Ormsby Street, Tai Hang, tel: 2808 2868.
