Another trans-Pacific import

I was reading through the food section of an area newspaper when I noticed a review of a recently opened cafe that serves Hong Kong-style Chinese-Western fusion meals, and where the waitresses wear French maid costumes. The article's author helpfully pointed out that this was based on a Japanese trend, but I had already just about realised that.

I've heard about "maid cafes" in Japan before... but on the more cynical and jaded anime message boards that I frequent, where people tend to see this as one more sign of the continuing apocalypse of anime and Japan. It's bad enough, they say, that there are anime series where the female characters are dressed as maids... but it's something else again to pander to the fetishistic fantasies of the creepy fanboys who give "otaku" a bad name. However, the review just seemed vaguely interested, and talked about the cafe making "the young and trendy crowd feel right at home." I suppose there are advantages to not quite getting fandom after all.