You Need To See This Restaurant If You Are Obsessed With Barbie

Taiwan now has a Barbie-themed restaurant which was opened in Taipei called the Barbie Cafe after the US toy company Mattel licensed Taiwanese restaurant group Sinlaku to build the restaurant around their worldwide famous doll. As one would expect, everything inside the restaurant is pink- chairs are hot pink and decorated with tutu skirts and red corset lacing, while it's possible to see Barbie illustrations showing off many trendy outfits on the walls. The restaurant even has a life-size Barbie "box" for customers who want to be Barbie dolls themselves. Female waitresses need to wear a pink outfit complete with a tutu and tiara whereas the males are dressed to resemble Barbie's long-term boyfriend, Ken. The restaurant menu was planned by professional nutritionists and you can see the calorie count for every menu item. The special menu items include hazelnut tiramisu, colorful macaroon cookies served in martini glasses, Philadelphia steak salad, salmon beauty salad, an ornate Barbie cake, and a beverage called Barbie 128, which is pink and named for the address of the restaurant.

This restaurant in Taiwan is the first Barbie-themed restaurant in the world. "We decided to choose Taiwan as theme restaurants are very popular and successful here. We know that Barbie Cafe will promote our brand image," says Iggy Yip who is a senior manager in Mattel's consumer products division in Greater China. While a lot of people are hyped up about this Barbie-themed restaurant, there are also some that are not really happy about it. Some women in Taiwan got angry at the idea saying it invokes a misogynistic image and contributes to the sexualization of Asian women. Rhiannon Williams who is the editor of a feminist webpage named the Vagenda Magazine is one of those women who hated the idea. "I cannot imagine anything less distasteful and more annoying than a Barbie-themed restaurant. Not only because I prefer more eco-friendly options and it's impossible to find naturally pink- colored food, but also because Barbie is an old-fashioned icon of stereotypical femininity and we need to erase it from our memories," said Williams. "I think this cafe just contributes to the problems we women face in Asia," Jamie Yo, a 25-year-old recent university graduate, said. "I think the idea of Barbie is inherently misogynistic and to have a Barbie-themed restaurant is wrong and contributes to the myths about women and girls in Asia." If you don't think that way, however, and want to visit this cafe, here's the address for you: Zhongxiao East Road, No. 128, Section 4, Taipei District 2.