Irresistible charm: Lady M sold out in less than 2 hours on opening day

▲Lady M matcha thousand-layer cake. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Reported by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

On the first day of its opening, the popular New York dessert brand Lady M attracted over 100 people queuing up. At 12 noon, staff began tallying up each person's order quantity and issuing small cake order cards. By 2 PM, all the cards had been handed out and the store announced it was sold out—no more cakes were available for those who came after 2 PM. On the second day of opening (the 13th), there was again an early queue, with the earliest arrivals showing up as early as 8 AM to grab a spot. Reporters who arrived after 9:30 AM saw nearly 50 people already in line. However, unlike the opening day, the store will now start selling at 10 AM every day going forward.


▲The small cake order card given when placing your order while queuing acts as a number tag—you need it to check out and collect your cake, and you can't change flavors on the spot. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Since Lady M has a limited daily supply—around 80 cakes per day—the store uses a pre-order system with small flavor-specific cake order cards (quantities may vary depending on daily stock). For example, if you order three classic thousand-layer cakes and three matcha thousand-layer cakes, staff will give you three classic thousand-layer cards and three matcha thousand-layer cards. You then use these cards to collect your order at the counter, and Lady M recycles the cards afterward. Lady M store manager Kenny explained that this method helps better control inventory—if the cards run out, that means the cakes are sold out, avoiding situations where people wait in long lines but leave empty-handed.

Although the card system helps manage the queue, factors such as the time needed for checkout and packaging, plus the fact that many people showed up early on opening day, meant some had to wait up to five hours to receive their cakes. The last customer didn’t pick up their order until after 8 PM. Regarding the long wait times, Manager Kenny said it’s hard to avoid but they’re looking into ways to improve the process. For now, the system of pre-ordering and issuing cake cards remains in place.

Address: 1F, No. 3, Lane 39, Section 2, Zhongshan N. Rd., Taipei City
Business hours: 10:00–21:00 (subject to on-site conditions; cakes are sold until stock runs out)