Fun with Friends Pt. 10 - The Final Part!

I got one day of gremlin mode on Saturday to rest, and then had a full full day on Sunday with my friend Pikawu!

We met up around 8:45 for breakfast at my favorite breakfast shop! They've got a branch right outside the MRT station now, though there's no tables there so we sat on some benches outside a shop that's not open yet.

I don't know why my face is looking so awkward here.  I don't know how to smile naturally 🙀 

 

 
I tried to texture my hair with braids overnight. It didn't last long, so you can only see it in this photo haha!  I've also been doing braids from the sides and adding ribbon clips to the back (the white one in this photo) to try and make my hair look a bit more interesting from more angles.

After breakfast we hit up a small hiking trail that we didn't get the time to hike back in 2023 when he last visited.  Yes, I did hike in lolita (including 4cm heels).  No, it was NOT a difficult hike!  I would not have survived if it was!  It's a mostly-paved trail. Only the last stretch to the summit has crumbling, rotting wood steps with the earth worn away between so you need to sort of balance on the rotting wood bits.

Abandoned structure on the way up

I wonder if this used to be a temple of some sort

As somebody who doesn't touch grass, this was more outdoors adventure than I've had in years. I think the last time I took this trail was in 2018, and we didn't go up to the summit.

 

 

City peeking through the trees 

Overall it's a very short hike, maybe an hour or so!  Going in the morning was nice as it wasn't too hot.  Also I guess the weather has just been cool recently.

 

Pika took some photos on his nice camera, so if he sends me photos I'll make another post! 

View from the top!  Obviously not a very tall mountain!

Then we headed to my place and had some tea and I did our makeup.  I am actually not good at doing others' makeup, and Pika has a different skintone, eye shape, eyebrows, and skin type than me, so it was pretty difficult!  But I just basically did the same makeup I did on myself, except without the eyeliner and mascara as you can't sanitize liquid eyeliner and mascara.

 

I did try to do an eye droop a bit, but it didn't work I don't think.

 

I ordered lower lashes recently (actually accidentally ordered two boxes instead of one) so hopefully that will help out with the lower eye makeup effect!

 

Then we met up with Exo for afternoon tea!  It's the same Strawberry Afternoon Tea as the January lolita meetup one!

 

Still delicious!  We actually finished rather quickly.  Pika set up a tripod to take photos of us all! 

I realized that I forgot to make a reservation at the maid cafe I wanted to take Pika to, so I had to last-minute find another maid cafe 😿 Very disappointed in myself!

Then Exo went home and Pika and I went to Ximending to browse around before our maid cafe dinner.  We went to Don Don Donki, which is always a fun window-shopping experience, though it's definitely nothing in comparison to the Japanese Mega Donki!!  I would buy more Pokemon kigurumi and Flower Knows makeup if we had it!! 

Do check out this cool collab bottles though

Pika bought a pudding alcohol. I'd seen it online for quite some time and was happy to try it!  We both love pudding~

You just shake up the bottle to break up the solid pudding inside until it's drinkable.  If you enjoy pudding, I think you'll like this drink!  It's got the pudding taste with a hint of alcohol.  Nice and sweet like a dessert!

 We headed over to the maid cafe, which was called Witch Hat.  I was really looking forward to some witch-themed stuff!  I love witchcraft and magic aesthetics 

Looking promising at the door

Unfortunately, the maids were NOT in uniform... they were wearing basically a white blouse and short pencil skirt in black, gray, or white.  I suspected it was an OL theme week and looked up their facebook fanpage... it was indeed OL week 😿 I really don't like OL aesthetics!  And they honestly didn't even do a good job at sexy OL either!  One maid was a guest and she was in their usual uniform, which was cute, but not witch themed.

They did have a bell on each table and custom logo on the cups though!

Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in the theming and environment.  It didn't help that the maids seemed inexperienced and the food was very much delayed.

Very cute art on the wall!  I wish they had more of this stuff

They got our order wrong at first, having put on two beverages in addition to our order (???) but luckily we caught that and they were able to fix it quickly.  They did also mention the omuraisu would take about 20 minutes, which we were fine with.  This cafe only allows 90 minutes to eat instead of 120 so delayed food is a bit of a problem, but as we ordered relatively quickly, 20 minutes wasn't too bad.

