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Hey guys!

So two days ago my friends and I decided to meet up and have lunch together. Initially the plan was to have KBBQ at Tampines and watch a movie, but after one of us couldn't make it we decided to ditch the plan and embark on a Changi adventure.

Not the hospital, silly. The airport.

Our plan was to visit the butterfly garden at Terminal 3 and (maybe) watch a movie after that. It turned out that the butterfly garden was inside the Transit area and since none of us were actually going to the airport to travel, we couldn't go in.

Me and my friend Sam ended up wandering around Changi airport aimlessly, and decided to have lunch at Pastamania. Later we met up with our friend Jillian (who traveled all the way from Hougang to Changi Airport) and broke the bad news to her: there was nothing to do at the airport if you weren't in the transit area.

Deciding to make the best out of our trip, we continued exploring the airport, boarded the skytrain,  took aesthetic pictures and pushed each other in trolleys.

Young adults have effective gastric juices, and the three of us got hungry after a while. Since we all have had lunch, we were craving dessert and Jillian suggested the go to the Hello Kitty Cafe.

I love love love love love themed cafes so I was like, why not?

The cafe is located at Terminal 3 level 1, and I was wondering why I never noticed the cafe even though I've walked past there every time I was at the airport. Only when I reached the cafe did I realize why.

Instead of just 'Hello Kitty Cafe', the cafe is named "Hello Kitty Orchid Garden Cafe". The cafe isn't pink like you'd expect it to be but white, and the entire cafe is full of Orchids (probably because Singapore is a garden city). One weird thing about the cafe is that it's directly beside the baggage collection area and it's an open cafe (much like the other cafes or restaurants at the airport) so you can see people walking outside.

Another strange thing was that the cafe was a ghost town - there were only about 5 customers in the whole cafe.

Aren't themed cafes supposed to be really popular? Especially one that's at the airport???

To be fair it's been here for a while, but still!

Nevertheless, I was really excited and was busy taking pictures while waiting to be seated. After no one attended to us after 10 minutes, I resorted to staring a the big screen at the entrance of the cafe. And that was when I saw the notice that said "Please note there will be a minimum spending of $10** per diner".

WHAT???

I immediately told my friends about this weird condition and we started re-considering if it was worth dining here. Honestly, $10 isn't much of a big deal to working adults, but to students - poly students who are broke from investing in projects and have less than $10 in their pockets - that's a little too much to ask. I can buy 2 cups of llao llao with extra toppings for $10. I could have printed a 10 page report with full color for $10.

We had a look at the menu and flipped to the dessert section. As expected for a themed cafe, everything was rather pricey. Our budget was about $6 per person but we decided to give it a go since we were already waiting in line.

After waiting outside the cafe for another 5 minutes, one of the staff members finally noticed us an ushered us inside. White at it, he reminded us that each customer is required to meet the $10 minimum spend. He didn't even say "Welcome" or "Do you need the menu?". Instead, the first thing he did was inform us that we needed to meet the terms and conditions.

Wow, they're actually very serious about this.

At this point the enthusiasm we had kinda sizzled out, and we started to worry more about money than enjoying ourselves at the cafe. The staff members were rather intimidating, and everyone was busy doing their own thing - whatever it was, and did not bother attending to us. However, we tried to remain positive as the cafe was really pretty and it would be a great place to take photos.

When we first entered the cafe, there was an ice cream stand right at the entrance so we went there to take our order. After standing there for awhile (there was no one at the counter), the same guy who ushered us in told us "You don't order here. you order at your table and our staff will come to you."

So we're supposed to get off our seats, go there and check what flavors and toppings there are, go back to our seats and wait for your non-existent staff members to take our order.

Okay.

So we went back to our table and resorted to ordering anything we see on the menu. I ordered the Kitty's Summit frozen yoghurt ($12.90), while Sam and Jillian ordered a single scoop ice cream and frozen yoghurt both without toppings.

The dessert arrived quite fast (well, it is dessert), and we excitedly posed for pictures with it. To be blatantly honest, the pictures we took were the only good thing we got out of the visit because the dessert was really disappointing.

Though the portion is a lot, the yoghurt I had was clothed with only a sad sprinkle of berries and two flowers. I did like the slice of lime, though. It enhanced the taste of the yoghurt and made it taste less  like the $2 Froyo from KFC.

After finishing our dessert, my friend raised his hand to ask for the bill. When his hand started feeling numb after a while, he glanced around only to see that there were no staff members present at all. Finally, the guy who ushered us in noticed us and and came over, only to inform us that payment is made at the counter.

Alright so I do not want to be a typical Singaporean and start lashing out at poor waiters and waitresses for no reason - I've done waitressing myself and I know how much of an ordeal it is - but there's less than 8 people in the entire cafe and you won't even take payment at our table???

I went to the counter anyway, and waited for the bill. Two single scoop ice creams without toppings and a frozen yoghurt with berries and crumbs cost $32. GST and service charge was about $4.

I just paid $4 for horrible service.

Okay, I take back my words. The service wasn't horrible, it was just non-existent.

The weird thing was that though not all of us met the $10 minimum spending, the cashier didn't say anything. He probably took a look at bill, saw it was $30, divided it by 3 people and was like heh, they spent $10 a person and let us pass.

After paying, my friends and I decided to have a private photoshoot at the cafe since there was so little people around and we paid 6 days worth of Macdonald meals. Shamelessly utilizing the space we were in for Instagram worthy pictures seemed like the correct thing to do.

To summarize my experience at the Hello Kitty Cafe, I would say that it wasn't the best dining experience I've had. Perhaps I would go back again one day and try the main courses as they do look pretty good, and for a cafe this cute I'm willing to give it another chance. It is a good place for adults to dine and have high tea, but poly students with empty pockets shouldn't visit more than once.

Let's just hope I have enough money next time round.

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