Crossdressing cafe PRINCE

The cutest boys you have ever seen, wait for you at Cafe/bar "Prince". Just that those cute boys are... actually girls!
"Danso" is the term for girls wearing boys clothes and cafe PRINCE has themed their cafe in a way to accommodate the dreams of a "perfect" boy in a way that reminds us a little of anime scenarios. In anime a very beautiful boy is often described as "beautiful like a girl" or having a feminine face. The girls at cafe Prince are thus called "Prince" and are incredibly charming or entertaining - depending on what personality they represent - just like in an anime.

Danso cafes and butler cafes are not yet as popular as maid cafes but they still are aiming at similar guests - those who love those dream worlds and fluid spaces in-between.

To be honest, i was almost a little nervous when i walked into the cafe the first time, not knowing what to expect. I was greeted by a "Prince". All staff at the cafe are to be referred as Prince - to further deepen the prince/princess dreamscape. (I shall refer to them as "he" now, otherwise it gets too confusing). We were then shown to our place at the bar. First i was wondering why they put us at the bar, instead of the leather sofas...but then i realized that this was so we could easily chat with the princes behind the counter. The bar was stocked impressively with spirits of all sorts. Their evening bar part is another popular feature to the cafe, running on Saturday and Friday nights until the first trains take up their services again.
Today three princes were present. Two of them the cool type, looking beautiful and dangerous, one of them the cute type. Our cute "shota" type prince made jokes and told funny anecdotes, soon having the room in stitches. He said he was much older than he looked and he often got asked by guests if he was old enough to serve drinks yet.

I felt rather hungry and ordered some "omrice" (rice inside an omelette). Omrice, like in maid cafes, gets decorated by your prince of choice with hand drawn pictures. However, different to most maid cafes, the prince himself will cook especially for you! No microwave or magic box!
I got a picture of a cat drawn in ketchup by shota prince on my omrice. He said he cannot draw cute things but it came out quite cute.
When i left the cat picture (too cute to eat) he received it with the biggest smile i have ever seen.
Me and my friend decided to order some of their house special cocktails and "cool-type" prince made us his special: maccha cocktail with rose petals!

Another prince had brought back some sweets from a trip outside of tokyo and so we got free sweets.
In the end we decided to round it up with a cup of tea. To my surprise they had quite an impressive collection of different and high end brands of tea. They didnt only sound fancy, they also tasted good, and thats coming from a tea lover like me!
All in all a nice afternoon well spend. Its not as squeamy and noisy as a maid cafe, more like a classy bar/cafe with chandelliers and leather seats and entertaining situations.
Shota prince told us that most guests stay quite long, around 3 hours at least. I peaked around us to see what crowd has been here with us. Most were other cute geek girls and one crossdressing boy, enjoying being a princess for an afternoon.
All in all it was a fun experience, and after a while i wasnt so nervous anymore. You can also be in touch with your prince of choice after your stay, on twitter. Generally you have much more time to talk with the staff and be entertained by their quirky sides, banter and conversations than in.moat themed cafes

Overall Review: Fun, if you are brave enough!
FOOD & DRINK
The food was delicious (handmade), the cocktails creative, the tea collection impressive, the free sweets a nice addition.
LOCATION
Near Nakano station and easily reached. The inside interior is classy and a little posh looking
CHARGES
Table charge (at the time of this being posted) is about 500yen. Drinks vary between 700-1000 (or more for high end spirits).
Foods are around 1000-2500 depending on what you get.
- no cake set with a drink, not so much cake choices.
It was fun and kinda exciting. I like that you can take it slow and there is no "time limit" to your stay (like in most maid cafes). A good place for anime lovers, princess lolitas and brolitas, if you dont mind the small cake selection. Definitely worth the experience if you wanna get treated by an anime prince for a day :)
Catch you soon
X
Cathy

Alice in Wonderland themed Bakery Antique

When I imagine a Bakery, I imagine a large display counter with bread and cake, and maybe a fridge in the corner for some fresh milk.
The Bakery "Antique" however felt like a cafe and a family restaurant all into one.
Why?
Well, first of all, it was located next to a main street, with a large parking space like all restaurants do.

But something about the melting chocolate over the entrance enticed my cute cafe lover's heart and so I stepped closer to get a better look at the said "bakery".

