Just for you… Kimi no tameni *heart mark* lol~

Valentine’s Day just around the corner! And what does a yandere boyfriend have in store for you? Well, a lovely blueberry pie made with lots of love of course! :D Last discovered on sale from Animate Japan in this post. I decided to order it along with my other orders to maximize the proxy fees.

Title: Male Yandere Pie 男ヤンデレパイ
Price: 630 Yen (w/tax) each
Available: late December 2011
Date of expiry: 6 months from date of manufacture.
Only available at Animate Japan: http://www.animate-onlineshop.jp/pn/pd/1097831/
Description:
One box contains 9 pies. Sweet and sour blueberry flavour. Includes yandere bookmark. This is the 3rd in the series of snacks based on this anime archetype. The boy is very cool but also extremely “sick” lol~ To get an idea what yandere is about, check out my review of a CD that has a yandere character :)

Box taken out of its shrink-wrap. Measures about 14.5 cm x 19 cm. Matt finish.

Depth about 3.5cm

Top view. The layout has a pretty purple colour scheme and design. It’ll be nice to use the box to keep accessories and other small items.

Back of the box. Product information and ingredients, etc. Expiry date is 10 June 2012. There are two types of bookmarks to collect.

Inside the box :D Bookmark and the goodies.

Let’s see what the yandere pie looks like!

Shyly peeking out… ooo looks yummy.

Sugar coated crust.

Blueberry swirls. The pastry has a light, sweet aroma.

Yum :D~ It tastes pretty good! It is similar to puff pastries but has a slightly crunchy and flaky texture. Not overly sweet. Definitely recommended by itself or with tea and coffee.

There seems to be something hidden at the bottom…

Ooo~ nice :D An additional design revealed at the bottom of the box.

He says: Was it delicious? My . . .
美味しかった？僕の。。。

Very suggestive text… Reminds me of the kind of things a seme says to his uke when they’re having oral sex *nosebleed*

Anyway, I bought 2 boxes and was lucky to get both designs of the bookmark! \( ^0^)/

Last checked, yandere boyfriend pie is still available at Animate Japan!

Hot foursome! New goods (Lamento Glass) and cafe menu!

Title: Lamento Cafe 『Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-』発売5周年を記念してカフェ
Date: 22nd ~ 31st December 2011 (Limited period only)

Celebrating Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID- 5th Anniversary, CURE MAID CAFE and Queen Dolce in Japan will be serving Lamento themed menu.

A quick peek at the menu items.

Konoe コノエ 400 Yen Caramel flavor syrup x royal-milk-tea + hook tail キャラメルフレーバーシロップ×ロイヤルミルクティ＋鉤しっぽ	Rai ライ 400 Yen Yogurt x Lemon soda + Silver dragee + White tail ヨーグルト×レモンソーダ＋アラザン＋白いしっぽ
Bardo バルド 400 Yen Banana Latte + chocolate syrup + shirt sleeve * You can bring the shirt sleeve home. バナナラテ＋チョコレートシロップ＋シャツの袖 ※シャツの袖はお持ち帰り頂けません	Asato アサト 400 Yen Blue Hawaiian Syrup x Cocoa + Black tail ブルーハワイシロップ×ココア＋黒いしっぽ
If you order a drink, you can add 800 Yen to get the new Lamento Glass. Usual price of each Lamento Glass is 1,050 Yen. Not exclusive goods and is available for preorder already :)
Bardot’s warm pot-au-feu. バルドのあったかポトフ 900 Yen (Drink Set: 1,100 Yen) Sausage and vegetables in pot-au-feu style. Comes with sesame bread rolls. You’ll feel like you’re visiting Bardo’s inn. ソーセージや野菜が豪快に煮込まれたポトフ風スープに、ごまロールを添えました。バルドの宿屋に行った気分でお召し上がり下さい。	Asato’s Cat man man アサトの猫まんま 900 Yen (Drink Set: 1,100 Yen) Soy sauce and fried crisp taste. Image of Asato realised as a plate of fish minced and steamed black rice balls with black sesame seeds. * The ingredients inside the rice ball are minced chicken. しょうゆ味のさくさく唐揚げと、真っ黒おにぎりに黒ゴマのはんぺんを添えてアサトをイメージしたプレートです。※おにぎりの中身は鶏そぼろです。
Konoe roll cake コノエのロールケーキ 650 Yen (Drink Set: 850 Yen) Kuimu beside boiled sweet compote, small roll cakes inspired by Konoe’s character image. 甘く煮たクィムのコンポートのそばに、コノエをイメージした小さなロールケーキを添えました。	Rai white parfait ライの白パフェ 500 Yen (Drink Set: 700 Yen) A really white coloured, parfait made with yogurt, pear ice cream and sweet fresh cream, just like Rai’s image ライをイメージし、ヨーグルトに、洋ナシのアイス、生クリームを添えた甘さ控えめの真っ白なパフェです。

Illustrated coasters
Each order including a special original Lamento menu item will receive one coaster. There are 2 designs to collect.

Official sites: http://www.nitrochiral.com/special/lamento5th/

http://www.curemaid.jp/index.php?page_id=3995

http://www.akibakotower.com/queen-dolce/

I dare you! :D

Title: Male Yandere Pie 男ヤンデレパイ
Price: 630 Yen (w/tax) each
Available: late December 2011
Date of expiry: 6 months from date of manufacture.
Only available at Animate Japan: http://www.animate-onlineshop.jp/pn/pd/1097831/
Description:
One box contains 9 pies. Sweet and sour blueberry flavour. Includes yandere bookmark. There is a female yandere pie version as well lol~ and this is the 3rd in the series of snacks based on this anime archetype. The boy is very cool but also extremely “sick” lol~

If it doesn’t sell out by the end of this week, and budget allows, I might just consider getting it for the fun of it :D To get an idea what yandere is about, check out my review of a CD that has a yandere character :)

Valentine’s Day special cake aiming straight for the fujoshi heart

Title: TIGER & BUNNY Valentine Cake (タイガー＆バニー バレンタインケーキ)
Price: 4,200 Yen
Available: February 2012
Preorder page: http://p-bandai.jp/charashoku/item-1000013853/

According to the official site, the chocolate cake will be available in limited quantities and needs to be refrigerated. Shipping costs 840 Yen. It will also come with figures of the Heroes couple in patisserie attire. Its supposed to be a gift from the couple to make our Valentine’s Day special but WE are paying for it lol~

Bunny says he is working hard with Kotetsu on making a delicious cake but Kotetsu keeps trying out the taste of the chocolate, they can’t seem to make any progress (Tsundere-chan must be very happy to spend so much quality time with ojisan lol~)
Kotetsu says that he may be confident when it comes to fried rice but he’ll have to work hard with Bunny to make the cake. (Working hard or getting HARD? Ooo~) He wants your support so that he can wildly make a delicious cake! (That means… SHOW ME THE MONEY Folks!)

