A Visit to the Halo Cafe in Guzhen, Zhongshan

Today in Guzhen, a town in Zhongshan I will say more about in later posts, I unexpectedly saw a Halo Cafe.

Since I had just mentioned two other Halo Cafes in a post yesterday, I felt compelled to take a closer look (and write this light post now).

Their menu lists a variety of drinks:

I went with a simple double espresso.

Some will take issue with the cream (I also don't use sugar). But it looked like a double espresso. It tasted like a double espresso. And unless an incredible placebo effect was at play, it had caffeine. It cost 15 yuan (US $2.25), cheaper than then 20 yuan for a Starbucks double espresso.

According to the barista, Halo Cafe originated in Zhongshan and has spread to some other nearby cities, all in Guangdong province. I still had many unanswered questions, but I chose to leave him in peace. So I will just leave it at this for now. Well, except for one more thing . . .

In the outdoor seating area there was a claw crane game. These are very common in places such as shopping malls. I wouldn't have given it much notice, but this claw crane had an unexpected theme.

I think it is only fair to ask why the American coffeehouse chain Starbucks can't show some similar spirit in China.

A Halo Next to Starbucks in Zhongshan

For a change of pace from the "Starbucks Coeeff" store, here is a large Starbucks store with a sign spelling "coffee" correctly:

What more caught my eye about this Starbucks at the Dasin Metro-Mall (大信新都汇) in Zhongshan was its prominent neighbor — Halo Cafe, which also sells coffee.

Earlier the same day, I had notice another Halo Cafe at the Central Power Plaza (兴中广场) shopping mall.

Their storefront sign has "coffee" spelled correctly, and there is rooftop seating. So at least the basics seemed in order. There is a Starbucks near this store as well but in another section of the mall.

I don't have more to say about this competitor for Starbucks in Zhongshan other than I haven't found any evidence it is connected to the Halo Cafe in Taipei (review in Chinese), the Halo Cafe in Dublin, the Halo Cafe in Kota Kinabalu, the Halo Cafe in Clinton, South Carolina, or any of the other Halo Cafes around the world I have just found online. Together, all those Halo Cafes offer quite a variety of food though.

A "Starbucks Coeeff" Store in Guangzhou, China

About a month ago when I visited the China Plaza shopping mall in Guangzhou, I saw that one of the two Starbucks stores there was under renovation.

To my surprise, I soon noticed something far more remarkable about the store — its storefront sign.

Mmm.... coeff

A new Starbucks store with "Grond Open" signs outside as I had seen earlier this year in Bengbu is one thing. A Starbucks store with "coffee" spelled as "coeeff" on its most prominent sign is a much bigger thing. And while imitators are easy to find in China, this isn't a case of a non-Starbucks store with a strikingly similar name or a fake sign for an empty store. Starbucks lists this store on their website.

So along with some other questions, I wondered "Has the sign always been like that?"

I knew I had taken photographs inside the mall before, so I did some digging. Fortunately for me, I had a useful photo from earlier this year. Fortunately for Starbucks, "coffee" was spelled correctly back then.

China Plaza, March 2017

Out of curiosity, I continued digging and found a photo from over five years ago.

China Plaza, January 2012

Even in this previous version of the sign, "coffee" had been spelled correctly.

But if the sign was spelled correctly before, how did the misspelling later occur? Was it the result of a prank? If the letter "v" had been available, would the sign be "Starbucks Covfefe" instead?

I don't know the answers to these questions. But I do know that when I more recently stopped by China Plaza I discovered the Starbucks store had reopened and the sign had been fixed.

No coeeff today

I will refrain from congratulating an American coffeehouse chain for correctly spelling "coffee". If Starbucks ever officially puts coeeff on the menu, though, I will be tempted to try it.

Holiday Patriotism and Mooncakes in Zhongshan

Today at the Dasin Metro-Mall (大信新都汇) in Zhongshan there were patriotic signs of the ongoing National Day holiday.

Today is also the Mid-Autumn Festival. Like elsewhere in Zhongshan, the conjunction of holidays apparently inspired some "Buy One Get One Free" sales at the mall. Perhaps because of the overlap, I noticed just one sign which only mentioned today's holiday.

Mooncakes are a popular feature of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Unlike last year, this year I have no sightings of Hello Kitty mooncakes or mooncakes for dogs & cats to share. I saw both of those in Macau, so maybe a short trip would have fixed that.

Instead, for some mooncake spirit here is a photo of an advertisement for mooncakes from Starbucks at Lihe Plaza in Zhongshan:

A single Starbucks mooncake costs 59 yuan (which at the moment equals U.S. $8.88 — how lucky). A barista pointed out it came in a fancy box which looks like a lantern. It isn't hard to find even pricier mooncakes for sale in China.

Or you could go somewhere like Walmart and buy tiny mooncakes for about 2 yuan (about U.S. 30 cents) each. The ones with black sesame filling and salted egg yolk aren't bad.

National Day Sales in China: Buy One Get One Free at War Ground

As usual, National Day in China means . . . sales.

This year is a bit different in that the Mid-Autumn Festival happens to fall during the seven day National Day holiday period, which has been extended to eight days this year to accommodate both holidays. Some stores have played off the double holiday theme this year with variations of "Buy One Get One Free" sales.

