Check out these four themed cafés this December
Okay, the food may not be great, but the setting can't be beat. Here are four themed cafés to try.
Chinchilla Café
You can’t miss the huge ‘Chinchilla Café’ signboard near Shanghai South Railway Station. The café is adorned inside and out with replicas of Totoro, fake trees and flowers, and wooden furniture that suck you into the Totoro universe, a universe from which you’ll never truly escape. Further back in the café are piles of books which you may peruse freely, and with ample power plugs, it all makes for a wonderful place to spend the afternoon.
The menu is wide-ranging with unique, Totoro-themed choices. We ask for a cup of ‘Yang-tonifying coffee’ first, only to be warned that the blend of herb and coffee makes for a weird taste for laowai tastebuds. The staff are adamant we should try something else, so we choose the classic Chinchilla coffee (38RMB), which arrives with a marshmallow chunk atop a mound of cream, to replicate Totoro standing on a lotus. The Chinchilla waffle (46RMB) is generous and satisfying.
This is a place you’ll want to come back to, owing in great part to the service and cosiness. A definite recommendation for winter.
581 Shilong Lu, near Longchuan Bei Lu, Xuhui district.
Mr Bean Coffee
With a comical (duh) replica of Mr Bean standing outside the entrance to the café, and an equally fine-looking copy of his famous car just inside, the message is: If you are a Mr Bean fan, get in! The British-style furniture provides comfortable seating from which you can watch Mr Bean episodes that are played continuously on a large screen. If you are feeling nostalgic, with fond memories of the show, you could spend the whole day there, without even realising it.
Other than that though, there is not much reason to stay. The menu is expansive, albeit expensive. There are some original Mr Bean-themed choices, but they don’t come prepared with any sense of uniqueness. We expect a quirky side to the Johnny English Tea (29RMB) we order; instead it comes as mediocre as the Johnny English film itself. Probably not a place about the food, unless there is a subtle twist in the plot we missed out on.
B1, Zhengda Ximalaya, Lane 1188, near Fangdian Lu, Pudong district.
Airobot Coffee
With comfortable, plush furniture and slow music offering a tranquil ambience, this is a fine place to spend while away an afternoon. The more nerdy will take great delight in the gadgets and robots that decorate the place, interspersing Minions, Transformers and others. If you need a read, feel free to pick up a comic book or magazine placed on the central shelf – especially if you are into Doraemon. Next door, a robot experience centre offers the chance to watch minature robots in action, kicking around a football on the tabletop and similar activities.
The food’s nothing to write home about, however. The menu is overpriced and uninspiring, with none of the items themed to the café’s robot motif. The chocolate milkshake (28RMB) is sweet to the max and by the end, feels as though you are just drinking straight sugar. But hey, that might be your thing.
Bldg 8, Qibao Guoji, Lane 1333, Xinlong Lu, near Zhongchun Lu Minhang district.
Teddy Bear Family
This teddy bear-themed café located in the tourist-dense Tianzifang offers a sweet solace away from the endless flow of jostling crowds. Occupying two levels of an old lanehouse, you’ll likely miss it if you’re just wandering the maze that is Tianzifang.
Once you enter the café, you’ll be greeted by an army of (no suprises here) cute teddies. It’s a real paradise for teddy bear lovers, with an assortment of soft-stuffed bears on the second and third floors. Beyond the usual generic teddies, you can also find star-studded teds, like Paddington Bear and Mr Bean’s teddy.
On the menu, there’s the standard latte with cocoa powder sprinkled in a paw shape and supposedly that qualifies it as a Teddy Latte (38RMB). Other teddy-shaped food includes Teddy Pizza (88RMB): basically cheese pizza with a few slices of pepperoni, topped off by olives and pickles forming the ‘eyes’ and the ‘mouth’ of the bear. We were hoping for something more. In short: go there for the cute factor and not the high levels of sophistication.
No 23 Tianzifang, 248 Taikang Lu, near Ruijin Er Lu, Huangpu district.
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