Ice Cream with a Side of Lomography

If you haven’t heard of lomography, don’t worry, you’re not alone. As you may have guessed from the name, it’s a type of photography. Only in lomography the things about photographs that usually make us cringe (being out of focus, overexposure, weird colors) are actually the desired effect. In the past few years, lomography has been sweeping through the Beijing art scene, as evidenced by the success of places like Fisheye Café in Sanlitun Village and The Lomography Shop on the north end of the Sanlitun bar street.

Apparently, the next stage of the movement involves ice cream, and we're always interested in that. So Photo, a lomography café, has just opened up in Wudaokou, just south of Propaganda. Unfortunately, So Photo hasn’t quite worked everything out yet, but some of their cold desserts and drinks show promise.

The muffin I tried for RMB 6 looked pretty, but was actually dry and hard. Equally unfortunate for me, the menu is completely in Chinese, and the waitress serving at the time spoke no English. Thank goodness I had a Mandarin-speaking friend with me.

But there might be some hope. The green tea milkshake (RMB 26) was deliciously creamy, with a subtle green tea flavor that did not overpower the taste buds. The mango ice cream (RMB 30) was delicious and had real chunks of mango hidden throughout, but it melted quickly in the overheated café.

Other offerings include juices (RMB 26), milk tea (RMB 26), lattes (RMB 28), and iced tea (RMB 26). Or you could try their other foods, like American cheesecake (RMB 26) and brownies (RMB 18).

The décor was pleasing in that old-timey way, with the lower section of the café functioning as a shop stocked with lomography paraphernalia, while the second level had tables and chairs for snacking. Ironically enough, after I snapped a couple photos of the place, I learned that the owner requested patrons to not take photos of the café. I thought lomography was all about taking pictures at any moment, of anything? Either way, if you’re headed to So Photo, you may want to leave the camera at home and take your Mandarin phrasebook.

So Photo. Daily 9.30am-11.30pm. 13-2 Huaqing Jiayuan, Chengfu Lu (further south down the same road as Pyro and Propaganda), Chaoyang District (138 1013 7921） 朝阳区成府路华清嘉园13-2 号（近Pyro和Propaganda)

By subway: 150m southwest of Wudaokou stop, Exit B (Line 13)

Photos: Mandy Melton