We’re reading Xing Fu Café’s employee manual. Weird, we know. We’re not employees. We’re not thinking about becoming employees. There are just some damn cute illustrations in this thing. We’re genuinely enjoying our perusal of the café employee manual.
That’s because Xing Fu Café is a little bit of happiness. Literally: that’s what xing fu translates to. We spoke with owner KuanKuan about what makes her happy (spoiler: it’s Xing Fu Café) and what makes the happiest café in Beijing thrive.
“Many people define happiness and life fulfillment by their financial success, finding a shuai and wealthy husband, wearing the latest fashion, or driving fancy cars,” KuanKuan says. “But me, I find contentment in things that seem small: a perfect foam heart on my latte, the font of my logo, a customer nestled in my café’s library with a book I selected.”
More succinctly, she says: “Small things, they make me happy.” And that includes illustrating the employee manual.
Attention to detail is just one of many small happinesses we find at Xing Fu Café, which serves coffee, tea and light bites on a bustling street between Dongzhimen and Dongsi Shitiao. It’s a busy part of town – high-rise office buildings line the bustling streets – but step into Xing Fu and your pace suddenly slows. Walls are painted a pleasing shade of turquoise, and the open floor plan is warmly lit. Long wooden communal tables are stripped-back and sleek. A cozy library to the side features a well curated selection of books in both Chinese and English. Thoughtful design extends even to the countertop, which was specially made by renowned Korean artist Kim Jintaek. In fact, art dots the walls of Xing Fu, thanks to a partnership with ArtMia, which displays the work of young artists Li Yong Geng, Qi Lei and Yao Peng.
All of this comes together to make an atmosphere that keeps the clamor of the outside world far at bay. The icing on the cake is Xing Fu’s, well, cake – a durian variety with that smoothly incorporates the strong taste of Malaysian durian into its soft, palatable flavor. Pair this with Xing Fu’s freshly roasted, meticulously brewed coffees – Brazilian Santos, Indonesian Sumatran Mandeling, Colombian varieties – and you’ve got yourself a stew going.
Stepping through the door from chaotic Dongzhimen to a serene, aesthetic atmosphere reflects KuanKuan’s own recent life changes. After graduating from university the States, she landed a coveted finance job in Hong Kong. And while she relished the opportunity to work with her driven, high-achieving colleagues, she left because she decided the fast-paced finance life was not for her.
“While I enjoyed working with my ex-colleagues very much, I quickly realized that I am not a finance person,” she says. “I prefer the creative side of myself.”
That much is clear. KuanKuan hosts salons, educational talks, art exhibitions and sometimes even weddings in her café, which is slowly but surely morphing into a community space. But just because she’s left the high-paced finance world doesn’t mean her new job is easy – KuanKuan is in her shop every day communicating with staff, customers, cooks and coffee suppliers.
Fortunately, Xing Fu’s atmosphere – and drinks – are such that its makes hard work far more palatable. Just ask the creative types sipping on lattes while hammering away on their laptops, or the friends who meet in Xing Fu’s library for tutoring and study sessions.
Xing Fu Café is, after all, where you feel xing fu.
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