They also have a small stage where customers can order performances from the maids!  We did see two performances.  It is cool, though the performances weren't very good in my opinion.  The first maid was the guest and she sang a song, but looked/sounded very nervous.  Jiayou to her!  I hope she gains some more confidence as the guests definitely seem to be supporting!

The second performance was a dance by the maid who had spoken to us (me) more.  It was her very first time performing, and I think she did a good job though she didn't even do the whole song?  It was weird that it was cut short.  It felt like she only did the first stanza and refrain once. 

When my food arrived, it looked very.... not great.  I got mentaiko pasta.  I was hoping it would be like the mentaiko pasta I get at the other maid cafe, but it definitely was not 🙀 

We were then repeatedly told that Pika's omuraisu was coming.  ~25 minutes later it finally came.  My pasta was cold by then 😾 

 

The good thing is that omuraisu comes with a ketchup drawing and magical enhancement!

 

The bad news is.... the maid who was going to do the drawing then was asked to take photos with a guest and instead of completing our dish first, she just put it down and went to take photos first.  Given the time limit we had (as well as how long we'd already been waiting) this was very disappointing.  Luckily, she did come back and draw a Pikachu for Pikawu and we could finally eat.

 

Our water was also never refilled.  The only time any maid talked to Pika was when asking what picture he wanted on his omuraisu, so that was also disappointing.  I felt really bad that he had a poor first maid cafe experience!!!  I HAVE to take him to the other one next time 😿 

 

Afterwards, we went directly to a speakeasy that's been on my list for ages. 

The speakeasy "front" is a little shop

Unfortunately we didn't get to do the "secret" to open the speakeasy door because people were leaving so the door was already open and the staff just welcomed us in.  Usually, you put a coin into the pay phone in the above photo to open the door.

The inside was very cool and decorated!  I had saved this speakeasy for the themed cocktails, so of course that's what we ordered!

CARDCAPTOR SAKURA MY BELOVED

I started with the Dream Wand drink!

Pika went with a Harry Potter themed drink (Sectumseptra) though he has never read nor watched anything from the Harry Potter series.  (This speakeasy is also definitely not officially affiliated with any of the themes they present, so no money is going directly into the pockets of the creators)

No idea why it's a Hermione figure rather than a Slytherin character

The drinks were good!!  I like sweet and tea-based drinks, and luckily all the Cardcaptor drinks have tea flavor in them~

The staff also gave us welcome shots 

We ordered a bit of fried food.  The fried foods were ok.  The onion rings weren't very fragrant and the breading was a bit thick, but overall still ok.  The fried chicken was actually a mix of chicken, fish paste tempura, king oyster mushroom, and green beans.  The menu doesn't indicate this in either Chinese or English, so that's a bit weird?

The wands they have for the drinks feel very sturdy like metal.  I want some mini wand staffs too!!!

My second drink was the Clow Staff.  I was a bit wary of the coffee-lychee foam, but it actually tasted pretty good!  Not too overpowering.

Pika ordered a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter (that's not the drink name; I just forgot it) and the letter actually has the whole acceptance letter and list of school supplies typed out inside, just like in the book!

The cards are actually individually inserted into the holder! So it's like a little tarot reading with each drink??  Haha

I interpreted this spread as needing balance between impulsiveness (The Jump) and emotion (The Watery) while listening to both action and emotion regarding decisions 

The staff noticed that I really liked the Cardcaptor Sakura setup (I asked them not to clear my plate while I was drinking) and gave me a larger Clow Wand to take photos with!

RELEASE!

For our final drink, we wanted to get shots! But the cocktail shots are required to order about three at once because they mix the drinks to order or something.  I wish it'd said so on the menu, but the staff did verify with us before taking the order, and we accepted that. 
Ordered a "juicy jelly candy" shot!  They came with real jelly candy on top haha!

One for Violet as well!

 

The shots were definitely very sweet, which I personally enjoy, though I think Pika likes stronger drinks that are less sweet in general 😹

Then we sat and chilled and chatted for a bit while the buzz hit us.  Did make it in time to catch last train, though! 

What theme drink would you like if you could design any theme?  I think a Monster Hunter theme drink would be fun, too!  I guess the Monster Hunter Bar in Tokyo technically has themed drinks, but they don't do a full setup like this!  Little monster figures or weapons would be cute~