Meandering through the new(ish) 289 Art Park outside of Wuyang Cun Metro Station on Sunday afternoon, it dawns on us that there isn’t yet a cute Western cafe in the vicinity to silence cravings for things like avocado smoothies or chicken wraps.
There’s excellent sliders slash pub food at Tipsy, sure, and fudgy homemade cake at Pressroom Coffee, but we’re craving something more wholesome, and sitting down for a lengthy feast of coconut chicken hot pot doesn’t seem very convenient.
Just as we’re about to hail a cab elsewhere, a pristine entryway lined with crates of wine and delicately arranged dried plants catches our attention. It’s a high-ceilinged establishment calling itself Kapok Kitchen, and a brief glance at the menu shows categories like ‘brunch,’ ‘sandwiches,’ ‘pizza’ and ‘pasta’ – all good signs. We decide to take a seat.
The menu translations are amusing: an Oreo pudding cup is eloquently described as an ‘Oreo wood chaff’ (RMB16) and all handmade coffees come ‘with Margaret’ instead of, presumably, ‘with milk.’ But our order of a roasted pumpkin, quinoa and cheese salad (RMB39) and BBQ beef and picked vegetables sandwich (RMB46) is intelligible enough.
Service is slow for 2.30pm in the afternoon – it takes our food approximately 30 minutes to arrive, despite the fact that the salad and Oreo cup are both premade and waiting in plain sight behind a glass display case in front of the open kitchen.
When it’s finally served, the salad is better than we expect and tossed with bonus ingredients like broccoli, chia and pumpkin seeds, none of which were listed on the menu.
Our Reuben sandwich, however, is a disappointment. The meat is tender, but the ‘pickled vegetables’ are nauseatingly sweet – especially when paired with the sesame ginger dressing.
As for the ‘Oreo wood chaff’ translation, well, it makes much more sense once we taste it. Layers of crushed Oreo and dry cream succeed in gluing our lips together like we’ve just eaten a spoonful of peanut butter mixed with sawdust. Needless to say, we should have opted for Kapok’s signature durian milkshake (RMB29) instead.
With more than five branches in Guangzhou, Kapok is clearly doing something right to attract local clientele – we just can’t quite put our finger on it.
Price: RMB70
Who’s going: well-to-do Chinese families
Good for: daydreaming, sawdust desserts
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