Taiwan. Home to the first Hello Kitty-themed café, Hello Kitty
aeroplane theme and now -- taking cute perhaps one step too
far -- the world's first Barbie-themed restaurant.
Licensed by U.S. toymaker Mattel, Taiwan restaurant
company Sinlaku on Wednesday opened the Barbie Café on Zhongxiao
road, one of the busiest shopping districts in the capital,
Taipei.
The café's decoration, costing TW$50 million (US$1.7
million), is mostly in suitably Barbie-style magenta and pink.
The furniture couldn't be more princess-y -- bar tables
look like the heel of a stiletto, chair backs resemble bustiers
(some with a tutu) and chandeliers are shaped like elegant teapots
and teacups with saucers. Barbie dolls and logos adorn walls and
tabletops.
The restaurant also has a gigantic Barbie box allowing
customers to step in and feel like a packaged up, life-size
Barbie.
Waitresses wear tutus and tiaras while their male
counterparts try, mostly in vain, to look like Ken, Barbie's on-off
squeeze.
Barbie's abnormally, and anatomically-challenging, slim
figure may diminish some appetites. With that in mind, the
restaurant menu has been designed by professional
nutritionists,There's a calorie chart on the first page of the
menu, with calorie data listed alongside each item.
The menu itself is a hodgepodge of offerings, including
Chicken toast box, Hazelnut tiramisu, Macaroons in martini glasses,
Philadelphia steak salad, Salmon beauty salad and Barbie 128 (a
pink drink named after the café's address).
Sinlaku is planning a second Barbie Café in the central
Taiwan city of Taichung and aims to introduce one in Shanghai, Wu
ke-jing, the general manager of Sinlaku, said in a local
media
Sinlaku also operates a Hello Kitty-themed café in Taipei,
which opened five years ago. The Hello Kitty restaurant is slightly
more expensive than Barbie Café with mains from TW$400 (US$14)
compared to Barbie Café's mains from TW$250 (US$8)
