Hello Kitty Grand Cafe Irvine, CA at Irvine Spectrum
Located at the Irvine Spectrum, the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe Irvine is a small spot with Hello Kitty merchandise, handmade hot and iced beverages, cakes, donuts, other sweet treats, and seasonal goodies.
The Hello Kitty Grand Cafe offers merch like t-shirts, tote bags, pins, keychains, and more. It's quite small, and there is a queue to order food. There is no indoor seating. Reservations are required for the Bow Room afternoon tea with seating. There are tables and chairs outside for mall patrons to use. The treats are packaged in Hello Kitty boxes or packaging for you to take with you.
Hello Kitty Grand Cafe interior |
Drinks and Treats
You can expect mini donuts like cinnamon sugar, rainbow, and cookies and cream. Desserts are limited in quantity. The Hello Kitty Cafe has birthday cake, strawberry cake, chocolate cake, mama's apple pie, mixed berry pocket pie, macaron set, freshly baked cookies, and other sweets. They also have the seasonal strawberry tart, blueberry pocket pie, and rainbow mini donuts.
If you want something cold, they have pineapple and vanilla Dole soft serve. The Hello Kitty Cafe has iced drinks like teas (green or black), lemonades, blended drinks, espresso drinks, and strawberry milk. Even if you don't go for the tea service, you can still make a quick stop to soothe your sweet tooth. Get a couple of little cakes or donuts before you leave the Irvine Spectrum.
Supercute menu at Hello Kitty Cafe |
Hello Kitty Grand Cafe Irvine Address
Located at the Irvine Spectrum at 860 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine, California 92618. It's near the Giant Wheel Court. Park for free at the mall and then walk to the store. Depending on the day and time you arrive, parking might be hard to find, so I recommend just going to the parking structure. There's a lot more parking there.
Hello Kitty Cafe Irvine sign |
Hello Kitty Cafe Irvine Hours
Monday - Thursday 10 am - 9 pm
Friday - Sunday 10 am-10 pm
Afternoon Tea Hours
Wednesday - Friday 11 am - 2:30 pm (last seating)
Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 3:30 pm (last seating)
Afternoon tea at the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe starts at $60 per person. The expanded menu has savory foods like the pesto tart, salmon croissant, and cucumber sandwich with dill cream cheese served on milk bread. It also serves sweet options like strawberries and cocoa cream, seasonal scone, Hello Kitty mini cake, and more. This is a cute spot to come with a Hello Kitty-loving friend for a fun afternoon tea service and a sweet experience.
Cocktail Service
Wednesday - Saturday 5 pm - 9:30 pm (last seating)
Hello Kitty Grand Cafe also has a cocktail menu featuring items like the Kitty Colada with rum, pineapple soft serve, and coconut or the Bee Kind with gin, vermouth, lemon, lavender honey, and ginger.
Bow Room at Hello Kitty Grand Cafe Irvine |
Bow Room
The Hello Kitty Cafe's chic pink Bow Room has a bar area, tables, and chairs. This is a separate space inside of the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe where you can dine with a reservation.
You should check out the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe at the Irvine Spectrum if you or someone you know is a Helloy Kitty fan. Making reservations to experience the afternoon tea service and ensure its availability. It is something kids will never forget for a birthday celebration or special occasion. You can also pick up Hello Kitty Cafe merchandise if you want to take a souvenir home that you can wear.
Take videos and enjoy the moment.
100+ Things to Do Outside
Rain or shine, there are plenty of outdoor activities to keep you and the kids busy throughout the year. Take a look at this list of over 100 things to do outside to ensure you'll stay entertained no matter what. Most of these great ideas can be customized for adults, little kids, or for the family. Some of these are nature-based, while others are some of the best outdoor activities.
There are many fun things to do outside for all ages, from hosting an outdoor movie night to a water balloon fight in the local park.
Many of these activities for the great outdoors are free (outdoor dance party, scavenger hunt, etc.), but some require payment, such as miniature golfing. Many of these can be done with items you likely already have at home, like making DIY bubbles. See how many of these you can do in a day or during summer vacation.