Size of the cake is 12 cm in diameter. They’ll also decorate the cake specially for you. Sure looks yummy… but as this is a mousse cake that needs to be refrigerated, shipping this cake is not possible unless you try special courier delivery which will cost a bomb.

The cake comes with 2 chibi figures of the couple. Barnaby’s face fails ^^;; Anyway the heads can be moved from side to side. Cute detail on the aprons showing their mascot icons. And the set comes with a mask for Koutetsu. Illustration card of the characters wearing patisserie attire is also included. The figure bases have a “monument” design.

The figures are about 10 cm tall so… it just hit me. The cake is small! :O I think the bulk of the money goes to the figures. Sounds like a rip-off ^^;; The figures don’t look very attractive to me. If you really must have them, I suggest hiring a proxy to order it for you but only send you the figures. Let the hardworking proxy enjoy the cake.

I think the following photo shows the actual size comparison.

Have a bank bleeding Valentine’s Day 2012, Tiger & Bunny fans!

The butler cafe is back for the second year with a Alice in Wonderland theme.

Title: Atelier Royale Wonderland Butler Cafe
Venue: Anime Festival Asia 2011, Singapore Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Dates: 12 -13 November 2011
Operating hours: 10 am – 8 pm
Official site: http://www.animefestival.asia/
Atelier Royale site: http://www.animefestival.asia/atelier_royale.html

Description: Fall down the rabbit hole into a Wonderland of Adventure and Excitement at the Atelier Royale Cafe. Back by popular demand, Atelier Royale Cafe is here for the 2nd year at AFA11! A themed restaurant catering mainly to female clientele, Atelier Royale features well-dressed male employees dressed as butlers, welcoming the lords and ladies of the house back to their abode. This year’s cafe features a special theme – “Wonderland”, where you will be treated to a flight of fantasy into a never before dreamed land where our dedicated butlers are here to wait on you and serve you delectable delights at your fancy. Come join us and be utterly spoilt like a princess for a day or two. Only at AFA 11

Besides all the other awesome events and performances  happening at the yearly anime festival, a butler cafe is supposedly the one that a fangirl would like to try at least once? Must be quite an experience to be served by attentive, bishie butlers.

There are new members to the butler cafe, probably in anticipation of the demand.

The guys in “normal” butler uniform.

The “dressed-up” versions of the butlers, each representing a character from the Alice in Wonderland story. You can go to the official page for the character bios. I think they look better without the make-up ^^;;

Top left: Cheshire Cat, Twiddledee, Twiddledum
Bottom left: Knave of Hearts, White Rabbit, March Hare.

Except for the Mad Hatter butler who you can’t really tell which is the dressed up character at first glance lol~ But yeah, its the left picture.

Anyone going for event? Share with us your photos please! ^-^)/ Here’s my post about the butler cafe at the AFA in 2010.

The men look rather pleased and ready to titillate your taste buds.

Title: Hakuouki Castella / Kasutera-yaki (薄桜鬼 かすてら焼きタリア)
Price: 1,000 Yen (w/tax)
Available: July 2011 (expiry: 20 Sep 2011)
Description: Custard-filled castella. 12 pieces.

For knowledge sake, here’s more information about kasutela, which is a type of Japanese confectionery. Some information from wiki.

Castella (カステラ Kasutera) is a popular Japanese sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup, very common at festivals and as a street food.

Now a specialty of Nagasaki, the cake was brought by way of Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. The name is derived from Portuguese Pão de Castela, meaning “bread from Castile”. Castella cake is usually sold in long boxes, with the cake inside being approximately 27cm long. It is somewhat similar to Madeira cake, also associated with Portugal, but its closest relative is pão-de-ló, also a Portuguese cake.

Note that there are similar types of sponge cakes named after the same fashion, in French: Pain d’Espagne, in Italian: Pan di Spagna, in Portuguese: Pão de Espanha, in Bulgarian: пандишпан, in Greek: Pantespani, in Turkish: Pandispanya (Castile is a former kingdom of Spain comprising its central provinces, thus Pain d’Espagne and other variants are quasi-synonymous to “bread from Castile”).

Animate Japan exclusive product. Although the illustrations are not new, the design of the package is beautiful and classy. The guys in their uniforms are droolsome :D~ The box is bigger than I expected. Slightly smaller than an A4 page.

Back view of the box. Lovely sakura motifs and illustration. The sakura, or cherry blossom is very symbolic in the Hakuouki game as it is set during the turbulent Bakumatsu (Edo) period where many lives were lost.

More from wiki:

In Japan, cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻; さくら) symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware. The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled “Sakura”, and several pop songs. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono, stationery, and dishware.

Front and back of the box.

Ingredients! Oo~ flower pa-suto (?), eggs, sugar, flour, honey and various chemicals ^^;; Expiry date: 20 Sep 2011. Yep, it made it to me on time.

The package was easy to open :D I didn’t destroy the pretty paper.

Package contents! :D

These illustrations in the instructions are always so cute. It’s telling us that if the sealed plastic bag was opened, then its likely that the contents may be spoiled.

The two stickers included with each box, measuring 8 cm x 6 cm each.

Looks appetising! Although the cover photo looks much more beautiful.

Front and back of the castella. It measures about 5 cm x 2 cm thick.

How lovely! Sakura flower motif branded on the top of the castella.

Side/back view. The aroma of this Japanese sponge cake smells yummy.

Took one bite. YUM.

Taste verdict! It is DELISH~ The sponge cake was light and aromatic. The custard was delicately sweet and has a light creamy texture. I made myself some hot tea and proceeded to devour six of them in one sitting ^^;; you can forget about weight loss here. But then again, it was my lunch so I shouldn’t feel too guilty, right? *sheepish*

If you come across this product at the store, I definitely recommend getting it. At 1,000 yen, the price is reasonable for 12 of these yummy Japanese style castella (if you don’t consider the proxy/shipping fees, that is) Little wonder that they sold out rather quickly at Animate Japan store.

Guess who they are? XD

Title: Hetalia Axis Powers Good Fortune Mochi ヘタリア Axis Powers 大福もちめりか
Price: 550 Yen (w/tax)
Animate/Movic Japan Exclusive

Size:: Package approx. 110x110mm (Full colour print)
Omake sticker: approx. 75x7mm (Full colour print)
Tote bag: approx. 260 x 330 mm (1 colour print)
Contains: 4 pieces of Japanese style rice cake stuffed with red bean paste (大福餅(あんこ), one sticker and one tote bag.

