We have been long time fans of Niko Neko Matcha since we discovered them at a coffee/tea exhibition years ago, and have been ordering their powders online. We were excited when they opened the concept stores and decided to come here to try the desserts and utilize the coupon we received from our recent online purchase.

At first look, the store's minimalist concept is pleasing to the eyes and has a clean, modern look. They display many of their products at the front corner and has a bowl collection on the other side which makes it feel a little museum-like.

We came here for the cultivar series, and to try as many desserts we could. We are very happy with the drinks (despite the little amount) and would happily recommend the Mini Yuri Burnt Cheesecake and the Choux cream. We even bought the box of 9 pieces of cookies to try and loved them all. There were 3 cookie flavors and our fave is Genmaicha (the Biscoff Houjicha was a little too sweet for our taste). So as far as the food and beverages go, I'd happily rate 5 star.

However, I have to say I am a little less impressed with the in-store experience here. Though it has ample space, the layout is not space-efficient, and makes me feel not at ease while dining here.

There is one order counter, and the pick up place is on the other end. The menu is only available on the order counter and you can only browse through once you're placing the order. This causes the long queue because let's face it, a lot of the orders here are a novelty to many of us, so a lot of people take a long time to consult and decide on their order. My suggestion is to make more menu lists available so the people in line can have a look while waiting for their turn.

Thankfully we came before the crowd so we didn't have to wait at all but seeing other people having to queue, wait for a long time and crowd at one side was a little uncomfortable, especially as our table was directly facing the line. The table was also very small and flimsy. Everytime a customer walked from the order counter to the pick up point, we had to guard the food and drinks because there wasn't much space for them to walk, and it would only take a careless movement to topple the glass drinks and plates over.

I like that there is a system in place where the staff updates the stock immediately once customers make their orders so they can promptly let the next customers know the food availability. They also attempt to control the crowd buy imposing a one hour rule for every customer so that they can accommodate to more customers and no one gets to hog the limited tables.

I like the system and understand why they need it in place, however, I'm disappointed that it took the staff a long time to get my order ready, even though there were only a few customers before us. I would understand if it's freshly cooked food, but the desserts are all ready-made so it doesn't make sense to have to wait that long. I also ordered the box of cookies for takeaway, but it took them 15 minutes to get my order ready. Imagine if you go in a large group and given the same one hour, but your order takes forever to be ready, how long do you actually have to savor your food before you're asked to leave?

The staff was quite attentive and polite, but based on my experience yesterday, I don't think I'll visit again soon. I'm happy to just continue ordering their Matcha, Houjicha and Genmaicha powder online.