Hello Kitty Sweets Restaurant in Taipei

By Brian On February 20, 2009 · 31 Comments

The great philosophical quandaries of the ages…

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

Is death the end of existence?

How can a cat with no mouth have a restaurant?

Let’s answer that last one. Welcome to Hello Kitty Sweets, a Sanrio-approved (rare in Taiwan) Hello Kitty-themed restaurant. How did I end up here, you ask? Well, it was Valentine’s Day and my wife loves Hello Kitty.

Need I say more?

Hmm...let's call the interior design "Victorian Kawai-i"

Unfortunately, Hello Kitty Sweets is a very popular place and a reservation is highly encouraged. Being Valentines Day, lunch and dinner hours were booked so we settled for a 2pm tea time.

I wonder if her name is "Josie"?

A warning to those like me who are sensitive to pink: wear protective sunscreen and a pair of Raybans. You’ll need ‘em. Not only is the restaurant decorated in “Hello Kitty pink”, but the waitresses and food are themed to0. Yes, the food. Hello Kitty must have a thing for strawberries. Being tea time, our orders consisted entirely of desserts. I ordered the “Apple & Strawberry Pie”, which turned out to actually be a cake. My wife ordered a chocolate cake. We ordered strawberry ice cream for the kids. The presentation was beautiful.

My apple and strawberry cake (which they called "pie" in the menu)

My wife's chocolate cake.

Aidan and his strawberry ice cream.

We also ordered a tea and latte. One thing I loved is that their coffee is supplied by Lavazaa, probably the best-tasting of the chain cafes. Both my wife’s chocolate cake and my “pie” were very tasty, but nothing to write home about. The ice cream was of very high quality (i.e. made with actual cream) and didn’t last long… .

In the End.

Our tea time was topped off with a complimentary serving of jell-o. Bet you can’t guess what flavor.

Tea time was finished with a free...wait for it...strawberry (surprise) jello.

Take away the obnoxious amounts of pink and slightly overpriced desserts (the cakes were NT$340 each) and the experience was a good one.

Oh, one more plus and something I always look for when I go to a cafe or restaurant: They have FREE WiFi! That’s very useful for tweeting from your iPod Touch about how the massive amounts of pink are making your eyes bleed…like I did.

Of course, all the waitresses are dressed as cute cats.

Hello Kitty Sweets is at ls:auto:#90 Da-An Road section 1 Taipei very near to Sogo.

UPDATE: I returned recently and tried an actual meal there rather then just tea-time desserts. You can read my thoughts in this article.

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http://dreintaiwan.blogspot.com/ andres

wow! don’t know if i would go there, but i can see this being a real adventure for my daughter in a couple years.
Evangelene

nice pictures!
Michele

ah… hello kitty!!
http://www.filination.com/blog/ Fili An

Absolutely brilliant!
Brian

@Fili An: Thanks . Taipei is a weird mix of Chinese, Japanese, and “Western” (notice the quotes) with a touch of Hakka and Aboriginal for national pride.

This is the “kawaii culture” Japanese part showing through very strongly…and in pink.
http://? Anonymous

this is the coolest restaurant i have ever seen in my life. that is awesome how the waiters/waitresses dress up,too. i also love the Hello Kitty jell-o. this will be going on my power point for english, no doubt. thanks. ;]
Brian

Thanks for the comment. My wife is a huge Hello Kitty fan and this place was a special treat for her. It’s hugely popular, both in Japan & Taiwan so we may be seeing more in the future.
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Angeline Wang

I am a Hello Kitty fan, would make a trip down to Taipei Hello Kitty restaurant…so sweet n charming.. Can’t miss it!
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian Webb

@Angeline Make sure to make a reservation. After you go, you can walk across Chungsiao E. Rd. to Sogo and go up to the Hello Kitty store.
Angeline Wang

Hi Brian,

Is the dishes on the menu expensive? Which mrt station shoud I alight from? Waking distance to Hello kitty Restaurnt how many mins from mrt station?

1 day reservation will that be ok?
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian Webb

We only had dessert, but it was slightly expensive (novelty costs extra ) but not hugely expensive. Get off at the Chungsiao/Fuxing station, walk to DaAn and turn right. It’ll be on your right-hand side after about 5 minutes.
Angeline Wang

Hi Brian, thanks for your detailed info. Be gg down in 2 more weeks. Are u taiwanese?
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian Webb

No worries, glad to help. No, I’m not Taiwanese…I was born & raised near Los Angeles. I’ve lived in Taiwan for about 10 years. What’s really funny is that because have darkish skin and am “round” sometimes Taiwanese mistake me for aboriginal, but the same thing sometimes happens when I visit my sis in Hawai’i… tourists sometimes mistake me for being Polynesian.
Angeline Wang

Icic, yr son is cute.
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian Webb

Thank you

He’s a twin, too.
http://www.kittyhell.com hkh

It only goes downhill from here. Brace yourself — you’re in for a lot of pink in your life
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian

@hkh It’s not so bad. We have twin sons, so no little girl to use as a Hello Kitty “excuse”.
Lily

sweeeet……………….
J. Everett

Gee, I definitely need to check this out on my next visit to Taipei, Taiwan!!
chi ;)

HELLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO KITYYYYYYYYYYYYY )))
http://englishtutornetwork.com.tw/ Paul

where is this? My little girl would love it.
http://www.photojazz.ws Brian

@Paul on Da-An Rd, right across from the Chungsiao/Fuxing Sogo Department store.

And she probably would
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Angel7105

hi Brian,
I will be flight to taipei this 28/5/2011, to attend the computex fair. Nee some of your advise. from 28/05 till 30/05 my plan is free n easy. Can you recommend any nice place to visit? Hello kitty restaurant sure i will will visit. Hope to hear from you…thank you. Frm: angel(angel7105@gmail.com)
http://profiles.google.com/brian.q.webb Brian Webb

@5b96052bcfbab10f9d657a4abbcdcace:disqus If you have an afternoon and night free, take the MRT to Danshe and walk the river boardwalk. When it gets close to dinnertime, hop back on the MRT and return a couple of stops to Shilin. Eat dinner and spend the next few hours lost in the biggest nightmarket in Taipei.
Bainsmanjot

niceeeeeeeeeeee
^-^?aii

How far is this place from Taipei Int’l Airport?? Is it expensive to go there??
Anonymous

Taipei city itself is a couple hours drive from the international airport, which is in Taoyuan. The quickest way would be to catch the free shuttle from the airport to the high speed rail station, then take that to Taipei Main Station. Transfer to the local metro rail and go to Chungsiao/Fushing, then walk a block.

Total transit time would be about an hour and cost maybe NT$1000.
mhie.18

wow.. this is really interesting and great! i really really like it!
Anonymous

Thanks!