Oh the Places You'll Find Bing Dwen Dwen
It’s hard to believe that a mascot we openly mocked way back when it was first unveiled is winning hearts all over the world as we write this.
And while you might not be able to get a Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩 bīng dūn dūn) doll right away – it’ll take a month or more in some instances – businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to deliver ways to experience this wanghong idol, with a great many of these avenues being of the edible kind.
We start with coffee, the quintessential opener to anyone’s day. A few shops have taken their latte art to Olympic heights, debuting lattes with the smiling chubby panda on them.
To order a Bing Dwen Dwen latte at Jungle Cafe, just say, "Dwen Dwen Dwen" and they'll get the message, says manager Nathan Chen
Nathan Chen, manager of , says it took him ten cups to perfect the café's Bing Dwen Dwen art. "We need to make a body for [the mascot] using milk foam, and then we use needles to trace the lines of the body and eyes."
The version on offer at Kitty & Daniel
You can also head to or to get your Bing Dwen Dwen latte fix – perhaps with a burger and fries for a filling yet stimulating lunch combo.
But what is coffee without a sweet treat to accompany – or perhaps dip into – it?
That base is covered thanks to the baking chops of , an Italian bakery close to Sanlitun and near the embassy district.
The cookies on offer at Da Giuliano
The cookies on offer are more or less just square sugar cookies with frosting, but take one bite out of any of these and you'll feel the Olympic spirit pulsing through your veins (or maybe that's just heightened blood sugar?).
He looks thinner in this instance
Jokes aside, the cookies seem to have had a thinning effect on Bing Dwen Dwen in this case, as he's slimmed out and lost his nose in this depiction.
A simple search on Meituan using Bing Dwen Dwen's Chinese name brought these to our attention, and at RMB 5 a pop, they don't look too shabby at all.
That is, until you actually open them up – because inside it's just a regular old panda, making that price tag a little more of a relief.
It's not all that bad considering (a) it's probably difficult to get Bing Dwen Dwen's likeness onto some ice cream and (b) this sort of thing has been going on for ages if you consider those "Bruce Lee" ice creams, but for those looking to take a figurative bite out of the cuddly Olympic mascot, it's not so much fun.
If you do feel cheated with these panda ice creams, you can always call 12315 and report a scam.
If you're looking for something that won't be gone once you've digested it, then why not get some art?
First, there's custom leaf carvings, which can feature the panda as well as his buddy Shuey Rhon Rhon (雪容融 xuě róng róng), or some other Olympics-related designs. Add in a few extra RMB and you can get a frame thrown in as well.
Finally, there's even some graffiti of the little guy -- seemingly done up fairly recently.
Situated along Baiziwan Lu by , Bing Dwen Dwen stands out like a sore thumb when surrounded by the more intricate art along the wall it finds itself on. Still, another way to see the chubby fella out and about in the wild.
Those cold dead eyes, though (photo courtesy of WeChat user Rhianna)
Where else have you seen Bing Dwen Dwen pop up? Let us know in the comments!
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Images: Vincent R. Vinci, WeChat (user Rhianna), MyPengYou, courtesy of the venues
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