For example, a New Bailun LP (Xinbailunlingpao) store I passed today in Zhongshan displayed a "Buy One Get One Free" sign.

And so did a YG-Niubailun store nearby.

Both of these stores sell sneakers with logos remarkably similar to New Balance's — fascinating story there for another day.

Now I can't mention holiday sales in Zhongshan without bringing up War Ground - a military-themed clothing store. Two years ago, I noticed that a War Ground store in Zhongshan had a sale for International Women's Day. Later in the year, I saw that they also had a sale for National Day. Today I briefly stopped by the same store. The promotion there was toned down in comparison to two years ago, and I didn't see any explicit mention of the National Day holiday. But there was a red colored "Buy One Get One Free" sign.

You can decide whether this counts as a National Day sale or not. Perhaps they decided they could have a sale but it would be best not to mention the holiday directly. War and all that.

Clouds Over Zhongshan

Yesterday's clouds in Zhongshan caught my eye. Today for the same reason more did. So on this second day of the National Day Holiday period in China, below are eight photos of clouds which also capture a bit of life in Zhongshan and the variety of architecture there.

A National Day Moon and Soccer Show in Zhongshan

The last post of September included a photo of the moon. I happened to have a good view of the moon today, so I will start October in a similar fashion.

The clear view of the billowing clouds also caught my eye.

Today is National Day in China and the beginning of a long holiday period. Once again, I find myself spending the holiday in Zhongshan – a city bordered by Foshan, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, and Zhuhai in Guangdong province. Two years ago, I shared photos of people in Zhongshan spending National Day with patriotic flags and without flags. I didn't arrive in Zhongshan until the late afternoon today, so I won't be doing the same this time. Instead, here is a photo from tonight of the west end of the Sun Wen West Road Pedestrian Street:

And yes, already things nearby were getting wild and crazy as usual.

I assume those are wigs. And that's all for today.

Moon and Tower in Foshan

Bell Tower at Foshan Lingnan Tiandi

This should be the last post for September. Things have been somewhat light here lately, but I have much bigger plans for October. Enjoy the rest of the month.

Vivo & Oppo: More Mobile Color in China

Contrasting phones from Apple and Xiaomi appeared in a recent post. For more color, two current promotions in Guangzhou for the Chinese brands Vivo and Oppo.

A Selfie Dress for Sale in Zhuhai

One recent post referenced a sign at the Zhuhai Port Plaza underground shopping mall. A more recent post referenced a new mobile phone from Xiaomi marketed as being great for selfies. While looking for something else, I realized I had a photo of something which brings these two topics together: a  dress on sale for 35 yuan (about US $5.30) at the Zhuhai Port Plaza.

Among other possibilities, the "Selfie" dress would be fitting for somebody interested in taking a meta-selfie.

Apple & Xiaomi, Red & Blue in China

iPhone7 Red advertisement in Zhuhai

Like elsewhere in the world, Apple sells red iPhones in China. Unlike elsewhere in the world, Apple's promotions for the phones make no mention of their connection to (RED) — a charity that directs contributions to be "invested in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa, with a focus on countries with high prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV". In addition to Chinese sensitivities regarding AIDS and (RED) displaying a picture of the Dalai Lama on its Instagram page, Josh Horwitz suggested another possible reason for Apple's notable omission:

Overseas charities like (RED) occupy a precarious position in China. A law enacted in January requires all foreign NGOs operating in the country to find government sponsors, register with the police, and submit yearly reports on their financing, plus jump through other hurdles. The regulations, which remain frustratingly vague, have sparked fear among nonprofits in China. Some worry that the government might use the rules as a pretext to kick them out of the country.

Shawn Shieh, a Hong Kong-based expert on Chinese civil society, says it’s possible Apple’s partnership with (Red) could be seen by authorities in China as incompatible with parts of the law.

Apple hasn't publicly clarified the issue. In any case, it isn't hard to spots the localized promotions for the phone at stores in China.

And now at some Guangzhou metro stations, and presumably many other places in China, it isn't hard to spot signs of a blue phone recently released in China — in fact, only in China.

Xiaomi's Mi Note 3 is also available in black though. And it has no stated connection to any charities. Instead, Xiaomi promotes it as a great phone for selfies. In a review of the phone, Mitja Rutnik describes some of the hardware and software which may lead to a more beautiful you, at least in your selfies:

With a powerful 16MP front facing camera, it is clear that Xiaomi is really trying to capture the imagination of its beautify-addicted user base, as it was clear in their marketing for the phone. Crazy video packages and gorgeous models aside, the phone uses face scanning to find the different zones of face and provide more accurate (if that is even the word to use) changes to the user’s visage. Eyes can be pinpointed for enlargement, the chin can be singled out for easier slimming, and the cheeks can be airbrushed to remove spots, to name a few options.

There are even different settings in order to add what could be described as “virtual makeup” to take it to the next level. Xiaomi even made a big deal about their new AI Beautify working for men just as well as women.

Even though it makes less explicit mention of color, Xiaomi's marketing may be deliberately playing off people's awareness of the red iPhone, particularly in the Mi Note 3 ad with strong contrasting blue and red colors. In any case, at the moment both Apple and Xiaomi likely face more direct competition from other companies, such as Huawei and Oppo. More about those companies and their promotions, colorful or not, another day.

Rest in Guangzhou

Liwan Lake Park (荔湾湖公园)