Hvala (111 Somerset)

One of the prettiest shops to sit and chill at, Hvala at 111 Somerset is what you’d imagine when you think of the word ‘zen’. The houjicha latte was not bad, toasty and milky, but did have some of those particles that tickle your throat (made me cough a little, which isn’t the best time for that considering the virus situation). 😂

The ambience here is really lovely - everything you saw on Instagram is true! It could be a good place to chill with a book when it is less crowded, such as on weekday evenings when I was there.

The matcha tea latte had a strong matcha taste, but I felt it could have been thicker to give the illusion of drinking a viscous matcha concentrate.... 😋 I personally felt it was a bit thin, but it is really a personal preference thing.

The Hojicha ice-cream was not one of the bestsellers, but I like hojicha and so decided to try it anyway. It was good, but a bit sweet, so I suspect quite a bit of sugar was added to it. I wouldn't say it is the best ice-cream I have had -- the honour still goes to Tsujiri for me -- but it is good enough for a casual, accessible post-meal treat.

$6.10

The ice cream had wonderful flavour, without being too sweet to let the black sesame and genmaicha flavour really shine through without being overpowered by sweetness. The only issue was that the black sesame was really melty (it started dripping the minute we received it), while the genmaicha had an inconsistent texture, some of it a little more frosty than the rest.

~$10. This was not bad, esp the top layer of dusty chocolate; but personally not my favorite type of chocolate cake (I prefer the thick, dense kind). Would go back to try their other cakes tho

Super aesthetic as per the decor and quality matcha with milk 👌🏻 Genmaicha latte was also really nice!

Thick, silky shot of freshly whisked matcha layered onto fresh milk, along with hojicha syrup made in-house 》$5.80