Hello Kitty Dim Sum Restaurant Claws Its Way Into Hong Kong

People can't stop opening Hello Kitty-themed restaurants: According to Time, Hong Kong is home to the world's first Chinese Hello Kitty Restaurant. Japan frequently hosts Hello Kitty pop-ups and cafes that sell items like lattes with Hello Kitty foam art, and Hello Kitty-shaped apple pies. Los Angeles' Plan Check offers a Hello Kitty Burger. However, only Hello Kitty Chinese Cuisine serves dishes like Hello Kitty shrimp buns.

Owner Man Kwong tells Time, "Hello Kitty is more popular in Hong Kong than in [her native] Japan." He plans to serve a menu of around 37 dishes, including buns made to look like the character that take 17 steps to make. Kwong says that he wants to "stick to all-natural ingredients" because clean eating is important to him. This means that Hello Kitty's face will be made from ingredients like beetroot and squid ink.

Kwong had to jump through many hoops to bring screaming teenage girls Hello Kitty dumplings. He first reached out to Sanrio in 2013 to begin negotiations. After that he had to experiment with "hundreds of different iterations of dim sum" and wait for Sanrio executives to approve each dish before he could add it to the menu. The restaurant officially opens June 1. Check out more images of the menu and restaurant below: