It’s garnished with yellow sun daisies for a sprightly finishing touch. Happy Together changes color to lavender when apricot lemonade is added to blue butterfly pea flower infused vodka. Pink Bow is a martini with gin, raspberry, lemon, liquor 43 and uses aquafaba - rather than smelly, non-vegan egg white - to create a foamy top. Charming teapots and china bear the namesake branding.Ĭocktails: They’re all Instagram-worthy and incredibly sophisticated, priced from $14-$21. ![]() All savories and desserts were exquisite in presentation with many expert touches such as decorative rolled fondant bows, leaves and stems. The Hello Kitty Mini Cake, an almond flour petit four, cloaked in white chocolate, is heart-stopping both for its decadent richness and its picture-perfect Kitty image. The kitty images were everywhere on an open-faced sandwich with carpaccio-thin slices of cucumber and perhaps even on the tiny pesto tart garnished with chives tied into what looked like cat ears, do they really go that far? Drop scones didn’t impress, and no clotted cream here, but the mini cupcake and chocolate chocolate cake were feathery and delectable, served at the proper temperature so their flavors blossomed. Egg salad in a miniature sugar cone was just odd. Among the savories, the smoked salmon in pretzel croissant with fresh dill and cream cheese was buttery and satisfying. Then a three-tiered tea tray shaped like Hello Kitty arrives. Service begins with fresh strawberries covered with cream and dusted with pink sugar in a Hello Kitty design. There are caffeine-free choices, fruit flavored teas, a Birthday Blend and Earl Grey. Tea service ($55 per person): Selections for tea geeks include whole leaf assam, white tip jasmine, oolong, sencha and Japanese cherry. Dress for tea or cocktails as if you’re headed to a luxury hotel. What to wear: Don’t go sloppy because you might feel foolish. The restroom has a Hello Kitty shaped mirror, a Hello sign and rose gold fixtures. It’s well appointed with a coffered ceiling, pink walls with Hello Kitty stencillling, and quartz floors and tabletops with Carrera marble finishes. Once inside you’ll be seated on pink cotton velvet banquettes amid toss pillows in pink and gold bearing images of Hello Kitty and cupcakes. If you’ve reserved in the Bow Room you must use the big brass bow knocker to be let in. The look: The cafe has a neon sign that flashes “Hot Donuts” and a big Hello Kitty figure in front that’s perfect for taking selfies. She’s worked at nearly every top craft cocktail bar in Orange County: Social Costa Mesa, 320 Main, Broadway by Amar Santana and Boathouse Collective to name a few. Proprietors Urania Chien and Alan Tea (he’s a food industry guy with Capital Seafood and its noodle bars) have hired veteran mixologist Emily Delicce. The Bow Room, a separate, 600-foot space with 28 seats is available only by reservation Wednesday through Sunday.ĭeep background: This cat prowls without a chef, but a culinary team turns out all the goodies. ![]() A 700-square-foot plus kitchen fast casual cafe with seating for 12 will be the place to order coffee and sweets from a grab-and-go menu: Espresso and blended drinks, mini doughnuts ($6) and Sanrio character mini cakes ($15). We’ll give you a taste of what it’s like to take tea there.īackground: It’s the first and only permanent cafe in the U.S. So if you’re curious and can’t wait, peer through the keyhole into the Bow Room. 14 and is already booked through mid-October. The concept started as a pop-up restaurant but now has a dazzling permanent home. “It’s the most Instagramable place I’ve ever been,” said one social media maven. An announcement on the opening from the Irvine Spectrum Center got more web hits than any it’s published before. “Walking in, it feels like a warm hug,” he said. In his opinion, Sanrio did Hello Kitty justice with this luxe experience, even if the room is painted pink. “I think she’s growing up with her fans,” he said. ![]() Isn’t it weird? Maybe even a little kinky to knock back cocktails in a place themed for an 8-year-old girly animated character? “No,” said Onch. Guests were treated to a demonstration of how the Bow Room transforms from afternoon tea house into nighttime bar. Wearing a necklace of Sanrio characters that played against his pink T-shirt, striped socks and Hello Kitty kicks, he was relishing a sneak preview of the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe Sanrio at the Irvine Spectrum Center on Thursday, Sept. “I’m ready to get so boozed up and kick it!” “Club Kitty!” shouted Los Angeles jewelry designer Onch, whose client list includes Kate Moss, Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Sanrio. Lights slowly dimmed and dance music shifted the vibe from serene catwalk to sexy nightspot. In an entirely pink room, a glowing Hello Kitty silhouette loomed over a white bar.
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