Japanese teahouse cum dessert parlour Hvala (meaning "thank you" in Croatian) is a jarring oxymoron - the preeminent motivation behind that rather sui generis, though incongruous name being founders Benmin Chai and Lynette Yong particularly yearned to reify their propinquitous affection for, gee, Croatia after previously holidaying there together. Hey, whatever floats their boat.
Kicked off in 2015 as yet another inchoate fad du jour dabbling with eggette parfaits (then called Hvala Waffle Bar) at 313@Somerset, this once verging on puerile crapshoot unwontedly grew a noodle midway, canned its erstwhile fandangled roster of entremets offered and reconvened almost from ground zero. Hence today's お茶-centric, multiple-store Hvala which appears having gotten into the groove, sizeable loyal following procured en attendant further playing testament.
Word to the wise - Hvala fanatically swears by automation; save for an actual human bringing food to your very table, everything else strictly equals DIY, so expect QR code menus, self-ordering terminals among other contrivances upon stepping through. Separately, do be mindful of a 60-minute time limit imposed during peak dining hours.
More at https://www.thefooddossier.com/2023/08/hvala.html
