The Barbie Cafe in Taipei, Taiwan is not the first Barbie-themed restaurant in the world but it is the first Barbie-themed restaurant in the world officially licensed by Mattel H.Q. In El Segundo, California. The obvious question is Why Taipei?. Themed restaurants are very popular in Asia in general and seem to be especially popular in countries like Japan, China, and Taiwan. In China, enforcement of intellectual properties and trademarks is ridiculously lax making it a poor environment in which to open a business that relies on its branding as a selling tool. In Japan, the market has matured (and might even be called glutted). While theme restaurants are popular in Taipei, there is still room for new players here. It also helps that one of the most popular restaurants in the city is the Sanrio-approved Hello Kitty Sweets, which has remained popular for some time. In demographic terms, they appeal to the same pie. And guess where the Barbie Cafe is located? Its less than a block from Hello Kitty Sweets, so Mattel is well aware of the demographics.
On the way back home from the firefly farm in Wulai this past Saturday we stopped in the center of the town so that we could grab a bite to eat on the long ride home. We had 15 minutes, then we had to get back on the bus.
So heres pictures of Wulai, late at night, in 15 minutes.
Last week being the week of Chinese New Year, my children were out of school and me, being a teacher, had no classes to teach. With all of us being on vacation at the same time, we were able to take the opportunity to do some things together like go to the Taipei Zoo, [...]
One thing that I’ve discovered about Taiwan, especially outside of Taipei, is that people want you to know how they make things. Be it a food stall in a local night market, a piano factory in Taoyuan, or a bakery in the Sanxia district of New Taipei City (formerly Sanxia city).
In the greater Taipei area, there are two kinds of night markets: those that have been “prettied up” for tourists (like HuaXi a.k.a. “Snake Alley”) and those that are more organic in nature and serve the community that surrounds them. Sanhe Night Market is one of the latter. It’s not wide streets [...]
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