The clue’s in the coffee

A FAVOURITE among Thai manga readers for more than 20 years, the popular Japanese characters from the Detective Conan series have finally arrived in Bangkok and taken up residence at Siam Center.
The first pop-up Detective Conan Cafe, which offers dishes themed on their roles and the storyline, has taken over Bake A Wish on the ground floor until September 30 to coincide with the latest full-length animated film “Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer” now showing at cinemas around town.
Conceptualised and developed by Parco Japan, the pop-up Detective Conan Cafe has opened in various locations throughout Japan but this is the first Conan-themed cafe to operate overseas. 

“Conan is on the top ten manga lists in Japan and is read by both kids and adults. It’s been popular in Thailand for a long time, with 92 of the 94 volumes so far published translated into the Thai language. Thais are also happy to embrace new food experiences so I hope this collaborative project between Parco, Siam Piwat and Bake A Wish will receive a warm welcome from Thai fans,” says Shigeyoshi Sato, chief executive officer of Parco (Singapore), which is responsible for the overseas market and has enjoyed success with the pop-up Pokemon and Minions cafes in Singapore. 

Written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama since 1994, the ongoing Detective Conan series follows an amateur high-school detective Shinichi Kudo who was forced by the criminal Black Organisation to swallow a poison called APTX-4869, that instead of killing him shrinks him into a seven-year-old child. He assumes a fake name, Conan Edogawa, and continues to solve a multitude of cases while impersonating his friend’s father and other characters.
Customers can’t resist having their pictures taken with the “standees” of the most popular characters – Conan, Shinichi and Toru Amuro – while the savouries, desserts and drinks just cry out to be shared on social media.

APTX-4869 Super Big Capsule Curry 

The poisoned capsule that shrinks Shinichi into a child is the inspiration behind APTX-4869 Super Big Capsule Curry (Bt250), a dish of pork curry and two-toned steamed jasmine rice in white and red in the form of the pill.
The handsome detective Amuro who juggles several identities plays a central role in the latest Conan movie. His mysterious character is portrayed in Bourbon’s Spicy Seafood Pasta (Bt200). 
“The taste buds get an unexpected spicy punch from this seafood pasta that is not unlike the manipulative traps Amuro uses to gather information from his enemies,” says Nikan Prachyasilpawut, owner of Bake A Wish. 

Bourbon’s Spicy Seafood Pasta

Amuro is actually an agent at the Public Security Bureau, the Japanese version of the FBI, where he’s known as Rei Furuya. He also goes by the code name Bourbon when he is working undercover in the Black Organisation. His secretive personality is also an inspiration for the Amuro 3-Faced Parfait (Bt220) – featuring ice creams in three flavours of Thai tea, matcha and mint topped with matcha-flavoured macaroon and dressed with fresh strawberry slices. 

Amuro 3-Faced Parfait 

In one episode, Amuro displays his culinary flair by making a sandwich, the recipe for which quickly went viral on social media. Amuro Original Ham Sandwich (Bt180) is also served here.
“Amuro is one of the best-loved characters, particularly among women, and creates a new social phenomenon in Japan,” adds Sato.

Amuro Original Ham Sandwich

Apart from his smart looks, blonde hair and wide-ranging skills in everything from cooking, sports to martial art, women see Amuro as an ideal, according to an article in the Japan Times. As he goes by the code name Bourbon, the Japan Times reports that this has spurred a recent rise in bourbon sales. In the series, Amuro also drives a souped-up Mazda RX-7 and some hard-core fans have been known to either rent a model or buy one outright in an attempt to emulate their idol.

Labyrinth Curly Fries 

The puzzling crimes are transformed into Labyrinth Curly Fries (Bt150) and a hot latte (Bt130) topped with edible film featuring one of the six main characters. As diners can’t choose the latte visual, it’s fun to guess which character will top the cup. 

 Hot Latte

Inspired by long-time friendship and love of Shinichi and Ran Mouri, the cafe offers an iced Lychee Soda with the sweet floral taste of rosebuds (Bt150). A refreshing Fruit Soda (Bt250) is also served in a limited edition bottle bearing the silhouettes of Conan and Amuro.

Fruit Soda in limited-edition bottle

There are take-away sweet treats too, among them the Detective Conan Cake featuring layers of blue, white and red to emulate Conan’s blue jacket, white shirt and red bow tie (Bt165), Shinichi’s Favourite Lemon Pie (Bt165 for two pieces), a package of six Cheese Tarts (Bt540) and Detective Conan Choux Cream (Bt40). They’re available at all 13 outlets of Bake A Wish.

Detective Conan Special Cake

“The project took about six months to complete. Parco asked Dai-Ichi Kikaku Thailand, whose Good Anime unit is the master area licensee of Detective Conan here to propose cafes with the potential to operate this themed character cafe. Of the five put forward, Bake A Wish was finally selected. 
“We worked closely with Parco to develop the menu and the first priority was that each dish must be delectable. The Parco team is very concerned about quality control and operations,” says Nikan.

Lemon Pie and Cheese Tart

The Guest Cafe & Diner is a Parco business unit and has been behind many collaborative theme cafes such as Makoto Shinkai’s 2017 movie “Your Name” and Sanrio’s “My Melody” and “Sailor Moon” and. It currently has five outlets across Japan, in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya and Fukuoka. It routinely changes the concepts every two to three months through a pop-up cafe model and the theme is based on popular anime characters, artistes and movies.

Detective Conan’s Special Choux Cream Party Plate

“After this, Parco will evaluate the success of operation. If the result is positive, it’s possible that Bake A Wish could run other themes. I personally would like to run the themed characters of Sailor Moon and the Rose of Versailles,” adds Nikan.

DINING WITH THE DETECTIVES
The pop-up Detective Conan Cafe is on the ground floor of Siam Center, Bangkok. It is open daily from 10 to 10 until September 30.