Although its flagship outlet at Chijmes has officially closed, Hvala has opened a new outlet at Odeon Towers, a mere seven minutes away from City Hall MRT station. It’s sad to see the tea specialty café leave the tranquil and serene location of Chijmes, but its new outlet is incredibly spacious. Choose between regular tables or tatami-style floor seats to savour your drink, then head to the retail space to purchase merchandise, tea leaves, and even matcha powder and accessories if you’d like to try making your own cup of matcha.
A new outlet comes with a new menu, and Hvala’s Odeon Towers’ menu does not disappoint. Besides the typical matcha cakes, tarts, and ice creams, dig into Hvala’s extensive savoury menu. Ochazuke, a Japanese dish where you pour green tea or dashi over cooked rice, is now available, with toppings like wagyu oyster blade ($19.90), salmon and scallop ($18.90), and tofu and mushroom ($14.90). If you’re more of a noodle person, you can get the same toppings but this time with soba, which is topped with a gooey onsen egg and genmai furikake.
Sandwiches are also available at the new outlet, and the Hvala “Surf & Turf” ($25.90) stood out amongst the rest. Think wagyu oyster blade, teriyaki chicken, and salmon and scallops all stuffed into a fluffy shio pan, topped with an onsen egg and a sauce of your choice for extra creaminess. These sauces are also in a league of their own, with options like Japanese matcha curry, matcha miso, BBQ sauce infused with whiskey barrel-smoked black tea, and Wakoucha teriyaki infused with Samidori black tea. Eating one of Hvala’s new sandwiches is guaranteed to be a messy affair, but to us, that’s a mark of a good sandwich.
If you prefer something lighter, Hvala introduces an innovative spin on the iconic Singapore breakfast food, kaya toast. These toasts ($9.90) are given a generous spread of homemade kaya infused with either matcha, hojicha, or genmaicha, two slabs of butter, and sprinkled with matcha or hojicha powder, or genmai bits. The teas add nuttiness and an earthier flavour to the sweet kaya, which is balanced out by the lightly salted butter. Each set also comes with soft-boiled eggs for you to dip your toast into for an extra burst of flavour.
So even though we’re a bit sad that Hvala’s Chijmes outlet has closed, the new and innovative additions to its Odeon Towers menu more than make up for it.
Find out more about Hvala’s newest flagship at Odeon Towers here.