I have never been a Hello Kitty fan but I was curious about the experience that the world’s first 24hours Hello Kitty themed café give. Despite all the negative comments online, I have decided to go and try it out for myself. Is it really that bad? So here is it, everything you need to know about Hello Kitty Orchid Garden Cafe.
1. Got Queue?
Yes, the cafe is super packed and there is a queue forming outside the cafe during peak hours (lunch and dinner time). I think the best way to beat the crowd is to come early in the morning or during odd hours. Come on, the cafe is open 24 hours around the clock. But do note that there is a limited menu from 12 midnight to 6am.
2. Hello Kitty Merchandise?
Sorry guys, the Hello Kitty with double bows is sold out but the shipment is coming in soon. However, there are some cookies, Hello Kitty Bespoke Tea Gift Set ($38.90), postcards and grow-it-yourself plant kits (S$34.50) available for sale.
3. Hello Kitty?
Although there is no Hello Kitty mascot walking about, there are 2 3D lifesized Hello Kitty figurines placed at near the entrance and inside the cafe for phototaking.
4. Coffee?
Coffee lovers, just when you thought that there is no specialty coffee available in Changi Airport, Hello Kitty Cafe is giving you a surprise. The cafe uses single origin Ethiopian Grade 1 coffee bean for their espresso based coffee. Are you impressed?
5. Starter?
There is a good selection of food, some with Asian and local influence! For starters, I would recommend the <strong>Hola Nachos ($15.90). The tortilla chips are rather unique as they are deep fried till crispy instead of baked. For health conscious ones, there are salad choices available too. One of the more unique salad is the Over the Rainbow Salad ($15.90) which is accompanied by a laksa mustard vinaigrette together with jackfruit, pineapple, feta cheese, pine nuts, mesclun salad and portabello mushrooms.
6. All Day Brunch?
Any time is a good time for brunch. The Hello Kitty Orchid Garden Cafe offers items such as the Big Breakfast Surprise ($18.50) which consists of scrambled eggs, smoked duck slices, shiitake mushrooms and kitty waffles topped with a slice of melted cheese. If that doesn’t arouse your interest, there is Hello Sunshine ($16.90, not on limited menu), a bread bowl with mushroom, chicken sausages, cheese and baked egg.
7. But I need rice leh~
In that case, try the Cowabunga! Wagyu! ($24), an elevated version of beef rendang using wagyu beef. Karl liked this so much that he polished this dish clean! As for me, although the dish is slightly a notch too sweet for my liking, I like the fact that the rice is not overly packed together to form the Kitty shape.
8. Are there any small bites?
For light eaters, I would recommend the The Enchanted Forest ($17.90) which is a delicious combination of prawns, avocado, cheddar, caramelized onions and wasabi sesame mayonnaise. It is filling enough yet not too much to make you feel stuffed.
9. Anything to distress?
If dessert is the way to destress, the kawaii desserts would definitely make you go gaga as well. Even a non-hello kitty fan like me find them so cute. One of the hot favourite is the Camping under the Stars ($19.50). I didn’t managed to try it as it was sold out. But the Cat In Paradise ($18.50, not on limited menu) was equally cute!
10. Mummy, I want Ice Cream~~
Not to worry if your kid is brawling for some ice cream. There are 8 different flavours of ice cream on rotating basis, including pistachio, strawberry, green tea, hazelnut and mango. Soft serve frozen yogurt (from $4.90, with 1 topping) is also available and I thought it was quite nice.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience. Well at least the cafe is specially designed to emulate Singapore’s garden city vibes and is not too overly pink or cutesy. There are also pots of REAL orchids around the cafe to give that garden city experience. I like the idea of injecting some local flavours to the dishes. Although you do not see everything pink and everything hello kitty in this world’s first 24 hours hello kitty cafe, what you get is the feline shaped/ printed food on almost everything on the menu (scroll up and you will understand what I mean). Going forward, if I am catching a flight, I wouldn’t mind to go back and try other items on the menu. Perhaps because I have gone to the cafe with zero expectation. Thus the food was better than I thought. Mental note to self, expectation kills the joy of food enjoyment!
Hello Kitty Orchid Garden Café
Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 Arrival Meeting Hall Central #01-22 Singapore 819663 (Public area)
Tel: +65 6241 6127
Operating Hours: 24 Hours
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