< Visited in Jul 2019 & Aug 2018 >
I have introduced Taipei's Lang Lang Don't Cry Pet Halfway House & Cafe 浪浪别哭 previously. When they opened their second outlet in Taichung (to expand the geographic potential of their cats and dogs getting adopted), it was a matter of time I made my way there. Nestled in an old (and according to one taxi driver who brought me there, quite known) neighbourhood, this outlet occupies a two-storey corner house, not far from a lovely open field.
Related read:
[Taipei 台北] Lang Lang Don't Cry Pet Halfway House & Cafe 浪浪别哭
Sidetracking a little, I had an opportunity to travel by bus (note: Taichung buses are currently FOC for the first 10km if you use a stored value card, a privilege I optimised in Jul 2019) and a short walk from the bus stop to Lang Lang revealed Liming (translated as 'dawn') New Town 黎明新村 to be a lovely neighbourhood. A quick search on Wiki says that in the 1970s, the government moved some of the central departments from Taipei to Taichung, in the course of which this estate was developed to house offices and residences for the employees. The neighbourhood now is probably a mix of old and new houses and residents, but being away from the city central, it retains a quiet, rustic charm.
↓ The earlier-mentioned open field, which I guess could be where the dogs from Lang Lang get their daily walks. One of the days I was there, a group of adults and children were manually mowing the lawn, presumably for their (base?)ball game. The air smelled nice and fresh from their mowing.
Another day I was here and early for my reservation, I sat at the park, enjoying the summer vibes (and heat!), light breeze, lovely skies, sound of cicadas and my chilled bottled drink.
It's really nice to go slow while on vacay, something everyone should do once in a while.
Back to the focus of this post, 5 minutes away from the park...
Recapping an earlier point that this cafe is situated within a neighbourhood, there were teething issues with noise level (from both the dogs as well as overly excited patrons, some who bring their just as excited dogs along). The owners had to beseech patrons to keep noise level down, so as not to disturb their neighbours. Something to note if you are here in a big group, so that Lang Lang can continue being in this lovely estate.
↓ Familiar faces on the wall mural outside Lang Lang - resident dog Ben Ben 班班 and resident cat Boss Chi 奇老大.
↓ Still the same SOP here - self-sanitizing your hands as you enter.
↓ View of ground floor. Place orders at the counter after you are done browsing the menu. Your food and beverage will be served to your table.
↓ A photo wall of furkids who found their furever homes
↓ Going up to feline territory on 2F
↓ The sliding door has little success of keeping the more adventurous cats in - especially the two residents Boss Chi 奇老大 and (a currently shaven) Didi 蒂蒂 (whom you'll see later)
↓ 2F was lively that day, as potential adopters were being interviewed for one of the cats, plus some of us random customers. (The selection process was stringent. I overheard a mother and daughter sitting beside me discussing their answers for the questionaire. How nice when the whole family is in it together - 1 of the adoption criteria here.)
↓ Quiet corner for recuperating cats, newbies who need to be quarantined or just to calm misbehaving ones for a while. Given the nature of this section, it is still amazing to read on their FB how a small group of customers repeatedly disturbed the recuperating felines here, and fed others human food - despite reminders from the staff. Guess there will always be irresponsible customers who misbehave in the oddest manner - thankfully most customers are sensible and genuine animal lovers who want to spend time with the furkids while they wait for their homes.
↓ As Boss Chi says:
- speak softly as cats are more sensitive to noise (my girl at home ain't different, and takes pleasure in biting me when I get too loud near her)
- refrain from feeding them (human food or otherwise)
- refrain from disturbing napping cats
"You are a good cat slave, meow ~"
↓ First visit in Aug 2018
↓ Resident cat #1 Boss Chi 奇老大
↓ Resident cat #2 Didi 蒂蒂
↓ Jul 2019, over two visits, one for the dog zone & one for the cats
↓ Ben Ben and Toast 土司's marriage cert, from their "ceremony" in Mar 2019 - Toast is now part of the owners' family!
↓ Boss Chi napping on 1F (remember, no disturbing sleeping cats, especially the boss here!)
↓ 1 of the visiting fosterers generously gave out cat treats (with the permission of staff) for customers to engage the cats (they sure love it!).
↓ And the currently "nude" Didi 蒂蒂 who's a wayward darling
↓ Qingqing 晴晴 who had a few adoption requests being reviewed. The fosterer brought along her brother who was also up for adoption, as a family was keen to have them both.
↓ The two "patients" at the quiet zone
↓ Back at the dog zone for a last round of affections before I leave...
↓ Who's here?!
↓ It was my good fortune to meet some returnees (in the flesh after following their IG for so long!) - first Ah Xi 阿喜 the day before and then Bugu 布谷 and Nini 妮妮 who stay nearby and drag their dad to Lang Lang every evening. The evening before closing had few customers, and I had a good chat with their dad and a fellow animal lover who was there the whole afternoon, about the dogs' new lives and animal welfare in our respective country (there's aways more that can be done).
As the cafe approaches closing hour and the furkids settle down to snooze, I finally took my leave, feeling very good and warm.
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Lang Lang Don't Cry Pet Halfway House & Cafe 浪浪别哭
(Website in Chinese only)
Address --- No. 1, Lane 9, Gan Cheng Street, Nantun District, Taichung 台中市, 南屯区, 干城街214巷1號
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