What is mochi? (from wiki)

Mochi (Japanese: 餅) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice (not to be confused with gluten) pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a prominent snack in Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan (where it is called 麻糬, Hokkien môa-chî or Mandarin máshu), Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

The whole package :3

Front view. The package design is so cute <3

Back view of the package.

Box-only front view. To be honest I don’t really get the Daifuku mochi-merica. Doesn’t rhyme at all? ^^;; If you know better, please enlighten me. But oh well, Hetalia mangaka, 日丸屋秀和 Himaruya Hidekazu’s America-kun and the mochi incarnations of the other characters look so cute, its fine I guess :P

Back view of the box with information about the package and all the sugars and carbo (flour) you’ll be consuming :D~ Contains red bean too. Best use-by-date is 10 September 2011. Keep away from direct sunlight and heat.

Side views of the box. I love the design.

Unboxed! Ooo~ stickers inside ^^

Removed the tray from the plastic wrap. There are four mochi rice cakes inside. That’s the oxygen absorber on the left. Blue colour this time.

Picked one mochi up. Ooo~ really feels mochi mochi! XD *pinches* Soft yet firm inside cos of the filling. The white dust around the mochi is something like icing-sugar.

I took a bite. Oo~ it’s slightly sticky but nice and chewy! I love the texture of the mochi. The red bean paste inside has just the right sweetness. I like it!

Let’s have a look at the eco tote bag.

Close up of the bag. The quality is typical of what you get of most eco bags, nothing fancy. The mochi illustrations of the characters are too cute lol~

It’s about A4 size, useful for smaller items like magazines, lunch box, water bottle etc.

Here’s the cute sticker. By the way, do you know if the illustrations are included in any Hetalia artbooks? Or are they new illustrations specially created for this package?

Overall, I think it’s little expensive due to proxy costs (think about 2.5 times extra) but its fun to have :D If there are mochi products of series I like that come with cute extras, I’ll consider getting them again if budget allows ^^ And yeah the mochi is quite yummy as well.

Wanna have a pack too? There’s one more to win at Fun at LalaParadise White Rabbit Treasure Hunt (July Cycle TWO from 18 ~ 31 July 2011).

More adventures in the realm of Japanese steamed buns…

Title: Hetalia World Series Omotenashi (Service) Steamed Buns (ヘタリア World Series おもてなしまんじゅう)
Price: 840 Yen (w/tax)
Available: 24 March 2011 (expiry: 10 June 2011)
Description: Steamed buns with colour of Spring time sakura blossoms! There are also 3 types of stickers to collect. Each box contains 9 steamed buns with sakura filling (まんじゅう(桜あん) and measures about 200x200mm. Sticker measures 100x80mm.

For knowledge sake, here’s more information about manjuu, which is a type of Japanese confectionery. Some information from wiki.

Wagashi (和菓子) is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits.

Wagashi is typically made from natural (mainly plant) ingredients. The names used for wagashi commonly fit a formula—a natural beauty and a word from ancient literature; they are thus often written with hyōgaiji (kanji that are not commonly used or known), and are glossed with furigana.

Generally, confections that were introduced from the West after the Meiji Restoration (1868) are not considered wagashi. Most sorts of Okinawan confectionery and those originating in Europe or China that use ingredients alien to traditional Japanese cuisine, e.g., kasutera, are only rarely referred to as wagashi.

And yes, they have expired by the time I ate them. See related post of DRRR!! crack!!-ers for the back story lol~

Pretty packaging! Very Japanese style prints with UK and Japan gracing the cover ^^ Well, people who like apron-moe will probably find this doubly attractive.

Back view. See the illustration of the Hetalia boys enjoying the view of the cherry blossoms. Oh yes, these snacks are also recommended for consumption during hanami (花見 sakura/cherry blossom viewing during Spring time in Japan)

More from wiki:

Hanami (花見, lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, “flower” in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa. The blossom forecast (桜前線, sakurazensen, literally cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (夜桜, literally night sakura). In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of yozakura. On the island of Okinawa, decorative electric lanterns are hung in the trees for evening enjoyment, such as on the trees ascending Mt. Yae, near Motobu Town, or at Nakajin Castle.

A more ancient form of hanami also exists in Japan, which is enjoying the plum blossoms (梅 ume) instead. This kind of hanami is popular among older people, because they are more calm than the sakura parties, which usually involve younger people and can sometimes be very crowded and noisy.

Ingredients and yep… expiry date 10 June 2011. I ate mine one week after cos they arrived late OTL;

Cute faces decorating the side of the box. Love the design.

The opposing camp.

The other side panel design.

With my previous experience of opening Spray BL manjuus, I managed to get away with less damage to this part of the wrapper this time. However the centre of the wrapper was glued tight so it was more difficult to separate them.

Let’s pull the box out carefully…

Woo~ another naked white box.

Let’s take a peek inside… wow so PINK and CUTE!

Tray with the buns looks like a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with pink balls. And that’s the sticker I got.

I had no big expectations or wish-list like I did for the DRRR!! yukata boys so I’m happy with any.

Pink dots on the oxygen absorber.

Back and front view of the cute little pink buns.

Bottoms up! Reminds me of momo (pinkish peaches/also an euphemism for cute bums/BL asses XD)

Top view.

The pink is such a joy.

Split buns reveals the paste made with sakura (cherry blossoms) petals, sugar and other stuff.

Held up against the light. Incredibly pretty colour. Notice the specks of brownish green? Those are the cooked petals if I’m not wrong.

Taste verdict! Sweet! Sweet and sweet! It tastes good with unsweetened hot tea and green tea. I tried the bun as it is (room temperature), chilled and finally oven-warmed.

At room temperature, I thought I tasted bits of ginger in the paste but my guess is that those are the petal bits. The overall taste was so sweet. I think my blood sugar levels went up a notch after consuming one of these. However when chilled or oven-warmed, the taste seemed smoother. less sweet and much yummier. Or maybe it was because my taste buds got used to the sugar. The soft crust has the same texture as white Asian red bean steamed buns.

Pretty wrapper flattened for keeps. Gotta love those Japanese style print designs.

Anyway, I think I’ve had enough of manjuus for the time-being. Don’t think I’ll be buying more anytime soon ^^;; unless they’re of some series that I have zero resistance over, like say, Nitro+Chiral inspired manjuus or something. OTL;;

Name: Seiyuu Cafe (声優cafe)
Location: Tokyo, Akihabara 秋葉原
Address: 〒101-0021　東京都千代田区外神田3-15-7 第2丸信ビル8F
Telephone: 03-3254-2911
Opens in July 2011
Official website: http://www.seiyucafe.com/

Business hours:
Usual days: open 13:00 – close 20:00
Sat/Sun/Public Holidays: open 11:00 – close 20:00

The cafe is opened by seiyuu Matsukaze Masaya 松風 雅也 and it is a theme cafe of all things related to being a professional seiyuu.

