Would you pay money to be treated like crap? Well, apparently a one-day cafe will pop up soon in Singapore to allow customers to experience being mentally (and perhaps even physically) abused by hostile wait staff who are rude and insulting.
Not put off by that yet?
It’s actually a Japanese (of course) concept called “Tsundere cafe,” where the idea is for patrons to willingly subject themselves to abuse by “maids” and “butlers” until they eventually warm up to them. The Japanese term “tsundere” represents a character development process in which an individual who is initially cold toward another person gradually turns affectionate after time.
Basically, this sub-genre of the maid cafe concept will feature angsty staff who switch between ignoring you and berating you. They may even handle menus and trays of food roughly, slamming them on your table when you call for service.
One netizen joked that this isn’t a far stretch from Singapore’s wait staff.
But even though you’re a “victim” of all this “abuse,” the cafe expects you to tolerate it — unless you’re uncomfortable, at which point the management “has the right to remove customers who get aggressive at any point in time.”
Sounds like a real patience-building exercise.
Organized by Subatoki Cafe, the reservations-only pop-up on Feb. 24 will go from 11am to 6pm at Luminos, and bookings can cost between S$19.90 and S$25 for a meal set, which includes one main dish, one cake, one drink, and one complimentary service gacha (a random service draw that can get you a massage, a forehead flick, or a waiter to feed you).
The menu isn’t anything to get excited about, but customers aren’t really there for the food, are they?
So… who’s up for some character development?
