Ugly-cute alert!“Ubbaite”-themed café features toast adorned with Pink Pitsu faces

Text & Photos by /miss kitB

Since I run a cartoon-themed café myself, I rarely visit other themed restaurants to avoid the darkly humorous situation of “my own food being cuter than the restaurant’s.” But with so many fun themed cafés popping up in Taipei, I had to check out a few for some field research. I tried entering the Hello Kitty Café and browsed the menu for ages, but couldn’t find a single dish I wanted to order (aside from the fact that they’re all meat-based and I don’t eat meat). I was also wary of waiting in long lines alone at Rilakkuma Café—it just felt too silly—so I ended up at the no-wait Ubbaite Secret Garden (there weren’t many people when I went around 4 p.m.).

Speaking of which, there are quite a few themed cafés along “Lane 181, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road.” The Rody Pony Café was tempting, but the food didn’t really suit my taste. I also spotted a Polar Bear Café around the corner and was tempted to try their Polar Bear Coffee (with an adorable white bear floating on top), but unfortunately, it was sold out and not restocked yet!!!

Remind me to go back for it next time.

The garden space at the entrance was more cheerful than I expected. These forest sprites look ugly and quirky, yet kind of endearing—an innocuous concept overall.

The shop area has a variety of Ubbaite merchandise. For food, you can find icing cookies and cupcakes—all shaped, since icing and fondant are easier to work with. There’s also a series of cups and plates that would make meals look vibrant, though they’re not really my everyday style.

It’s a semi-self-service restaurant. After being seated by the staff, you’re given a menu and then order at the counter yourself—the food is then served to you. All the chairs in the café are covered with Ubbaite fabric covers, and each one has a big Pink Pitsu doll on it, which you can hug while eating or use as a photo prop.

At the self-service utensil area, you can freely use the Ubbaite-themed plates too.

Not wanting to eat too much, I ordered the “Pitsu’s Favorite Fruit Sandwich” (NT$250). The sandwich comes with either a Pitsu-head-shaped toast or a character-stamped ciabatta—I thought the head-shaped toast was more fun and better for photos. The fillings included cheese slices, apple, peach, and kiwi, and the bread was spread with a thin layer of butter—simple and mild, just like my usual meals. The fries were crispy enough, and the salad dressing was fragrant and delicious.

Food is meant to be played with, anyway. Since this sandwich wasn’t meant to be paired with hot food, it didn’t matter.

For drinks, I got the “Golden Treasure Chocolate Latte” (NT$150). I thought only the coffee had character designs on top, but it turns out they offer a whole range of creamy latte drinks (aka lattles, milk-based beverages) with matcha, brown sugar, and red bean flavors—probably to cater to non-coffee-drinking kid customers.

They were all pretty good—the designs melted after a sip, with the faces caving in from the middle.

There are a few headbands in the shop area that you can borrow for photos. Wear something green, and you can easily blend into the精灵 world.

INFO
Ubbaite’s Secret Garden Light Meal Café
Address: 1F, No. 2, Lane 40, Lane 181, Section 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: +886-02-2775-5161
Business Hours: 11:00 - 22:00 (Monday to Sunday)
Website:https://www.facebook.com/KOBITOSFOOD

Follow my breakfast adventure on Instagram

miss kitB
A core member of the “Unserious Business Association,” also known as a “multifunctional cross-media freelance creator.” Believes boredom is the mother of creativity, and happiness is life’s greatest asset. Eats breakfast every day and travels the Earth daily.
Blog:http://misskitb.blogspot.hk/

Deliciousness from morning to night, non-stop
Download the “ETtoday News Cloud APP” for the latest food updates →
iOS:https://goo.gl/rmIDdx
Android:https://goo.gl/XPe8Uj