Here’s the concept as described on the website.

The theme cafe is a new way of expressing the work of animation voice actors in Japan. It welcomes you to come in and enjoy Akihabara and the cafe’s delicious drinks which are good for the throat.

In addition to the cafe’s original menu, there’s also a Seiyuu Jukebox 『声優ジュークボックス』 where customers can listen to seiyuus reading selected dialogues ‘live’. What this means is that you can choose among a number of dialogue and order for the dialogue you want. The seiyuu working at the cafe will go on the stage and perform the reading for you live. (I wonder how that’s going to be like…and who are the seiyuus who are going to perform? I guess we can only find out after the cafe opens in July ^^)

In addition, there will also be limited goods that can only be bought at the cafe, such as Seiyuu cafe Original drama CD and T-shirt.

It is a cafe where animation fans, seiyuu fans can relax in when they go to Akihabara.

Inside the cafe.

The cafe setting and atmosphere is like that of a voice actor’s office and recording studio. It even has a microphone, a mini stage and speakers like the professional set-up.

There are table for 2′s and comfortable counter seats for 4′s up to a maximum capacity of 40 customers.

Location map to the cafe.

How to get there:
By train: ≪電車の場合≫
1) JR・東京メトロ・TX『秋葉原駅』から
電気街口を出て中央通りを渡り、まっすぐ進んでください。
一階が『小諸そば』のビルの8階です。

2) 東京メトロ『末広町駅』から
浅草・上野方面からご乗車の場合は、『1番出口』を出てすぐの信号機を『三菱東京UFJ』
方面へ渡ってください。中央通り沿いを秋葉原方面へ進んでください。
一階が『小諸そば』のビルの8階です。

渋谷・銀座方面からご乗車の場合は、『3番出口』を出て、中央通り沿いを秋葉原方面へ
進んでください。一階が『小諸そば』のビルの8階です。

If you’re going to Tokyo Japan, remember to drop by the cafe and share with us your experience there!

Update! deru has kindly shared her her experience at the cafe. Check out her post here!

Oo~ STEAMED BUMS! YUM! Oh.. I mean BUNS.

Notice how much innuendo that kicked up in my fujoshi mind XD

Title: Spray Steamed Buns (Sprayまんじゅう)
Price: 1,000 Yen (w/tax)
Available: 29 – 30 April 2011 only.
Description: Limited edition Spray 10th Anniversary event-only item. Includes 5 bromide prints.

Since this is an event-only item, I contacted a proxy buyer to get it for me ~$$$~ Lol~OTL;; So if you wanna try to win these buns, check out my Fun at LalaParadise game here. :D

Anyway manjuu is a type of Japanese confectionery. Some information from wiki.

Wagashi (和菓子) is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits.

Wagashi is typically made from natural (mainly plant) ingredients. The names used for wagashi commonly fit a formula—a natural beauty and a word from ancient literature; they are thus often written with hyōgaiji (kanji that are not commonly used or known), and are glossed with furigana.

Generally, confections that were introduced from the West after the Meiji Restoration (1868) are not considered wagashi. Most sorts of Okinawan confectionery and those originating in Europe or China that use ingredients alien to traditional Japanese cuisine, e.g., kasutera, are only rarely referred to as wagashi.

Six cute bishonen on the package to whet your appetite.

Another view. Logo of the 10th annversary event at the corner.

The red words saying that bromides are included inside.

Manjuu inside.

Back view with the ingredients information. Contains 6 manjuu. Expiry date 26 July 2011. Keep away from direct sunlight, high temperatures and humid places. Product is manufactured in a factory that contains eggs and dairy products. And please consume quickly after opening, etc.

I also noticed that little left corner that has the names of several mangaka.

Ooh~ credits information. Higuri You 氷栗 優 Gakuen Heaven, 赤名芽衣子 STEAL!, Misasagi Fuhri みささぎ楓李 Kichiku Megane, CJ Michalski (Piyo-tan) and Arumajirou あるまじろう (Soshite Bokura wa)

I tried to open the package as carefully as I could but failed OTL;;

Opened! Damaged the wrapper. ^^;;

Woo~ time to strip the box of its wrapper :9~

STARK NAKED BOX CONTAINER! :D

Now to open it up and take a peek at what’s inside. Ooo~ BALLS!?

…I mean manjuu. What was I thinking :P

And what a lovely sight to see Keita’s out-stretched hand that reaching straight for you when you first opened up the box. Very nice thought!

Placed next to the wrapper.

Let’s take a closer look. Cute illustrated instructions telling you to keep the buns in the fridge if you don’t plan to eat them immediately, so as to preserve its freshness.

ah~ so these are the bromides ^^ Pretty!

The printing is superbly high quality. Glossy surface. 3R photo size.

Cute little manjuu.

Ageless. Oxygen Absorber. Similar to the ones I found in Togainu no Chi Canned bread but does not heat up.

Measures about 4.5 cm width and 2 cm height.

Back view of the buns.

The unwrapped bun looks rather cute :3

Top view detail.

Check out its insides. Filled with Azuki (アズキ) beans paste.

How does the buns taste? The bun is soft. The azuki bean paste inside is sweetened. I personally found it very, very sweet. I prefer something lighter but it’s a nice snack to eat with unsweetened hot tea or green tea.

If you have eaten white Asian red bean steamed buns before, the taste is quite similar. The bun’s crust is also similar to that of the Asian “mooncake” eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival but is very thin and light.

And finally, the wrapper flattened for keeps :3 The wrapper is smooth paper. Does not have the fibrous paper texture that is printed on it.

Wanna win some? Join the Fun at LalaParadise game here. :D

Just add hot water!

Title: Event only Animate Japan Instant Udon freebie for Comiket 79 Nitro_Chiral set
Price: Free :P (but you can factor in proxy costs OTL;;)

Anyway, I got this udon cup bowl noodle way back in January 2011. The expiry date is 11 May 2011 ^^;;; and OMG how time flies! It’s May already and I finally ate it on Monday 9 May 2011.

Opened pack with usual soup base powder and dried udon noodles inside. I was expecting the “fat” type of udon tho. Typical bare-bones cup noodle lol~

Let’s take a closer look. Two ways to eat it. Soup style or dry style. Soup style: add the soup base powder, then add hot water. Dry style: add hot water to soften the noodles, pour away the water, then add the soup base powder and mix.

Well, usually the dry method = to very salty noodles ^^;; so I’ll do the soup style and add the powder into the bowl.

Add hot water, cover and wait 3 minutes.

While we wait for the noodles to be softened, I checked out the label. And hey! It’s actually a sticker! :D Nice surprise!

