Ah, Canada, that wonderous land of tolerance, diversity, inexpensive health care, and now meido café. Any Toronto readers out there visit the iMaid Café and care to share your thoughts? If not, well Ian has linked a few really awesome reviews. Just to get it out of the way, I am aware of the irony that iMaid Café was founded by Mr. Wang.
In Japan, the trend is to call the customer “master.” But Mr. Wang says Chinese people would find that appellation “too weird.”
And so at iMaid Café (which caters to a mostly Chinese clientele thanks to its location near Kennedy and Finch), the young women who work there have a different greeting: “Shang-di.” It translates as “God.” Waitress Shan (Maggie) Lu explains. “It’s not that we think they are God,” she says, walking daintily across the floor with one of the café’s signature bubble teas. “It’s that we are offering them service fit for a god.”
/nod nod
Yes of course, that makes perfect sense. This one-ups the meido cafe options in Japan, at least in the mission statement department.
I love the part in Ian’s post where he mentions:
There is at least one famous “Butler Cafe” in Tokyo called Swallowtail, where the staff are very well-dressed males in a waiter’s uniform or an elegant butler suit severing the female clients.
Hells yeah, keeping it real for all the ladies.
Edit: Link removed as it seems to have been replaced by some pr0n site…
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25 Comments
Aww.. This sucks… I’m on the wrong side of Canada…
MOVE TO CALGARY!!! WE NEED MAID CAFE’S TOO!!!
Though, I have been to a “few” (2) japanese maid cafe’s I’m interested to see how this one turns out.
damns! someone spied my MSN conversation and stole my idea to create the first Maid cafe in Canada !
You maid may day!
iMaid ur day?
LOL , awesome game word
>> or an elegant butler suit severing the female clients.
That’s one way to deplete the customer base quickly…
I thought Swallowtail only had girls cross-dressing as guys? Hm, I guess they’re moving up in the world if they can actual afford real men now.
Me thinks, I’d prefer a Revy cafe.
Damn it. I dont know we have a Maid cafe in Toronto. Wow.. I am really proud to be a Torontrian 8>
Half of me wants to go there and take pictures, but the other half of me would be too ashamed…
…
Well, it looks like I missed the boat there by about, oh, several weeks. :P
I suggested to my friend that we should go there Friday and see what all the hub-bub was about. I’m a little iffy about bringing a camera, though…
It surprising to have a maid cafe out in Canada, but it’s even more surprising that it’s in Toronto, which is a mear 30 minutes away from where I live. SOCLOSETOHOMEWHOAH.
Yes I heard about this place a week or two ago… Will be visiting in a few weeks once I get back into town. I doubt they will let you take pics though (the cosplay cafe I went to in Tokyo didn’t let me either). Will write a review though if you’d like
Went there for lunch yesterday. Actually enjoyed it, one of the better lunches I’ve had in a long time in that area.
Keep in mind I went around 12:30pm, and the younger crowd likely wouldn’t be there until the evening. The clientele was actually mainly senior couples having lunch. A few groups who look to be in their late twenties were there also for lunch.
One thing I should mention is that if you feel awkward going to such a place (and I went by myself), the staff and the place should quickly make you feel comfortable.
As for the food, not bad. The curry had been criticized in the Star for not having much flavour, but I found it good. That said, I prefer mine fairly mild anyway.
The last thing I’ll say is that in the end it is just a restaraunt and bubble tea cafe. The only real frill is that the girls are dressed up. They may not call you “master”, but they certainly make you feel welcome. I’d certainly come back when I am up in the area again.
I’ll certainly mention this place a little bit more on my podcast in the future.
Awesome, thanks for the review! I guess it really sounds like a normal bubble tea cafe, but perhaps the good service and little moe kiche are enough to really propel it to the top in Toronto.
Hmmm, I think the constant nose blood fountains from fainting otakus would distract me a bit. On the other hand, it might be a great spectacle. You could say, Toronto nose bleed massacre?
the outfits are …cute at least ^__^;;
Dim Sum takes a quick visit to imaid cafe and shows you what its all about! check it out in episode 2!
cheers.
I’d tend to think imaidcafe dot com has fallen and you don’t want to link it any longer.
OMFG….. thanks for the tip, Chris. Link has been removed.
You mean OMGF?
@dimsum: Dude, the videos are not bad but you have to do something about the messed up website. There isn’t even a link to the episode involving the imaid cafe and it’s episode 1, not 2 (or is that StarWars enumeration?):
http://www.dimsumtv.ca/episode1-1.html
get in touch tobe maid for it!
It closed.
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