Can’t Score a Bing Dwen Dwen Doll? Here Are Other (Mostly Edible) Ways To Get Your Fix

Vincent R. Vinci, Managing Editor | Feb 12, 2022 5:14 pm | Add a comment | 205 reads

It’s hard to believe that a mascot we openly mocked way back when it was first unveiled is winning hearts all over the world as we write this.

And while you might not be able to get a Bing Dwen Dwen doll right away – it’ll take a month or more in some instances – businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to deliver ways to experience this wanghong idol, with a great many of these avenues being of the edible kind.

Bing Dwen Dwen Lattes

We start with coffee, the quintessential opener to anyone’s day. A few shops have taken their latte art to Olympic heights, debuting lattes with the smiling chubby panda on them.

Nathan Chen, manager of Jungle Café, says it took him ten cups to perfect the café’s Bing Dwen Dwen art. “We need to make a body for [the mascot] using milk foam, and then we use needles to trace the lines of the body and eyes.”

You can also head to There Will Be Bread or Kitty & Daniel to get your Bing Dwen Dwen latte fix – perhaps with a burger and fries for a filling yet stimulating lunch combo.

Bing Dwen Dwen Cookies

But what is coffee without a sweet treat to accompany – or perhaps dip into – it?

That base is covered thanks to the baking chops of Da Giuliano, an Italian bakery close to Sanlitun and near the embassy district.

The cookies on offer are more or less just square sugar cookies with frosting, but take one bite out of any of these and you’ll feel the Olympic spirit pulsing through your veins (or maybe that’s just heightened blood sugar?).

Jokes aside, the cookies seem to have had a thinning effect on Bing Dwen Dwen in this case, as he’s slimmed out and lost his nose in this depiction.

Bing Dwen Dwen Ice Cream

A simple search on Meituan using Bing Dwen Dwen’s Chinese name brought these to our attention, and at RMB 5 a pop they don’t look too shabby at all.

That is, until you actually open them up – because inside it’s just a regular old panda, making that price tag a little more of a relief.

It’s not all that bad considering (a) it’s probably difficult to get Bing Dwen Dwen’s likeness onto some ice cream and (b) this sort of thing has been going on for ages if you consider those “Bruce Lee” ice creams, but for those looking to take a figurative bite out of the cuddly Olympic mascot it’s not so much fun.

If you do feel cheated with these panda ice creams, you can always call and report a scam.

Bing Dwen Dwen Leaf Carvings

If you're looking for something that won't be gone once you've digested it, then why not get some art?

First, there's custom leaf carvings, which can feature the panda as well as his buddy Shuey Rhon Rhon, or some other Olympics-related designs. Add in a few extra RMB and you can get a frame thrown in as well.

Bing Dwen Dwen Street Art

Finally, there's even some graffiti of the little guy -- seemingly done up fairly recently.

Situated along Baiziwan Lu by Pingod Community, Bing Dwen Dwen stands out like a sore thumb when surrounded by the more intricate art along the wall it finds itself on. Still, another way to see the chubby fella out and about in the wild.