3 minutes up. Well, I actually waited a little bit longer than that. Let’s check the noodles.

Yep! Looks good!

The noodles were quite chewy and the texture wasn’t too bad.

The soup is the clear-type. How do I describe the taste :-\ hmm… well it’s typical… shouyu (Japanese soy sauce) flavour? Not too bad either.

So that was my breakfast on 9 May ^^;; and I consumed 156 calories comprising of mostly carbo and probably a day’s worth of sodium intake OTL;; Definitely not healthy food lol~

Yeah, it’s edible. Oo~ Blushing new salaryman.

The things they come up with for delusional otome/fujoshi.

Which flavour of men tickles your palates? The new guy who just joined the company who , your intellectual manager or the cool mature director?

Upon close scrutiny of the marketing text, Who will you eat these snacks with? It says that these are Japanese rice crackers that the representing character on the packaging will eat WITH you. Only in Japan will you see these products… probably. ^^;;

Otsumami おつまみ is a type of snacks that are often eaten with alcoholic beverage in Japan.

1) Title: Snacks to eat with for comfort. Newcomer chapter 貴方とおつまみ 癒してよ 新人編
Prawn flavour Japanese rice cracker (えび煎餅)
With newcomer who is reliant on you  甘え上手な新人。(and would supposedly brings out your motherly instincts? lol~)

2) Title: Snacks to eat with for comfort. Manager chapter 貴方とおつまみ 癒してよ 課長編
Squid flavour Japanese rice cracker (いか煎餅)
With intellectual manager 知的な課長。

3) Title: Snacks to eat with for comfort. Director chapter 貴方とおつまみ 癒してよ 部長編
Crab flavour Japanese rice cracker (かに煎餅)
With cool director. クールな部長。

Price: 367 Yen (w/tax) each
Available: mid May 2011
Date of expiry: 3 months from date of manufacture.
Only available at Animate Japan.

Update 8 May 2011: OMG last checked… they’re SOLD OUT!!! D: Less than 1 week they’re up for preorder. There are more delusional otome/fujoshi than we expected lol~ I wonder if Animate will restock them.

Megane manager…

Or “crab”-by director?

Each pack comes with a name card of the corresponding character too. Hahaha :D Add some delusional points for that.

Maybe a series of CDs are in the works. Who knows? I find the illustration of the new guy having that uke vibe kinda cute. The other two… well, they look ok but if they can attach a seiyuu voice to them, it’ll be more interesting. The company should have made CDs to go with these snacks.. like say, “Buy 1 box of 10 packs to redeem a character CD” or something lol lol~

Taste-wise, I think they’re probably not much different from the usual rice crackers you can find in stores.

Come, let’s fill up our tummies now!

Befitting the setting of the Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan, flavours for the canned bread this time are traditional green tea and black sugar. The eye candy on the can probably makes helps to you go hungry that’s all XD

Title: Hakuouki Canned Bread 1 (Green tea flavour)
薄桜鬼 パンの缶詰1 抹茶味
Price: 580 Yen (w/tax)
Available: Late April 2011, Open for order: 5 April 2011
Gift online store: http://giftshop.jz.shopserve.jp/SHOP/e024_a.html

Title: Hakuouki Canned Bread 2 (Black sugar flavour)
薄桜鬼 ぱんの缶詰2 黒糖味
Price: 580 Yen (w/tax)
Available: Late April 2011, Open for order: 5 April 2011
Gift online store: http://giftshop.jz.shopserve.jp/SHOP/e024_b.html

Of course we know that one of the main reasons fans buy these goods are for the illustrations ^^;;; Normally you won’t spend so much on a can of bread, would you? These illustrations aren’t overly exciting for me. So wish-listed but not must haves.

I finally got my hands on one of these! :D Both Military Shiki and Akira flavours! Lol~

With grand expectations… (Well, the truth is, I tried to lower them just in case ^^;;)

Title: Togainu no Chi Canned Bread Akira Military ver. (Maple flavour)
咎狗の血 パンの缶詰　アキラ軍服ver.【メイプル味】
Title: Togainu no Chi Canned Bread Shiki Military ver. (Butter flavour)
咎狗の血 パンの缶詰　シキ軍服ver.【バター味】
Price: 525 Yen each.
Available from Gift online store
Manufacturer: Pan Akimoto. http://www.nasuinfo.or.jp/FreeSpace/aki_pan/ (There’s English page too)

Yep, Military version Akira and Shiki canned bread! :D And it has a shelf life up to 37 months. Woo~ There are previous versions featuring the four boys, Akira, Shiki, Keisuke and Rin in schoolboy form. They were sold out the first time and reissue, so I didn’t manage to get them together with these new flavours.

Shows dummy proof graphical instructions on how to get the bread out :D

Ingredients! Recognise anything? Made by Pan Akimoto. Store away from direct sunlight, in a cool dry place.

Top with dummy proof illustrated instructions and bottom with the expiry date: January 2012. Yep, still safe to eat! :D

Patented manufacturing method for soft bread that can be stored long term. Patents acquired for Japan, America, China, Taiwan.

Same info, Military Shiki can.

Detail: Instructions for dummies :D After you open the can, grab onto the thin bread wrapping paper and pull it out slowly. Peel off the paper and eat the bread. You can also heat up the bread by dipping the can in hot water before opening it to enjoy the bread warm :D That’s clever!

Now here’s the calorie damage :D for the weight conscious among us. The can didn’t indicate it’s weight, so I’ll assume it’s 100g. For Military Akira’s maple flavour bread, For 100g you get, Energy (351 kcal), Protein (7.6g), Fat (13.0g), Cabohydrate (50.8g), Sodium (255mg) No mention about the nutritional value tho. :P

How about Military Shiki’s butter flavour bread? For 100g you get, Energy (314 kcal), Protein (8.5g), Fat (12.9g), Cabohydrate (46.5g), Sodium (290mg) It’s less fattening but more salty lol~

Next, opening the can! XD And it is wonderfully easy to open… Immediately, I can smell the lovely and sweet aroma of maple syrup.

I think even children can open the can quite easily. No can openers required.

Let’s see what’s inside. An oxygen absorber and… bread :3

When I took the preserving packet out, I was surprised that it felt hot to the touch :O This is the first time I came across something like this. My first thought was wow… is it supposed to heat up the bread? But I guess not lol. Upon reading the label, it says the エージレス “ageless” actually becomes hot and should be discarded. And of course, please heed the DO NOT EAT warning. God knows what’ll happen to you if you did ^^;;

And so, like a good fujoshi, I followed the instructions on the can. I inserted my fingers into the can that is filled tightly with the bread, grabbed the wrapping paper like so… and…

Pulled~

Well, of course you can keep repeating the in-out-in-out action to fuel your delusional fantasies with Military Akira’s can but I decided to get everything all out at first try :D

There we have it. Military Akira, maple flavoured bread. I’m surprised that it doesn’t feel oily/greasy to the touch at all.

