Singapore Food Log: Hvala, Chijmes
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This weekend I finally had the chance to check out Hvala at Chijmes. Hvala is actually not new in Singapore since I have seen its shop at basement level of 313 Somerset. However, getting seat at the common area of 313 Somerset basement is a huge pain in the ass especially on weekends. So, I don’t feel like buying anything from Hvala Somerset due to seating challenge. However, I read in the news that Hvala has set up a teahouse/ cafe at Chijmes and there are seats where people can chill and take picture of the food/ drink that they buy. Getting excited by this news, I drag bae and my four little friends to Hvala. Hehe.
I was kinda worried about the crowd but the cafe was not crowded around 7PM. Well, I guess most of people are enjoying dinner at this timing but we had finished our dinner by then at the nearby ramen shop. So we are ready to chill and eating dessert at Hvala. Since Hvala is somewhat a teahouse, I always want to try out their matcha latte. Bae ordered matcha houjicha latte instead. You know, I always think that matcha latte has no caffeine (maybe due to what Starbucks always says) but I could not sleep easily that night so I figure the matcha used by Hvala probably is stronger than what Starbucks use. I don’t know but it’s probably just me.
Other than this insomnia risk, Hvala’s Matcha Latte (SGD 5.80) taste pretty good and it’s not the super bitter kind of matcha. Bae’s Matcha Houjicha Latte (SGD 5.80) taste exactly the same except for the addition of houjicha at the bottom of the drink. Turns out the combination of matcha and houjicha taste pretty good too. We wanted to try one of Hvala’s cakes too but were in a dilemma on what to decide. We figured matcha cake would somehow be an overkill since our drinks are full of matcha so we ordered Goma Cake instead. Goma cake is basically black sesame cake and it’s not often to see this kind of cake on display so I found this to be pretty interesting cake. It’s not so sweet and yet, I love it. Especially when it’s paired with match latte.
The crowd started to come in around 9PM-ish and when the crowd has come, you are expected to share the communal table because somehow the concept of seating in Hvala seems to either encourage sharing/ big group customers. Kinda weird but I don’t know, maybe that how the owner pictures its teahouse to be.