Merlin's Underpants! A Harry Potter cafe in Singapore?!

Are you a total Potterhead? Do you have your own account on Pottermore? Have you been sorted into a Hogwarts house?

If you answered yes to all these questions, you have got to visit the Harry Potter café – Platform 1094 – on Serangoon Road (No. 1094 of course). I had an amazing experience!

The café looked exactly as I imagined the Leaky Cauldron to be. The walls are made of ancient-looking bricks and are covered with posters – a cool recipe for a magic potion, a flyer for Dorothy’s missing shoes and a page from the Platform Weekly (similar to the Daily Prophet).

As I entered the café, I saw a counter right in front of me with numerous wands stacked up on it, along with a furry toy owl (Hedwig!) and a few pairs of round black spectacles that looked exactly like Harry’s. There were also some dusty books with Gryffindor and Slytherin written on them. When I opened them, I realised they were house journals.

At the back of the café was a coat rack, in the corner, and it was thrilling to see so many Hogwarts robes and scarves hanging there, along with wizard hats. You can dress up as characters from Harry Potter’s world! I immediately became Hermione Granger in a Gryffindor robe (though I am actually a Ravenclaw), a hat, and Hermione’s wand.

My grandfather enjoyed dressing up as Professor Dumbledore, complete with purple robes and a sparkly hat.

When we sat down to eat we discovered that the water cups were golden and shaped just like Butterbeer mugs! ‘Siriusly’ amazing!

The menu cards had lots of magic-themed food – Mr. Lich’s Flaming Brew (which catches  fire like the Goblet of Fire), Giant’s Breakfast, a dessert called Bloodberry and other strange, enchanted meals. My mum and I shared a portion of fries served in a cauldron. I saw a chocolate cake topped with an edible snitch, and other magical desserts.

It was a lot of fun checking out the Harry Potter café. I definitely would like to go back again.

This blog first appeared on Singapore for Kids.