It used to be a pretty promising place when it started expanding. And some of the stores are pretty nice but there is no consistency.
There are 2 in my area. One of them is newer but its chockablock with old people There were one or 2 free tiny round tables but that aint the vibe i’m looking for. That is suitable for a lu rou fan restaurant, not a cafe.
Another one is an older store. Literally all the same furniture for like 10 yrs. Holes in the sofas. Shabby as hell. And no AC. Lots of free chairs so its better than the other one but I’d probably just go to the starbucks across the street instead at least they have AC.
The food really sucks too. It’s like a step down in quality from Taiwanese breakfast restaurants. Its like they ain’t even trying to compete with starbucks anymore. Disappointing.
Well except maybe their newly introduced cinnamon rolls, which when heated up are better than you’d think, especially when paired with a nice flat white.
Yeah, they’re really hit or miss. There’s one nice one in my neighborhood with a huge table in the middle that can sit 15/20+ people doing work. The main problem though is the older people who show up and are super loud. Phones out with volume at max
A while ago, I remember checking out a multistory Louisa not far from Shilin MRT Station. The ground floor housed the noisiest group of elderly folks you can imagine (if you dare). One flight up was quieter. The top floor (3rd floor in US / Canada lingo) had a quiet library vibe.
Here I learned a valuable lesson: if there’s more than one floor, keep climbing!
They sit their all day with their thermos’s of tea (why do you need to bring your own tea to a cafe??) and pai gu soup slurping away.. I learned years ago to just avoid them or i’ll regret it.
I used to visit the Louisa Coffee branch at Minquan Chenggong from time to time. It was decent enough, and being close to the gym made it a convenient stop.