Time to remove the rest of the wrapping paper. Fluffy, soft bread!

:D It looks rather cute, doesn’t it. Serving suggestion based on Shiki’s can bread illustration lol. Minus the tea cup.

It definitely wasn’t what I expected of canned bread.

The bread is soft and fluffy, just like bread that you buy fresh from the bakery. As for tastes, it is quite yummy with a slightly sweet taste of maple syrup. And it does go very well with hot black tea :D Would be great with coffee too.

I’ll update this post when I eat Shiki’s bread tomorrow XD

Since the bread tastes pretty good and has quite a long shelf-life, I really wouldn’t mind buying more of them. The original purpose for the canned bread is that it can be kept for emergencies. It is not cheap to import cos with middleman fees, shipping and so on, they’re like more than US$15 bucks each (3 times original price) for a tea time snack without the tea ^^;; If only they were more accessible for us international buyers. I have to admit though… the entertaining factor is there, so I guess it’s ok for the first few times OTL;;

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

These Togainu no Chi canned bread will be included in the prizes I prepared for my Birthday Celebration (new and unopened ones, of course, expiry date also in 2012 since I imported them together) So if you haven’t voted for the contest you want to take part in yet, do it now before the poll closes ^_^)/

How are you planning to celebrate Shizuo’s upcoming birthday?

Why, with a birthday cake of course!

Nope, I didn’t make that… if I did, I would like to see a more colourful cake similar to these Prince of Tennis chocolates :D or something else with a more fun design. But I do like dark chocolate and how the printed image looks.

Anyway, I’m sure hardcore fans will be celebrating Heiwajima Shizuo‘s birthday which falls on 28 January with cakes like this fan-made Togainu no Chi cake, so the creators of DRRR!! want to take a bite out of their wallets too.

Looks yummy, isn’t it? It’s nice of them to leave some space on the top right hand corner for you to stick the candles in. If I had a cake like that, I would be tempted to lift that whole piece of chocolate from the cake and chomp on it as it is kekeke :D

However, it would have been a lot more interesting if they included stuff like a voice CD or bromide. You know, typical stuff to sucker less hardcore fans into buying these goods for keeps. Unless they’re thinking that we’ll keep the cake box lol~ But then again, you never know. The box might be darn attractive. *_* I feel quite stupid for thinking this. OTL;;; I’m just wondering though, if these goods were a lot cheaper or easily obtainable, then most likely we wouldn’t feel so uptight about it.

Anyway… I guess we can expect similar photo cakes with other characters coming up. It’s quite fun to see what other things they can come up with. Oh… there are perfumes of DRRR!! characters too. Also by the same manufacturer. There are other food items for DRRR!! at Animate Japan store but most of the time, they are food items like crackers and curry that are repackaged with whichever anime’s images that they are selling at that time.

Title: Durarara!! Chara Birthday Sweets Ver. Heiwajima Shizuo デュラララ!! キャラBirth Day スイーツ Ver.静雄
Price: 2,625 Yen (w/tax)
Available: mid January 2011

Product info: Housed in a box, a Gateau chocolate cake (French name of sponge cake made from almond flour). The top is an edible printed film.
Expiry date: 60 days

Size: Diameter 12cm x 3.5 to 4cm (That’s so small *_* enough just for one~two persons? What an expensive cake! The licensing fees must have cost quite a bit. But already sold out from the manufacturer’s website OTL Just curious. How much would it cost you if you were to bring your own Shizuo pics to the bakery to customise a photo cake like that? :O

Manufacturer (Cozy Wave): http://cozywave.my-store.jp/shopdetail/004001000001/

Top view!

I’m really curious what they actually do in the cafe bar besides serving food and drinks in order to fuel their patrons’ fujoshi delusions lol~

Located at otaku paradise, Akibahara, Tokyo in Japan, Miracle JumP BL bar opened in mid 2010. It is probably the first ever boy’s love themed cafe bar to open in the world.

BL Bar Miracle JumP BLバーMiracle JumP (ミラクルジャンプ)
Address: 〒101-0021 東京都千代田区外神田3-2-11遠藤ビル3F
Official site: http://www.miraclejump.com/
Blog: http://ameblo.jp/miraclejump801/ (sneak peaks into the cafe with fanservice photos)
Opening hours: Tues (6pm-11pm), Fri (6pm – 5am), Sat (5pm – 5am), Sun (5pm – 11pm)

That’s the pic of the interior grabbed from the website. Looks like any generic cafe/bar. According to the official introduction: Miracle Jump is a BL (Boy’s love) themed, amusement bar. The shop has both 2D and 3D staff. The 2D staff is based on the characters in their original doujinshi (manga) and 3D staff is made up of guys who will do this… and that… in front of patrons to provide eye-opening delusion material for fujoshi and otomen (mental) filters.

Different from gay bars and host clubs, they are the fujoshi‘s paradise which places emphasis on the delusion aspect. Miracle Jump is a good place that provides a fun environment for fujoshi and patrons who want to know about the BL world. A bar where anyone can have a good time…

Besides running the cafe, they are also in the business of selling doujinshi manga and music CD based on the 2D characters.

Okay, so how does it work? Every table is limited to 90 minutes. This is standard practice for themed cafes like these. Most butler cafes also have a time-limit system too. However, there is also a base fee of 1,000 Yen for 90 minutes I think. -pause- LOLLOLLOL. What??? XD LOLLOL. It’s like blatantly charging for the “right” to peek at male waiters (who are cosplaying as seme/uke characters?) LOLLOL~

As for the 2D and 3D staff. I guess I understand that we need real people to serve patrons but the shop owners are also smart enough to know that sometimes 3D guys just don’t have what it takes to satisfy our fujoshi delusions. lol~ :D So in comes the 2D staff that fulfill all the seme-uke archetypes in the BL universe.

2D Staff. Complete with full character profiles like name, occupation, age, star-sign and so on. They didn’t indicate if they are seme/uke but looking at the height chart, we can more or less guess what type they are. And you will definitely be able to find your type. From the youngest guy at 15 to the oldest guy at 26 years old.

3D Staff. They probably only uploaded the cuter or more photogenic staff? Or maybe they just want to maintain some mystery. The 3D staff’s profile is clearly labeled with their seme/uke/otomen types. Kind of obvious too just from looking at their appearance and height stereotypes.