100 Things to Do Outside
- Make an obstacle course in the backyard or front yard
- Spend the afternoon at an amusement park
- Make a fairy garden
- Play hide and seek
- Walk around to see how much street art and graffiti you can find
- Do a nature scavenger hunt
- Plan an outdoor movie night (you can get an outdoor projector screen or simply watch it on your phone or laptop)
- Make or play with slime outdoors
- Go to a local outdoor concert
- When life hands you lemons, make a lemonade stand
- Head over to your local farmers market for fresh air and produce
- Calm down with outdoor yoga
- Visit a dog park
- Stroll your local botanic garden
- Go geocaching
- Play basketball
- Play tennis
- Spend the afternoon cloud-watching
- Go stargazing
- Pull weeds from the backyard
- Paint a shower curtain (try a clear shower curtain or liner for this)
- Make a sensory bin
- Play with Legos or blocks
- Go horseback riding
- Get binoculars to go bird watching (you can get a bird watching book and binoculars to better spot the wildlife)
- Take photos
- Plan a trip to a national park
- Take a bike ride
- Attend a basketball or baseball game
- Build an outdoor fort
- Find a quiet spot in a park to read a book or listen to a podcast
- Play frisbee golf
- Play freeze tag
- Go to an outdoor ice skating rink
- Spend time at a state park
- Build a mud kitchen
- Get artistic and draw on the pavement with sidewalk chalk (buy sidewalk chalk online here)
- Visit a pumpkin patch
- Play board games outside
- Go kayaking or conoeing
- Run through the sprinklers on a hot day
- Play or build a treehouse
- Paint pet rocks
- Do an outdoor workout
- Create a playlist and listen to it outside
- Grill burgers or veggies outside
- Get the whole family to do an outdoor dance party
- Go on a walk to see if you can identify the nature around you (plants, flowers, trees, etc.)
- Tie dye shirts or beach towels outside so you don't stain anything (you can get a tie dye kit and pick color themes like neon colors, etc)
- Get vitamin D and take a long walk on the beach
- Wash your car inside and out
- Hike local trails
- Go to a water park
- People watch outside
- Go swimming at a local pool, lake, beach, etc.
- Go surfing
- Run through the sprinklers
- Cool off in the splash pad (there are splash pads for different ages, so you can keep this in mind)
- Look for bugs
- Watch the sunset or sunrise
- Try your hand at paddle boarding
- Try out your green thumb and plant a garden in your backyard
- Fly a kite
- Pitch a tent in the yard and camp there
- Explore your local park, beach, or forest
- Write in your journal in a park (100+ Journal Prompts for Self-Discovery)
- Go rock climbing
- Play a game of tug of war
- Do a puzzle outside
- Eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner outside
- Give your patio, balcony, or welcome mat a good wash
- Paint rocks in fun shapes like fruits or vegetables
- Hug a tree
- Make s'mores (there are electric flameless s'mores kits if you don't have access to a fire)
- Go camping
- Have a picnic in nature
- Take an outdoor nap
- Go skiing or snowboarding
- Check out a book from the local library and read it outside
- Eat homemade popsicles in your backyard
- Hula hoop (buy hula hoops online or at the store)
- Play hopscotch
- Climb a tree
- Make a bird feeder
- Walk the dog
- Lay in a hammock
- Play capture the flag
- Grab old magazine and make a collage outside
- Meditate in the great outdoors
- Play hopscotch
- Build a fairy garden
- Head to a zoo or petting zoo
- Play catch
- Build an obstacle course
- Make DIY chalk paint
- Make DIY bubbles (but you could go fancy with a bubble gun or bubble machine)
- Feel the grass on your skin on a sunny day
- Attend an estate sale or garage sale
- Host a garden party
- Cool off with a water balloon fight (they also have reusable water balloons)
- Play mini golf
- Go fishing
There are many fun things to do in the great outdoors. If you can't think of anything, refer back to this list. This is a fantastic way for kids to stay occupied during school breaks or vacations.
When you're trying to think of a fun way to spend the day outside, you have to figure out what type of activities you like to do first. Do you prefer being active, like doing outdoor yoga or a bike ride? Do you like leisure activities like bird watching or strolling around a garage sale? Do you just want to do something minimal and be outside, such as reading? Figuring this out will help you find your favorite things to do for yourself, your family, and your kids.
Dinner, Drinks, and Dessert at The Desmond San Diego at Kimpton Alma
Find fresh, delicious food at The Desmond, which is part of Kimpton Alma in the Downtown San Diego Gaslamp District. The Gaslamp is known for its nightlife but has its fair share of other things to do, whether you're with kids, on a romantic trip, or stopping by with friends.
