Hattendo (八天堂) Cafe is a new Japanese cafe that opened its first shop at the brand new Tanjong Pagar Center in Singapore. It is hidden behind the Japan Rail Cafe, so you have to make some effort to find it. The space is quite small, a small counter where you can order your buns and coffee, and then some 10 or so small tables for patrons to sit down and enjoy their coffee and buns.
I had never heard of Hattendo before, until one day their instagram "like" one of my posts, then I started to find out what Hattendo is. They are said to start their business in Hiroshima, Japan, back in 1933. Well, impressed, that means they survived the atomic bomb which was dropped in Hiroshima on 9 Aug 1945.
Back to topic, their signature dishes are the 5 types of cream buns: Custard, whipped cream, matcha, azuki beans, and chocolate. Each bun costs $2.50. We ordered their matcha and azuki beans. Just in case you wonder what azuki beans are, they are red beans. We also ordered a cafe latte and a caramel latte.
Matcha Cream Bun
Dangdangdangdang, here is the matcha cream bun. Well, the bun seemed to have been left on the shelf for quite a while, and appeared to be soggy. Matcha is supposed to have some bitter taste, but in this case, it was all sweet, the bitter was almost undetectable.
Azuki Beans Bun
Next came the azuki beans bun. There were some red bean paste litered among the creams. As both the cream and red beans were sweet, so I think this is quite a perfect match with the coffee. It neutralized coffee's bitter, leaving a pleasant sweet after taste in your mouth.
Overall, I think the cream buns can be a good companion to the coffee. However, this cafe's environment is not very cozy for friends to sit down and enjoy a romantic or free spirited afternoon. I kind of wonder what kind of market niche that they wanna craft out.
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