As for the food menu, the owners exercised their creativity in the names. No food pics to show us how good they are tho. Prices are quite reasonable. (But don’t forget to add the 1,000 Yen voyeur fee lol~)

Drinks Menu

1. Raw BL Beer 生BL（なまビール） 600 Yen
2. Best (?) Coupling Cocktail 王道カップリングカクテル 700 Yen
   Choice of seme liquor mixed with portion of uke liquor to give you the best coupling cocktail. Or something to that effect. 攻からお好みのリキュールを一つ受からお好みの割りものを選んで貴方だけのお好み王道カップリングをおつくりします。
3. Overall uke stir 総受ステア 900 Yen
   This cocktail will receive everything that pleases you, no matter what type of selfish requests they are. Erm, so that means you can add any liquor to the cocktail mix? *scratch head* 貴方のお気に召すままどんなワガママでも受け入れるカクテルです！
4. BL Shaker BLシェイカー 1,500 Yen
   2 of the staff will come over and shake the shaker together in front of the patron. スタッフ二名が貴方のお席に来ていちゃ×2しながら目の前でシェイカーを振ります
5. Nonke Cocktail ノンケカクテル 800 Yen
   Non-alcoholic overall uke stir. Recommended for people who can’t take alcohol. ノンアルコールの総受けステアです。お酒が苦手な方にオススメｖ
6. Staff Original Cocktail スタッフオリジナルカクテル 1,000 Yen
   2D Staff’s cocktail creations 二次元スタッフが自分たちで考えたカクテルです
7. MiracleJumP Original Cocktail MiracleJumPオリジナルカクテル
   ・Yaoi Juice や○い汁 600 Yen
   ・Kichiku Seme! 鬼畜攻め！ 700 Yen (Seme with a dark side)
   ・Sasoi Uke 誘い受け 700 Yen (Seductive uke)
   ・Otomen Filter ヲトメンフィルター 700 Yen
   ・Orange Usurpation オレンジ下剋上 (げこくじょう) 800 Yen (下剋上 is a situation where a seme of lower status or power is paired with an uke with higher status or power)
8. Coupling Mini Shot カップリングチェキ  1,000 Yen (チェキ is small instant camera)
   Choose two staff and take coupling shot. お好きなスタッフ２名を選んでカップリングチェキが撮影できます
9. Bottle ボトル 3,000 Yen
   Japanese alcohol or wine by the bottle that can be kept. 焼酎/ウィスキー等がキープできます。割ものセットは1,500円です。
10. Fujoshi targeted wine with bromide. Wine（腐向けコール+プロマイド付）These are names/wine brands typically offered at bars and clubs if I’m not wrong.
    ・チャオ/シュワルツカッツ
    ・ラクリマクリスティ 5,000 Yen
    ・モエ・シャンドン 10,000 Yen
    ・ドンペリ・ニョン 55,801 Yen

Food menu

1. Fudanshi sesame cold tofu 腐男子ゴマ冷奴  700 Yen
2. 3 Cheeses チーズ三体盛り 800 Yen
3. Yaoi Steak や○いスティック 700 Yen
4. BL Salad BLサラダ 800 Yen
5. Avocado, mushroom salad アボガドなめたけサラダ 900 Yen
6. Our sausage (lol~) ぼくらのソーセージ 600 Yen
7. Sea urchin and squid ink with potato balls ウニイカぶっかけおじゃがさん 500 Yen (おじゃがさん seems to be referring to a character created out of fried mashed potato balls)
8. Shotacon ショタッコーン 500 Yen
9. Tsundere Chazuke ツンデレ茶漬け 700 Yen (茶漬け is a boiled rice cooked with tea)
10. Feel-good cake . Chocolate らくがケーキ・ショコラ 1,000 Yen
    Fudanshi staff will write on the cake with bittersweet chocolate sauce. ほろ苦いガトーショコラに当店の腐男子が目の前で落書きします
11. Feel-good cake . Berry らくがケーキ・ベリー 1,000 Yen
    Fudanshi staff will write on the sweet-sour berry cake. 甘酸っぱいベリーケーキに当店の腐男子が目の前で落書きします

They really should post beautiful food photos like Swallowtail (quite a famous Butler cafe in Japan which charges a premium for their high class dessert menu) I’ll probably do a post on them sometime.

No harm trying just for the fun of it but to be honest, the guys they featured aren’t my type and I think I’m also not that deluded a fujoshi yet ^^;; So… Miracle JumP, anyone? lol~

It seems that it is never too early to get ready for Valentine’s Day!

Title: The Prince of Tennis Valentine Kiss Chocolate Set A ~ Atobe Keigo (Animate Japan only)
テニスの王子様 バレンタイン・キッス～チョコレートセット～ A 跡部景吾
Title: The Prince of Tennis Valentine Kiss Chocolate Set B Shiraishi Kuranosuke (Animate Japan only)
テニスの王子様 バレンタイン・キッス～チョコレートセット～ B 白石蔵ノ介

Price: 1,500 yen (w/tax) each
Release date: 27 January 2011 (in time for 14 February Valentine’s day)

Size of case: 130 x 143 x 22 mm
Size of chocolate: 90×90 mm
Ingredients: Chocolate Sugar sheet with edible print ink.
Expiry date: end June 2011

Set A contents:
1) Valentine Kiss CD Atobe Keigo with Hyotei Gakuen Chuu
バレンタイン・キッスCD 跡部景吾 with 氷帝学園中 (収録内容:バレンタイン・キッス)
2) Full-colour print chocolate /Sweet フルカラープリントチョコレート/スイート
3) Paper case 紙製ケース

Set B contents:
1) Valentine Kiss CD Shiraishi Kuranosuke with Shitenhouji Chuu
バレンタイン・キッスCD 白石内蔵ノ介 with 四天宝寺中
2) Full-colour print chocolate /White フルカラープリントチョコレート/スイート
3) Paper case 紙製ケース

If I’m not wrong, each set contains one piece of 90 x 90 mm chocolate printed with the character illustration. Would you be able to eat them? :D I think the illustrations aren’t too bad but both characters have same pose which are used repeatedly for all the designs…

We can expect sweet things to be said in the Valentine Kiss CDs. The set didn’t mention the names of the seiyuus but I think we can assume that they’ll be voiced by the original seiyuus. In the anime, Shiraishi Kuranosuke is voiced by Hosoya Yoshimasa (細谷佳正) and Atobe Keigo voiced by Suwabe Junichi (諏訪部 順一).

Shiraishi Kuranosuke sure is popular. His character blanket is going to be released in the same month too.