If you're staying in the Kimpton Alma, consider getting dinner at The Desmond, which is located on the mezzanine level.
Where is The Desmond San Diego?
The address of The Desmond is 1047 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101. They invited me to have dinner, so I went with my family to see what goodies were on the menu. The menu centers around San Diego and California cuisine with options like seafood and pasta.
Parking in Downtown San Diego
The hotel has valet parking, which is easier than circling the one-way streets of downtown San Diego in search of a spot. But if valet isn't your thing, you can drive further away to seek a place.
Food and Menu
If you enjoy bread, start with the roasted garlic and herb focaccia bread service. The menu seems to rotate through the seasons, so when I checked back about two months later, the items I got weren't on it. They have appetizers, entrees, desserts, and cocktails.
That said, I really enjoyed the fresh, housemade pasta. The ingredients and thoughtful presentations are focal points to ensure an experience unlike anything you'd get at an average restaurant. Each dish is carefully presented.
It's a terrific spot to celebrate a birthday, retirement, or special occasion dining experience. The prices are above the standard burger joint but not as costly as you'd expect for a fine-dining restaurant. You can get a cocktail and entree for around $75-80, depending on your order. They also have a 3-course and 5-course menu but you can call ahead to inquire about this.
Desserts
The menu will vary, but you can expect incredible deliciously seasonal desserts. Don't leave without getting at least one. For example, they have a Wildflower Honey Coconut Tapioca that's made with mango custard, honey sweet mango, coconut geleƩ, and a bit of toasted coconut.
When I went, I had the Basque Cheesecake and Gianduia Chocolate Budino. Both were decadent and the perfect way to end the evening. Desserts cost $10-15, which is around the same price as a dessert at a pizza place in North County San Diego.
Cocktails at The Desmond
The cocktails are well-crafted and balanced with a range of alcohols and flavors, like Stranahan’s Whiskey. This drink is shaken with cardamom tea and lemon.
Ambience
I went earlier during dinner service and was among the first people there. During dinner, several other patrons filtered through, whether on a date or business trip. It was still quiet and spacious. The bathroom stalls are gender-neutral and in one open-concept bathroom area.
Visit The Desmond San Diego in Southern California if you want a night of high-quality food experience. They are only open for dinner, but it's a lovely spot for a meal, wine, or dessert.
Costco Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
Costco Wholesale has a bit of everything. If you've been interested in trying Costco coconut shrimp, they seem to have at least a couple of options: the Aqua Star Coconut Breaded Butterfly Shrimp, Clean Tail, 16-20 ct, 2.5 lbs, and then the Royal Asia Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, 2 lbs.
I purchased the Royal Asia Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce from Costco.
How to Cook the Frozen Coconut Shrimp
For best results, bake or air fry them. To bake, place the shrimp in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake at 400 degrees F for about 18 minutes or until golden brown. The directions say to flip them halfway through.
If you want to skip the oven, try the air fryer. To air fry the shrimp, heat them at 400 degrees F for about 8 minutes and flip them halfway through.
The Taste of the Coconut Shrimp
The coconut is crispy and tasty. As the name of the frozen coconut shrimp would suggest, it has a deep coconut flavor with the texture of shredded coconut. The shrimp have tails which are easy to remove. The shrimp themselves seem small compared to the amount of coconut on them.
When you use the Thai chili sauce, there is quite a lot of sugar. I actually never ended up using this because the coconut shrimp had a lot of flavor on its own.
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts say that there are 8 servings, each 4 oz. This includes the Thai chili sauce, but there are no nutrition facts if you choose to skip the sauce.
Each serving is 390 calories and 24 grams of total fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 34 grams of carbs, 11 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, and 17 grams of sugar.
Final Thoughts - The coconut shrimp are tasty, but there's more coconut than shrimp
I found this in the frozen fish and seafood area of the store. It was on sale at the time, so I decided to buy it. I like the taste and texture; I just feel that the amount of coconut to shrimp is off. There seems to be a lot of coconut and small pieces of shrimp.
Costco has plenty of good deals, so this is already a good value and a delicious way to mix up how you eat shrimp. The shrimp are ready, so you don't have to clean, devein, or do anything other than pop them in the oven or air fryer.
Overall, I enjoyed the flavor, and it's a good item to have on rotation at home. I wouldn't stock it permanently, but it's nice to have when you want something different. These shrimp are fun to bring to a party or for a family dinner when you don't want to make everything from scratch.