Monday, March 20, 2017

The lure and allure of the world's most kawaii supermarket!

Yes, Hong Kong is currently playing host to a
 
One of the cashier's desks at a supermarket where the sheer act
of grocery shopping will feel kawaii for some and hell for others!
 
Devoted fans of Hello Kitty would have known to expect
to see (Hello Kitty-fied) apples at this supermarket... ;b
 
It's taken more than a month but I finally bowed to the inevitable earlier today and paid a visit to the world's first Hello Kitty pop-up supermarket, which opened in Hong Kong on February 12th (and will stay Hello Kitty-fied through to the end of May), and which I received advance word about -- including from various well-meaning friends -- weeks before it opened its doors for business. 
 
As I made clear in a post on this very blog some years back, I'm not a fan of Hello Kitty edibles.  Hence my not having keen originally to visit a Hello Kitty-fied supermarket, much the way that I've not been attracted at all to go to the Hello Kitty-themed dim sum restaurant in Kowloon or the Hello Kitty Secret Garden cafe in Tai Hang (though it's true enough that I couldn't resist snapping some photos of its kawaii exterior when I passed by the latter a while back).
 
Truly though, the publicity for this Hello Kitty pop-up supermarket has felt pretty relentless; with advertising for it emblazoned not just on more than one tram but also buses and even mini-buses for weeks now.  And slowly but surely, the thought seeped into my mind that I could always just go and enjoy the sight of the supermarket's decor and more than 250 items on sale (including sushi and apples as well as candy, cookies and expectedly sweet stuff) that bear Kitty-chan's visage without making a purchase.
 
As it turned out though, I ended up not leaving empty-handed.  For, as I discovered during my visit, there are kawaii -- but also useful! -- Hello Kitty-themed kitchenware on sale there as well non-Hello Kitty-themed groceries, including the kind of edibles from Japan that I do like to consume.  And one of those items each are what I came away with from my first and still maybe last trip to the world's first -- but probably not last -- Hello Kitty pop-up supermarket! ;b

4 comments:

sarah bailey knight said...

HI ytsl,

Wow, looks like a fun supermarket to visit!!

YTSL said...

Hi sarah sbk --

If you like Kitty-chan, it'll be... and yes, I saw a few other people taking photos while I was there. ;)

Miki said...

Hello, you finally went there. MIKI ^ ^

YTSL said...

Hi Miki --

Yes, I finally did... and actually wasn't disappointed at all despite my high Hello Kittyfication expectations! ;b