World’s First Hello Kitty Chinese Restaurant Serves the Cutest Dim Sum

Konichiwa! O-genki-desu-ka? How the heck are you? Glad you could sidle by today. Fill your coffee mug and try to select a couple of delectable virtual treats from the always amazing array. Say...do you like Dim Sum? You know...700 kinds of Chinese steamed meatballs? Also, you may or may not know the 'Hello Kitty' Japanese brand. It is HUGE in Asia! Anyway, read on and you will see how these two seemingly unconnected concepts have come together...

The Japanese creators of Hello Kitty have decided to oblige the character’s massive Hong Kong fan base by giving them the world’s first Hello Kitty-themed Chinese restaurant. Sanrio Co. has teamed up with Chinese restaurateur Man Kwong to create an incredibly cute Hello Kitty dining experience in Hong Kong.



“Hello Kitty is more popular in Hong Kong than in Japan,” said Kwong, who started negotiations with Sanrio in 2013. The official nod came through in April 2014, and since then, he has worked hard experimenting on hundreds of recipes and varieties of dim sum. Each dish was individually inspected, taste-tested, and approved by Sanrio executives. 

The final menu consists of 37 dishes, ranging from fresh shrimp buns to stir-fried beef and noodles.
Some of them are quite laborious to prepare: the buns, for instance, require 17 different steps. The Hello Kitty-shaped dim sum platters will have flour bows colored with beetroot, eyes dotted with squid ink, and skin made from high-quality flour. Kowng said he wanted to stick to all-natural ingredients, as he is also the founder of a Chinese health magazine.

Apart from the dishes, the owners have gone to great lengths to make sure that the diner’s interiors appeal to Hello Kitty fans.  The windows, tables, chairs, dinnerware, teapots, and chopstick holders are all adorned with Hello Kitty motifs. The restaurant’s official launch will take place on June 1; its clientele is expected to consist of lots of giggling young girls madly clicking photographs to share online.

Hong Kong already has two Hello Kitty themed cafes, but apparently the cute icon’s popularity is so high in the island city that any new venue is a guaranteed success. The hard part is getting the approval of parent company Sanrio Co.

If you’re looking for a similarly cute Hello Kitty eating experience, you may also want to try the Hello Kitty Dreams restaurant, in Beijing. 

I love a good dim sum meal. Just have to be careful because of my allergy to shellfish and so many of the dim sum items contain shrimp. 'Har kao', 'siu mi'. But, at least in North America, the waiters usually speak enough English to guide me towards the pork and chicken.

The 'Hello Kitty' brand is very popular in Thailand, too. One of the kindergarten teachers in my last programme in Thailand is a "Hello Kitty' fanatic collector. 

Sayonara, eh! 

Bob