Doughnuts doorknobs!

 Upon approaching the door, the design of the shop was so much Alice in Wonderland, that I wondered if this was just a themed cafe

The white rabbit was a re-occurring symbol

Once inside however, I was greeted by the open display of bakery goods and some trays and tongs. You pick your own tray and tongs, walk around and then select the sweet baked goodies you like. It's like a self-service bakery type, or one of those "bakery supermarkets" that are recently popular in Europe. The baked goods however looked absolutely sweet and tasty:

There was a secret entrance and exit for kids to go through behind the goods

The glass case was empty but still decorated nicely

Who would like a cute worm bread?

Special of the month: Green tea and rice cake bread-doughnuts with chocolate. The most tasteful combi EVER!

 At the counter you can order some hot drinks with your baked goods, which made it seem more than ever like a cafe to me. Just like a self-service cafe. I selected a hot chocolate and went to find my seat. But guess what, the seats had doughnut pillows and there were heart and card patterns on the tables!

So cozy!

My daily food haul. The rabbit card is a membership stamp card.

Coffee and Tea is on refill, all other drinks are just one-serving only. Customers however do not receive their baked goods on plates, but in little cute bread baskets, which is a charming twist to the whole bakery idea.
The green tea bread was so delicious, I am still dreaming about it sometimes. Unfortunately it was a limited edition for January, so I think it has been changed to something new by now.

Card-chandelier and doughnut chairs!

 The interior was quite spacious and left room for quite a lot of guests to visit.

☆REVIEW of Antique☆

☆☆PLUS☆

☆Alice themed interior

☆Interesting choices of bread

☆drinks on re-fill

☆secret tunnel

☆lots of space  

★★MINUS★★

★self-service

★mostly normal design on the baked goods, so cute faces etc are rare

★near a busy road

★★OVERALL SUMMARY★★

 Can I go there every day please?

Prices are good, you will always find a seat and the quality of the bakery was really good.

I like how it combines cafe and bakery and even adds a bit of a theme touch to it.

I vote for the staff to wear Alice in wonderland dresses. But then again, that would probably make the prices go up again. Possibly good for large Lolita meets, but maybe not comfy enough for smaller ones, because there is nothing close by and once you finished eating that's kind of it. I wish there was an Antique branch my way to work, I would love to have a coffee there before going to hunt the white rabbit.

Thanks for reading

x

Cat 

Subway Cafe Amanti: chocolate delight!

Right in the buzzing subway of Ikebukuro station you can find a piece of Europe. Cafe Amanti, located in the maze of subway hallways, gives you the chance to flee the rush and have a quick moment of rest and the illusion of time.

Once walking through the wooden door you are greeted by European inspired interior. A bar with a waiter polishing a glass with a towel makes you feel like you are watching a movie. Sitting down, the smart looking waiter comes over and presents you with the menu.
On the door a sign that had praised their hot chocolates has caught your attention and so the choice will be their special hot chocolate.
Even the wet towel and the coasters carry the logo of the cafe. Attention to detail that i appreciate.

Once the hot chocolate arrives you take a moment to marvel at the thick and dark brown colour, decorated with a white cream swirl. The colour of the drink already tells you that there is a higher cocoa content compared to the average hot chocolate. One sip and your tastebuds pick up rich and strong chocolate flavour. Where some hot chocolates taste milky, Amanti's tastes of dark chocolate.
But that is not the only thing trained cafe lovers will pay attwntion to. Looking around you, the person next to you has another delicate teacup with yet another design, different to yours. Even the bill has been customised for amanti customers.

**Quick review of Cafe Amanti**
PLUS
+Nice interior, you will even forget you are in the subway area of Ikebukuro station
+gorgeous and rich hot chocolate
+ lovely attention to detail in their branding
MINUS
-It seems a little small, so before going there with larger groups you might want to check for seats
- It seems quite posh, so going there in fancy fashion or lolita fashion might earn you some strange looks
A quick stop, a quick moment in a movie europe, is what amanti offers its customers. Classy and a little bit posh, amanti is worth a visit if you want to forget the busy day for a moment.

Mister Doughnut - Hello Kitty Halloween

Mister Doughnut is a coffeehouse chain from Japan.
Well, actually that's wrong.
It USED to be a chain from America, but now the headquarters of it are in Japan, while most of the American stores transformed into Dunkin' Doughnuts.

