Fun with Friends Pt. 9

 Exotic animal restaurants can be a bit of a tricky topic as they often involve animal cruelty for the sake of profit, especially in countries with lax animal welfare laws (e.g., teacup pig cafes, fox cafes, owl cafes, etc.) so I've been pretty hesitant to visit any that feature non-domesticated animals.

Based on reviews, this one called 肉球森林/Paws Forest seems to prioritize the animals and so we gave it a shot!  

Children under 10 are forbidden completely, and there are rules all guests must follow (e.g., no shouting, running, touching cats while they eat/drink, picking up any animals, etc.) or you will be kicked out.

The entire basement is also off-limits so the cats can go there when they don't want to deal with people. 

 

 The cats are allowed to wander freely just like any other cat cafe.  The meerkats are kept in their own special enclosure, and there are only two, so they have plenty of room and loads of toys to keep them entertained!

 

 

Guests may not interact with the meerkats until their time slot, and there is always a member of staff present to introduce the animals and ensure their safety.  The meerkats want to dig, so they have loads of puzzle books where their food (a special breed of cockroach) is hidden. 

 

 

They make very cute noises while digging!

 

The two toucans have their own enclosure outdoors, and guests are forbidden to touch them other than their feet and tails. 

The toucans were much smaller than I thought they would be!  The male kept playing with the staff member and making a series of quick clicking noises, which is apparently their happy sounds.  The female was a little more adventurous and landed on my friends' shoulders/heads!

The minimum spend here is NT$400+10%, and the foods are all quite high-priced.  A black coffee was $230, the highest I'd EVER seen!  Previous record was $190.  Usually I expect $90-120.  It is also required to order a beverage per person.

 However, the food really was delicious and portions were generous. 

The three of us got quite a spread!

The fish sticks were crisp and delicious, and they gave SO much tartar sauce! I really loved the tartar sauce at this place~

I ordered a double-fish patty ciabatta sandwich, and it was HUGE!!

It was so thick I had to eat it like corn on the cob because I couldn't fit it all in my mouth at once!  the tartar sauce was so delicious, just like the fish sticks' one.

The truffles fries was also yummy!  They gave a big portion of truffle sauce, and I think there may have been cheese in it, as it was thicker than other truffle sauces I've had before.

While eating, this black cat who has a slight disability in its hind legs kept coming to the table to try and drink our water.  It was sweet and enjoyed pets!  Though it had a bit of trouble with jumping, it still managed to clamber up onto the seats and table.

The long-haired orange cat was also very sociable, but went to sleep shortly after we arrived.

If you're interested to visit, definitely make a reservation first. There are only four time slots available in a day, and the time with the toucans and meerkats will be limited.  Google Maps has the reservation website, but the website linked doesn't worked (I've reported it as broken) so the Instagram may be a better way to contact the shop.

 Do you have a favorite non-domesticated animal you'd like to interact with one day?  I think I may check out the capybara restaurant too, as they're supposed to be really friendly!  And while I'd love to be friendly with a brown bear, that's definitely too risky and also they need just SO much more space!  A brown bear restaurant could not happen.