If you are an avid fan of miHoYo games, you might have heard of the HoYo FEST 2021 Theme Cafe held in several countries — including Singapore’s ANIPLUS cafe. Beginning at the start of November, the cafe has been styled after Honkai Impact and Tears of Themis, which are games in miHoYo’s lineup. Finally, the highly-anticipated Genshin Impact themed cafe was unveiled on Dec 3 and will last till Dec 14.
Within hours, all the dine-in and takeaway slots were fully booked. Fret not, you still have a chance to visit the cafe if someone cancels their reservation. So keep an eye on the booking website. In the meantime, come experience Teyvat together with us!
It is impossible to miss the cafe upon reaching the Esplanade Mall. There are numerous life-size sticker decals of the game’s characters lined up along the cafe windows greeting you while you wait in line.
Say hello to Paimon first, who is also the first character that you meet in the game, alongside some cute hand drawn sketches. Upon entering the cafe, you will have the opportunity to take photos with Mondstadt favourites – Diluc, Klee and Venti – and their official artwork as the backdrop.
THE AMBIENCE
Upon entering the cafe, you will realise that everything has been decked out to fit the Genshin theme. The cafe mainly focuses on characters from the Mondstadt region, which can be seen in the character standees on each table.
Fans of the game’s newer regions need not despair. There are multiple screens around the cafe showcasing not only older visuals, but also several high-resolution digital artworks of the more recent Inazuma region.
A curated playlist of relaxing soundtracks from the game plays in the background, adding to the ambience of the cafe without impeding the ability to converse with your friends — an important but sorely overlooked detail when discussing who your favourite character is.
THE FOOD
One of the main attractions of this cafe is definitely the themed food. Most items on the menu are designed to resemble the food in-game.
This is more apparent for items such as Emergency Food, Mora Meat, Chicken Skewers Rice Bowl and the Tea Break Pancake. The other items on the menu however, are mainly inspired by aspects of the game, such as the colour scheme of a character.
To get your hands on free collectibles, order anything off the menu. Each purchase rewards you with a sticker set, a coaster of either traveler and a random postcard.
Chicken Skewers Rice Bowl 
Mora Meat
Upon collecting the Chicken Skewer Rice bowl from the collection point, one would notice how similar the meal looks to its in-game counterpart. The rice bowl, which came with the skewers, consists of a few pieces of greens making it an overall hefty meal.
Inspired by the Chinese Hamburger, or Rou Jia Mo, the Mora Meat dish looked startlingly like its in-game recipe. Except chicken is used instead, because the cafe does not handle or use pork or lard in their kitchen. The Mora sign stamped on top of the bun in BBQ sauce shows the attention to detail.
Rather than exact replicas of the drinks in Teyvat, the cafe’s offerings are inspired by other aspects of the game. For example, the Violet Floral Ade definitely reminded us of the Inazuma region with its refreshing and subtle floral taste.
On the other hand, the Slime Milk Tea was light. But you have to remember to stir it constantly to ensure the sugar syrup doesn’t sit at the bottom of the drink. It is probably a good idea to consume the slime mochi first, as it contains ice cream and will get messy when it melts.
Violet Floral Ade (left) 
Everlasting Boulder Parfait (L) and Intertwined Winds Parfait
If you have a sweet tooth, the dessert will not disappoint. The Everlasting Boulder Parfait – inspired by Aether’s colour scheme – is mainly a chocolate-based cake accompanied by cookie crumble and custard. The colour stays true to its inspiration.
I will recommend the Intertwined Winds Parfait, which is inspired by Lumine. The cornflakes and biscuit complement the soft airy texture of the cream, while the sweet ice cream balances the overall taste of the dessert.
THE MERCHANDISE
Another aspect of the cafe that fans look forward to is the official Genshin Impact merchandise being sold there. In order to buy the merchandise though, you need to spend at least S$14 per receipt at the cafe.
And even though we were there on the first day (Dec 3) at 2pm, merchandise featuring popular characters – Childe and Xiao – as well as event-specific Hoyo Fest Acrylic stand were already sold out. Nevertheless, there are plenty of other characters to choose from.
For example, you can bring home your favourite Mondstadt character in the form of an acrylic standee at an affordable $12 or a character badge for only $3.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Genshin Impact fans in Singapore are fortunate to get this opportunity to fully experience this themed cafe. Along with the great ambience and delicious food, the overall visit was definitely made better by the helpful and attentive staff.
We hope that the event will return, hopefully showcasing other regions of Teyvat, like Liyue or Inazuma. Do check out our Tiktok video to see our other take on the cafe!
