Overview
It's almost here. We teased you with the idea of a Hello Kitty Diner a few weeks ago, with little but an Instagram post to go on. But now we've got a date and a location for Sydney's very first official Sanrio-endorsed Hello Kitty establishment; we're looking at October 2015 and it's going to be Chatswood.
The Diner is locked in as the newest and most adorable resident of the District of Chatswood Interchange, a brand new food destination that has already launched with the likes of Ippudo and Michelin-starred dumpling house Tim Ho Wan. The whole predictably cutesy space will be designed by big gun design firm Luchetti Krelle, best known for working wonders on Momofuku Seiobo, Adriano Zumbo and more recently The Butler, ACME and the new Single Origin takeaway cafe.
"With such variance and possibility of what a Hello Kitty Diner could look like, our task is to go beyond these expectations and make her and the diner’s experience uniquely Australian,” says Stuart Krelle, director of Luchetti Krelle. "Playing on Hello Kitty’s cheeky energy, colour and pattern will be a central theme along with an understated nod to the iconic American Diner style."
According to the Hello Kitty Diner Australia team, 'local celebrity chefs' will be behind the menu concept, which will be both savoury and sweet (yep, that's all you're getting). But we do know each dish will be inspired by what Hello Kitty 'means' to each chef — what a heartwrenching feline.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, we all grew up with Hello Kitty,” says Dorothy Wang, managing director of Hello Kitty Diner Australia. “Our vision for the Diner is to invoke those memories and bring them all together into an unexpected dining experience. We won’t simply be offering Hello Kitty shaped meals, instead we will present a menu that tells a story, that brings flavours from all over the world — after all, Hello Kitty is a part of everyone, and you will really see this reflected in our dishes.” she said.
There's set to be a whole host of activities, events and special dining experiences around the Hello Kitty Diner's launch, with a 'premier tasting event' locked in for September — one social media fans will be able to win tickets to, so get to the Facebook page.
Image: Hello Kitty pancake by Ellie, Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi. Not part of the upcoming menu but adorable anyway.