A Togainu no Chi fan in Japan celebrated Christmas for the Togainu boys and staff and commemorated the anime by preparing this lovely cake and the limited edition wine! Like… wow :D And the picture was taken with Military Togainu plushies too! Cute! Don’t forget to drool at the wallpaper on the monitor lol~ I’ve read about fans celebrating birthdays and special occasions by baking or buying cakes and stuff for their favourite characters. I think that’s rather cute and a great excuse to pig out on yummy desserts! XD I personally don’t have the time or resources to do that tho ^^

Shiki’s wine is red indeed! :D so my guess is right. The pretty little accessory on the right side is the pendant that came with the limited edition Shiki wine, Togainu no Chi Original Wine: Ruler~ General Shiki’s wine 「咎狗の血」オリジナルワイン「支配者～シキ総統のワイン」～ priced at 5,250 Yen each.

Do you make stuff like food items related to your favourite BL series? :D Have you seen other awesome looking food created by fans for BL-related series?

Pic source: http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-143.html

Finally… ojousama‘s account of her experience at the butler cafe: Atelier Royale… Thanks for the coverage! :D

Was it worth the long queue and waiting time?

Posts index:
1) Event, booths and goods
2) Cosplay pics, artists zone
3) Atelier Royale Butler Cafe ——- You are here

My friend and I went to the event in the afternoon. We joined the queue at the butler cafe at about 4~5pm. The queue was quite long and snaked all the way from the entrance in the photo to the back of the cafe. The queue obscured the logo too and we almost missed it. It was located in the middle between a mini stage and MMK Maid Cafe.

While we waited, the person queuing in front passed the menu down the line to us. So we took a look. The design was classy but the price was… well… as expected. Steep. And the selection… I flipped over the menu and saw a white blank page. So that was all they’re offering: 1 main course and 2 desserts that’s all. But hey. We’re paying for the princess treatment by gentlemanly and handsome butlers, right?

Close up of the menu. My friend and I wanted to try the desserts. They looked delicious. As for the main course… for an event like this, it was best to lower our expectations.

And they also provided some side orders. Drinks and photo taking with your favourite butler! Just S$5 each and additional butler for only S$2 each!

I wasn’t interested in any particular butler to be honest. I just wanted to try out cafe for the fun of it.

After queuing for more than one hour, there were 2 more couples in front of us before it was our turn. They had a window where the staff could peek out and monitor the queue and for us to sneak a peak into what we could expect inside. I wasn’t too impressed by the interior… but we caught glimpses of the butlers and we realised that they were kinda cute in person. :D +++ points to that.

Posters advertising exclusive merchandise of the butlers and the rules and regulations.

Merchandise details

Sneak snapshots of the activity inside the cafe.

Photos or videos not allowed while inside. Couldn’t choose butlers either, etc.

Only 45 minutes each.

Since we couldn’t video from the inside, I decided to do it from the outside!

Video taken while we waited (edited by ponytale).

By the time it was our turn, all the desserts had run out :( but we went for it anyway and hoped that the pasta didn’t taste too bad. Each patron must order one set meal to enter the cafe. Whatever. There was no turning back now!

I took a quick glance at the place… maximum capacity was less than 40 people? We were asked if we wanted to take photo with our butler. Well, why not? So it was added to the bill and we were asked to pay up first. Then the butler assigned to us, Hiroshi greeted us in… a mix of Japanese and English. When I heard him speak, I thought he didn’t sound Japanese *raise one eyebrow*

Sorry to say I can’t show any more photos from here onwards because no photography was allowed. Anyway, Hiroshi showed us to our table, pulled out our chairs for us, etc and explained that he will serve us our food shortly and mentioned that we could use the bell and call for them when we needed something. He definitely looked way cuter than his butler photos.

While my friend and I waited… we contemplated if we should ring the bell for every little thing we wanted hahaha… for the fun of getting our butler’s attention and make full use of the limited 45 mins to see them up close. It was very silly just to think about what excuses we should come up with each time we rang the bell :D

Food was served very quickly. The pasta looked and tasted better than I expected. It was warm! I read horror stories about the maid cafe serving cold pasta last year. Anyway, the tea was nice too. We would have loved to try the desserts.

One thing that bothered me was that our butler didn’t sound like a Japanese guy at all. In the end we rang the bell and summoned Hiroshi to us :D for water and to check how much time we had left.

When he came back with our requests, I finally asked about his nationality and he said he was a local! Eh???? I thought they were butlers flown in from Japan! What an idiot I was. I should have known. The packaging and presentation (of their website and photo shoot) were done pretty well in my opinion but he seemed shy and inexperienced. I guess I couldn’t contain my disappointment and the poor guy kept apologising to us for it even though it was not his fault. :P So endearing.

While we ate, we allowed our eyes to wander around the small area and check out the other eye candy butlers…

Later on, Hiroshi was occupied with another table. Ringing our bell summoned Haru to our table :D Another butler who also looked cuter in person than in the photos. We had a nice chat with him too. They were very sweet and charming indeed. And I began to understand the appeal of being served by a charming and handsome butler/waiter. Also appreciated the lack of language barrier too since we could converse with one another.

Finally photo taking! Haru asked if we were taking photos with a butler and Hiroshi chipped in and said… you could have more butlers for S$2 each only! Of course we could. When he asked who we wanted, we said… both of you of course :D

We could choose a 4 person group photo OR each ojousama with 2 butlers. It was a no brainer. The latter of course!

Thanks to the digital camera, you can choose to retake your photo if it didn’t turn out right and request different types of poses from your ever obliging butlers. They didn’t give us the digital file, so I had to shoot my printed photo.

The result (edited by ponytale)

We definitely enjoyed our butlers’ company and their personalities. :D Not exactly the princess treatment I expected… I’ve not been to any butler cafes before so I couldn’t compare but our butlers did their best and gave us lots of attention. Thanks for the hardwork guys!

But the ambiance was a negative thanks to the event noise surrounding the cafe but this was not the butlers’ fault. They did their best with what they had. Overall, it was fun. My friend and I had a great time. Once again otsukaresama deshita!

If there was an official butler cafe here, I’ll definitely go for it. And if the food was good, then it’ll probably work out well in the long run too.

x x x

ojousama

x x x

Lol~ I find these boys cute too! Please take me along next time :3 Their Nyaa-nyaa poses are such <3 Thanks for such a detailed coverage and pics XD

More information about: Atelier Royale (and facebook page), the first butler cafe in South East Asia.

Event: Anime Festival Asia 2010
Venue: Singapore Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Halls 401 and 402
Date: 13th – 14th November 2010
Time: 10.00 am to 9.00 pm

Cosplay competition, butler cafe, maid cafe, marketplace (Bandai, Nitro+, Cospa, Goodsmile… ), live performances, manga and anime… Daily tickets are priced from $8 and up.

Check out the official website for more information.

Posts index:
1) Event, booths and goods
2) Cosplay pics, artists zone
3) Atelier Royale Butler Cafe ——- You are here

Diet plan FAIL… again XD