I've been to Mister Doughnuts a couple of times, their "Pon de Ring" is my favourite, but since they are a chain, they lack the cozy tea house charm that some individual places have.

I know it's waaay past Halloween, but I wanted to show you the cute Halloween special they did during the time:
The Halloween Hello Kitty Doughnuts!

Mmmmh Kitty!

They came in two flavours, strawberry and pumkin and were shaped like Hello Kitty pumpkins. The both tasted quite delicious, even though I felt they were a little too cross on the inside.


They had an offer that combines one doughnut with a drink, so that way you can save a little bit on the coins when you are going for tea in Tokyo.

Mister Doughnut used to give away plushies, bento boxes and other goodies to loyal customers, however just this autumn the system has changed and all the customer cards expire now. We can only hope that they will do great price off deals in the future instead. I will miss the Pon the Lion plushy though.

If you are lucky, they often do 100yen days, when selected doughnuts are only 100yen. If you see the offer, I'd definitely recommend you to go inside and try some out!

★★★★★QUICK REVIEW: Mister Doughnut★★★★★
PLUS:
★It's cheaper than other chains like Starbucks etc.
★It usually has a more playful atmosphere, with their character Pon de Lion displayed around the store.
★It's super affordable on campaign days
★The only place you can Eat "Pon de Ring", it's worth it!
MINUS:
★Depending on the store, the inside can look a little like a posh cafeteria.
★Some drinks are pricy, compared to what they offer
SUMMARY
Mister Doughnut is a nice place to stop if you are desperate for a doughnut and some tea. It lacks the 'family feel' of more intimate and smaller coffee places, and there isn't much room for customization from the staff either. I wouldn't go there on a Loli meet, or to have a nice time out, but it's nice for a snack, a tea, while waiting for someone or when you need a quick study break outside.

Derpy me! I was ill on that day, don't judge meeee!

I will be away from my computer for the next couple of days.
Let's see how I will manage to upload in that time.

Challenge START!

Love
x
Cat

Moekawa Cafe モエカワカフェ ♥ : Cute Girls and Snacks

 On a day of shopping in Harajuku all you wish for is more money and a place to rest your sore feet.
 Now my friend Annabelle and I were looking for such a place to rest and have some food and found Dream Station, which is located at the end of Takeshita Doori.
Inside are several places from the famous Crepe shops to Kebab stalls, and the newly opened MOEKAWA ♥ CAFE.

Moe + Kawai = Moekawa!

On that theme, the waitresses from Moekawa Cafe were dressed up in cute, maid-inspired outfits, even though they are not strictly speaking a maid cafe. The staff was very cute, apparently some of them are idols, and they were really friendly. They even let us take a picture with them.

Moekawa Cafe specialises in little snacks and drinks.

As said, they are not a Maid cafe, so they won't put a "moe moe kyun" spell on your food or dance and sing, but the food definitely shows the cute touch that you'd expect from the name: tiny eggs with mouth and faces on them, heart shaped carrots, potato stars and a ketchup heart are some of the decorations used. My egg yakisoba was layered in a cup to give it a cute yet colourful pattern. I also got an Acerola drink for free as special opening offer.

The staff is extremely friendly and open, they don't expect money for taking pictures and allowed me to share it online - that's a rare luxury in Japan! I was really happy about that and asked if I can take a video next time I visit them and I got a positive response. Lucky!

The Moekawa Cafe has already been to Paris before, and functions as a flexible entertainment cafe, meaning they are at Dream Station for a limited time.

☆REVIEW of MOEKAWA CAFE　モエカワカフェ　原宿☆

☆☆PLUS☆

☆The staff is cute, friendly and moe = Moekawa!

☆You're allowed to take pictures

☆The food is decorated with love and moekawa power.

☆The prices are reasonable (my yakisoba was 400yen) and the portions are perfect.

★★MINUS★★

★No moemoe performance shows, but apparently they might be using the JOL stage for　performances, according to their web page.

