East West Lifestyle
Hang & Eat: Munch and Sing to Your Heart’s Content with Hello Kitty
By Kristie Hang
Sanrio’s newest Hello Kitty karaoke collaboration turns up the fun in California.
Who doesn’t like to sing at the top of their lungs? If you like to karaoke, you’ve probably spent a fair share of time singing to your heart’s content at your local KTV venue. But now, thanks to Sanrio’s latest collaboration, fans of Hello Kitty and her friends can now sing in special themed rooms while enjoying cute Sanrio food and drinks.
Energy Bistro & Karaoke’s Alhambra, California, location debuted eight brand-new Sanrio character-themed rooms that can accommodate up to 40 people.
There are three different Hello Kitty-themed rooms, in addition to rooms dedicated to other fan character favorites like Gudetama the “Lazy Egg,” Aggretsuko (the red panda), My Melody, Pompompurin and Little Twin Stars. Each room is themed to a T. Scream and rage in Aggretsuko’s room, which is filled with red lights and “angry” décor, or relax while looking at all the delicious anime food plastered from the floor to the ceiling in the Hello Kitty Bakery Room. Each room is Instagram-worthy and perfect for photos.
The picturesque backgrounds and props do not just refer to the rooms either. Sanrio and Energy Karaoke has released a super kawaii menu full of Sanrio character-themed food and desserts for their guests to order. Much like their themed rooms, each dish is extremely photogenic. Most dishes cost between $9-19.
The Gudetama Temaki Sushi Hand Roll Set, for example, comes with two tamago (egg) hand rolls that have two different Gudetama faces plastered on top. One of the Gudetama faces is drawn on a tiny fried quail egg. The attention to detail for each snack is incredible. The food is presented on Sanrio-themed paper with all of your favorite characters holding onto microphones and belting out tunes.
There’s also a Hello Kitty Bara Chirashi Box made of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, tamago, masago (fish roe), green onions and nori that is served with a side of edamame. Another picture-worthy dish is the Hello Kitty Shrimp Tempura Bao Set. Shrimp tempura, butter leaf lettuce, yuzu cucumber and masago are stuffed into two buns that feature the adorable Hello Kitty. The Aggretsuko Mini Rage Burger is a solid burger with Angus beef, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, melted American cheese and thousand island dressing, all stuffed in a brioche bun. It also comes with a side of garlic fries and pickles. For those looking for a less filling snack, there’s the Gudetama Takoyaki (Japanese octopus balls), topped with a Gudetama pan-fried egg, mayo, takoyaki sauce, bonito flakes and nori. All of Energy’s Sanrio savory food sets come with a free iced tea and a mixed fruit jelly cup as well.
If you’re looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth though, there’s the Little Twin Stars strawberry yogurt drink that is served with blueberry cotton candy and the My Melody Vanilla Almond Panna Cotta, topped with strawberry coulis, seasonal fruits and a honey graham cracker crumble.
For those who want to take a look at or book Energy’s Sanrio-themed rooms, reservations are available at the company’s website at www.energykaraokeus.com. Energy Karaoke also has another location in Hacienda Heights that has six themed Sanrio rooms. The Hacienda Heights location also has a Sanrio menu with dishes like Hello Kitty Baked Ube (purple yam) and Ice Cream, Hello Kitty and Mimmy Waffle and Ice Cream, Hello Kitty Okonomiyaki Hot Dog with a side of fried tofu, and Gudetama Lazy Waffle Sandwich with sweet potato tots and melted cheese, among others.
Since both karaoke locations have their own unique Sanrio food items and specially themed rooms, Hello Kitty fans may need to travel to both venues to experience it all.
Hang & Eat with our food blogger Kristie Hang as she explores the latest East West food trends.