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 features a wide array of savoury dishes alongside the typical matcha desserts. One exciting addition is ochazuke, a Japanese dish where you pour green tea or dashi over cooked rice. Of Hvala’s modest ochazuke options, one standout was the Hvala “Surf & Turf” ($24.90), which comes overloaded with wagyu oyster blade, teriyaki chicken, salmon and scallops. Drench it with the dashi provided, and you’ll find yourself with a hearty and comforting meal that’s perfect for a rainy day. The scallops and the wagyu are melt-in-your-mouth tender, providing a burst of flavour with every bite.
If you’re not a fan of ochazuke, you can get the same toppings either with soba or in a sandwich. We tried the soba with teriyaki chicken ($17.90), which is topped with a gooey onsen egg and genmai furikake. We recommend mixing everything in to get the most flavour out of this dish – even so, you might find yourself wishing for more teriyaki sauce or a separate dip for the soba.
We also tried the tofu and mushroom shio pan ($17.49) which comes with button and enoki mushrooms glazed with a matcha miso sauce. The fluffy shio pan was bursting with ingredients when it arrived on our table, resulting in a messy affair when we cut into it. The soft bread soaked up the sauce wonderfully, balancing out the slight saltiness of the matcha miso. The matcha flavour was not very prominent though, leading some of us to think it was just regular miso sauce.
Hvala also introduces an innovative spin on the iconic Singapore breakfast food, kaya toast. These toasts ($9.90) are given a generous spread of homemade kaya, two slabs of butter, and a dusting of matcha powder, hojicha powder, or genmai bits. We went for the matcha kaya toast this time, and while we enjoyed the sweet kaya with lovely golden brown toasts, the matcha felt like an afterthought. The earthiness of the matcha clashed with the rich kaya and salty butter, and made for an especially confusing tasting experience after we dipped it in the two soft-boiled eggs that came with the toast.
Despite this, the matcha at Hvala is as delicious as ever. The Tsuki matcha latte ($6.90) was light and easy to drink, with just a tinge of sweetness to quell the matcha’s natural bitterness. Some of its desserts have also gotten an update, such as its matcha blondies ($13.90), which now have a softer and chewier texture.
For a first attempt at a savoury menu, Hvala does a respectable job of introducing matcha and local twists into its classic Japanese dishes. While we’ll be sticking to its matcha drinks, desserts, and ochazuke, we can’t wait to see how it improves and refines its savoury dishes, and better incorporate its signature matcha into each dish.
Find out more about Hvala’s newest flagship at Odeon Towers here.