★The location is inside Dream Station, so there are no specially designed places for Moekawa guests, as it is all within the food court of Dream Station

★Not really suitable for a fashion meet because of the surroundings, but definitely nice for a break from shopping

☆☆☆☆OVERALL☆☆☆☆

I LOVED Moekawa Cafe, especially because of the staff. They were so kind, cute, friendly and moe, how can you not like them?! No matter how difficult a customer I was, they really took in my requests (especially when I went there filming another day) and remained sweet and charming. Perfect service! I find Moekawa Cafe is the nice alternative to Maid cafes. You still have the cute girls and decorated foods, but you don't have table charges, photo charges and high prices. It's like a maid cafe accessable for girls, in a nice and girly atmosphere, with the staff being like the nice "oneesama" (older sister) type that really cares.

☆ATTENTION!☆ The Moekawa cafe is running from October 2013 till the 31st of January 2014! If you want to get a chance to go to see them you have to hurry!

 Perfect time out for your Harajuku Shopping trip!

 I will definitely, definitely go there again if I get the chance. I hope they continue doing the cafe in other places in Tokyo, or extend their time in Harajuku.

If you are curious, the link to their webpage is HERE ★

There's a cute little short clip on youtube, watch it HERE

Thanks for checking out my blog!

MOEKAWA Moemoe!☆

Love

x

Cat

Cute Latte Art at Cafe ChocoTea

I had the rare occasion to marvel at the art in my coffee cup!

What is "Latte Art"?
You might already have had a cup of latte with latte art on it without realising it.
Latte Art is usually a pattern made on espresso with milk. It's apparently quite difficult to make, since the conditions of the espresso and the milk have to be 'just right'.
I've seen it before, in the shape of little swivels and hearts, in Europe.

Now Cafe ChocoTea in Saitama is taking it to a whole new level. After pouring the shapes and swivels on the latte, the owner then draws complete, cute and detailed pictures on top of the latte!

 

As you can see he puts a lot of effort into detailed little pictures. The picture he is drawing above, was for another customer, and it was Halloween themed. It does take a couple of minutes to get done, but that's reasonable seeing the colour and detail. Cafe ChocoTea can comfortably accommodate about 8-10 people, so there should not be too much of a waiting time. When I finally got my Latte, it was the cutest thing I've ever had the pleasure to drink!

It's someone wearing a bunny hat, with a ghost in his hands!

 It is served with two delicious cookies and a spook for those who wish to mix it before drinking, I thought it was a total waste. Actually, I first ate both biscuits while marveling at the art in my coffee cup.

The colours and thickness of the art is quite delicate!

The reason why I didn't find it at first, is that it is tucked away in the corner of a bakery. The reason why it caught my eye was, while on the bakery side there were normal customers  -  the coffee shop always seemed to be full with cute girls, wearing sweet pastel-shade clothes in the style of Liz Lisa.

  

Having had a peek inside, the interior was very welcoming as well. The large windows let in lots of light and every little corner was decorated nicely without giving off that 'cluttered' feel that some little cafes have.

On the map, customers could mark where they have come from.

They do lunch deals, which were already sold out when I came

Figures, books and manga for customers to look at

According to the owner, he's been to Ireland, learned Latte Art and continued to perfect it once he got back to Japan. The cafe has already been on national Japanese TV and they also own a youtube channel, an Ameblo and a Facebook Page. The Facebook Page has lots of pictures and links, if you want to see more. There you can also see the Latte Art Bears, that are made out of milk foam, and look like they are taking a bath in your coffee.

I even got a free postcard <3

 CAFE CHOCOTEA REVIEW

PLUS

- Most adorable Latte Art I've ever seen

- Nice interior

- Bright and friendly

MINUS

- not for large groups as it only fits about 10 people

- location is quite far out, and it's quite a walk from the nearest station

 SUMMARY

If you manage to find youself in the Saitama Area, looking for somewhere to impress your friends or go on a cute date, you are at the right place! I could see girls going there together, a couple and a Liz Lisa girl, who just seemed to fit right in with the atmosphere. You pay from 400-600yen for your Latte art, depending how difficult it is to make and they have cake sets and lunch menus. If you want to make sure you get the whole experience, you might want to reserve a table in advance (the table next to the counter is 'reservation-only'.

Only thing I was sad about, is that I could not keep my latte art picture and had to drink it.

In the end only the ears remained. I drank my art away. Yum!

Love

x

Cat