A few weeks ago, news spread that Japan’s Detective Conan Cafe was opening a pop-up in Thailand, which ignited lots of excitement among Thai fans of the manga series Case Closed.
Then, we found out that the pop-up would not actually be its own new, standalone cafe. Rather, it’s simply a collaboration with Bake A Wish, which is an existing cafe located in the city center, within the Siam Square shopping mall.
So, here’s the deal. Bake A Wish will be decked out in Detective Conan gear and serve special themed menu items until the end of September. It’s all to promote the new Case Closed movie, Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer that has just come out last week.
When Coconuts arrived at the opening last Thursday, there was already a queue of about 70 visitors. Standalone pop-up or not — people are clearly into it. After an hour and a half wait, we were seated inside the cafe. Everything was decorated in the Conan theme, from placemats and coasters to cardboard cutouts of the series’ popular characters.
Some of the Conan-themed drinks were the Conan Hot Latte (THB130), which was just a regular coffee with Conan’s picture printed on it. Yawn. We preferred Conan’s Iced Tea (THB150) instead — a refreshing butterfly pea flower tea served with a capsule filled with lime juice. Conan fans will get the reference: Remember that time when he had to take a capsule of APTX-4869 to shrink into a child and escape the secret organization? We do!
Yeah, we’re Conan geeks too.
While we’re still on the subject of the pill — we saw an “APTX-4869 Curry Rice” (THB250) on the menu, and immediately decided to order it. The plate features rice that’s been pressed and stamped to look like a large red-and-white capsule pill. The taste? Fine. It’s the aesthetics that are key here, and this time around, we’re not ashamed to admit that.
The rest of the food on the menu, however, is much less exciting. There’s a Bourbon Seafood Pasta (THB200), which is literally just regular seafood pasta with a free postcard of the character Bourbon. The other two dishes were ham sandwiches and curly fries that come in Conan-themed packaging.
For desserts, we went with Conan’s Special Choux Pastry Cream (THB300), which is an assorted plate of sweets. The cheesecake and choux cream went well with the macadamia ice cream, while the Thai tea and green tea macarons were simply delicious on their own.
There’s also the Detective Conan’s Special Cake (THB165) — we didn’t get it, but saw others who did, and can therefore attest to its visual appeal. There are also lemon pies, cheese tarts, and more choux creams that you can bring home in a Conan-themed box.
The Detective Conan Cafe is open until Sept. 30 at Bake A Wish. Check the Facebook page here for more information.
FIND IT:
Siam Center, G floor
989 Rama I Road, Pathumwan, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
BTS Siam
