GeekNUZ

Forbidden City Starbucks Closes Its Doors

Update: A traditional Chinese cafe has now replaced the former Starbucks in the Forbidden City.  It will served traditional Chinese tea, in addition to coffee.  Via BBC.

Did you know that Starbucks has over 200 stores in China?  One of which, opened seven years ago, is located right inside the Forbidden City in Beijing.  Due to protests arguing that the Starbucks brand was trampling on Chinese culture by virtue of its location, Starbucks signage was removed from the store two years ago.  A recent online campaign, which gathered over 500,000 signatures, supported the idea that if Starbucks wanted to stay inside the Forbidden City, it would have to sell other brands as well.  I don't quite understand how this would ameliorate the issue of Chinese culture-trampling, but, oh well.  Per Starbucks's vice-president for Greater China Eden Woon: "We decided at the end that it is not our custom worldwide to have stores that have any other name, so therefore we decided the choice would be to leave."  Via BBC World.

Crazy Menu Dot.Com

Judging from the list of top ten restaurants on Crazy Menu's front page, it would seem that this is another start-up in my hometown of Mountain View, California!  I have yet to try the service, but I will certainly be showing it to the office manager.  Crazy Menu allows groups small and large to individually customize their food orders and offers friends a fun way to decide on which restaurant to go for dinner.  I will have more to say once I've used it.  Official site at Crazymenu.com.

Japanese Coolness: Canned Udon

Man, the Japanese get the coolest things - even vending machines.  Though I'm not sure how good they taste, having warm udon come out of a vending machine is beyond anything I can imagine here in the US.  The products are made by UMAI, who already have canned ramen in Japanese vending machines.  All the cans come ready to eat with a tiny plastic fork.  Full story via Pink Tentacle.

Foamy Masterpieces

Look closely at the froth on this cup of latte and you'll see something amazing.  The baristas at Flavours of Lakhoum cafe in Melbourne, Australia can apparently conjour up these foamy masterpieces in less than a minute.  Amazing.  Here's the address of the cafe if you're in the neighborhood.  Story via Cool Hunting.

Flavours of Lakhoum
175 Swan Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Melbourne, Australia

Jackie Chan's XGT Energy Drink - Tea With A KICK!

Here's my weekly Asian food product seen at the local Asian market.  It's Jackie Chan's "XGT Energy," a green tea powder mix you pour into a bottle of water and BOOM it's a "healthy energy drink" infused with all the ginseng, taurine and B vitamins you need for a year.

Pizza Hut Waitress Gets $10,000 Tip

Jessica Osborne, a 20-year-old waitress at an Indiana pizza restaurant was given a US$10,000 tip from one of her regular customers, Becky (who requested her last name not be disclosed).  The story goes that Jessica's dream was to go to college.  She even enrolled at a local college and purchased books.  But, as it turns out, Jessica's financial aid package did not come through so those books never got to see the light of day outside of the trunk of her car.  As fate would have it, Becky recently came into some money - her husband and eldest daughter were killed in an automobile accident and she was left with the settlement.  But as all good stories go, Becky took that money and decided to give new life to someone's dream.  For the complete story check out ABC News.

iPhone Post #1: Annoying Starbucks Vernacular

So this will be my first live blog from my iPhone. I am sitting in Starbucks right now blogging rather than studying, which is what I should be doing. Anyhow, back to the point of this post. I walked up to the barrista just now and ordered a small chai latte, to which she replied, "Oh, you mean a TALL chai latte?" To which I replied, "Small, tall, you know what I mean. Does it really matter?" Afterwards he cashier made a point to charge me for a "tall chai latte." I guess some people are just more serious about their beverage size nomenclature. That or maybe they're just anal, or brainwashed, or trying to be purposefully vexing. At least they have the good sense to be playing Cesaria Evora.

Hello Boss, Good Bye Starbucks

In my ongoing series about cool and weird Asian food products, I offer to you today "Hello Boss" coffee.  I must say I love the name.  I guess some of us can't face the world, let alone our bosses, before our morning coffee.  I have yet to try it, but seeing the fan following it has on the net, I'm sure Hello Boss coffee is quite good.  From FraudWasteAbuse.com:

You have discovered my favorite secret!  I’ve been buying Hello Boss! Coffee from 99 Cents Only stores for a few years now, where they’re 2 for $0.99. Their tastes are a little bit more bitter than Starbucks coffees, but they have more caffeine, are cheaper, and travel better than Starbucks Frappuccinos in their glass bottles.

I'll give my review after I try it.

"Porno Pizza"

Is this what it takes to sell pizza nowadays?  A new pizzeria in Winnipeg, Manitoba serves up porn (printed on the inside of the box) that's revealed as you eat the pizza.  Owner Corey Wildeman, a 30-year-old purveyor of pizza (and porn I'm sure), states that he got his inspiration from classic porno films where “pizza delivery guys meet lonely ladies and deliver more than just pizza.”  The pizzas also have porno-themed names such as the "Missionary Position", "Mr. Big", "Fuzzy Taco", and "Climax".  Apparently, some of the Winnipeg locals are not amused.  Interestingly, according to Wildeman, 75% of the customers are women.  Oh and, yes, you must show ID before they hand over your porno pie.  Anyhow, check out the official website.  It's quite amusing.  I hope the pizza's decent at least.  Via Towleroad and Boing Boing.

Say Goodbye to Waterborne Pathogens

I decided to file this one under "food & drink" since I don't have a section for "food gadgets."  Anyhow, I think this is something that will accompany me the next time I go to Yosemite National Park (but, really, it's probably best for those heading overseas to distant lands and jungles where potable water may not always be plentiful).  The SteriPEN is a handheld device that kills bacteria, viruses, and protozoa via ultraviolet light.  Simply dip the device into a container of water and in less than a minute it is ready for consumption.  Now, that's all fine and dandy, but what about the TASTE?  I'm sure that if you start out with nasty tasting water you'll get nasty tasting water, just minus the diarrhea-causing organisms.  But, I guess you can't complain when you're stranded for water.  Check it out: Hydro-Photon.com.  Also, REI.com.