Labubu GET! First Pop Mart visit

 Have you heard of Labubu?  I was actually surprised to find one of my friends hadn't heard of it despite how big it is not only here in Taiwan, but worldwide it seems!  I do not follow Labubu at all myself, but I do know what it is.

So how did I end up buying Labubu?  Well, last night my little sister messaged me to ask if we had some new Labubu launches (Big Energy, Take a Seat, and uh... something I forget) but I was unable to find any online. 

Then today, my friend (the one who doesn't know who is Labubu) asked if I was free for lunch to grab some Indian good as I'd been craving it recently! So we went to Ximending and as we passed the Pop Mart shop, we were surprised to find there wasn't a queue outside!  There is always a queue outside Pop Mart!  My theory is that due to the launch of a new collection today, everybody had already come and purchased early on.  Plus, it was lunchtime on a weekday.

Anyway, so we popped inside to take a look around!

Sign inside

There's three floors inside that display different stuff.  I'll be honest: I'm not terribly familiar with Pop Mart figures!  We just looked around a bit at blind boxes on the first floor, IP (e.g., Marvel, League of Legends, etc.) collabs on the second, and a display of large figures on the third floor.

While looking at a Labubu figure, I noticed some boxes stacked up behind a counter that said "Take a Seat" on them and asked the nearby staff if those were for sale.  She said yes.  I asked if they were the keychains, which is what my sister wants, and she said yes.  They were not on shelves or set out to look like they were available for sale at all.  I'm glad I asked!

Anyway, I messaged my sister who was online, fortunately.  Apparently $450 per figure is cheap, so she asked for a box of six (max allowed per customer).  As they were sealed boxes, I assume this means it will be a full set, no repeats.  

I think this looks cursed

You could fill jars with this like paper stars

There was also a little photo section!  As I said in my previous post, I wore that fully-elastic dress today to see how I feel about it.

KC, JSK: handmade by me
Blouse: Mia Mussa (?)

Shoes: Sheep Puff

I think I'll keep it for now.  It's comfortable and hasn't stretched out of shape yet.  Very casual type of style!

After that impromptu shopping (cost NT$2700 for the six) we went for curry!

Mutton Curry and Cheese Naan

Masala Chickpeas and Cheese Naan

I got Channa Masala this time, but I honestly prefer the Palak Paneer.  The cheese naan was ok, but I prefer it from the other Indian restaurant with the cheese filling.  The chickpeas were also not as mushy as I prefer.  They actually have a nice texture that I assume most people would enjoy, but I just like... mushy 😹

Have you ever collected anything that later became so popular you couldn't get your hands on it any more?  Whether it was clothes, toys, TCG, collectibles, etc. I'm curious!