Less tragic dining options also available.

Sanrio’s Gudetama may not match the orthodox cuteness of some of the other characters from the company that brought us Hello Kitty, but his large fanbase makes him a worthy recipient of the themed-restaurant treatment. As a matter of fact, you could argue that since Gudetama, an anthropomorphized egg, is already based on a food, he’s an even more appropriate choice to design a restaurant around.

And so the lovably lazy restaurant dynamo’s pop-up cafe is coming back to Tokyo, following up on a previous run in Japan’s capital in 2016. As expected, Gudetama’s likeness can be found in many of the dishes, such as the roast beef bowl (1,390 yen [US$12.60]).

Gudetama doesn’t appear only in egg form, either. For example, in the white curry udon noodles (1,290 yen), he’s actually a mochi kinchaku, or rice cake shaped like an old-school Japanese coin purse.

▼ Though he complains “It’s pretty tight.”

But what’s perhaps the most intriguing item on the menu is the one that possibly shows, for the first time ever, what Gudetama’s mom looks like!

Technically, that should be the most intriguing and morbid item on the menu (1,290 yen), since that’s a saffron rice Gudetama in Stroganoff sauce, crying and snuggling up to a grilled chicken leg while saying “Mom…(probably).” Granted, there’s a certain logic in the mother of Gudetama, and egg, being a chicken, but seeing her hacked to pieces and cooked is still sort of disturbing, in a mouth-watering way.

Moving on to less tragic options, for dessert you can have the chocolate cake (1,190 yen), with the chocolate ostensibly found under the kotatsu-style covering Gudetama is hiding under, or perhaps inside the character’s butt.

Speaking of Gudetama’s butt, the eggy posterior is also part of the chocolate latte and matcha milk (790 yen each), where it seems to be a posterior-shaped marshmallow.

If the idea of munching on Gudetama’s hindquarters is just too asinine for you, you can wash your meal down with some tapioca mango milk or strawberry milk (790 yen)…

…or a soda (strawberry, mango, or blue Hawaii, 850 yen) served in a trendy light bulb-like container.

All diners receive a Gudetama luncheon mat drawn in an American comics aesthetic, which leaves a bit of mystery as to whether or not that chicken leg really is Gudetama’s mom, but makes it absolutely clear that the chicken is dead by giving it a halo and angel wings.

Each food item you order gets you a Gudetama post card, selected at random out of a set of seven designs…

…and drink orders get you a snazzy character art coaster.

As with its 2016 iteration, the Gudetama Cafe can be found at department store Seibu’s Ikebukuro branch in downtown Tokyo. The cafe will be open between November 8 and January 21. Don’t miss it, since you never know when your next chance to eat one of Gudetama’s family members will be.

Restaurant information
Gudetama Cafe (Ikebukuro branch) / ぐでたまカフェ（池袋店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Minami Ikebukuro 1-28-1, Seibu department store (Ikebukuro main branch) 8th floor
東京都豊島区南池袋1-28-1 西武池袋本店8F
Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (weekdays), 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. (weekends, holidays)
Website

Source: @Press
Top image: @Press
Insert images: Gudetama Cafe, @Press
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s now craving the “Angel Wing” chicken wings from the Thai restaurant he used to go to in college.

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