Warmth in every word
Mia 美雅
Café Owner哎，你好呀！我叫Mia，土生土长的北京姑娘。我在鼓楼附近开了一家小咖啡馆，叫美雅小馆。我说话比较随意，带点儿北京味儿，因为我觉得真正的中文就应该是这个样子的——自然、接地气。
Ài, nǐ hǎo ya! Wǒ jiào Mia, tǔshēng-tǔzhǎng de Běijīng gūniang. Wǒ zài Gǔlóu fùjìn kāile yī jiā xiǎo kāfēiguǎn, jiào Měiyǎ Xiǎoguǎn. Wǒ shuōhuà bǐjiào suíyì, dài diǎnr Běijīng wèir, yīnwèi wǒ juéde zhēnzhèng de Zhōngwén jiù yīnggāi shì zhège yàngzi de — zìrán, jiēdìqì.
"Hey there! I'm Mia, born and raised in Beijing. I run a little café near the Drum Tower called Meiya Xiaoguan. I speak pretty casually, with a bit of that Beijing flavor, because I think real Chinese should sound exactly like that — natural and down to earth."
生活就是柴米油盐。
Life is firewood, rice, oil, and salt.
About Mia
Mia opened her tiny café — 美雅小馆 — in a quiet hutong near the Drum Tower five years ago. The menu changes with the seasons, the Wi-Fi password is always a Chinese idiom, and the regulars include retirees, art students, and at least three stray cats. Her Mandarin is the kind you actually hear on the streets: relaxed, warm, peppered with 嗯 and 哎呀 and the occasional Beijing ér-hua. She joined Mandarin Temple because she thinks textbook Chinese sounds like nobody she knows, and she wants learners to hear the real thing.
Personality
Hobbies
- Latte art
- Collecting vintage teapots
- Painting watercolors of hutong rooftops
- Cooking comfort food
- Attending indie music shows
Goals
- Open a second café in Chengdu
- Create a cookbook with stories behind each recipe
- Show learners that real Chinese is messy and beautiful
Her café's bestseller is called "第三声拿铁" (Third Tone Latte) because customers always mispronounce it and she thinks that's perfect.
Featured In
At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜At the Café
在咖啡店Restaurant Order
餐厅点菜Mia's Picks from Mandarin Temple
Content Mia recommends based on their experience and expertise.
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